>> old mill -- >> that's what we call going to -- they say that was intentional. in case you're wondering why it only aired in nebraska, we reached out to the co-owners and they tell cnn the ads are extremely popular, which shows you don't need to spend millions of dollars to make a big impression. the first beer i ever had. erin burnett "outfront" starts erin burnett "outfront" starts right now. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com "outfront" tonight, massacres in syria, riots and arrests of americans in egypt and america getting tougher on iran. the growing threat to america in the middle east tonight. and the husband of a missing woman blows himself up along with his children. family members "outfront" tonight. and the president defending the use of super pac money. his reasons is "outfront" now.

good evening. i'm erin burnett. and "outfront" tonight, the middle east on the verge. countries across the region from iran to libya on high alert reacting to the highest tension there in decades and all eyes are on the united states. what will america do? the big story tonight is a massacre in syria. the death toll mounting as the government cracks down on protesters, demanding al assad step down. 74 people died today, many in the western city of homs. >> we're not animals. we're human beings. we're asking for help. asking for your help. they're going to kill us all. no one will find out about us. >> right now, the united states has been withdrawing, shutting down its embassy today. a source who has spent a lot of time with al l assad says the situation is deteriorating to a

blood bath and saying america's military may need to step in. meanwhile, the regime hoping turmoil in other part of the renal will buy it time. that is in syrian ally and iran. the united states slapped more sanctions on iran today freezing all assets in iranian banks in the united states. a former cia agent and member of the revolutionary guard spoke to "outfront" today and said that iran has about 1,000 ballistic missiles and that china is now selling iran ballistic technology, which will ebb able iran for the first time to strike america directly from tehran. now, that is not close to happening at this time, but the point is, a few reports that they are aiming aggressively to accomplish it and tonight, there are reports that iran is move ing more of its enrichment activity underground in anticipation of possible air strikes. now, president obama's rhetoric

got a little heavier. last night, he told matt lauer he would do whatever it takes to stop iran. >> i've been very clear that we're going to do everything we can to prevent iran from creating a nuclear weapon and creating an arms race. i don't think israel has made a decision on what they need to do. >> as the iran situation escalates, at least rhetorically, there is a point coming where america will have serious decisions to make. there are also serious questions about an arab ally that america always expected to be on its side. 19 americans facing prosecution on charges of illegal foreign funding as part of an ongoing crackdown on nongovernmental organizations in cairo. we're going to show you some undercover video of a raid on an ngo. that's what you're looking at here. egypt knows this isn't going under the radar because one of

the defendants of the 19 is the son of ray lahood. and then there's libya, where america spent more than a billion dollars getting rid of moammar gadhafi. right now, lawlessness still rules, rebels are looting and destroying homes. the interim government is trying to take control. the son of the dead dictator within weeks. the bottom line clear. america faces major choices in the middle east. now, i've reported from all these countries, but syria, truly this is an incredible moment we face. in an election year, rhetoric can get more heated. jamie reuben, great to have you with us. so, let me just start off by asking all these situations obviously are i guess worse is a fair word to use in an election year, but let's talk about iran specifically. what is happening here in your view? is this going to be something

where you see some sort of strike? >> i think what's happening is what i would call the psychological warfare phase. we've known sanctions have a limbed chance of convincing iran to stop its nuclear program. the israelis are increasingly worried that iran is getting to a point of no return. to the point -- could stop iran from developing a nuclear weapon, so the psychological warfare is the message being delivered to the united states, to journalists and throughout the world that israel is getting close to a decision to use force. this is a kind of psychological warfare. the the iranian doing the same thing. >> right. >> threatening to close down the straits of hormuz. so that's the phase we're in and the reason is because we're no closer despite some significant efforts by the administration to solving the problem. iran is no closer to being willing to give up its nuclear program. >> and as the president said

last night, it wasn't just his usual witches. i want a diplomatic solution, but all options are on the table. yes, he said that, but he also said in a forceful tone, there was a tone, he put real emphasis on that tone. the united states will not allow iran to get a nuclear weapon. i know some say that may not be possible to do unless you go to a full on war. >> well, i think the president used different forms of language last night than he's used in the past about using all means in the united states arsenal, but i don't think he really intended for my impression to ratchet up the rhetoric towards the use of force. on the contrary, i think the real message was that the israelis haven't decided to do so and my understanding is that behind the scenes, the u.s. is very, very, very worried that israel may choose to act and i find it very, very difficult to believe that president obama after making such big claims for

his ending wars in iraq, ending a war in afghanistan, would want to launch what would make those wars really rather small potatoes. a u.s.-iranian war has a real regionwide consequences and potentially real dangers for the united states. >> bob bear joins us now, and bob, let me get your sense on how this iranian situation goes from here. what sorts of undercover activities are going on there right now? and do you believe that the united states has a close to perfect sense of exactly where iran is on these icbms and on its nuclear program? >> there's a couple of things. iran is still aways from making a bomb. could be a year, could be two years, but it doesn't have the knowledge right now. it doesn't have enough enriched uranium. how fast they move and if they've set a date, we don't

know. the intelligence is not that good. the israelis think the worst. we've got a certain space here and we have to make it now before they move this entire thing under ground and we're completely blind. >> what about the role of china here? it's sort of incredible to me. china is a largest foreign owner of american debt. there's only so much some think we can do to get them on board. every report that you see and we were just talking about a former revolutionary guard official saying that it is china right now showing iran how to use and improve its missile technology. >> oh, i think absolutely the chinese see a vacuum in the northea middle east. we've left iraq. we're leaving afghanistan. it's a fluid situation. all across the middle east and the chinese are going to step in and see what they can get. they need oil and will need it

for a long time. if we've left the middle east, they're going to fill that space. no question about it. and i think they're perfectly capable of helping the iranian set up air defense network and they have been sending missile parts and thai not going to go along with the sanctions. i think one way or the other, they're going to buy the oil. of course, moscow doesn't want -- likes the tension in the middle east because -- >> right. >> it boosts the price of oil. >> and that helps their biggest export. >> let me ask you one question. this is a country america has counted on. they've got these 19 americans. one the son of the american transportation secretary. >> it's clear we are having a tough time in the middle east in general. i think it is puzzling to me that the egyptians haven't realized the extreme danger they're putting their relationship with the united

states. congress holds the ability to change policy on aid to egypt. the institutes that are issue here, the so-called national democratic institute, these are the people being investigated. they are directly tied to the leads of congress, so there's almost nothing the egyptians could do that would more stoke the anger and frustration of american legislatures and if this isn't revolved quickly, there's going to be a real cutback of aid to egypt and a real change in the relationship. >> before we go, what will -- will we have some sort of resolution on the iranian issue this spring? obviously, i use resolution with quotes because i know there's a short-term and long-term re resoluti resolution, but will there be one? >> i don't think so. there's so much tension in the middle east. syria and lebanon are on the

verge of a civil war. iraq is still not settled. i just don't see some sort of grand bargain with iran and i think we really risk an escalation. some unintended, but an escalation. >> thank you very much. a warning to both sides and jamie reuben, always good to see you. we're talking about syria. the man who said it could be a blood bath and the next bosnia and that america could be involved is going to be our guest in a few moments. up next, the three things you did not know about tomorrow's gop contest. candidates and drag. not drag races are part of it. and pundits are calling some bowl ads political. but they're completing missing the point and a snowstorm crushing europe. to supply affordable, cleaner energy, while protecting our environment. across america, these technologies protect air - by monitoring air quality and reducing emissions... ...protect water - through conservation

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so, in colorado today, mitt romney was feeling some heat. from rick santorum. here's what his campaign released this morning, quote, we need a president who's been strong and proving fiscal matters and had rick santorum voting numerous times to raise the d debt ceiling, so he has

blood pressure part of the spending in congress. okay. here is your chance -- >> governor romney is simply dead wrong on the most important issue of the day. and should not be the nominee of our party. >> but you see it. the battle between rick santorum and mitt romney appears to be the battle there. colorado one of three states voting tomorrow. minnesota and missouri or missouri as some say it, are headed to the polls. some interesting insight to share. so let us start with minnesota. land of garrisen keilar. >> some things you might not know. first, mitt could lose minnesota. polls showing this is neck and neck, it's the tight fight, rick santorum spending a lot of time there. while mitt romney's been largely

in colorado. the santorum camp's chief strategist told us there have been a lot of polls showing a competitive race. romney romney seems to be taking those seriously. that's why he's ramped up his attack machine. keep an eye on this could be a real photo finish. the big lead is in florida. that could stop tomorrow in minnesota. >> which do you want to do next? colorado or missouri. >> let's take a look at colorado. we're going to wait. this is a fascinating fight for the far right. rick santorum's trying to knock newt out. he's got some money in the back and has been running attack ads against newt gingrich. some pretty tough stuff. >> who are r these three cap and trade loving bailout supporting soft on immigration big government mandating politicians? now you know. >> ouch. comparing -- comparing newt to

nancy pelosi and president obama. >> nastiest campaign. >> he's using his cash to try to draw that strong contrast and show that rick santorum is the real alternative to mitt romney. that's what a lot of these fights are object tomorrow night and the month of february. >> all right. there's one state tomorrow that i don't know really what's going on in this state. state is voting and in a few weeks, it's voting again. that would be missouri. >> missouri. and look, i hate to break it to our friends in the show me state, missouri doesn't matter tomorrow night. no delegates are being awarded and it's being called a beauty contest. to give people time to soak in that graphic. there are no delegates being awarded. >> this is a drag, not the drag races. >> yes. and newt gingrich not even on the ballot. in fact, the real contest in missouri has been kicked to march 17th. st. patrick's day. >> he might be grateful because

his picture and face didn't just get put on a -- tiara ball gown lady. >> the big secret about tomorrow in missouri contest, it does not matter. there are no delegates being given. the real fight's going to be march 17th. it could matter in terms of media. >> let's bring in david frum. i don't know, could you both see who looked best in their dress? >> i was averting my eyes. >> i want to know who won the talent and congeniality contest. >> you're lucky we didn't do the swim suit edition. we had a conversation. couldn't decide who to put in a bathing suit, so decided to go equal opportunity. >> we know ron paul would call for world peace though. >> ramesh, what do you make of tomorrow? streenlgically, it seems smart.

go after newt. try to knock out the guys like you, then go for the front-runner, mitt romney. do you think he can succeed? >> i think so. the polls have been showing santorum seems to be enjoying a surge. in a certain pool, you have to wonderf wonder whether there's that much value in winning the right to get beaten one-on-one. by mitt romney. but i think the more interesting question is going to be does romney start consolidating some support among voter groups in the gop that have been suspicion of him. >> david, you saw that on saturday night, nevada, mitt romney won every category and even when you take out the big benefit he got, he still won in every category. very conservative tea party areas where he had struggled against newt gingrich and rick santorum in earlier states. >> yes, but i'm not sure how much of an acomp lishment it is.

one of my favorite political stories is told by karen hughes. she describes walking along the beach and seeing one of those advertising fliers thabs jill come back, i am miserable without you, jack. too much about you, not enough about her. republicans in these primaries are talking to themselves. they're denying realities of climate. they are focused on social issues. and the problem is that mitt romney's going to come out of these caucuses in danger of wearing the things that he was there. as you put out a second ago, does mitt romney want to be running as guy posed to raising the debt ceiling? >> to be honest, when you look at this issue objectively, it's a ridiculous thing for him to say. so, yeah. interesting point. >> but this is what happens when you pander in the primaries. the long contest the democrats had in 2008 was about who could appeal to voters in the center

of the spectrum. and minnesota, republican parties fault lines are between tim pawlenty and michele bachmann. so, this is really going to be an interesting fight. the caucus states, not necessarily the most representative way to select a president either. >> thanks very much to all of you. appreciate it. remember, barack obama voted against raising the debt ceiling. then became president and said yea. we're going to go to syria for a report from arwa damon and next, we take you to a number of places in america where they are ditching the dollar.

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77 years ago, the board game monopoly went on sale for the first time. we all grew up trying to accumulate monopoly money, park place and board walk. but these days, it's not just hasbro printing ul bills. 36. that's the number of local currencies being used in certain communities within the united states of america. yes, serious alternative t to the dollar. aly velshi, wow. this is pretty shocking. >> what it is, it's got more to do with communities trying to keep spending in the communities. there are these different

communities. one is the berkshire, the bay bucks in seattle, washington. they're meant to say spend in the neighborhood. only good with retailers who accept it. sometimes they trade at a discount. it's a neat concept and it's spreading into people saying well, at least i know what this is worth. >> is this a real alternative to the dollar? >> not on a grand scale. it is on a local scale. we went into brooklyn to talk to an artist trying to start something called the brooklyn torch. >> business owners are entrepreneurs and this speaks to an entrepreneurial spirit of trying something new, just trying, you know, experimenting. it's an idea that i think business owners respond so. hopefully, it does stimulate the local economy by getting people to come out to their local shops where the money is available to trade with.

>> so, that's how it works. they sign up local businesses who say, yeah, i'll take the local currency, whatever it is. they do it because they know people will spend it in the neighborhood. >> so, this is not something that -- >> i don't think it -- it doesn't spell the doom of the dollar. it's legal. we use all sorts of different ways of paying for things. there are some states giving thought to whether they have a statewide currency. there seems to be overlap between people who think there should be statewide currencies and those who think the fed is a big conspiracy. it works in tourist areas, in local communities. keeps business at home. don't know that it goes much bigger. >> well, thank you very much. i remember in college late one saturday night, one of my suite mates using saltines to pay for pizza. >> it exists. it's an interesting idea. >> i think she ended up paying in cash the next day.

thank you very much. still "outfront," the "outfront 5." syria under siege. deadly turn. >> all three bodies were found together in the middle of the house. >> all this "outfront" in our second half. they've been committed to putting clients first. helping generations through tough times. good times. never taking a bailout. there when you need them. helping millions of americans over the centuries. the strength of a global financial leader. the heart of a one-to-one relationship. together for your future. ♪ are you still sleeping?e. just wanted to check and make sure that we were on schedule.

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show with stories we care about, where we focus on our reports, do the work and find the "outfront 5" and tonight, syria. the death toll mounting. latest numbers from the government crackdown on protesters, right now, about 74. a source who has pent a lot of time with al assad tells us the situation is deteriorating to a blood bath. he says america's military may step in. also new reports that iran is moving more of its enrichment activity deep inside the ground in anticipation of a u.s. or israeli air strike. number two. a los angeles elementary school at the center of two child abuse cases will be closed temporarily. it will be closed through wednesday to quote take a break. a school official told "outfront" a quarter of the students were absent tonight. last week, a teacher was

arrested after police say they discovered he took bondage photos of more than two dozen children. and on friday, a fellow teacher was arrested for allegedly fondling two young girls. number three, the death toll is rising from an unrelenting winter storm battering europe. the ukraine appears to be the hardest hit. more than 120 deaths from temperatures below ten degrees and likely to stay for the rest of the week. dozens dead in russia, romania and pole land. the world's busiest airport is back open after canceling half its flights on sunday. affected 20,000 passengers. some i know just flew into heathrow this afternoon and say the airport is operating normal. netflix will have competition. verizon and red box, it's a dvd kiosk company. sometimes you see it at walmart.

they announced they are launching a subscription streaming service this year. they're being vague about the details, but we looked at the numbers. it's a rapidly growing service that's been dominated by netflix. netflix says it can add 2 million more in the next few months. it has been 185 days since america lost its top credit rating. what are we going to get it back? we may be spending more on the military because violence in syria is reaching a breaking point. human rights groups report at least 74 civilians have been killed today. now, the u.s. state department announced it is pulling out all its remaining staff. a few moments ago, arwa damon joined me and i asked how bad the violence was today.

>> they say that no one has been spared the violence, especially in the flash point city of homs that has emerged as the epicenter of clashes. one of them was talking about how difficult it was for him to see this 4-year-old girl that he said had been wounded. another 6-year-old girl that also had an injury to her eye. yet another child that had his entire jaw blown off. the agony the parents are going through. they've been unable to protect their children and then of course there are the countless, countless deaths. activists are saying that the bombardment by the syrian government has been mercyless. >> and you talk about homs as the epicenter of the violence, but has it spread? in your judgment, at this point, is this a full fledged civil war?

is it a national or is it still in certain areas? >> it's very close to being a full fledged civil war. homs, it's the epicenter of the violence. the city where the free syrian army has grown to numbers. you see a lot of clashes happening up against the border with turkey and there has been in the last week, a lot of clashes taking place in the damascus suburbs because around a week ago, these areas, too, were no longer in government control. in fact, some of the clashes taking place just ten, 15 minutes drive away from the heart of the capital, so it seems that especially in the last few days, the government has been really trying to go into these areas where the free syrian army is managing to operate to a certain degree to crush it once and for all.

>> why did the u.s. decide to evacuate now? obviously, there's been a rocky relationship between the embassy and the government for a while and our ambassador had to leave because of rocks and security concerns a few months ago. so, why was it so bad this time they had to completely leave sf. >> the u.s. embassy's location in damascus, it's very vulnerable. there is no real solid security around it, so the americans have asked the syrian government to beef up security around its embassy. finally, the u.s. saying that because of security, it felt the need to have to shut down its operations at the stage. >> thank you very much. arwa damon from beirut tonight. he spent a lot of time with al assad and a lot of time with him. he's the author of lions den. good to see you, sir.

really appreciate it. i guess andrew, if i may, i want to start off with a comment you made. that you see real similarities between syria and what we saw in bosnia in the 1990s. >> we have areas of syria breaking outside of government control. now, the state is reasserting its control there in a game of whack a mole. where it hits the protestors very hard, but the army can't be everywhere at the same time and so then it has to withdraw and then the armed opposition coming up somewhere else. this is wearing down asaad's forces and is slowly putting the syrian conflict out of control and into the bloody insurgency we all feared would take place with lack of international action. >> so, when you use the words, a blood bath, what is at risk of happening? >> they are trying to impose the

security solution and then with russian help, try and impose small chags in the country to reform and save the regime. so then ofblg of course, the syrian people aren't having any of it. they continue to remain in the streets for 11 months. this is going to drive up death tolls. you can have areas of the country falling outside and desperately trying to reassert control. >> how is this different from libya? you know, obviously, the president has said this is different and at at least at this point, we're not going to be militarily intervene iing th syria the way the u.s. did in libya. will the u.s. go into syria? >> if these areas of syria are out of government control and they're quote unquote liberated and the regime still continues to drive down, that could drive up death tolls so neighboring countries intervene. in bosnia, we had the idea of the safe havens.

it's into this humanitarian framework that the united states could participate, so it would be different from libya. in this particular case, i think any kind of intervention would be humanitarian an much needed. >> thank you very much. we appreciate you taking the time and everyone please tweet me if you have a point of view if you think the u.s. should intervene in syria. "outfront" next, the president defends his super pac and the husband of a missing woman blows himself up and his two sons. his sister-in-law says it could have been prevented. she's next. then the world changed... and the common sense of retirement planning became anything but common. fortunately, td ameritrade's investment consultants can help you build a plan that fits your life. take control by opening a new account or rolling over an old 401(k) today, and we'll throw in up to $600.

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suh pacs have raised 78 million so far. pro romney super pac with $30 million dollars raised. the super pac for president obama has raised $4.4 million. this is really chump change compared to what they're going to be raising ore the next few months. the president weighed in today on the large amount of money that's been raised for the super pacs. >> if you ask me would i love to take some of the big money out of politics? i would. unfortunately, right now, partly because of supreme court rulings and a bunch of decisions out there, it is very hard to be

able to get your message out without having some resources. >> meanwhile, a new abc "washington post" poll showed that while the country is split on whether president obama should get a second term, voters believe if the swren election were to be held today, the president would beat mitt romney and he would definitely beat mitt romney. "outfront" now political reporter ken vogel and jamal simons, also, doug high. great to have you with us. interesting news when you look at this, ken, about super pacs, right? i guess he's basically saying i don't like them, but since i can't change the rule, i might as well play. >> he's trying to have it both ways here. this is a president who going back to his earliest days in politics has made getting rid of the interests of the influence of big money in politics sort of a central part of his political

identity. in 2008, he and senator mccain combined to discourage outside spending. in 2010, he complained about it bitterly when karl rove raised a lot of money for these outside groups. after they beat them in the midterm elections, democrats started to back away and now, you see them actively trying to raise this exact same kind of money. >> i guess there's an irony to it. it wasn't long ago that mitt romney was having that same conversation. oh, i hate those super pacs, i believe on "morning joe." so now they're in the same position. jamal, what do you make of how the polls go, that the public is split on the second term, but right now for the first time in a while, the polls have been dead heat now would choose the president. >> this is what happens when you are an incumbent without a challenger in a primary. you have the ability to go out and communicate every day,

talkinging to voters, make sure they know what you can. while you have mitt romney who is battling newt gingrich to capture the hearts and minds of the conservatives. the more right leaning people in the party. so it makes sense that over time, the independents will begin to like a president more because he's been talking to the independents, mitt romney and newt gingrich have been talking to more conservative voters. but keep in mind, this is a poll of registered voters, not likely voters and those of us who do the stuff for a living tend to pay more attention to likely voters. either way, it's a good directional shift for the president. >> doug, what do you make of this? some said having a nasty primary might be good for romney. he'll get better at the debates and things and that will help him and maybe that's been the case, but certainly, he's had to appeal to narrow groups as david frum was talking about earlier in the show as opposed to trying to put out policy.

>> good in the long-term, but bad in the short-term. the abc poll is a national poll and where republicans take heart is drilling down in the states. if you look at swing states like florida, ohio, nevada, these are states where economic confidence is in the bottom ten. my home state of north carolina which barack obama barely won, unemployment's at 10%. voters are unhappy. it's another state we can pick off and in iowa when barack obama was president, about 110 thourk. as of the iowa caucus, that's down to 4,500. that's where we hope to see big success. >> how much money ken are we going to have when this is done? >> upwards of $10 billion spent on this election. when you factor in how these super pacs and other outside

groups are going to spend in the just in the prosecutesidential, the congressional races. we're going to see quite a bit of spending, record-shattering. >> you put a good graphic up that had the $4 million the president raised versus the 30 million for mitt romney's. there's that other pack out there that's karl rove's. although the president's doing very well in the democratic party and for himself. i think there's going -- that despairty is probably going to keep things even. while running a presidential campaign, there's so much free media. their message counts. who your candidate is counts. i think that will even things out for both sides. >> thanks very much to all three of you. and tonight, some material details in the case of josh powell. the man police say killed himself and two young sons when he blew up his home late

yesterday in washington state. police say it was the explosion -- the explosion was very carefully planned. >> we've discovered multip principle e-mails that he sent to his pastor, his cousins. utilities, what to do with his money. >> powell's wife, susan cox powell, was last seen two years ago in utah. he and his sons went on a camping trip. josh powell had long since been a su suspect. and last week, the judge rejected his petition to have his children returned to his care. susan cox powell's sister, denise cox is with us tonight. thank you for being with us in what obviously is a terrible time for you. no words and so sorry to hear about those boys. you said you thought -- you saw

this coming? you saw signs josh might do something. what did you see? >> the way the kids were acting, how they were being closer to us and shutting down on him and the way they were opening up to my family on what happened with their mom and the statements they were saying, and the way he was losing control. he had to get it back somehow. >> i know you're -- i thi think -- correct me if i am wrong, what you're referring to, the boy, when this happened, were 2 and 5, and now they were starting to remember certain things that might have happened that night he didn't want them to talk about? >> yeah. i think he -- i believe he felt they forgot what happened or they were too tired. he underestimated his children, which are very bright children. when they started getting

comfortable with our family, he got scared and figured he had nothing left to do. other than take -- take them. >> had they said anything to you, denise, or any else in your family about what they saw that night? >> they -- the boys nev never -- when i got a chance to see them, they didn't talk about their dad to me. he wasn't ever brought up in my conversations with them, it was more his mother, because i grew up with her and they wanted to know -- wanted me to tell stories about how she was and what she liked to do and her interest interests and just what kind of person their mother was because they were not allowed to talk about their mother or mention her name around their dad. >> what did your sister tell you about her relationship with

josh? i know you believe that he is guilty of telling her, right? >> oh, absolutely. she -- she was wanting to leave him and but she figure d if she stuck it out and they went to counseling, they would fix things. as much as i told her that it can't be fixed, it's past that point, and you need to move on, i offered to pick her up and come get her and just grab the boy, i'll come get you. when things were getting really bad, she said, no, she wanted to work it out. she was -- it was hard to talk to her about much of anything, though, because josh was always around and i had to try to call her when he wasn't around. >> denise, thank you very much for coming "out front." i'm so sorry for such a horribly tragic ending for those boys.

next, we will be talking about clint eastwood and american manufacturing. ♪

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this country can't be knocked out with one punch. we get right back up again and when we do, the world will hear the roar of our engines. it's halftime, america, our second half is about to begin. >> this ad with clint east woods

about detroit has a lot of people talking about a comeback in american manufacturing. there was this controversial ad from republican pete hoekstra running against democratic incumbent senator, debbie stab bin now. >> the economy gets very weak, we take your jobs. thank you debbie, spend it now. >> they're in hot water for faking that woman's accent. >> it got me think, what kinds of jobs do we want in america? our stan grant talked to workers at an apple contractor, in china, where they make ipads. this woman had never seen a finished ipad. >> i like it. >> you like it? >> yeah. >> she makes less than a dollar an hour assembling that ipad. the tough question for america is do we want those kinds of

jobs back? steve jobs famously told the president last year before he died that quote american manufacturing jobs are not coming back. in the case of apple, we looked into the numbers. there are 246 retail apple stores in america. they employ about 30,000 people. dubbed by apple as geniuses. while that pales in comparison to the estimated 1.2 million fox come employees who make products for apple and microsoft, the jobs pay a lot more. we thought it was time to throw some not well-known facts onto the table in this debate. one, we do make things in america, a lot of things. according to the u.s. federal reserve, 89% of american spending is on items made in the united states of america, a lot of that is on services, food and things like that. we make cars and washing mach e machines here, just ask g.e. imports account for only