loses half of its delegates by going early. under party rules we expect romney to win the thing. gingrich has to live off the land for a month to get to super tuesday. >> that was a yes, it's romney, i think. >> when you do 13,000 ads against 200 ads for gingrich it's easy to win. >> i thank you all for joining us. "starting point" will be back here at 7 a.m. tomorrow morning. of course, tonight we've got complete -- >> we'll know a lot more. >> we'll know a lot more tomorrow. we have complete coverage of tonight's big florida primary is this evening. right now it's time for "cnn newsroom." kyra phillips is back. thanks so much. so far this election season there have been three republican contests and three different winners. today that line is drawn in the florida sand. voting underway in the state's all important primary. the last polls remain open nearly 11 more hours. and for the candidates, the stakes are huge. 50 delegates are up for grabs.

the largest haul yet. the winner takes all of them and seizes momentum as the clear-cut front-runner. so if the polls are right, mitt romney could be coasting to an easy win. cnn's john zarella is at a polling place in tampa. john's, how's the turnout been? >> reporter: real good. this is actually the largest republican precinct in hillsboro county, the tampa area. about 3800 registered republicans here, and turnout has been very good this morning. a lot of people going before work. a lot of families coming before dropping off their kids at school. so quite a good turnout. there's 232,000 registered republicans in hillsboro county. i talked to the election supervisor a little while ago. he was telling me that they expected a very good turnout counting all of the early voting and the people that are likely to vote today could be 40 to

50%, he said, of that 232,000. so he expects quite a few people to vote today. here, kyra, is an example of the ballot we were talking about earlier. there's actually nine candidates on the florida ballot you can see there. the supervisor was telling me they got some calls from people saying, hey, can we have our ballots back? of course they can't. it's a secret ballot. a lot of people who voted early really voted for people who, you know, have already dropped out of the race. so they were actually hoping they could get their ballots back but, again, they can't. i did have an opportunity this morning to talk with two voters, and i asked them who they voted for and why. >> newt gingrich. i mean, he is the smartest guy in the room so that's why i was with him for a long time, but i want somebody who is not going to have a skeleton jump out at the last minute. >> safe bet?

>> safe bet. >> even though i prefer santorum, there's no way santorum's going to win so i'm trying to vote for whoever has the best shot at knocking mitt romney off. >> so you voted for newt gingrich? >> yes, exactly. >> reporter: you know, ruth who i talked to there first, she actually brought her three kids, 7, 8,. s and 9. she wanted to give them a civics lesson. a lot of people like that bringing their kids. >> nobody likes those last-minute skeletons, do they? question for you, john. you have covered florida a long time. how do you think this primary campaign compares to others? >> you know, nothing's going to compare to the 2000 election, that's for sure, the general election. you know, coming out of that election then the next couple everybody's eyes were on florida to see if we would get it right here so there was a huge, huge -- everybody's eyes were on

florida back then. then of course four years ago, in 2008, you had both parties with big, huge primaries here in the state, but now the two democratic candidates, barack obama and hillary clinton, they did not campaign in florida for the primaries basically out of protest from the democratic party because florida had moved its primary up. the republicans were here, and as most people recall, that senator john mccain won florida, and that pretty much cat at that polted him out of florida into the victory. florida certainly pivotal back then. pivotal in a lot of different ways in a lot of different years. for the republican party, probably going to be pivotal today. >> i was trying to figure out how you could get a hanging chad from that ballot. i don't think we're going to see it happen. >> reporter: no. mitt romney has a healthy double digit lead.

that doesn't mean he's laying off newt gingrich in the last couple of hours before the polls close. >> i know the speaker's not real happy. speaker gingrich, he's not feeling very excited these days. i know, it's sad. he's been flailing around a lit trying to go after me for one thing or the other. you watch it and you shake your head. it's been kind of painfully revealing to watch. >> cnn political editor paul steinhauser live in tampa. paul, gingrich had a lot of momentum off of south carolina. what the heck happened? >> reporter: kyra, don't be joking about those chads. we don't want to go through that again. stop that right now. let's talk about that momentum. yeah, you're right. double digit victory for gingrich in south carolina. a week and a half later, my how times have changed. people likely to vote today, will look who's on top by 14 points. mitt romney over newt gingrich. santorum and paul pretty low down there. this is one of five polls, kyra, that's come out over the last 48 hours indicating the same thing. romney on top by double digits.

how did he do it? listen, romney started -- he learned from his mistake in south carolina. he started going on the offense, putting gingrich on the defense. he came up with big ads in florida and that super pac that's been supporting him also spending a lot of money. between the two of them outspending the gingrich campaign by four or five to one and the beginning grer super pacs as well. we saw romney have two strong debates. right behind me there, that's the tampa convention center. that's where mitt romney's going to have his hq tonight. he's hoping it's going to be a big victory celebration. gingrich, he's not giving up anyway, not at all. he's been on the attack against romney saying that romney is lying about gingrich's record. take a listen. >> we're going to beat be big lie campaign with a big truth campaign. we're going to beat money power with people power. we are going to go all the way to the convention and we are going to win in tampa and we are going to be the nominee with your help of the republican

party. >> reporter: that's another one of the story lines here in florida, kyra. things got uglier here. it was ugly in previous states as well. >> paul steinhauser to cover all the ugliness. we'll stay on top of it. thank you so much. no one knows florida politics quite like charlie christ. he joins me exclusively live in an hour. we'll ask him about the primary, the impact of the tea party movement and why the fight for florida has gotten so nasty. cnn tonight all eyes are going to turn to the florida primary. we'll have special coverage at 6:00 eastern with a special edition of john kink u.s.a. complete results at 7:00. wolf blitzer, erin burnett, candy crowley, john king and more. today the united nations may tell syria's president he must go. this video posted online explains all the reasons why. it reportedly shows armed rebels in street battles with syrian

troops, antigovernment protesters being shot and killed. the syrian regime has banned reporters from this conflict so much of what we see comes from home video like this posted on youtube. so many of these images are pretty fascinating as well. this video actually claims to show two civilians hanging the independence flag of syria over a highway in damascus. it's a brazen show of defines because it's unfurled near the party headquarters of embattled president assad. there's this funeral procession, a reminder of the hundreds of people reportedly killed in just the past few days. let's get back to the u.n. now and this call for assad's ouster. russia is weighing in and warning about a possible civil war in syria. zain verjee is in london following the story. tell us more, zain. >> reporter: good morning, kyra. the battles are raging on. battles have been drawn at the united nations. let me give you a sense of what

some newspaper headlines are saying. let's go to "the international herald tribune." it says this, kyra. in the end russia's bold declarations and actions in support of the assad regime are cold calculations meant to revive its position as a global superpower backing the assad regime is not based on ideological or moral convictions but on pure power politics. remember, it's russia, kyra, that's playing tough with the u.n. saying they're going to veto this thing if it goes through. take a look at "gulf news." its headline russia seeks win-win formula in syria. it says russia still believes it can dem mock kroo advertise the syrian government from within, securing a soft landing for syria. neither the turks nor the americans get a real say in how syria develops in the months ahead. finally a little closer to home, kyra. i like this in "the washington

post" saving syria. as long as it has rush shoo's diplomatic and material support, the assad regime is more likely to hold together. that's why the high level lobbying campaign at the security council is important and why the obama administration should place russian cooperation on syria at the top of the bilateral agenda with moscow. kyra, just to emphasize, too, the russians have had a long standing commercial and strategic relationship with syria. they in the past have supplied them with a lot of arms. there is a big question mark which way they're going to go right now. there's a huge amount of pressure at the united nations from the u.s., europeans and other countries saying you have to get tougher on sir yeah get assad to step down. the russians are going, whoa, whoa, whoa, we don't know we want that. >> we have all eyes on the u.n. today to monitor what happens if anything does. zain, thanks so much. we've all done it, sent personal e-mails on company computers knowing that they can

be monitored. some employees don't like it. they're suing their employer. do they really have a case? and tight squeeze on skis. 145 aussies go for the world record. that story in ten minutes. [ male announcer ] this...is the network. a living, breathing intelligence that is helping business rethink how to do business. in here, inventory can be taught to learn. ♪ in here, machines have a voice... ♪ [ male announcer ] in here, medical history follows you... even when you're away from home. it's the at&t network -- a network of possibilities, creating and integrating solutions, helping business, and the world...work. rethink possible.

that story in ten minutes.

checking stories now cross-country. a bomb scare at new york's laguardia airport created quite a scene. it started when a tsa screener confiscated two items from a passenger's bag and just set them aside. a few hours later a new shift of screeners found the items and had no idea what they were so they called the bomb squad. turns out they were medical devices. a community in central texas is running out of water from the state's historic drought so it's trucking in water. 8,000 gallons arrived in spicewood beach. shipments may have to continue for weeks or months depending on the weather. voters in oregon revealed today who they want to fill the house seat vacated by former representative david wu. the seven-term democrat resigned last year after a series of bizarre news stories. it started with this picture and

then it ended with a young woman's accusation that he made unwanted sexual advances to her. the warning is clear, if you e-mail on your work computer your boss says he or she has every right to look at it. six employees at the fda say they disagree and they're suing the government agency. our ashleigh banfield has the story for us. what do you think, ashleigh, do they have a case in. >> every time you call me i have to bring my declaration of independence and constitution. you test me so much with your questions. >> i know you can always come through and pull it off for us. >> i think they can in this case, but i'll be honest with you, this is really, really tricky. we all know when we use our blackberries from work or our laptops at work, that our companies can monitor us, right? what if we go on to our google account, yahoo account like these doctors did. they were worried that they had looked over some medical devices they didn't think were safe and got approved. they wanted to tell congress about that, so they did that, on

their work computers but going to their google and yahoo accounts. they say you should not have been able to monitor us, fda, because we were protected under the whistle blowers act. here's where it gets a little bit complicated. they're citing three different amendments. the first amendment right to free speech, the fourth amendment right to unlawful search and seizure and your fifth amendment right against self-incrimination. they might have a case in a way, but it all comes down to what you just said, kyra. there's a big, fat warning on those computers that says, you could be monitored. and, therefore, your expectation of privacy just shouldn't be there. this will really test people. >> isn't there an assumption though, okay, work e-mail, understood. but if you log on to your personal e-mail, like you mentioned, through these other accounts, i don't think a lot of people realize that your company can actually monitor those as well. >> you're absolutely right. i think people think they're

safe when they're using hard gear belonging to the company and going to the soft gear that belongs to you. you are not necessarily, although public institutions have a little bit of a different standard. the supreme court has protected, in fact, the right to someone's privacy against the -- against an extreme case. really what it comes down to is what's reasonable. what's a reasonable search. you know that fourth amendment protects us all from unreasonable searches by police and institutions, right? it's the same from the computer. i think at least the great thing about this case is that it's going get us all to really hash out where the line is being drawn with regard to cyber security, not only for the companies but also for us and our protections aswan in a be whistle blowers. this is going to be a difficult one to watch albeit really confusing. >> definitely. we'll keep our eyes on it, that's for sure we just woke everybody up.

>> i'll tell you what, the take away is. guess what, do not use your work blackberries if you think there might be an issue. these whistle blowers could have used their home computers and google accounts and none of this would be an issue. >> thanks. coming up next, a consumer group says that poor people pay more for auto insurance. why it blames insurance company bias next. and wide shot on the water. 145 skiers aim for a world record. did the aussie team do it? stay tuned.

lovely weather down under for water skiing with your friends, say about 145 friends at the same time. maybe behind the same both. zain verjee, fair to say a world record? >> yeah, it's easy peasy, kyra.

this is a little gymnastics on a boat down under. take a look at this really cool video, 145 people behind a boat there. look at that massive boon that they're all grabbing. costs something like $100,000. there they are. that's how you start when you water ski, you get in this crouched position. they went on one nautical mile and held on for dear life on that boom. some of them crashed into each other and lost one ski. a few of them had to drop out. it was still a record 145 people made it across the finish line. the youngest was 12. the oldest was 60. they were absolutely determined to do it. that's really cool video, right, kyra? it's very hard to do water skiing. i tried it once before. you have to have really strong thighs. i know you do, kyra, but -- >> yes. well, i'm looking -- betsy anderson, who's one of our producers, i don't know if you remembered her when she lived

here. she's a famous barefoot skier. she said, they cheated, they used skis. >> it's not a cheat, betsy. >> exactly. >> it's hard. look at that. look at that video. that's dramatic. i think they beat the one before. i think there was like 114 people, kyra. >> wow. >> this was 145. is betsy on the begin necessary book of records committee? >> you know what, stay tuned. that's part two. thank you, zain. poor betsy. all right. well, our auto insurance companies gouging poor people? new study finds some pretty startling unfairness, shall we say. felicia taylor has been following this for us. >> kyra, have i to admit, i loved to water ski. would i have been even more impressed if they did it on one ski as opposed to two. i think your producer's right, they cheated. >> remember, she said no skis, felecia. the next world record -- >> i would settle for one.

>> okay. that's hard though. come on now. all right. >> do it. it's fun though. on to car insurance. >> tell us about this. do tell about this car insurance story. >> okay. so in most states it's mandat y mandatory. as everybody knows, it's pretty expensive. it costs about $1800 a year on average. consumer federation of america study found it's even worse for some lower and moderate income americans who are being charged above-average premiums. that's because they factor in things like occupation, education, even somebody's credit rating. it comes down to risk. in other words, the perception can be that a lower income person may be more likely to get into an accident based on those factors that i mentioned. the study also found that in some states insurers are charging less for standard coverage and more for minimum coverage, which is really surprising. lower income consumers are attracted to minimum coverage and they end up paying more. the consequence, as many as 20% of car owners who make less than $47,000 a year are driving

around without car insurance. that ends up costing everybody more money, especially if there's some sort of an accident. >> we'll follow that. what do you expect from the markets today? opening bell coming up in about seven minutes. >> yeah. we are looking at a higher open. futures on the dow are up about 57, 59 points. leaders in europe have agreed to a new financial fire wall. that's encouraging. timely we're getting some information out of europe. still no information on greek debt. that could hold back some gains. we've had earnings from exxon, mobile, and pfizer. exxon profit was up slightly to $9.5 billion. pfizer profit was cut in half last quarter not surprising considering its blockbuster cholesterol drug lipitor lost its patent protection in november. they're trying to struggle to keep those consumers that would have bought lipitor but are now going for generic version. >> felecia, thanks. coming up, what the florida primary says about the upcoming

primary election. we'll talk with the editor about the state's biggest nurp about what we might learn. she was kicked off the ballot because her english wasn't up to par said a judge. details ahead. what makes scottrade your smartphone's most powerful trading app ? total access - to everything. from idea to research to trade. including financials, indicators and real-time streaming quotes. whether you check your investments every day or every minute, our app can take them from thought to trade. at scottrade, seven-dollar trades are just the start. try our powerful mobile app. it's another reason more investors are saying... i'm with scottrade.

. checking top stories now. the u.n. security council is considering a call for syrian president bashar al-assad to step down for reasons shown in this home video posted online showing reebls in street fights with syrian forces and syrian forces allegedly targeting and killing the anti-government protest jurors. suspected u.s. drone strikes kill at least nine people in

southern yemen. they say those killed had links to al qaeda. and american aid worker jessica buchanan heading home after being freed by u.s. special forces in somalia. buchanan and her danish co-worker had been held for three months before last week's rescue by a navy s.e.a.l. unit. well, in florida voting is underway in what may be the most important contest so far in this election season. three states have already held votes and three different republicans have won. but florida offers the largest haul yet. 50 delegates. the winner takes all of them. recent polls show mitt romney with a double digit lead over newt gingrich right now. 600,000 ballots have been cast in florida's early voting already. the state's diverse population demands tailored messages too. a speech that draws applause in jacksonville, well, it may fall flat in orlando. adam smith knows all of this too well.

he's the political editor of the "tampa bay times." you wrote florida is more of a true litmus test than the three previous states. explain. >> well, absolutely. the reason florida's such say battleground is because it really is a microcosm of america. you've got urban voters, suburban voters, rural voters. you've got the south basically in north florida. you've got transplanted new yorkers in southeast florida and you have everybody from everywhere else in the country in between. it's the first state where more than one in ten republican primary voters will be hispanic zwl you talk about florida's size, right? candidates have had to really rely more on tv ads, town haul meetings. as we know, a lot of those ads got really nasty. how do you think all of that shaped this race? >> you know, everybody complains about negative ads, but they work. that's clearly really the main thing that happened to newt gingrich. he came in here with a lot of momentum and he says he's been

carpet bombed. he was carpet bombed. the ads against him have been about five to one overwhelmingly negative. if you're mitt romney, assuming if he gets the nomination, what he's got to worry about is his negatives get spiked up a little bit in the process of being so negative in the primary. >> it's trg. south carolina anns say they were turned off. you say but they work. did you see similar reaction among floridians? >> oh, yeah. everybody says they're turned off, they're fed up, they're disgusted, but they still have an effect. that's why they spend millions and millions of dollars doing them. >> marco rubio on cnn early this morning saying, look, floridians just care about the economy or that's the number one issue, the economy, getting jobs. what am i going to wake up and be able to go to work again? what do you think? how much is the economy driving this primary? >> i think it's absolutely this is a state that is really has a lot of anxiety in the electorate

on both sides of the aisle. 44% of homeowners in the state are underwater in their mortgages. unemployment's about 10%, probably closer to 15% when you factor in those people that aren't even trying anymore. so that is absolutely the number one issue here. >> adam smith, political editor of "the tampa bay times." you have had a busy season and will continue to. especially as we get back to florida. thanks so much. cnn tonight, all eyes on the florida primary of course. we're kicking of our special coverage at 6:00 eastern with a special edition of "john king u.s.a." that's with complete coverage with wolf blitzer, candy crowley, erin burnett. much, much more. elton john has super bowl halftime advice for madonna. first, let's take a check on the big board right now. opening bell rang about two minutes ago. dow industrials in positive

territory. up 60 points. [ gargling ] oo-ay-ow. savings. savings. savings? progressive was the first to offer online quoting. you can do better. first to show comparison rates. ding! the "name your price" tool. oh! gosh, don't mind if i do. who was the first to offer pet injury coverage? we were. and when did you know you wanted to sell insurance? i said i wouldn't cry. um... whee! it's flo time. now, that's progressive. call or click today. sergio! christina! question for you. what factors led you to buy your explorer. definitely the ecoboost option. what's pretty amazing is that you can get the fuel economy of a car in an suv. that basically did it for us.

and the technology... oh, my goodness, the technology is amazing. everything is touch. you can actually talk to the car and it talks back to you. what have your friends said about your explorer? can we drive it? can we borrow it? what's your answer? no. no way. uh uh. (laugh) of how a shipping giant can befriend a forest may seem like the stuff of fairy tales. but if you take away the faces on the trees... take away the pixie dust. take away the singing animals, and the storybook narrator... [ man ] you're left with more electric trucks. more recycled shipping materials... and a growing number of lower emissions planes... which still makes for a pretty enchanted tale. ♪ la la la [ man ] whoops, forgot one... [ male announcer ] sustainable solutions. fedex. solutions that matter.

all right. you thought donald trump owned the phrase, you're fired. simon cowell apparently holding on to his ruthless reputation. "showbiz tonight" host a.j. hammer here. this seems to be the buzz in the entertainment world today. >> reporter: kyra, this is a huge shakeup for the "x factor." this was coming in in a flurry overnight. the real shocker with all of this is the reports that paula abdul won't be back for the second season of "x factor." that move is not official yet. they have confirmed that show host steve jones will not be returning to the "x factor." that really is not entirely sur

prizing. it's been buzzed about for some times now. the reports about paula are stunning to me. i'm actually pretty sad about that. we don't have official confirmation on this just yet f. this is all true, this leaves simon cowell and l.a. read as the only judges on that show. simon's not going anywhere. l.a.'s record label, they sign the contestants. 's not going anywhere. the show was a victim of its own expectations because it did very well in the ratings, but simon set the bar high. he wanted the huge numbers that he didn't attain. he wanted a show that was going to compete with "american idol" right out of the gate. that just couldn't happen. pretty tall order there. soes' making these changes to shake things up. i bet they're going to go with some big celebrity judges like "american idol" did with jennifer lopez and steven tyler. the truth is whatever changes he has in mind, if they don't work out for season two, the show is going to be in some serious,

serious trouble. >> okay. stay tuned. now serious, serious trouble, starting trouble, how do you define it? madonna and elton john? what's going on. >> here's how i define it. petty. it's a little petty for two huge stars who are mature adults to be going after each other. i think in a way they're having a little fun, which they have done throughout musical history. here's what elton john had to say on "good morning america" about her upcoming super bowl halftime show. >> what would your advice be to madonna this year? >> make sure you lip sync good. >> reporter: simple as that. make sure you lip sync good. he's never seen a halftime show that was any good. he's been giving madonna the business for a few weeks. he didn't appreciate her song beating his. her camp has reportedly responded to this bashing by saying madonna does not lip sync

nor does she spend her time trashing other artists. the feud or quasi feud, whatever you want to call it. >> petty feud. >> reporter: rolls on. it's petty. >> can't we all just get along? a.j., thank you. wikileaks founder making a cameo. a.j. is back with us next hour with more showbiz headlines. her english got her kicked often the ballot. >> he say i can't speak english, read and write. >> this city council hopeful says her english is good enough though, so she's fighting back. and fallout in california after a college admits inflating freshman entrance exams scores for the last six years. we investigate. you know when i grow up, i'm going to own my own restaurant. i want to be a volunteer firefighter. when i grow up, i want to write a novel.

i want to go on a road trip. when i grow up, i'm going to go there. i want to fix up old houses. [ female announcer ] at aarp we believe you're never done growing. i want to fall in love again. [ female announcer ] discover what's next in your life. get this free travel bag when you join at aarp.org/jointoday. borrowed technology from ferrari to develop its suspension system? or what if we told you that ferrari borrowed technology from cadillac to develop its suspension system? magnetic ride control -- pioneered by cadillac, perfected in the 556-horsepower cts-v. we don't just make luxury cars. we make cadillacs. that is better than today. since 1894, ameriprise financial 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. ♪ i've discovered gold. [ female announcer ] roc® retinol... the gold standard in anti-aging. clinically proven to give 10 years back to the look of skin. nothing's better than gold. [ female announcer ] roc® retinol correxion deep wrinkle night cream.

checking news cross-country now. in washington, a defiant group of occupiers refuse to pack up their gear. the ban began monday at noon. protesters can still stay in the park around the clock, but their tents must be open at all times. in california, the admissions officer accused of inflating college entrance exam scores since 2005 has resigned. the president of claremont mcken in a college says s.a.t. scores were exaggerated by 10 to 20 points. they're still waiting for winter in parts of minnesota. it's been so warm that many businesses have seen as much as 30% drop in sales. industries like ice fishing and snow removal have all taken a billing hit.

kicked off the ballot for speaking poor english? not so fast says this city council hopeful. here's cnn thelma gutierrez. >> reporter: in the small border town of arizona, alahendra is somewhat of a political celebrity without spending a day in office. >> they're my friend. >> reporter: the married woman of two made national headlines after she bid for a seat on the city council and it was blocked by the city's mayor. >> he said, i can't speak english, read and write. >> reporter: at issue, her fluency in english. she was born in arizona, is a u.s. citizen. like many people in this small agricultural town who live and work on both sides of the u.s./mexican border, she was raised in mexico where life is more affordable. when she was 17 she came back to

the u.s. to finish high school. by then spanish was her primary language. she says, no one here where most people speak spanish had ever questioned her english skills until she decided to run for public office. >> she does not understand english. >> reporter: the mayor says under arizona law elected officials must be proficient in english. he says she doesn't qualify to run for office and as a citizen he filed a lawsuit against her. she was forced to take an english proficiency test paid for by local taxpayers to stop her candidacy. she says this is political pay back because she spearheaded two recall campaigns against the mayor. >> not a personal vendetta against her? >> not personal. not a personal vendetta to get her, absolutely not. >> reporter: after a lengthy court hearing, she was disqualified from the race.

her attorney, john manore, says her civil rights have been violated. >> reporter: she did not pass her proficiency test. >> what test is there to pass though? there's no test in the statute. they're denying her the political process, and the let the people of this community decide they want her on the city council or not. >> reporter: what do you tell those people who say, but you're a citizen. you live here now and you're running for office. you need to speak english? >> i speak english. a little, maybe, but it's enough for the city council. >> reporter: she says she's taking her appeal all the way to the arizona supreme court. thelma gutierrez, cnn, arizona. so what's 21 miles wide and hurling closer to earth by the hour? an asteroid, of course. we'll have the details next. when bp made a commitment to the gulf,

we were determined to see it through. here's an update on the progress. we're paying for all spill related clean-up costs. bp findings supports independent scientists studying the gulf's environment. thousands of environmental samples have been tested and all beaches and waters are open. and the tourists are back. i was born here, i'm still here and so is bp.

well, if you have a clear sky tonight, you might just get a glimpse of the asteroid 433 aeros, am i saying that right? >> yes. >> okay. give me more scoop. >> it's going to be the closest it's been since 1975 tonight. it will be visible for a few more days. you will need either a really good set of binoculars or telescope. here's what it looks like. it's been around for a while. you see it tumbling around. it tumbles and rotates about five or six times a day. we did have a satellite that came close to it and actually landed briefly on it back in 2000, so we know a fair amount about this thing. it looks like a big potato, but it's big. this is the second largest asteroid that comes close enough to earth for us to actually

worry. it's 20 miles by about 7 or 8 miles. this is what it looks like. so it's called euros. it was discovered back in 1898. today it makes its closest pass to us. still 16 million miles away. so it's pretty far and it's in no danger. it orbits the sun every few years. let's show you the orbit. we are right now -- here's where the asteroid is right over us. here's where the sun is. there's venus, mercury. you see how it makes this traverse or orbit around the sun and around us. it's real close to us right now. get out there and have a look. you will need to look with your telescope and near leo. that's the constellation. one other thing i want to point out other than it looking like a giant potato. if you weigh 100 pounds here, if you were to go to this asteroid because gravity is a little

less, you only weigh one ounce. if you're looking to diet, this will be the place to go. euros is the greek god of love. it was discovered around valentine's day. take your sweetie out there. >> getting a little mushy on us. >> i'm going to have some waterworks here. >> thanks. waterworks in a second. >> thanks, rob. some stories we're working on straight ahead. 3:00 eastern, the security council hears from the arab league. it's been monitoring the crisis in syria. the council will also considered a resolution asking for the syrian president to step down. and a clear front-runner could elearning today. with of course, the best political team on television right here on cnn tonight. 11:30 eastern, first lady michelle obama will be a guest on the jay leno show. she's promoting the second anniversary of her "let's move" campaign to fight childhood

obesity. we have a lot more developments in the next hour. let's check in with zain verjee in london. zain? >> clashes are raging on the ground in syria and battle lines have been drawn over at the united nations in new york. i'll tell you what some of the newspapers around the world are saying. >> to the president of the united states relegal intelligence secrets? we'll have more on that, coming up. i'm john zarrella in lithia, florida. how is voter turnout today? i'll tell you at the top of the hour. all right. guys, thanks so much. coming up next hour, former florida governor charlie crist, also a former republican. we're going to talk about dirty campaigning, the ground game in florida, and i'll ask him who he's voting for, at the top of the hour. dad, why are you getting that? is there a prize in there?

oh, there's a prize, all right. [ male announcer ] inside every box of cheerios are those great-tasting little o's made from carefully selected oats that can help lower cholesterol. is it a superhero? kinda. ♪

all right. it's got to be the dump of the year. >> it is. if you asked me 24 hours earlier, i would have said something different. lebron james on sunday dunked like a guy for an alley-oop, and then 24 hours later we're talking about something completely different. even lebron is impressed. blake griffin is a monster. he dinked over a card last year, but the clippers taking on the

oklahoma city thunder, gives the staples center crowd something to scream about. he goes right over kendrick perkins. the guy is 6'10", and he lows it over perkins. a salem right in perkins' face. the clippers win, their third straight win. nba players all over the league completely going nets, including lebron. he tweeted dink of the year. wow, guess i'm number two now. he was talking about the dunk from the day before. number 6 is lebron. so let's talk super bowl. we don't know if ron groan cows can i will be healthy enough to play in the super bowl. he's already a star in this video, called "welcome to the gronk party." >> we're going to the stage. ♪

>> he said an nfl record with 17 touchdowns about a tight ends this year, most yards by a tight end, having a great season. hopefully we get to see the patriots at full strength, because he is out with an injured ankle. hope to see him on sunday. the one everyone is talking about features buehler, buehler? he's back. matthew broderick wants another day off. >> i'm not sure what it is. i guess i'll be okay. >> i'm calling the studio, matthew, you're not shooting today. >> no, people are depending on me. movies bring so much joy. >> it's done, just get some rest. >> diva. he bought it. >> those of us of a certainly age just love this. >> all-time classic movie. >> and every scene in this is a

direct reference to the movie. there's even touches you may not catch right away, a guy in the background wears that leopard skin sweater vest he was wearing, and the point is he goes driving around in his honda like he drove around in the ferrari in the movie. if you go online, it's about 2 1/2 minutes. >> everyone's going to have to -- the younger generation will go out and rent the movie. >> i have to check with the kids who run this place now, and say, do you even know what this is about? apparently fortunately they do. >> that's hilarious. thanks, jeff. >> okay. how would you like to own a car that one was owned by barack obama. jeanne moos tells you who's trying to cash in. >> reporter: ever wonder what happens to your old car after you get rid of it? well, when it's president obama's old car, this guy's trying to sell it on ebay. and you're asking a million

bucks? >> it's a lot of money, isn't it? >> especially for a 2005 model that would normally said under a $20,000. a top of the line chrysler 300c with a powerful v-8 engine. it includes the registration for the vehicle, then senator obama leased the gas guzzler, but when he ran for president, dumped it for a environmentally correct honda. >> on the way out, somebody said said you better hang on to that car. they said why that? it yoon to belong to mr. on 'bama. i want, yeah, right, and the guy said, no, i'm serious. this is what brought it home, fiddling with the radio radio. he found mr. obama's preset

favorite stations, from rock and roll to country. >> i was like, holy cow, this is the real deal here, you know? >> tim says he's absolutely an obama supporter. the president has said how much he misses driving. in a factory visit he got applause for steering a few yards straight ahead. his old chrysler has fewer than 21,000 miles on it. you know the asking price is high when you have to write please understand that the 1 million starting price is not a joke. ebay add mentions that iranian president ahmadinejad got $2.5 million for charity when his 1977 peugot was auctioned off. >> reporter: no obama leaveovers under the floor mats, no french fries under the seat. those who have pointed out that they see the check engine light

is on in the ebay photos rest assured everything works, but sings no million dollar bids come in, tim play consider lower offers. a million for a 7-year-old chrysler is enough to make a driver lose control. jeanne moos, cnn. >> it's a lot of money, isn't it? >> new york. good morning, everyone. so far this election season there have been three republican contests and three different winners. today the line is drawn in the florida sand. voting under way in the state's all-important primary. the last polls remain open for ten more hour. the stakes are huge. the largest haul yet. the winner takes all of them and seizes momentum as the clear-cut front-runner. if the polls are right, mitt romney could be coasting to an easy win in florida. in politics, as we know, don't

take anything for granted. john zarrella doesn't. he's in a polls place in lithia. so let's talk about the turnout. it was looking pretty good last hour. what's the update? >> reporter: it's still pretty good. you get the morning rush when people are on their way to work or dropping their kids off after school. and still coming in as we speak. but of course it slows down as you get to the late morning, pick up and lunchtime and pick up again as people head home from work. we talked to the folks in hillsborough county, in the sample precincts they've had, they've had about 6% of the registered republicans voting. there's 232,000 in the county, and the supervisor of elections told us he wouldn't be a bit surprised if he had at least 40% when you counseled in all of the early voting, 40% of the

eligible republicans actual le voting today. i asked him how do you arrive at they numbers? >> what we have to compare it to is 2008, presidential to 79ial. the early vote that we've had exceeded 2008 and our vote by mail seems to be gaining in popularity. it also has exceeded 2008. if history is an indicator, and if we can go from presidentiale to presidential then i get a feeling we'll get a good strong. >> reporter: he was telling me that some folks are actually calling their offices who had voted early asking if they could get their ballots back, because there's people on the ballot, of course, that have dropped out of the race. of course, that's impossible as we know. they're secret ballots and wouldn't know who to send it back to anyway, but those folks are just out of luck.

you can't revote once you've voted. so for them no luck, but there's nine people on the presidential ballot here in florida, kyra, but i guess right now it looks like it's down to two as the real stront candidates here between romney and gingrich here. kyra? >> you've covered florida for a really long time and there's a number of differences in this campaign compared to others. >> reporter: yeah, no question about it. you look back and we were talking in the 2000 election, of course, with the hanging chads. that was such an incredible election. in the off-year election in '02 and '04, everybody was wondering if florida would get it right. tlmp problems against in 2002. they use optical scanners now here, and i'm just showing the folks. here's the ballot. this is an optical scanner. you fill your ballot out and bring it other and place it in

the optical scanner. there's two. they'll have the paper vote and the machine vote they'll turn it at the end of the day, but then, you know, in 2008 florida moved its primarily up from march to january and there was a huge protest. the democratible candidates barack obama and hillary clinton didn't even campaign during the primaries. republicans did and it was, of course, a huge fight down here with senator john mccain ultimately winning it over mr. romney back then. 37-30% i think was the final vote in florida. that catapulted the senator to ultimately winning the nomination. >> john, thanks. mitt romney has a pretty healthy double-digit lead in florida, but that doesn't mean he's laying off newt gingrich in the last hours before the polls close. >> i know the speaker is not

happy, speaker gingrich, he's not feeling excited these days. i know, it's sad. he's been flailing around a bit and you watch it and shake your head. it's been painfully revealing to watch. >> art preston, gingrich, you know, had a lot of momentum in south carolina, then all of a sudden we saw this new mitt coming out. now he's sounding pretty confident. what happened to gingrich's momentum. >> it's amazing what happens in a week. we can point to two things. gingrich's was based on debate performances and last week we saw him turn in two lackluster debate performances, an the saturation of negative television advertising that mitt romney has put on the air down in florida, but not only mitt romney, but also they tint groups that have spent millions. >> showing that those ads work.

i'm tired of the negative, it's dividing the party, you hear all the criticism, but bottom line is they work. >> people say that negative advertising is terrible and we shouldn't have it, but the fact of the matter is it is a trust the sort of taking down your opponent. that's why we see it. next you have, nevada gingrich kind of lowering his expectations. what does that tell us? >> that we're not in a sprint. in fact, let's listen to what he had to say about it. >> we're going to beat a big lie campaign with big truth campaign. we're going to beat money power with people pourer, we're going to go to the convention. we are going to win in tampa and be the nominee with your help. >> there you have him not only talking about how had you'll take it to mitt romney, but also take it to the republican party establishment, which is quickly getting behind his candidacy. >> thanks, mark.

>> thanks, kyra. >> in just a few minutes, we'll talk to a man who knows florida and florida politics very well. former governor charlie crist. we're talking about the gop divide, why he went independent, and i'll ask him who gets his vote, coming up at 10:10 eastern. don't forget cnn tonight, we are all watching the florida prima primary. we're kicking off our coverage with a special edition of "john king usa." president obama opening up about drone strikes on al qaeda targets in pakistan, a topic that usually has the white house and other agencies biting their tongues, but not the case during the president's google-plus hangout. >> i think there's a perception that somehow we're just sending in a bunch of strikes willy nilly. this is a targeted, focused effort at people who are on a

list of active terrorists who are trying to go in and harm americans, hit american facilities, american bases, and so on. it is important for everybody to understand this thing is kept on a very tight leash. >> barbara starr, what do you think? >> it was remark and about the candor. this is a subject, u.s. drone strikes in pakistan that has been a real secret kept by the cia. somewhat of an open seek cent, but nobody talks about it. now the president has. so at this hour, in factor we're watching the senate intelligence committee hearing very closely on capitol hill. just coincidentally the morning after a number of top intelligence officials. you see the chairman dianne feinstein of california ready to

testify before her committee about worldwide threats, and it is expected this topic may welcome up. fuls what the president thinking? why did he decide to go public with this? was it just loose lips? or is there some intelligence motivation behind this to try and pressure pakistan, which is very resentful of these drone strikes. of course, pakistan still very much needed by the u.s. as an ally to go after al qaeda inside their country, so it will be an interesting day. what people have to say or doesn't have to say about it. >> as we look at the live pickets -- pictures f general petraeus has talked about drones when he was in country as a commander and talked about the benefits of these drones. >> reporter: he has. you're right. but to a certain extent petraeus

draws the line at talking about the kriismt o operations in pakistan. now as cia director, you don't see him out in public very often. he is very tight-lipped about all of this. what he's been having to deal with behind the scenes is defense secretary leon panetta, his predecessor, talking about a whole lot of intelligence matters. pakistani doctors helping in the bin laden raid, iraqi nuclear scientists, drone strikes, panetta has been the one talking publicly and extensively about plaintiff these things that had been kept very, very quiet. you have to think it might be driving petraeus a bit nuts, so we'll see what he has to say at this hearing later this morning, kyra. >> point well made. ba barbara, thanks so much.

this video posted online reportedly shows armed rebels in street battles with syrian troops, antigovernment protesters being shot and killed. syrian regime has banned reporters from this conflict. so much of what we see comes from home video like this posted on youtube. so many images are fascinating. this video claims to show two civilians hanging the independence flag over a highway in damascus. it's unfurled near the party headquarters of embattled president assad. then there's this funeral procession, a reminder of the huchbs of people reportedly killed in recent days. now back to the u.n. and this possible call for asaid to step down. worried about a civil war in syria. zain verjee has been following it for us. >> the deputy russian prime

minister had said, you do this over at the u.n., and russia -- excuse me -- syria will be on a course to civil war. a lot of people are wondering why is russia being an obstacle here. it has a lot of historic, strategic and xhirchl trade ties with the syrians, so they don't want to see anything go south. take a look at this headline -- russia's syrian power play. in the end russia's bold declarations and actions are cold calculations meant to revive its position as a dplobl super power. backing the asaid regime is based on pure power politics. "gulf news" focusing on russia, too. it says russia still believes it can democrat advertiize the gov

from within. putin was to make sure neither the turks nor the americas have a real say in on you syria develops. and "the washington post" has been this, it says, as long as it has the diplomatic and material support, the asaid regime is more likely to hold tole. it's why the obama administration should place russian cooperation on syria at the top of the bilateral agenda with moscow. the syrian regime of bashar al assad has been clear about the path it will take. he is determined to hold on, and as we can see from the video that's coming out today, even though cnn can't independently confirm it, it seems as though they're getting tougher and more brutal in the crackdowns. >> we'll pay close attention to

the story. charlie crist talks florida 2012. we've got the former governor talking about his state why campaigning has turned so nasty and of course his predictions for november. we'll talk to him right after the break. -i love this card. -with the bankamericard cash rewards credit card, we earn more cash back for the things we buy most. it's 1% cash back everywhere, every time. 2% on groceries. 3% on gas. automatically. no hoops to jump through. that's 1% cash back on oscar. ...tony. oscar! 2% back on whatever she'll eat. 3% back on filling up this baby. [ male announcer ] now get 1-2-3 percent cash back. it's that simple. [ male announcer ] apply online or at a bank of america near you. we're talking 3% back on gas.

or at a bank of america near you. mathis team of guinea pigs to ty boanso to save some y, d 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. ♪ [ male announcer ] no one just hands you the title, most advanced technology in its class. it needs to be earned. earned with smartbeam head lamps. earned with vented temperature control seats. earned with an 8.4-inch touch screen. and if you're driving one, you know what it means to earn something. ♪

8% every 10 years.age 40, we can start losing muscle -- wow. wow. but you can help fight muscle loss with exercise and ensure muscle health. i've got revigor. what's revigor? it's the amino acid metabolite, hmb to help rebuild muscle and strength naturally lost over time. [ female announcer ] ensure muscle health has revigor and protein to help protect, preserve, and promote muscle health. keeps you from getting soft. [ major nutrition ] ensure. nutrition in charge! have more fiber than other leading brands. they're the better way to enjoy your fiber. charlie crist knows florida. the former governor and former

rep has spent his entire political life serving the sunshine state. his name is so familiar that newt gingrich has been flinging it around as an insult. at governor of mountains mishe was pro-abortion, pro-gay rights, pro-tax increase and pro-gun control. that makes him a moderate in massachusetts, but pretty liberal here in a primary. >> charlie crist joining mess li live. point-blank, are you insulted or is that a compliment? >> i don't take it either way to be honest with you. during the heat of campaigns. if they use to work on campaigns of mine. >> this is a great place to see

and you can either why anyone would want to -- including you. >> you knew i wanted to be in there the beautiful sunshine state. >> it is a beautiful day. >> you threw your weight behind john mccain in 2008. why are you sitting on the sidelines? why not endorse someone? >> well, particularly in a primary, i'm not a republican, as you indicated. i'm an independent. so i'm an observer, a concerned floridian, and a patriotic american. i'm watching this election and this campaign very closely. i care deeply about my state and my country. i'm hopeful we can get on a more positive tone, as you have indicated and many reported, it's been a pretty nasty primary. tens of millions spent on about 92% negative advertising. and i think what we need to do is have a more positive tone, talk about what each of the

candidates want to do for the people if they have the honor of serving as the next president of the united states or continuing to serve, in president obama's case. i'm hopeful that will occur. it will be nice once this primary is over at 7:00 tonight in florida. i look forward to a more positive race going into the fall election. >> let's talk about the fact that florida has broadband a bloodbath of negative campaigning. marco rubio went after gingrich for the negativity. is this damaging the candidates? >> i don't think it it could helpful. if you people people's positives and negatives, the negatives are up for both. sow if you're a republican, you have to be concerned. and if you're president obama's team, you have to be pretty miami about it. although some make the argument that have been this primary race kin to go on, gives republican votes to continue to spread what

message they want to get out there in free advertising, if you will, visa the recording that's taking place. on the other hand it seems it's gotten to such a level of negativity it has to be having a significant detrimental impact on the republican candidates and whoever the nominee might end up being. >> let me ask you this you've got the establish wing versus new wave like sarah palin, do you think this divide is dangerous to the party? think about when you hugged oba obama, you embraced his stimulus plan, you know, you were out of the game. so is striving for unity political suicide nowadays? >> well, maybe it is. certainly it seems to be in the republican party where the word "compromise" has almost become a dirty word. i think it's important as we move forward that we realize we're all in this together.

it's important that we work together in order to improve the state of the economy, the outsing situation we're dealing with and other states. if we don't work together to make better progress in the future it's going to be a tough slog for our country. the more negative we are, the more different that's going to be. my message would be we've got to unite, be able to do hon compromise in order to do what's right for all americans. >> so what do you see on the ballot in november? >> president obama certainly will be on the ballot. tonight will tell us a lot about who i think the republican nominee will be, even though if as predicted governor romney comes out the victor tonight, i don't think it's over. i think some of the states that speaker gingrich could do well in. in super tuesday, more of the southern states he would probably have a better tune, and

he's vowed to take it all the way back to tampa for the convention. >> would you consider voting for obama? >> i would consider that, of course, i would. i'm interested in watching the campaign as it unfolds, as most americans are. there has been a tough time for the president to govern. but we're starting to see some positive signs going forward. that's very important. before i let you go. would you consider running again as a democrat? >> i'm enjoying the private sector. i'm working with a great law firm here, it's a lot of fun. i get to spend more time with my beautiful life carol. life is pretty good for charlie crist right now. >> charlie crist, thanks for your time this morning. >> you're welcome. thank you, kyra. tonight full coverage. we kick it off at 6:00 eastern with a special edition of "judge kin, usa." covered with live coverage at 7:00.

so where is the biggest payout? a new report says it's a matter of degrees. we've got that story right after the break.

who gets paid more? government employees? or private sector workers? you might be surprised. felicia taylor at the new york stock exchange. >> yeah, you might be surprised. doping on education level, federal workers may be making more in salary and benefits than their private sector counterparts. the congressional budget office found federal workers with just

a hiss did i ploma, their benefits are worst 72% more. college grads do have the ben -- it's only the ph.d.s who do better in the private sector. the cbo estimates 16% more in salary and benefits than it would have for a comparable workforce in the private sector. however, the president of the largest independent union of federal employees disputes the findings saying they make 26% less than the private sector. it's also worth noting that federal paychecks have been frozen since 2010. i realize i've just confused everybody, because on the one hand we're saying they make more, on the other hand they have the opposite side. so there you are. kyra? >> we're all leaving confused. is that the deal? thanks, felicia. >> great, right? >> intoic for more. newt gingrich hints he might

throw in the towel in two upcoming contests. what does our political buzz panel think about that? they weigh in, next. forty years ago, he wasn't looking for financial advice. 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.

this was the gulf's best tourism season in years. all because so many people wanted to visit us... in louisiana. they came to see us in florida... nice try, they came to hang out with us in alabama... once folks heard mississippi had the welcome sign out, they couldn't wait to get here. this year was great but next year's gonna be even better.

and anyone who knows the gulf knows that winter is primetime fun time. the sun's out and the water's beautiful. you can go deep sea fishing for amberjack, grouper and mackerel. our golf courses are open. our bed and breakfast have special rates. and migrating waterfowl from all over make this a bird watcher's paradise. so if you missed it earlier this year, come on down. if you've already been here come on back... to mississippi... florida... louisiana... alabama. the gulf's america's get-a-way spot no matter where you go. so come on down and help make 2012 an even better year for tourism on the gulf. brought to you by bp and all of us who call the gulf home.

checking top stories, the u.n. security council is considering a call for syrian standpoint bashar al assad to step down. it's for reasons shown in this home video posted online showing rebels in street fights with syrian forces. syrian forces allegedly targeting and killing any government protesters. suspected u.s. drone strikes kill at least nine people in southern yemen. security officials say those killed had link toss al qaeda. and jessica buchanan is heading home after being freed by u.s. special forces in somalia. buchanan and her danish co-workers had been held there

for three months for last week's rescue by navy s.e.a.l.s. sgloots all right. political buzz. three questions, 30 seconds on the clock, and robert zimmerman, founder and editor of citizen jane politics, patricia murphy and chris mets her. first question, newt gingrich trailing mitt romney as florida votes today. the gingrich camp strongly suggesting it will cede michigan and nevada to romney. is this a sign the campaign is starting to crumble? >> absolutely not. it actually is a sign that what newt is doing at this point is doing what he can, which is the best strategic move possible. he realizes he's not going to win michigan. he realizes he as not going to win nevada, so why spend the resources there? last time around romney won those states, so newt's conserve is his resources for the

southern swing. that makes sense. there's no sign that the campaign is crumbling. as a matter of fact i think the opposite is true. they are looking at strategy, and this is the best possible strategy. >> robert? >> well, real test of whether the gingrich campaign is crumbling or not will be revealed tonight when we look at how he polls in northern a florida, in the panel handle region. that would be reflective of how he can do with his super tuesday southern state strategy. bottom line is he's got to keep his money alive through a very tough february and keep his message alive without the megaphone of a debate process. ultimately i don't think he's on his way to the nomination, about you with scara palin accusing his opponents of stalinist tactics, he earn can give the republicans a lot to worry about. >> patricia? >> i don't think it's a sign that gingrich is crumbling, i don't think he's going anywhere, but also a very clear sign heic

compete toe to toe with mitt romney. newt gingrich doesn't have the money, the staff, the infrastructure, and skipping states has never been a strategy to actually win the nomination, but newt gingrich believes and there's a lot of polls to back this up, that most republicans don't like him. he wants to somehow find a way to wiggle in and swipe it away from mitt romney. i don't know how he can do it without the money to compete in every state, but he'll try. stephen colbert, his super pac has raised more man a million bucks. what do you think? could he shape this race? robert? >> is they are the mark twain or mark saul for those comic historians. they both truly are, and we're dealing with a campaign financing process that makes watergate look like a warm-up. hopefully they can get both parties to step up and deal with

real reforms. president obama could do so did i endorsing chuck schumer's constitutional amendment. >> i do think it's a matter of education. look, the issue is around the super pacs, but when we talk about super pacs, i am always amazed in that conversation is not about the kind of money and influence that unions have, because in fact if you're going to have the super pac conversation, you also have to have the conversation being unions and how much money they can put forth in this process. it is a poisonous process. even though the supreme court has said that it is so-called speech, it still is poisoning the process. he can raise the level of awareness. >> i don't think colbert will have a big effect on the campaign. the people he's talking to really are people who are already checked out, annoyed, frustrated, a huge audience, as we all know. i hope he can at least shame the

other campaigns into behaving less badly. if he can do that, i think he has performed a public service. >> i'm still thinking about stephen colbert and mark twain. >> mark my words. >> okay. censorship, let's get to the buzzer beater remember the gingrich ad attacking romney for putting the family pet on top his car while going on that family trip a few years ago? take a listen. >> this is a completely airtight kennel mounted on the top of our car. he climbed up there regularly, enjoyed himself. we love the dog. finches guess what? the obama camp of course taking a swipe. david axelrod tweeting this picture with the words "how loving owners transport their dogs." all right. guys, how much of an impact will that have on the race for the

presidency? >> it will have a huge impact on animal lovers, a bigger impact on people who think that mitt romney might be missing the normal person gene, like who does that to their dog? and who does that it had a great time? it's not normal. it reinforces the concerns. >> robert? >> you know, political consultants and pun debts on both sides, my party and the republican parties think they're going so clever with these types of moments. ultimately they only impress each other. i think it's a hard sell to say that mitt romney doesn't still love his pet, and i think pet owners have many issues to confront, but saying either side is antipet owner is really kind of foolish. >> chris? who wrote this question? patricia murphy? >> oh. >> yes, i did, i did a minute ago. >> we are not influenced, not partisan here in our question development. [ laughter ]

>> no, i don't think it will have an impact. it's just kind of a silly question. who gets the pet lovers' vote? i don't know. i'll vote for bo. >> patricia since you apparently wrote the question -- doesn't president obama have a foible possibly page for pet lovers? >> yes, he does. you don't have to be a democrat to think that. >> take that, buddy, take that to your classroom. >> i'll tell you where to deposit my check later. >> big bucks, baby, big bucks. join the team tonight, our coverage stashes at 6:00 eastern with a special edition of "john king usa." new records about julian assange. they say he's now a cartoon. a.j. hammer has the details.

♪ ( whirring and crackling sounds ) man: assembly lines that fix themselves. the most innovative companies are doing things they never could before, by building on the cisco intelligent network. that's going to have to be done by a certain date. you always have homework, okay? i don't have homework today. it's what's right here is what is most important to me. it's beautiful.

♪ ♪

owner of wick i leaks julian asang will reportingly guest start on "the simpsons."

but is still under house arrest. who leaked this information? >> this is coming right from the source. fox did confirm to "showbiz tonight" that he'll be guest starring, for the 500th episode, playing himself. the episode is scheduled to air february 19th and it's being reported that the creator of "the simpsons" ahead that julian was interested in guest starr g starring. a i love this story line. the town of springfield is holding a secret meeting to kick the simpsons out of town, and it's not until marge and homer find out this bit of information that they stumble upon assange and the high jinks surely will ensue. elton john offering up some

pretty snarky advice. let me play for you what elton had to say on "good morning america." what would your advice be? >> make sure you lip sink good. >> as simp as that. elton and ma downa have gone back and forth for years now. it's been back on recently when both of them were up for a golden globe award. madonna won that award, but the speculation is this current feud actually began with lady gaga. let me connect the dots. madonna called lady gaga's music reductive. to be fair, she's not the only one, but elton john is very close to laidia gaga's. so people think that's what's behind his snarky comments at the golden globes, kyra. whatever the case she's claimed

in the past she doesn't lip sync. that super bowl gig is tough. all eyes will be on those lips. >> we'll be watching. thanks, a.j. all information that you want, breaking in the entertainment world, a.j. has got it, 11:00 eastern on hln. one student's story, but it speaks for thousands of illegal immigrants living in this country in fear. >> you're messing with people's lives. do you even have a heart? >> coming up, her message for republican candidates. ve tomorr. for more than 116 years, ameriprise financial has worked for their clients' futures. helping millions of americans retire on their terms. when they want. where they want. doing what they want. ameriprise. the strength of a leader in retirement planning. the heart of 10,000 advisors working with you one-to-one. together for your future.

♪ your doctor will say get smart about your weight. that's why there's new glucerna hunger smart shakes. they have carb steady, with carbs that digest slowly to help minimize blood sugar spikes. [ male announcer ] new glucerna hunger smart. a smart way to help manage hunger and diabetes.

at liberty mutual, we know how much you count on your car, and how much the people in your life count on you. that's why we offer accident forgiveness, where your price won't increase due to your first accident. we also offer a hassle-free lifetime repair guarantee, where the repairs made on your car are guaranteed for life, or they're on us. these are just two of the valuable features you can expect from liberty mutual. plus, when you insure both your home and car with us, it could save you time and money. at liberty mutual, we help you move on with your life, so get the insurance responsible drivers like you deserve. call us at... or visit your local liberty mutual office, where an agent can help you find

the policy that's right for you. liberty mutual insurance, responsibility -- what's your policy? the dream act would provide a path to citizenship, but mitt romney and newt gingrich have taken a tough stance on this issue, which directly impacts thousands of people, including a lot in florida. brooke baldwin has one student's story for you this morning. brooke? >> kyra, you talk to a lot of latino voters here in florida, and a big lit mum test is the dream act. i spent my entire evening with a 21-year-old young woman, she's a student here in florida, and she's here illegally. she did something not a lot of youngsters would do in her shoes. she sat with me in front of the

camera to tell her story. >> once in a while we fall into a deep sense of hopelessness. >> she appearing to be a typical college kid. spanish biology double major, aspiring lawyer, classic at singer for fun. this 20 years old is one traffic ticket away from being deported. >> at any moment i can be sent back to a country i don't even remember, simple things like driving to school or going to get groceries. those are very stressful situations. >> hidalgo doesn't have a driver's license, because she's here illegally. she says her parents brought her from costa rica when she was just 6 months add on a tourist advisa that expired years ago. >> reporter: her frustration toward her parents has slowly turned into gratitude.

>> the old i i get, the more grateful i am for the sacrifice they made, because i know, regardless of my legal status, i wouldn't -- i know i have accomplished so much here, because they brought me here. >> myra calls herself a dreamer, one spoke supports the dream act, proposed legislation that would give undocumented people a pathway to citizenship if they meet certain requirements like attend a four-year college or serve years in the military. >> >> i felt like my role was to go to school, work hard and have a career. that's what i want to do, but it's so difficult when you don't have a legal status. >> reporter: a bill has yet to make it through congress. president obama supports the idea and candidates mitt romney and newt gingrich support it,

sort of. >> if you live in a foreign country and prepared to join the military, you can earn the right to citizenship by serving the united states and taking real risk on behalf of the united states. >> that's the same position that i have. >> reporter: hidalgo disagrees. >> i feel like there's other ways to serve this country. being a doctor, being an attorney, those are just as important ways to serve our country just like the military. >> reporter: she wasn't the candidates to know this. >> you're messing with people's lives. do you even have a heart? do you understand these aren't just those illegals, we're humans, we're people here. >> reporter: just showing her face on camera makes her vulnerable. are you scared at all to be sitting here next to me? >> i feel like it's far more important to put a face to the

issue. if living in fear is what i have to do, i'm okay with that. >> my ra is one of four siblingses here in the u.s. the youngest was born here, so she's here legally. the other two married into legal citizenship. myra said she doesn't want to rely on a mate to become americans, she wants to rely on studies and schooling, so she has her fingers crossed whoever becomes president can ultimately help pass and sign the dream act. >> brooke, thanks. next, if you ever wanted to see an asteroid, well tonight rob marciano is here to tell us about it. no problem. you want to save money on rv insurance? no problem. you want to save money on motorcycle insurance? no problem. you want to find a place to park all these things?

fuggedaboud it. this is new york. hey little guy, wake up! aw, come off it mate! geico. saving people money on more than just car insurance. delicious gourmet gravy. and she agrees. with fancy feast gravy lovers, your cat can enjoy the delicious, satisfying taste of gourmet gravy every day. fancy feast. the best ingredient is love.

if you have a clear sky tonight, you might get a clamps of 3433 eros, the love asteroid is what we have named it, right, rob? >> right. and not because it's not shaped like a heart. it's more shaped like mr. potato head. >> greek mythology. >> it was they game it after the greek god of love. it kind of tumbles five or six times a day. it's pretty big. about 20 miles by 8 miles, so this is the second largest asteroid. this is the closest approach since 1975. it was discovered back in 1898. it stakes a couple years to

orbit the sun. and there it is -- >> time to go back to grade school. >> more than once. >> you'll need a telescope. it will be going through leo, and tonight will be the brightest you'll have a chance to see the asteroid of love. kyra, back over to you. >> thank you, rob. if your doctor is overweight, would you be quick to take his or her advice? it turns out you probably won't face that dilemma. a new study by johns hobble kin researchers shows that doctors are less likely to talk about weight problems if they're also on the heavy side. the study found only 7% of their doctors would tell them to lose weight. and it's going to take more than doctors to get overweight americans to drop extra pounds, but do ads designed to scare

people actually work? check out this one. by the new york city health department. it and type 2 diabetes. the ad has come under fire, because it's a touched-up photo. the actor, by the way, is not an amputee. it's the talk-back question next hour. okay, team! after age 40, we can start losing muscle --

8% every 10 years. wow. wow. but you can help fight muscle loss with exercise and ensure muscle health. i've got revigor. what's revigor? it's the amino acid metabolite, hmb to help rebuild muscle and strength naturally lost over time. [ female announcer ] ensure muscle health has revigor and protein to help protect, preserve, and promote muscle health. keeps you from getting soft. [ major nutrition ] ensure. nutrition in charge!

florida voters biff mitt romney a big lead on his leading rival. paul stein hausers crunches the numbers for us in tampa. that's a lot of numbers to crunch. >> you got it, kyra.

polls have been open since -- here's the story. even before today, 632,000 people, at least that, have already voted, absentee ballots, early voting. this is a lot of people, guess what? maybe romney has the advantage among them people. this is from american research group. it came out just this morning. about a third of the people they surveyed said they already voted, and romney with a 51%-29% advantage. moss those voting today about two thirds of the people, much, much closer, so romney definitely it seem getting a bump. kyra, you turn on the tough here, and this is what you hear. >> romney advisers helped -- >> so far newt gingrich has admitted his mistakes on flipped on -- >> just