position. i'm forced now to wish my wife a happy valentine's day, which i was going to do. i've been saving something special which is wishing you a happy valentine's day. saved the best for last which is my valentine's day wish to you. >> that's a whitney houston song. that's how we end our morning this morning. thank you, guys. appreciate it. appreciate it. let's send it to "cnn newsroom." -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com let me be the first to wish you on air happy valentine's day unlike my panelists who waited until the end. >> you guys are so sappy, but i love it. happy valentine's day to you too. bye, guys. it is the top of the hour. thanks so much for joining us this morning, everyone. whitney houston is now home. her body is in newark, new jersey this morning. that's where she came into the world. that's where the world will say good-bye probably friday as far as into the investigation of her death. details trickling in out of los angeles. don lemon is there. don, what are you hearing this

morning? >> reporter: good morning to you, kyra. the body of whitney houston flew back yesterday to new jersey. left the airport here in the los angeles area and is now back in new jersey. the latest is that the investigation, according to the beverly hills police department who came out yesterday and gave a press conference saying the investigation at the beverly hilton hotel is over and they're saying it is not a criminal investigation, it is a death investigation. they're saying that as far as they're concerned, it is in the hands of the l.a. county coroners. the coroner gave a press conference yesterday as well saying -- downplaying the prescription drugs that were found in the room and they're also saying that whitney houston died in the bathtub and by the time that they got there and by the time rescue workers got there she had been removed and they tried to revive her but they couldn't. and they're saying that whitney houston had been seen alive and well in the room an hour before a staff member found her in that bathtub, kyra. as for those nightclub pictures

that we have been seeing and hearing so much about. i went to that particular nightclub, true nightclub yesterday, and one of the managers of that club said they were filled to capacity. almost 400 people. it was very hot and to his knowledge and to the people who were with him, there was nothing out of the ordinary about whitney houston. as you see those pictures of her leaving, he's sayings just about everyone who was at that club left. it was hot. it was sweaty. people were clawing at her trying to get to her, trying to take pictures with her. he said to his knowledge nothing was out of the ordinary. that's the latest on the investigation now as we wait for the sun to come up and more information in los angeles to come out about the whitney houston case here. kyra? >> we'll keep checking in with you. don lemon in los angeles. thanks so much. as i mentioned at the top of the hour, houston's funeral likely will be friday in newark, possibly at the prudential center. the funeral home is handling the arrangements. it's the same one that handled her father's funeral in 2003. deborah faye rick is there. we'll check in with her at 9:30

eastern time. let's get you to syria now where cnn has managed to penetrate the government's been on foreign journalists. first, the latest on the regime's crackdown. take a listen to one city descend into a war zone. now if you listen closely, the camera is so close there you can actually hear the bullets ricochet off the buildings. that's the sound of government security forces sweeping through a neighborhood in dara, one of the several cities under siege right now. pro-democracy activists say civilians are too terrified to venture outdoors for food. arwa damon has been able to slip into syria and now able to report firsthand on what's going on. now for her own safety we are not disclosing her exact location. >> reporter: it's an incredibly

intense situation here. it's also incredibly emotional. anger is running at an all-time high as is frustration and desperation. people that we've been talking to, every single one of them has some sort of horrific nightmare story. some of them are still too afraid to publicly talk about it with their names attached to it. one man who we met, he had four members of his family executed as government forces, he said, were raiding his village. and he wanted to tell the story. he wanted to put out the images of loved ones but he was afraid because he said at the same time his uncle had been detained. a lot of the younger generation we're talking to, university students, they've all had to drop out. people repeatedly keep expressing how difficult it is for them to try to keep going because they are quite simply exhausted. they have lost so many loved ones, and everything, every

single step that they take of every single day involves a phenomenal amount of plotting whether it's something simple like trying to get a loaf of bread or something more complicated like trying to get someone who's been wounded to some sort of medical care. >> arwa says that everyone she has spoken to in syria shares the same concern, that the country is headed to a full-blown war and things will only get worse. anything paton walsh has covered all kinds fl things. nick, do things seem irreversible at this point? >> reporter: there's no letup on this day. this is described this morning as the heaviest shelling for five days. now, frankly, bear in mind that over 400 people have died in homs in those past ten days. that really is saying something. as we spoke to him our conversation in which he described how basically there is no safe place in homs at all. all they can do is keep away from the windows. our conversation was constantly

interrupted by the fire of artillery shells. let's just listen to some of that. >> they are shelling. there is no place here in the city that is a safe house, shelter or basement. you have to be lucky to stay safe. >> reporter: now he told that the terror in that particular neighborhood is so strong in the past three weeks that four pregnant women had lost their children because of the conditions there. kyra? >> now we are also talking so much about the civilians that are suffering trying to get food. they've put their life in jeopardy. we have reports that snipers are just targeting individuals that are trying to get out of the house to get bread. nick, what exactly do you know and is there any hope for humanitarian relief at this point? >> reporter: well, the red cross, they say, tried to move in to homs in the last couple of days.

it's not clear precisely if they got any aid in there. the activists we spoke to made no mention of that at all. people are absolutely terrified there. they're not venturing out. they're describing the shelling today as being as though they're trying to punish that particular neighborhood. he pointed out that the free syrian army in that area have managed to get military radio off the syrian military in that area. they overheard the commander telling his subordinates that the president of syria had expressed his displeasure that that neighborhood was holding out and hadn't been emptied. we can't verify that report because we can't get in there to talk to them. it gives you the idea of the theory of the military feeling. the syrian military is around the town waiting to move in. >> nick, thanks. it's like a roller coaster when it comes to who's leading the gop in the race for the white house. paul steinhauser, just when you think one candidate has

momentum, think again. now we're talking about santorum and romney. >> reporter: oh, my lord. what a difference a week makes. let's go back to last tuesday. santorum swept those contests in colorado, minnesota, missouri. take a look at the brand new national polls. this one out this morning. look who's on top now, rick santorum. go to the next poll. this is from pew research center. this came out yesterday afternoon. look at this, same thing in pew research center. rick santorum on the top. finally, one more from gallop and this gallup poll also coming out yesterday afternoon. look at this one. there is romney just two points ahead of santorum. basically all three polls within the sampling error. all knotted up and tied at the top. big surge for santorum in the national polls. >> all right. now, paul, occupy protesters not too happy with santorum right now as he addresses the crowd. >> reporter: no doubt. listen, now that you've risen in the polls, what does that bring? a lot of scrutiny and a lot of attention. this is a tape from last night

in tacoma, washington. santorum campaigning there ahead of the march 3rd contest there. a number of occupy protesters doing just that. a couple were arrested. here's what rick santorum had to say. >> i think it's really important for you to understand what this radical element represents. what they represent is true intolerance. >> reporter: meanwhile, mitt romney campaigning in arizona last night, they have a contest in just two weeks. here's what he said about his conservative credentials. >> conservative values were also part of my business experience because in business you don't have a choice about balancing your budget. you either balance your budget or you go bankrupt. and so i -- so i learned time and again, i learned time and again the principles of conservatism. >> reporter: meanwhile, newt gingrich in california last night, kyra, sure didn't sound like a candidate who was about to step out. he's still marching forward. ron paul, no events until our

debate next week. paul, thanks so much. here's some good news for you this morning that your paycheck is not about to shrink. on capitol hill house republicans are removing a key obstacle. they'll no longer demand the cost of extending the payroll tax cut be offset by slashing spending else wur where. they would see 40 bucks a week sief phoned by their take home pay. president obama is going to talk about this extension next hour. that's set for 10:40 eastern time. the cause of whitney houston's death has yet to be established, but if prescription drugs are involved in any way, could we see an investigation into that? talk about that coming up. plus the fight over same-sex marriage is heating up in another state. even if it passes the legislature, it still faces an uphill battle. i'll explain that. every time a vehicle comes into a ford dealership

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checking stories cross-country now. new jersey and legalizing same-sex marriage. the state senate approved a bill yesterday. now the state assembly will vote but republican governor chris christie promises to veto the measure if it lands on his desk. he says voters should decide in a statewide referendum. strong winds toppled a tree slicing right through the house and trapping a 52-year-old woman in her bed. her legs were actually pinned under the tree. it took rescuers more than an hour to free her. and more than 70 years after their service in world war ii the utah legislature honored a group of japanese-american vets for their bravery on the battlefield. the 100th infantry battalion

reached a german fort in italy and helped rescue more than 200 soldiers. and we are still waiting on the cause of death for whitney houston. the coroner says some prescription drugs were found in her hotel room. let's talk more about this case with our ashleigh banfield. ashleigh, you say it's critical to wait for a cause of death before any discussion of a possible criminal investigation could take place. why don't you walk us through that. >> so here's how it works. first you've got to find out probably through toxicology what actually killed whitney houston. what was the cause of death. and was it, perhaps, a heart attack, which is natural causes? was it perhaps an overdose which becomes something a little different. and then we can go to manner of death. was it a homicide? was it an accidental suicide? and that's where an investigation then can start moving forward as to whether somebody somewhere may have played a bit of a part. i remember the first time i

heard about this i thought about anna nicole smith and her untimely death and where that investigation ultimately went to. and three doctors being charged with, you know, prescribing to an addict in that case. ultimately they were all cleared of that, but there it is. there was somebody who overdosed. you had to wait for toxicology and ultimately there was that investigation. >> all right. we should point out that -- and we want to emphasize that we in no way, shape, or form know exactly what caused her death, but there was talk among some of the legal analysts this morning that if it were due to prescription drugs, how did she get them? did she get them legally? who was prescribing them to her? is it difficult -- how difficult, i guess, is it to proof if someone was overprescribed? >> it's hard. i mean, it's really hard, and the prosecution ended up for anna nicole's doctors, that ended up being really hard, too, because at one point they were

found guilty and then all of the charges were cleared. they were all charged with a conspiracy to provide controlled substances to an addict so you've got to kind of get inside the mind of whatever doctor or whatever person who's prescribing these drugs actually is. don't forget, a lot of people can go doctor shopping and doctors may not know how many other prescriptions exist in a patient's medicine cabinet. they may not know what kind of combinations either, so you kind of have to get that mens rea which is heart to establish. you have to figure out if one doctor is responsible for a lot of prescriptions. it is a tricky road to hoe in a particular case. with whitney houston, we should also note as we wait to find out what the toxicology reports suggest, the coroner said there weren't that many medications actually found in that hotel room. so i think there's still a mystery that will ultimately be solved in this. >> ashleigh banfield with some legal perspective this morning. ashleigh, thanks. >> sure, kyra.

the returning home from war. tens of thousands of vets face a new challenge. finding a job. details on a new program that's trying hard to help them. healing the heart after a patient has a heart attack. virtually unheard of until now. up next, dr. sanjay gupta has results of a ground-breaking study that could mean longer lives for heart attack patients. ♪ there's a place i dream about ♪ ♪ where the sun never goes out ♪ ♪ and the sky is deep and blue ♪ ♪ won't you take me american flight 280 to miami is now ready for boarding. ♪ there with you fly without putting your life on pause. be yourself. nonstop. american airlines. never took life too seriously... till our son was born. that day, he bought life insurance.

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now some historic news surrounding stem cells and repairing your heart. a cutting-edged stem cell treatment is now providing healing for heart attack victims, and chief medical correspondent dr. sanjay gupta is live with more on this. pretty incredible. my husband is obsessed with all of this. we were talking about it last night. he said, you better be talking with sanjay about this. >> we've been talking about the promise of stem cells for so long. people have yet been able to see it in action. it proved two things, first of all, that this could be done safely. always the first question. second, that it provided some benefit. it's a small study, but it was pretty interesting. >> what did we see exactly happen? >> let me show you. we created an animation. what they did here specifically,

take a look, they actually went into a patient who had had a moderate or severe heart attack. heart muscle had died. they went in here with a catheter. non-invasive. they take a little bit of healthy muscle there, kyra. they take that out just like that. take that back out. that's healthy tissue and the idea is can we grow this in a petri dish, create millions of cells out of just a few, and then subsequently put that back into the heart? again, the first question is when you inject these stem cells back in, is it going to cause a problem? is it unsafe in some way? what they found is when they injected this back in, there was no unexpected side effects and they started to see some benefit. >> bottom line, what does this mean for my dad, the heart patient? >> well, what we used to think, this is how i learned in medical school decades ago, once heart muscle died it was gone, wasn't coming back. this throws a little bit of cold water on that theory. what they found was about a 50% reduction in scar. again, nothing has ever done that before. so significant there.

but it was a small study, just 25 patients. 17 had stem cells, 8 did not. they wanted to compare the two groups. the real question for your dad and for others out there is besides a good looking heart scan with less scar, is his heart working better? is it going to function better, pump harder, let him get up stairs without losing his breath? that remains to be seen. that's where the research is headed. it's not instantaneous by any means. the idea that people might get some heart function back is promising. >> that's great news. >> every now and then we get good news. >> yes, exactly. you always seem to bring it to us. >> i love it. >> thanks so much. he was cut from two nba teams. he was playing in the minor leagues, but now lynn-sanity is burning up the court and wall street. alison kosik at the new york stock exchange to put it altogether for us. pretty a iz maing. his story already is amazing. this is just icing on the cake. >> it really is. it's lintastic, i know.

everybody's wondering, what is it with msg shares? we saw them really shoot up over the past week or two. so think about madison square garden itself. it's not this venue where you go to see concerts and basketball games. msg is a publicly traded company. the new york nicks are one of msg's products. what happens on the court affects the stock prices. you can see how shares have been performing. initially no movement, flat line, then, bam, that pop up 10% since february 4th. coincidence? no way. the stocks shot up when jeremy lin moved off the bench scoring 25 points in one game against new jersey nets. so with lin the nicks now have won five games in a row and ratings on the msg network, they have been soaring. everybody wants to watch this guy play. he is amazing. if this streak continues it could help msg gain more advertisers and maybe even settle a battle that it's having with time warner cable which right now is not carrying nicks

games in new york because of a pricing dispute. this may give more ammunition to show those games. kyra? >> how about the rest of the stock market. how's it looking today? >> looking at a lower open in about seven minutes. retail sales numbers from january came in a bit disappointing. also more worries are hanging over the market about europe's debt crisis. this is after moody's downgraded its rating on six european countries. none of that is a big surprise. you know what, it doesn't help the perception of a debt problem in europe, the perception that maybe they could be getting better. doesn't help much. kyra? >> allisison kosik, thanks so m. details about whitney houston's death are few and far between but details about her funeral are coming together. her body is in newark, new jersey, her hometown. we'll take you there next. ♪ i'm making my money do more. i'm consolidating my assets. i'm not paying hidden fees or high commissions.

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checking top stories now. in syria snipers in homs not letting yaefr one move. heavy shelling is blasting through the air. one activist actually says snipers are targeting people going out of their homes just to get bread. back here in washington, china's vice president xi jinping is in town. he's expected to be china's next leader. behind the scenes, both countries are still squabbling over trade issues and china's mill tar ryization. robbed at machete point. chief justice steven brieer is confronted by an intruder in his vacation home on the caribbean island of nevis. the robber got away with a thousand bucks in cash. no one was hurt. now the u.s. marshall service is helping with the investigation.

well, two fronts in the whitney houston story this morning. first, los angeles, where investigators are trying to figure out why she died. it could be eight weeks before toxicology results are back. and then in new jersey, that's where she was born, and that's where her final public appearance will be. cnn's deborah fayerick is in newark. hi, deb. >> reporter: hey there, kyra. you know, many people from this area, they just look at whitney houston and what they say is they see a local jersey girl, she was born here, developed her spirituality and voice here. somebody who was really a part of the new hope baptist church and part of a loving community. what we're learning is that a funeral is expected to take place friday at the prudential center. about 18,000 seats that initially they thought they could keep it to a smaller venue like the new hope church, however, the outpouring seems to be so large that they have extended it. they're trying to get all these details down.

i'm told by a friend of the family that the mom, cissy houston, a gospel legend, she's overwhelmed by all of this. it's her faith that's keeping her strong. a friend also tells me that in the end although whitney houston had wrestled with drug addiction, she had managed to find her way back to god. take a listen. >> i know for a fact that she wasn't on anything hard. she had gave that life up. she had let it go and we were proud of her. we are proud of her. she was back on top, and i quote her in saying, i'm in a good place. i'm where i want to be. >> reporter: and that friend says that he had seen whitney houston about two weeks ago and at the time they did talk about drug addiction and, in fact, she was clean, at least clean in terms of not doing cocaine, not doing marijuana. however, there were prescription medications, medications for

anxiety and sleeplessness as well as a throat infection. and the friend even told me that she wasn't above having a glass of wine every now and again. so all of this under investigation as they try to find out what caused her death. but, kyra, there's a sense that she's home. she's back home, kyra. >> thank you, deb. take you now to capitol hill. live pictures. defense secretary leon panetta and joint chiefs of staff martin dem p si are testifying before a senate armed services committee hearing this morning. they are defending the department's budget plan. it includes massive cuts to personnel, training, and equipment. we're following that for you. so many men and women that are returning home from war are facing a tremendous challenge, finding work. but now there's a program to help transfer their battlefield experience to the civilian world. christine romans has more on her special "coming home." >> you guys working in groups. you have a project. you have a deadline. you have defined

responsibilities and someone is being a problem. >> reporter: a typical workplace issue, but this isn't a workplace, it's a class for veterans making the switch from military to civilian work life. >> doesn't show up for meetings. doesn't do anything. >> reporter: work force opportunity services is a program that pairs classes with a paid consulting job. so here and here is where former army combat engineer tom richardson is learning a new language, corporate speak. he served in iraq and came home in 2003 with a military background and post traumatic stress disorder. >> when you join the military thinking when you come out people will be throwing jobs at you lining up outside of your house, and it's the total opposite. >> reporter: the jobless rate for iraq war veterans like richardson is 9.1%. for very young vets, many who don't have a college degree, it's more than double that. >> i was unemployed for two years, and it's really hard i

know for veterans because a lot of us, you know, came back ptsd and stuff. it's hard to really stay focused and upbeat. >> i think one thing that worked in my group -- >> reporter: this program has three semesters in the classroom teaching communications and technical skills among other things. it gets the veterans jobs with companies it's reached out to as a potential path to full-time employment. brian watson is an instructor and mentor. >> it's very much a culture shock for them. having to get dressed up in the way that they do and working in corporate environments, corporate offices, skyscrapers, whatever it is. they have a lot of skills and a lot of talents that they learn in the service but one of their hardest challenges is actually learning how to adapt to the corporate environment. >> reporter: richardson is in his third semester. he'll finish at the end of march. >> from where i was just a year ago to now, it's night and day, you know? it's definitely a game changer.

>> reporter: and it's why it's so urgent to get veterans like richardson into the work force. >> when i hire a vet, that's a hard question? i put everything into my job, you know? if something's expected of me, i want to deliver. it's just something that is engrained in a veteran because every day you live the military 24 hours a day. >> christine romans, you were saying something very interesting. these are gentlemen you wouldn't think need help with a job interview. >> right. >> but what they learned in the military doesn't necessarily help them in the work force. >> here's the crazy thing. you dock back. the things that make you excel in a group of people, yes, sir, no, ma'am, i'll fix that, quietly doing it are different than what they want in a job interview or in the work force. >> what do they want in the interview? >> they want to hear how you're going to do it. they want to hear you asking good questions. if you're in the military going for a job interview, you better have a good five or six questions that you're asking the hiring manager as well.

you've got to show not just yes, ma'am, no, ma'am, it's a different kind of communication. yes, sir, no, ma'am. and that's something that brian watson, who is teaching this class is saying. that's what they kind of do. they're teaching them things in the military that made them excel, turning it upside down so you can excel in the work force. >> one of the vets mentioned ptsd. a lot of these companies stereotype them and judge them. there's a stigma that goes along with that. what did you find? >> it's true. brian watson and others have said that managers do tell them, look, we want to hire some vets, but what comes along with that? are they -- do these guys have ptsd or the young women? are they in therapy? are they in treatment? there are a lot of companies who go out of their way to hire vets and make sure that they do have the mental health facilities and benefits necessary, but for the most part you have people coming home who want to work. they want to work and have technical skills they learned in the military that are absolutely

translatable and applicable to this economy. that's what we need, technical skills right now. that's what they were learning. we're fighting two high tech wars. >> take the technical and discipline, you can't lose. >> communication. learn the communication, all the pieces are there. >> thanks, christine. she's also going to have part two of her "coming home" series on your bottom line saturday. that's her show on the weekend, 9:30 eastern. we'll take a look at companies that are actively hiring vets. mitt romney might be michigan's son, but judging from a new poll, he's not a favorite son. coming up, michigan's own l.z. granderson why he thinks mitt romney might lose the primary. one chance to hunt down the right insurance

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legendary singer chaka khan sat down with our piers morgan last night. he asked how whitney houston's mom, cissy, was dealing with her daughter's death. >> she's coping. she's coping. but she's -- you know, she's also, you know, i'm sure many times had fear for her daughter's life, and i know my mother did and my little girl did and my son. so i know what this world that we're living in, this business particularly can do to one.

>> and aretha franklin paid a special tribute to her god daughter whitney houston last night during a private concert. a.j., this must have been a pretty emotional tribute. >> reporter: oh, it certainly was. of course, she got out there and belted out the song, kyra, that whitney will probably be most remembered for "i will always love you." i think quite frankly it was as therapeutic for aretha franklin as it was for her audience. i give her a lot of credit. she do have canceled the show in charlotte. it was a show for over 600,000 people. she played on and told organizers and told them that there was nothing like music to comfort the soul. one of our local affiliates was allowed to shoot part of this show, what you're seeing right here. they weren't allowed to be there when aretha asked the crowd for a moment of silence to pray for houston's family. then aretha performed whitney's signature song. she told the crowd that whitney was kind, good, and gentle and added when the gates swing open, i'm gonna walk through. they sure opened the other day for her and she walked in.

sweet, sweet tribute from the queen of soul, aretha franklin for whitney houston. >> a.j., you also had a chance to speak with gloria estefan last night. what's her reaction to whitney's dout? >> reporter: yeah, i did. she had already been booked on "showbiz tonight" before this shocking news. we had to talk about her friend and colleague whitney houston. gloria can understand the pressure that whitney must have been under for years now. whitney's voice was her signature. and it is something that she had to be worried about, but it was a voice that gloria thinks was one of the best of all time. here's what she told me last night. >> her gift, which was a true gift. i mean, since she was a little girl she had this amazing voice. so when you lose that as well, it's got to be pressure. lately the entertainment -- the music business particularly has taken major turns and we've all had to adapt to the new world in music. all of those things put pressure on. add to that the fact that, you know, everyone's watching your every move. so i'm sure that there are

pressures. like anyone else, you know, we go through a lot of tough times but in the public eye it's tough. >> reporter: yeah. i think a big part of that pressure, obviously, kyra, not want be to disappoint your fans. imagine living like that. >> can't even imagine the pressure. a.j., thanks so much. i know you'll be back with us next hour with more on whitney houston. also coming up, mitt romney struggling in his native state of michigan. l.z. granderson tells me he knows why. maybe this vacation wasn't a good idea vacations are always a good idea ♪ priceline negoti - - no time. out quickly. you're miles from your destination. you'll need a hotel tonight we don't have time to bid you don't have to bid. at priceline you can choose from thousands of hotels on sale every day. save yourself... some money it's what he would have wanted. a mouthwatering combination of ingredients...e for you!

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mitt romney was born and raised in michigan. his dad was governor. you'd think the primary was all his. this was him in 2008 speaking in detroit. >> i want you to be briefed on what's going on in the auto industry, what's happening to michigan's economy. i've got michigan in my dna. i've got it in my heart and i've got cars in my bloodstream. when i was living here michigan was the pride of the country. >> now fast forward to 2012. a new poll of likely gop primary voters in michigan shows romney trailing santorum just two weeks before the contest. cnn op ed writer l.z. granderson has michigan in his dna also. why is romney falling behind? >> you know, there are a lot of factors. certainly there have been questions about his politics and his ability to actually follow

through on the things he talked about because he tends to flip-flop a lot. but when i look at mitt romney in the state of michigan and i live here and i'm born and raised in detroit, he's got a really big problem with the way he handled the bailouts. he's got a really big problem with the way that he went after he won the primary in michigan but pulled out of the race in 2008, went and wrote a piece about why detroit should go bankrupt and why the auto industry should be allowed to fail while at the same time defending the bailouts on wall street. that's a big problem. i think a lot of people in michigan, they see that the bailouts, was it the best plan? we won't really know. what we do know is that people still have jobs. the industry is back and people's lives did not get more interrupted by the losses. and so he's got a big problem, and we've already trusted him once and he stabbed us in the back. that's why i don't think you're going to see people trust him again, not here. >> you write that he is an insult to flip-flops. not only that, that he was dead wrong. what do you mean by that?

>> well, he just seems to flip-flop just so quickly, so recklessly. there are so many really key issues. really core issues that with a person you shouldn't be flip-flopping on. like abortion. like gay rights. like how you feel about the state you call home. to flip-flop as quickly as that for your own convenience, you know, i think is really, really bad and, as i said, gives flip-floppers a bad name. the reason why i think he failed is because look at the numbers. 23 consecutive months of job creation under president obama. estimated 1.5 million jobs saved because of the auto bailouts. people talk so much about the unions. it's more than just the unions that were impacted by the auto bailouts. you talk about the mechanics. you're talking about the people that sell the automobiles. you're talking about the non-unionized workers working on cars. that industry affects a lot of people that's why i think he was wrong in saying if we bailed out

the industry itself it would crumble. >> before i let you go, romney wrote an op ed in today's detroit news. i pulled a quote. before the companies were allowed to enter and exit bankruptcy, the u.s. government swept in with an $85 billion sweetheart deal disguised as a rescue plan. he said it was a major taste of crony capitalism. how do you respond to that? >> i also read that piece. i think what's really interesting is two things. first, he failed to mention president bush and the reason why that's important is because president bush actually was the one who began the auto bailouts. he had already dictated that billions of dollars would be funneled to the automobile companies before president obama was even inaugurated. that needed to be part of that op ed piece. two, he doesn't talk about the people, and that is the reason why i'm so upset about him coming here to michigan is because he talked about us like strangers but whenever he needs votes we're family. when you talk to family about what needs to happen to make things better, you talk to them

honestly about the hard things and the good things. he just gave us the good stuff when he needed to get our votes and then when he left, that's when he came with the hammer in "the new york times." this piece in "detroit news" that's a way to backtrack and try to correct the mistake he made in 2008 because he's trailing in the polls. >> l.z. granderson, thanks for joining me. column at cnn.com/opinion. ♪ made with only milk... cream... a touch of sugar... and pure natural flavors. ♪ who knew being natural could be so delicious? coffee-mate natural bliss. from nestle. add your flavor naturally.

lots of developments in the cnn newsroom. let's check in with don lemon. >> cnn speaks with some of whitney houston's closest friends. i'm going to retrace the last

moments before her death. that's coming up at the top of the hour. i'm dan lothian at the white house. president obama will be putting pressure on congress to pass the payroll tax cut. we'll bring that to you live in the nengs hour. and i'm christine romans here in atlanta. are you in the top five percent of data users. your smart phone could be putting up speed bumps to slow you down. i'll tell you that at the top of the hour. >> all right, guys. thanks so much. it's valentine's day. what happened to traditional courtship? why do we have to find love through texting? we have somebody weighing in on that next hour. tired eye relief

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doesn't get much better than this? the story. the background. the puns. wall street now cash iing in. >> it's true. it's an incredible story. everybody talks about lebron and kobe. the player everybody is talking about is jeremy lin. he's been named the eastern conference player of the week. he's being called the tim tebow of the nba. the knicks picked him up out of desperation. no one wanted him. he's averaging 25 points a game. the knicks haven't lost.

jeremy lin jerseys are selling like crazy. this is a big part of the legend. he gets to crash on the couch of his brother's place. now he gets $788,000 for the rest of the season. it's enough for a new york apartment. >> if he's playing like this, he's going to get a lot more than that. a lot of valentine's day dates. >> in new york last night, the cover of the "sports illustrates" swim suit issue was debuted. kate upton was on the cover. in the last year, she's become an internet sensation. young men helped a video of her doing the dug gee go viral. after swimmer matt grievers won a race, he proposed to his girlfriend. she was disappointed with her

fifth place finish. so he decided to wait. some might say that would have been the perfect way to cheer her up. there she is. if you're scoring at home, he got the gold and she got the diamond. >> all right. i love the stories today. they are all very positive. thanks. >> happy valentine's day. it's the song that many people around the world are remembering wlit whitt hitney h. >> if this isn't stuck in your mind by now, you have a teflon skull. it's not just the media playing it over and over. it's the tributes from professional singer song writers like butch walker who posted this to youtube. to singer sasha allen. and the amateurs are singing it

too from a dorm room to a new york city subway car. whitney houston's number one hit sung on the number two train elizabeth hasselbeck wore it on the view. >> that was my karaoke song and i would always cough. >> some in the music business had a name for the highest part of that song. it was called simply the note. but sometimes even whitney couldn't hit it. this concert in south korea, she chugged some water and continued. the songs appeal was global and especially on a talent show in

taiwan. it brought some audience members to tears. he sang it on ellen. thi then we think of it as whitney houston's song, but it was dolly parton who wrote it. wrote it to ease the pain when she decided to part ways with a business partner, dolly later told country music television it's saying just because i'm going, don't mean i won't love you. one of the most popular tribute videos ricochetting around the web is where the dubai fountains showered whitney houston with love even before her death. chances are we're going to have to be remembering her sound track from "the body guard" jean

jeanne moos, cnn, new york. >> investigators are trying to figure out why she died. new jersey, details about her funeral are coming together. we top the hour with our debra joining us. first, let's go to don lemon. >> the latest on the investigation here is that the coroner came out and held a press conference as did beverly hills police. police saying they have wrapped up their investigation at the hotel where she was found dead on saturday afternoon. they are done there and this investigation is in the hands of the coroner. the coroner saying it's going to be six to eight weeks before they get a final notice on exactly what killed whitney houston. they are saying she was found in the bathtub by a family member, a member of her staff. taken out of the bathtub and they weren't able to revive her. whitney houston pronounced dead at 3:55 p.m.

the coroner saying they did find prescription drug, but it's not out of the ordinary. and her body has been flown back to new jersey. the interesting thing. good friends, friends of the entertainment world are stepping up and talking about it. last night, an interesting and heartfelt interview on the piers morgan show. there should have been people around whitney at all times protecting her when they know she had problems with drugs and alcohol. take a listen. >> whoever flew her out to perform at that party should have provided someone to be there to somehow keep the riffraff out of the situation. just keep some of the dangerous people away. >> was she very vulnerable? even to the end to that kind of

situation? >> absolutely. i am. i'm very vulnerable. i mean, i will never do cocaine again, i know that. but we're sensitive people. entertainers. >> concerned about the images coming out about whitney being inside of the nightclub, club true, here in hollywood. keira had a chance to see the nightclub. it was a capacity crowd. 400 people. it was very hot. everyone was trying to get at whitney because she is whitney houston of course. as she left, the photography took the pictures. but everyone left that club hot and sweaty. and he also said kelly price and everyone there were toasting and having champagne. whitney had a little to drink. but nothing was out of the ordinary as he knows. >> don lemon in los angeles,

thank you. now let's check in with deb feyerick. >> reporter: this happened so suddenly. the family just trying to come to terms with what's happening and how they best want to memorialize and preserve the legacy of whitney houston. a source is now confirming that when she arrived yesterday, she was flown from los angeles on board tyler perry's private plane. she arrived here just before midnight and was met by her mom. the family was here until 1:30. this is the same funeral home where her father was also honored. the cemetery where he's buried is not far from here. but right now, they are not confirming where her final resting place will be as well. we can tell you the mom overwhelmed but staying strong for her and for all those around her. a friend that i spoke to earlier

said she's the one who is providing strength for so many. she's relying on her faith at this time. a deeply-religious woman. one thing that is troubling the family is the focus on whitney houston's drug addiction. her former drug addiction and allegations of potentially current drug abuse. but the friend telling me that she was off the hard stuff. she was not doing cocaine or marijuana. she did have some prescription medications including xanax for anxie anxiety. but otherwise, in his words, she was clean. certainly clean of the hard stuff. we're waiting to find out whether the funeral will be at the new hope baptist church, where she was part of the choir, or in a larger venue which can seat 18,000 people. >> all right. thanks, deb.

let's take you to syria. cnn has managed to penetrate the ban on journalists. take a listen to one city that just descended into a war zone. you can actually hear the bullets ricochetting off the buildings. government forces are sweeping through a neighborhood in one of the several cities under siege. the civilians are too terrified to venture outdoors, even for food. arwa damon was able to slip into the city. she's able to report firsthand on what's going on and what they are thinking. >> reporter: they believe that at the end of the day, at some point in time, who knows when, the regime is going to fall. quite simply, they cannot go back to the way that it was.

but one young activist said if there is military intervention, there will be a lot of bloodshed, but it's going to be over a lot quicker. if there isn't military intervention, there's going to be even more bloodshed and it's going to take a lot longer to bring down the regime. what a lot of people are realizing and accepting at this stage is that this is going to be a bloody battle. more lives are going to be lost and that perhaps the biggest challenge for syria, too, is going to be after the regime toppl topples. >> syria's decent into violence catches the attention of u.s. intelligence officials. they are now spying on the regime and terrorist groups that may try to fill the void. barbara starr explains. >> reporter: all eyes and ears on syria. cnn has learned that spied on assad's moves in the brutal war

against his own people is now a top priority for u.s. intelligence and the military. the state department released these images showing syrian artillery guns outside a town. american officials tell cnn classified higher resolution images show military targets being tracked in case u.s. action is ordered. the u.s. is looking to involve more satellites, drones, and spy planes. sources tell cnn that the u.s. is already secretly eves dropping on telephone and electronic communications of assad's regime. it comes as a united nations official accused syria of crimes against humanity. >> children have not been spared. children have been killed by beating, sniper fire, and shelling from government security forces in several places throughout syria. >> reporter: assad's government

is not the only focus. u.s. intelligence picked up on cell phone communications of al qaeda in syria. after several suicide bombings including this police station, there are growing indicators a small group of al qaeda operatives from iraq are now inside syria. >> what's already been clear is that al qaeda in iraq, in particular, has pushed in operational and tactical-level units into syria right now. and appears to have conducted some of the high-profile bombings. >> reporter: al qaeda's leader now calls assad the butcher son of a bumper and praises syrians for waging jihad. but there's little indication syrians endorse al qaeda or he will have much impact just as he did not when he endorsed egyptian option forces. >> i think a safe bet that they

are not involved in tack call efforts in iraq or in syria right now only urging action. >> reporter: now u.s. officials across the board are saying that there's no military action being contemplated at this time. but by releasing those images, they put the syrian regime on notice that the u.s. intelligence community is watching their moves closely. >> barbara, thanks. good news this morning. your paycheck is not about to shrink. house republicans removing a key obstacle. they will no longer demand that the cost be offset by slashing spending elsewhere. so if a deal is not reach ed by the end of the month, a family making $50,000 a year would see about $40 a week taken from

their take home pay. we'll carry his speech live. coming up, bullets everywhere in syria. civilians are too terrified to even go outside for food. more on that coming up. plus the fight over same sex marriage heating up in another state. even if it passes the legislature, it still faces a battle. i'll explain next. gotta love the protein for muscles-- whoo-hoo! and omega-rich nutrition for that shiny coat. ever think healthy could taste so good? [ woman announcing ] beneful healthy fiesta. and who ordered the yummy cereal? yummy. [ woman ] lower cholesterol. [ man 2 ] yummy. i got that wrong didn't i? [ male announcer ] want great taste and whole grain oats that can help lower cholesterol? honey nut cheerios. that can help lower cholesterol? are you still sleeping? just wanted to check and make sure that we were on schedule.

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the governor promises to veto the measure if it lands on his desk. he says voters should decide in a referendum. in virginia, look at one family's home. strong winds toppled a tree slicing right through the house trapping a 52-year-old woman in her bed. her legs were pinned under the tree. more than 70 years after their service in world war ii, the utah legislature honored a group of japanese american vets for their bravery on the battlefield. they breached a german fort in italy and rescued more than 200 soldiers. back to syria now. families fleeing their homes, kids with wounds. we have seen it all and now we're seeing this. you can hear the builts

ricochetting as security forces are doing sweeps through the area. government security forces sweeping through a neighborhood there and civilians are too terrified to venture outside even for food. we have been talking about syria for a number of weeks. the security sweeps, what does that mean exactly for residents? are they kicked out of their homes? did it ever happen to you? >> yeah. they broke into houses. they came sometimes for family members. they raped a girl in front of her father. the father reacted to them and they killed him. and this is how they broke them. they entered through the houses like thugs and thieves and mafias. >> have you been able to talk to anybody in the country while

this has been happening were your friends or family? any insight to what's happening right now? >> well, in some areas of syria, all the land lines are disconnected by the government. i was able to communicate with activists. they are telling us about the situation. it's miserable there. they are saying we're left alone. no one is helping us. the regime is using tanks and armored vehicles to shoot on civilian houses while no one is helping us. >> you say when the sweeps are taking place that you never know what's going to happen. women are raped. individuals are killed. there's been a number of people risking their lives inside syria to put things on youtube and skype with us to give us this type of information. now, what happens to those individuals when these sweeps take place and they see computers in the house, they see

this type of technology. are these individuals immediately killed for what they are doing. >> a lot of them were tortured inside the headquarters and were killed. a lot of others were killed on the scene. when they are seeing any man with a camera, they shoot directly on people. the most important thing for the syrian regime is not showing the atrocity. they have succeeded in killing thousands of people without anybody saying a word. now we have every single person with a cell phone recording and reporting. the biggest fear for us is to stop these people who are showing them what's happening. >> i have to get to other developing news. is syria ready for assad to fall? or could it get worse than we're

seeing now with no one running the country? >> if the international community would stay like this doing nothing, i fear that the country would go into more extremists coming to the country. the international community is doing now. there's a statement in support. it's a secular country. we have a lot of christians and jews and the majority of the others are al qaeda. they are sizing this opportunity to get popularity inside the country. the international world is silent. they are just verbally speaking against what's happening in syria. there's no action. we have russian and islamic republic helping assad while no one is helping the detectors. i'm afraid they will be left for the extremist groups outside the country.

>> a syrian activist joining us on the situation. we'll keep talking. thank you so much. >> thank you. this just coming into cnn. new information on the funeral of whitney houston. let's get to deborah feyerick. >> reporter: the own over the funeral home just came out a couple minutes ago and said she was going back inside to speak with whitney houston's mom on the phone about the funeral arrangements, which are just being made right now. the funeral is now going to be taking place at 12:00 noon, not at the larger center. it will be taking place at whitney houston's church, the church where she grew up at 12:00 noon. the funeral director saying no wake is planned here at the funeral home. however, all of this is fluid. we do know that whitney houston will be memorialized at the church where she learned how to sing as a little girl, a church that meant everything to her in a town she loved. that's the latest for now. >> all right. deborah feyerick in newark for

us. thanks so much. also ahead calls for newt gingrich to bow out of the presidential race. and it's not coming from the left. is he staying in as some conservatives asked? is he trying to avenge his wounded pride? ♪ ( whirring and crackling sounds )

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later this hour, president obama due to talk about the payroll tax cuts. dan lothian is at the white house. what do you expect the president to say? >> reporter: the message you'll hear from the president is similar to what we heard at the end of last year. that is that now is not the time to be raising taxes on hard-working americans. they believe if the payroll tax cut is not extended nor employment insurance that this will raise taxes on 160 million americans. so the president will be holding an event within the hour, much like we saw at the end of last year where he'll bring in americans who will tell stories of how they would be negatively impacted by losing $40 from their paycheck. the president had a similar setting like this the last time around. he was able to pressure members

of congress to pass a two-month extension. the president wanted a long-term extension, so he's pushing for that again. that's what will be happening in less than an hour. >> okay, dan. appreciate it. as you just mentioned, president obama due to talk at 10:40 eastern. we'll carry that speech live. muscle loss bt 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! discover visine® tired eye relief with hydroblend™, only from visine®. just one drop instantly soothes and revives tired, overworked eyes. and comforts them for up to ten hours. visine® tired eye relief. try now and save $3.

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it's time for political buzz. your rapid fire look at the best political topics of the day. 30 seconds on the clock. playing today talk show host pete dominic, chief political correspondent jason johnson, and ceo tom flair. all right, guys. first question out of the gate. the national review says it's time for newt gingrich to get out of the race. here's the quote. "it's not clear whether gingrich remains in the race because he still believes he can become president next year or because

he wants to avenge his wounded pride." all right. what's his motive? tom, kick us off. >> i would suggest that in the universe, there's nothing more powerful than the male ego. some males wear a top hat. some socks. i suggest he wears his ego as a top hat. the same that made him successful during his 30s and 40s won't let him surrender. in politics the manager can call him in and say you're through, you need to spend a few million dollars and have a few million folks vote against you before you realize it's time to go. he's a prisoner of his ego. >> pete? >> i just love that metaphor. that's fantastic. newt gingrich doesn't need a hat. his head is that big. but anybody running for president has to have a huge ego. but i was reading news from 1995 when newt gingrich admitted that

he participated in it the government shutdown in influence because of a snub on air force one by president clinton. he held the government and the american people hostage because of the way he didn't get attention from the president on an airplane. so i wouldn't put that aside. it's all about newt. he's out there to make money and sell books. with this campaign, anything could happen. >> all right. let's go to jason johnson. >> look. this is all about ego. this is all about anger. he's like old man angry. he's out for revenge. all he wants to do is take down mitt romney for what he did to him in iowa. it doesn't matter. newt gingrich has no problem running a shoe string campaign. but he's not getting out of the race. they are going to have to pry it out of his hands. >> rick santorum firing back at occupy protesters who interrupted his rally in tacoma last night. take a listen.

>> i think it's really important for you to understand what this radical element represents. because what they represent is true intolerance. >> wow. we heard radical and tolerance. has the occupy movement run its course? tom? >> there's another part of that quote saying you need to go out and get a job. it's going to cost him because it's insensitive where you have 8% or 9% unemployment. he almost sounded like wallace in the 1960s say figure you don't like alabama. does the occupy wall street have momentum? they don't have a national spokesman. if they had a spokesman, they may have a chance. but i think with spring coming they are going to evaporate. >> pete? >> first of all, the santorum campaign has a little problem

with light iing in that video. they need to help him out a little. rick santorum calling other people intolerant here is like me bragging about how many hair style choices i have. it's the height of irony. with the occupy movement, who knows. anything can happen. but it's already made a huge impact, more stories about income inequality than ever before. and that's a really important thing. we're seeing that in the campaign right now. >> jason? >> occupy wall street has already won. they won by changing the narrative for the election. >> that was a mistake, by the way. >> i guess they didn't win. >> audio operator might be an occupy protester interning. >> angry at my statement. but they already won. everybody knows what the 99% and the 1% is now. they have changed the narrative.

it's dangerous for somebody like mitt romney. so they have their victory whether or not they are camping out or not. >> you want to add anything else? >> tell your audio guy to get a job. >> get a job, audio guy. >> time for the buzzer beater. mitt romney still can't shake this video showing how he handled his poor little dog nearly 30 years ago. now dogs against romney, are going to protest at the westminster dog show. how does romney prove to america that he is dog's best friend? pete? >> first of all, he has to reject the michael vick endorsement. maybe he can get the obama's dog endorsement. maybe he can shake some paws and playing fetch. he needs to play this up. this is a good thing. the great american story taking your family on the trip. it's not like the dog was in a separate car with a schauffeur.

>> he can make a positive out of this negative. what he needs to say is the dog under was the kitchen time begging for scraps and looking for handouts. given that, i assume it was a democratic dog. i didn't want him in the car with us. >> fair. >> jason? >> this is killing him. the image of him driving on the roof makes me think of clark griswold. dog owners are more likely to be republicans than democrats. he nieds to talk about the fact that bain capital actually owned a dog food company. he talked about the fact in 2006 he made responsible pet owners month. >> if you remember vacation at the end, the dog is no longer there. okay. let's make the point that romney still had a dog. >> that is true. that is true. >> impressive knowledge, kyra. >> i'm a hard-hitting

journalist. thank you, gentlemen. straight ahead, millions of americans love their smart phones. but now some cell phone giants are actually trying to throttle the heaviest users. christine romans is here to explain. i'm a little thrown off. >> i started laughing so hard. i remember the movie. >> that was one of the funniest parts. you see the leash. any way. >> we need a buzzer for this one. this is an interesting story. it's about the top 5% of data logs. you might have an unlimited plan for your smart phone. have you notice d that things ae slowing down for you early on in your billing cycle? it's because you reached a limit. at&t is doing this. they told customers they would. you have used up a lot of your data and your plan and they are slowing you down. they are putting up speed bumps. people are getting text messages on their phone saying you have reached a big limit.

this is the data cap. your data usage is among the top 5% of our users. data speeds for the rest of the current bill cycle may be reduced. customers complain a little bit saying they are being pushed into the tiered planned. verizon is doing it too. if you're down loading a lot of stuff, if you're playing a lot of games, if you're in the top 5% of data users, they are managing the traffic and they are probably slowing you down. >> interesting, right? >> we're using our phones in so many different ways. it's amazing. some have said they have to spend more money on building their infrastructure so we can pick up our phone and use it however, we want and always have it fast. >> coming up in ten minutes, that is if the president doesn't start speaking because we're going to take that live, we're talking with someone who wrote a piece about the fact that the traditional courtship has gone

out the window. everybody is doing it by phone. all doing it by phone. you have done it too. sometimes you have to write a love letter or something. >> bring home some 2% milk. >> speaking from a mom. thanks, christine. we are waiting for the president to talk about the payroll tax. that's scheduled to start in about five minutes. we'll bring you those remarks live. i am loving this greek yogurt.

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aretha franklin paid a

special tribute to whitney houston last night during a private concert. a.j. hammer, this must have been emotional. . what did she sing? >> she paid tribute to whitney by singing the song that she will be remembered for "i will always love you." it was as therapeutic for aretha as well as the audience. she told organizers there's nothing like music to comfort the soul. one of our local affiliates was allowed to shoot this part of the show. they weren't allowed to be there when she honored her good daught daught god daughter. she said whitney was kind, good, and gentle and added this. when the gates swing open, i'm going to walk through. they sure hope opened the other day for her and she walked in. >> you also spoke to gloria estefan too last night.

>> i did. i had gloria booked on the show long before the news broke about whitney houston. we had to talk about her. she was on everybody's minds last night. she was a friend and colleague of whitney's. she attended her wedding to bobby brown. gloria said she thought whitney has one of the best voices she ever heard. she understands the pressure she must have been under as a star and a singer. here's what she told me about that. >> her gift, which was a true gift since she was a little girl, she had this amazing voice. when you lose that as well, it has to be pressure. lately, the music business particularly has taken major turns. we have all had to adapt to the new world in music. and all those things put pressure and add the fact that everyone is watching your every move. i'm sure there are pressures. like anyone else, we go through a lot of tough times. but in the public eye, it's tough. >> this is understandably a

common fear among singers. if you watched the interview with adel the other day. she talked about being worried about hitting the high notes and disappointing fans. a lot of pressure. >> a.j., thanks. if you want more information, a.j. has it every night at 11:00 eastern on hln. we are waiting for the president to talk about the payroll tax. it's scheduled to start any minute now. we'll bring you those remarks life. live.

it's valentine's day. it's probably safe to say that many mothers in this country want their daughter to date and marry tim tebow. if it's not your mother, it's airmen like jaymy walton. >> tim tebow, will you be my date to the military ball here in shreveport? i would be the luckiest and happiest girl if you were to say yes and be my date. so please say yes. >> okay. how's that for bravery. 20 years old and she wants tebow to escort her to her first ball. she chose tebow because it's important that her date has the same values as the u.s. military. no word on whether tebow accepted her invitation. we'll follow up.

td 2 mkotl, i'm in my 40s and i have no idea what that means. what happened to poems, love letters, romantic dinners? courtship, our love lives have been downgraded to text speak. here's the question. are these changes in tradition cheapening love and romance? today matthews blogs about the adventures of dating. dina you're in your 20s. how did we lose our traditional footing? what happened? >> you know, i think somewhere along the way, this just became a lot easier. i think we mistook maybe being a little shy and this became a great way to kind of get around that. and maybe that's how it started.

but texting is a great way to get in contact with someone and calling is just too much work. so i don't know, it's unfortunate. >> tradition is being replaced by technology. doesn't that make us or maybe i say you, the younger generation, less intimate and emotional? >> totally. i mean i had a one-week misadventure on match.com. these guys that would contact me would want to have five days of texting back and forth before even going on the date. so when we went on the date, i was like what do we have to talk about. i feel like i already know you and you were boring on text. i don't know. i don't think it's intimate or exciting anymore. >> what do you suggest then? >> i think we should just -- i think it's fine technology to get in contact really quick. hey, i'll meet you there in five minutes. that's fine. i just think we should go back to living our dating lives in

the real world. figuring out how to go up to each other and talk to each other and find interesting conversations. you know, you're beautiful and i like what you're wearing. i would love it if someone came up to me and said that. why not? >> is that what would sweep you off your feet? >> that's what would sweep me off my feet. you know, not a text. >> so do you have a date tonight? >> i don't have a date yet, but i'm taking applications until 8:00. i'm sure something will come through. >> i just lost it there on the teleprompter. i'm going to plug it here. danae's corner, that's where you want to go to. women's health base. do not text her. somehow try to get in touch with her. show up at her door. give her a phone call. let us know how it goes. >> i will. >> blogger danae, appreciate it so much. we're waiting for the president

of the united states to talk about the payroll tax. that's scheduled to start any minute. we'll bring you those remarks live as soon as they happen. one chance to hunt down the right insurance at the right price. the "name your price" tool, only from progressive. ready, aim, save! grrr! ooh, i forgot my phone! the "name your price" tool.

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here's what we're following for you. later in the newsroom, 12:30 eastern opponents of the antiimmigration law rallying outside the state house and urging lawmakers to repeal it. at 1:30 eastern time, the creator of "the simpsons" will receive his star on the walk of fame. and then tim cook delivering the keynote speech at a goldman sachs internet conference in san francisco.

hundreds of designers showing you have their new fall collections at fashion week in new york. one is making headlines for more than just her signature style. >> reporter: the reigning queen of seventh avenue. donna karen is not just a designer, she's a one-woman empire. >> you failed at draping. >> yeah. >> how is that possible? >> you've got to fail to move forward. >> reporter: in the early days, karan trained under ann cline. the designer launched her own label, a global empire that today includes dkny, men's wear, fragrance, home, and a separate company, urban's end. more than 100 stores worldwide

and more than $2 billion a year in retail sales. >> you know, i started as a dream. >> but did you ever think? >> no. because i started donna karan. i wanted seven pieces just for me and my friends. that's the truth. and then all of a sudden, everybody wanted them. >> reporter: seven easy pieces that women could easily mix and match. >> oh my god. i'm working and i have to go out. and i have to pack. how do i pack? what do i need? how do i make it simple? >> reporter: she has a legend of celebrity fans. including clinton. he wore a donna karan suit to his first inauguration. >> president clinton is my inspiration. >> reporter: one of the reasons karan decided designing just wasn't enough. >> with the world we're living

in today and you talk about dressing, i can no longer just dress. it was addressing and addressing. the health care problem. our educational problem. the cultural problems. >> reporter: like haiti. since the earthquake in 2010, karan has visited haiti numerous times and makes a point to go back once a month. she sells their products in her stores. >> 100% of the profit all goes back to the nation artisans. not only are we buying product from haiti, but we're giving all the money back to haiti. >> what do you get? >> my heart. i'm serving my heart. they really do need help and support. straight to the president of the united states. about to talk about extending the payroll tax cut.

>> it's important you remember this and go big. that's my advice. lately, i have been saying that this is a make or break moment for the middle class in america. and for folks who want to be in the middle class. we face a choice. we can settle for a country where a few people do really, really well and everybody else struggles just to get by. or we can restore an economy where everybody gets a fair shot and everybody is doing their fair share and playing by the same set of rules. and that second option is -- i strongly believe the kind of america we want for our kids and grand kids. that's who we are. that's the america we believe in. that's what we have to roll up

our sleeves and get back to doing is creating an america where everybody is doing their fair share, everybody gets a fair shot. everybody is engaging in fair play. we're still fighting our way back from the worst economic crisis in our lifetimes. we still have a lot of work to do and a long way to go. it's going to take time to recover all the jobs that were lost when the recession was at its depths. but the fight is beginning to turn our way. over the past two years, our businesses have added over 3.7 million new jobs. our manufacturers are hiring more new workers to make more new things here in america than at any time since the 1990s. so our economy is growing stronger. and the last thing we need, the last thing we can afford to do is to go back to the same pol y policies that got us in this

mess in the first place. the last thing we need is for washington to stand in the way of america's comeback. first and foremost, that it means washington shouldn't hike taxes on working americans right now. that's the wrong thing to do. but that's exactly what's going to happen at the end of this month, in a couple weeks, if congress doesn't do something about it. the payroll tax cut we put in place last year will expire. a typical american family will shell out nearly $1,000 more in taxes this year. you'll lose about $40 out of every paycheck if congress does not act. and that can't happen. not now. and it doesn't have to. congress needs to extend that tax cut along with vital insurance lifelines for folks who have lost their jobs during this recession. they need to do it now without drama and without delay.

no ied logical side shows. no self-inflicted wounds. let's pass this tax cut, pass the extension of unemployment insurance, do it before it's too late and i will sign it right away. [ applause ] >> now the good news is over the last couple of days, we have seen some hopeful signs in congress that they realize they have to get this done. you're starting to hear voices talk about how can we go ahead and make this happen in a timely way on behalf of the american people. that is good news. but as you guys know, you can't take anything for granted here in washington until my signature is on it. we have to keep on making sure that the american peoples' voices keep breaking through until this is absolutely,

finally, completely done. until you see me sign this thing, you have to keep on speaking up. until you see that photograph of me signing it at my desk -- [ laughter ] >> make sure it's verified and certified. if it's not on the white house website, it hasn't happened. i'm going to need to make sure your voices are heard. last december when we had this same fight, your voices made all the difference. we asked folks to tell what it was like, what it would be like if they lost $40 out of every one of their paychecks. because we want to make sure that people understood this is not just an abstract argument. this is concrete. this makes a difference in the lives of folks all across the country in very important ways. tens of thousands of americans flooded us with their stories. some of them are here with me today. and their feedback has been