he tweets throb bert green stooen on cnn right now lying about my plan. lib ra media strikes again. senator toomey, we would love to have you on in person as a guest. we'll talk about your plan. we'll talk about taxes and budget and politics. we head into the weekend. we'll see everybody back here we'll see everybody back here monday 7:00 a.m. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com i'm fredricka whitfield in for kyra phillips who is on assignment. among those preparing to pay respects to whitney houston, denzel washington, mel gibson, jamie fox and janet jackson to name a few. this morning we're also getting a clearer view of some photographs never seen before of whitney as a young woman. and we also have more details about the rundown of the funeral. again, among those who are going to be in attendance and ul low guising whitney houston, aretha franklin, steve have i wonder, alicia keys all will be

performing her former co-star kevin costner who we haven't heard from so far this week, kevin costner will be speaking during the funeral services for whitney houston. and her former husband, bobby brown, has now officially been invited. susan candiotti is in newark, new jersey, this morning. susan, authorities are also making special arrangements to try to maintain some security, also maintain a perimeter around the new hope baptist church since so many will be in attendance? >> reporter: that's right. after doing a walk through of the church we're seeing some of the new security measures falling into place. for example, perhaps you've noticed right away the biggest change, we're no longer allowed to stand in front of the church right across the street from it, but we have been pushed back across the street and behind a parking lot. the parking lot behind me is the one where it is believed that

the celebrities and all the invite tees, some 1500 people, it's one of the parking lots that they'll be using. they have moved us back on the other side of that. so over my shoulder you can still make out the church. you can still make out a bit of the tribute and the balloons that are set up, but we're much farther back. this, in fact, might be the very last day that fans of whitney houston who want to come by and continue to leave candles, flowers, other mow men tows, probably the last day they'll be able to do that because police are in the process of setting up a big perimeter around the church. the lowsest anyone from the bub blik will be able to get is about two blocks away. this is the advice that police chief is giving for anyone who wants to get closer. listen. >> the best thing to do would be to stay home and watch the service on television. it is going to be aired over all the network channels. that would be the best place to see it. the funeral is not going to be a traditional procession as we would normally have.

>> reporter: and, of course, you'll be able to see the funeral on cnn and on cnn.com as well. there are also additional security measures outside the funeral home where the remains of whitney houston are. and among them are security tape that the police have set up. there are also white drapes covering some of the entrances. but we're also seeing a large new photograph of whitney houston in the front window of the funeral home. fred? >> and, susan, what about the burial? what plans are there? >> reporter: you know, those plans remain private. the funeral home not discussing it. members of the family not discussing it. we believe that whitney houston will be buried in the cemetery where her father was laid to rest. we know that because that's the information that's on the death certificate. but anything else is being kept close to the vest. fred? >> all right. susan candiotti, thanks so much in newark, new jersey.

meanwhile, investigators are focusing on the singer's prescription drug use and her behavior. they're even examining her last television appearances. one source close to the investigation tells cnn that they're also trying to speed up toxicology testing. the singer was seen drinking on the morning she died and the anti-anxiety drug xanax was among the prescription bottles found in her hotel room. cnn has full coverage of whitney houston's funeral tomorrow morning beginning at 11:00 a.m. eastern time. join piers morgan, soledad o'brien, and don lemon as the music legend is remembered. whitney houston, her life, her music live on cnn and cnn.com this saturday morning beginning at 11:00 a.m. the syrian city of homs is enduring its 14th straight day of pounding. a government tanks and snipers have targeted certain places in

the city. nine bodies have been found in homs today. thousands of protesters are gathering across syria to protest president assad's regime. all of this comes one day after the u.n. general assembly condemned the crackdown. the syrian government has restricted access to the country from outside journalists, but cnn's arwa damon did get inside homs. she shows us what two weeks of relentless shelling has done to that city. >> reporter: it's very difficult to actually get around. there's only certain roads that we can take because of sniper positions and some parts drivers really have to gun it to get across to avoid being targeted. >> reporter: the streets are mostly did he certed. the majority of residents are staying indoors or have already fled. >> reporter: just the constant sound of gunfire nonstop. they used to bury the dead in the old graveyard over there but once government forces came in, they stopped being able to do

that. and this, again, is another position where we can't actually move out into the road because once again you're exposed to sniper positions that are just around the corner on the other side of those buildings. you come across some members of the free syrian army who take us around. this is another spot where they can also see their government. if you look up here through this hole in the wall just to the right up against the wall of the building you can see one of the tanks positions that they have set up. this room that we're taking the video from, just take a look at it. there's a baby's crib right next to the bed. a child's bag hanging off the side of it. in a lot of the homes it looks like the families fled in a panic. shoes have been left behind and

obviously there are children that were living here. one can only imagine what took place because this building also was hit in one of the strikes. personal belonging us are all still inside. we're going through this hole in the wall right now. these types are holes were dug into various walls inside the neighborhoods, we're being told, by the free syrian army. this was how they were getting families out because there was so much firing from the front and they weren't able to evacuate that way. they were forced to come out like this to get to relative safety. >> reporter: and when residents are finally able to come back home, this is what they're going to return to. arwa damon, cnn, homs, syria. and a "new york times" reporter has died in syria. anthony shadid apparently had a fatal asthma attack. a photographer for "the new york times" carried his body into

turkey. sha tedid covered the middle ea for 20 years. he won two pulitzer prizes for covering iraq. he was 43 years old. it's been one year since libya's arab spring began with a day of rage. the uprising was the beginning of the end of the gadhafi regime. now there are claims that militias are committing human rights troubles there. max foster is joining us. >> fredricka, there's certainly rumors that al qaeda tried to capitalize on the unsettled nature of libya suddenly since the uprising began, but it's not organized quite yet. the concern is that it could get more organized. things could go into a bad situation in libya because of the lack of progress there really. the irish times writing today, songs and uncertainty one year on in libya. some libyans talk of growing disenchantment with the slow pace of change. others cling to determined

optimism looking to elections planned for june and arguing anything would be better than chaffing under gadhafi. the national many challenges ahead on libya's revolution day. exactly a year after taking up arms against gadhafi, getting them to lay down their weapons is proving as difficult as defeating the old regime. a lot of negativity setting in. and the times, future still uncertain. libya's new leaders face an enormous challenge to build a country based on the rule of law after 42 years of one family rule while preventing revenge attacks. very much looking at libya and how it's developing and the background to this is that syria may become another libya, fredricka. >> max foster, thanks so much from london. back in this country now, women's groups are blasting a billionaire backer of rick santorum. foster friess has donated hundreds of thousands of dollars

to a santorum super pac and now he's stirred up controversy with this comment about birth control. >> this contraceptive thing, my gosh, it's such inexpensive. back in my days they used bayer aspirin for contraceptions. the gals put it between their knees so it wasn't that costly. >> our political director mark preston joining us now. mark, santorum actually responded to that comment this morning, didn't he? >> reporter: he did. fred, we talk a lot about the power of super pacs and how good they are for politicians because they fund these campaign ads for them, but in the same vein, when one of your major supporters says something very controversial, you are forced to respond. that's what rick santorum had to do this morning on cbs. let's take a listen. >> when you quote a supporter of mine who tells a bad off-color joke and somehow i'm responsible for that, that's gotcha. >> nobody said you were responsible. they said how would you characterize it and what had you said to him not that you were responsible.

it's to understand how you differ from what this person said. let me ask you -- >> i have to respond to every supporter now who says something. look, this is what you guys do. i mean, you don't do this with president obama. in fact, with president what you did was you went out and defended him who sat in a church for 20 years and defended him, oh, he can't possibly believe what he listened to for 20 years. this is a double standard. this is what you're pulling off and i'm going to call you on it. >> reporter: so, fred, what do they say a strong defense is a very good offense. what we saw was rick santorum kind of in a box. he has to be careful not to offend foster friess who is spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to fund his super pac. he decided to turn the tables on the media, try to, bring in president obama, bring in reverend wright who was very controversial back in the 2008 election. this is something that's going to dog rick santorum over the next couple of days in the

campaign trail. the big question is could it be helpful to him in a republican primary. that remains to be seen, fred. >> yeah. one wonders whether if he becomes a nominee whether that would still be an issue that would come up during the general election. let's talk about the arizona now primary right around the corner and cnn's arizona debate. why is it taking on new prominence? >> reporter: well, because yesterday there was a debate that cnn was going to air on march 1st with super tuesday and mitt romney and ron paul and rick santorum have all decided to not participate in that debate. instead, they said they want to campaign in the state. super tuesday, there are ten states up. what that has done is put a whole new added significance on the february 22nd debate in arizona. arizona and michigan are both going to be voting the following week but this will be the last time that any of these candidates will all be on stage to the. this debate is not really just about arizona and michigan, this debate's going to be very much about super tuesday as well as

voters all across the country or many states across the country will be weighing in. it's going to be much talked about and much watched, i suspect, fred, on the 22nd. we'll have your next political update in one hour. a reminder for all the latest political news you know where to go, our website, cnnpolitics.com. up next, award winning singer deborah cox remembers her mentor and inspiration, whitney houston. and two f-16s sprer september this private plane after it strays into president obama's restricted air space. wait until you hear what was found on board. that's coming up next. you know when i grow up, i'm going to own my own restaurant. i want to be a volunteer firefighter. when i grow up, i want to write a novel.

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checking stories cross-country now. in long beach, california, a deadly shootout between u.s. immigration agents. one agent shot and wounded another during an argument at their offices. they say a third agent fired at the shooter killing him. the wounded agent is in stable condition. also in long beach, a pilot reportedly remains in custody after flying his cessna into president obama's restricted air space. two fighter jets intercepted the plane and police made a surprising discovery after it was forced to land. inside, more than 20 pounds of marijuana on board. and in new jersey jury selection begins in the privacy invasion trial of darun ravi.

he is ate the former rutgers university student who secretly taped his roommate's gay sexual encounter ♪ do you believe in a lady and his life ♪ >> deborah cox in that duet with whitney houston. she's had several memorable moments with the super star. this is the video of same script, different cast. it's on whitney houston's greatest hits album. record sales have soared since houston's untimely death sky rot rocketing her back into the bill board's top ten. r&b singer, song writer and actress deborah cox joins me now. good to see you, deborah. >> good morning. >> what are your thoughts the day before your good friend and mentor is to be eulogised and

laid to death. >> i'm still in a bit of shock and disbelief. very saddened by all of this. to be talking about her in the past tense is still something that i'm still working on getting over. what i do want to remember are the memories, the good memories of us together, and those moments that changed my life. >> tell me about some of those memories. do you have a favorite, one that really stands out as changing your life, impacting your life? >> oh, absolutely. whitney was a woman of -- a god fearing woman of principle. i believe that she deserves every amount of respect and honor at this time as well as her family. and for me, growing up with her music was life changing. to be in the studio with her, to sing that song, same script,

different cast, was a dream come true. being face to face with her and the mic, just the two of us exchanging was the most beautiful. she was the epitome of what every girl, you know, wants for themselves as far as a career. and the moments that i remember are before and after the studio which are the more intimate times where we'd talk about family. and she was so adamant about me making sure that i had balance in my life. she said that music and having a career was great but having a family and people that love you around you, that's the full picture. and i remember those words and they resonated with me because she was just that compassionate and genuine. genuine spirit. >> was there something just that was always kind of maternal about her or was it when she

became a mother that she, you know, turned from being that friend, that mentor, that idol to you into that kind of maternal guide post as well? >> yes. she just exuded love. everything about her was about love. her presence in the room. when she met you you felt like you were the only person in the room. she just loved children. she loved family. in fact, before recording that song she was on a cruise with bobbi kristina and having a blast and was kind of like, you know, we're going to get to the song. we're going to get to the song. and it just showed me that, you know, it's important to have that balance of family around you. and she was just one in a million. one of a kind. genuine. >> so, deborah, we've heard from so many of her friends who have

said in recent months she exuded a sort of radiance, that she seemed very happy, that she seemed not only just very complete when she was with her daughter, bobbi kristina, but that there was something in her that looked like she was excited about the future, excited about this comeback. did you detect that and see that in her? >> she always exuded that. nothing but professionalism. she loved singing. she loved what she did. she loved that she had this gift from god that could touch people and resonate and get to the core of you to make you want to be a better person. she just exuded love and i think that's what she was so in touch with. she was very purposeful with everything that she did. >> what do you want people to remember about her or know about her perhaps that perhaps they just didn't know of her?

>> well, for me, again, based on my own personal experience, you know, whitney houston was a god fearing woman who had a very, very strong faith, who loved family, who knew that she had this gift of god that needed to be shared and i think that at this time we deserve -- you know, she deserves to be honored and just -- just honored and remembered in that way. >> deborah cox, thanks so much. thanks for helping us to remember and get to know your friend and mentor. >> thank you. you want to join us tomorrow night at 8:00 for a look back at the life of whitney houston. her rise to fame, fall from superstar come to and an investigation into her untimely death. cnn presents tomorrow night 8:00 eastern time. and we'll look ahead to business. the dow opens this morning at its highest point in nearly four years. coming up next we'll tell you

what fuelled the latest rise and the market forecast for today. and one of the world's most famous historic sites is closed. we'll tell you why officials are saying it's dangerous now to visit the colosseum.

europe's bitterly cold and snowy winter isn't just affecting people there, it's also damaging some of the region's most famous historic monuments. cnn's max foster is live for us now from london. some of these historic monuments like which? we know the colosseum. >> reporter: yeah, the colosseum in rome. a lot of countries, people from snowy countries would go to rome. there's not a huge amount of snow but they're not used to freezing temperatures essentially in rome. what's happened is with the coliseum, water has managed to get into the cracks of the building which is quite usual in many countries around the world. not in rome. it's frozen. the water's expanded and thawed. the rock's falling away. literally in the building lumps of rock are falling off the building. they're not too concerned about the structure itself at this point although it will be renovated. they are worried about rocks

landing on people's heads. fredricka, it's been closed down for now. >> this has happened before. this has to be a constant worry every time there's been a rough winter. it's been there for quite a while. >> it hasn't been this cold for 30 years. it stood there. you can see how lots of the rocks have been falling over the centuries there. and there is going to be renovated later in the year sponsored by todd's, the luxury brand, sign of the time. abino which is a world heritage site, they have the same sort of problems. it is a concern. as soon as the rock stops -- stops falling away i'm sure they'll reopen it. they do get something like 7,000 visitors a day. those visitors very, very disappointed right now. >> max, we're looking at this video. we're seeing two workers there. one is constantly using a rag maybe to kind of sop up some of the moisture on those ice

patches. surely there's more to trying to, i guess, retrieve some of this water than what we just saw? >> reporter: yeah. they're pretty hopeful, aren't they, to mop up all the water in all the cracks. >> that's going to take a long time. >> they need more long-term plan to protect the outside of the building without changing the look. that's all they're looking into. good luck with the mopping up. >> good luck with that little rag. max foster, thanks so much. enlightening nonetheless. all right. a marine sees his buddies again for the first time since he was wounded in afghanistan. >> you sweat, you bleed with these guys, you know? you suffer with them. so there's a bond you can't break. >> it was a great, happy moment. emotional reunion in a military hospital. that exclusive story coming up. ♪[music plays]

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checking our top stories right now. final funeral plans are set for whitney houston. a long list of stars will honor houston tomorrow at her childhood church in newark, new jersey. ex-husband bobby brown is also expected to attend. today congress could approve the deal extending the payroll tax cut and unemployment benefit. president obama will sign the deal when it hits his desk. in louisiana a five mile stretch of the mississippi river is closed after two vessels clyde collided this morning. one of them was a crane barge leaking oil. coast guard teams beginning cleanup operations. no word on injuries or how much oil has spilled. alison kosik heads up the new york stock exchange following the recent rally on wall street. the dow is at its highest level in nearly four years. the nasdaq is at a ten year high. alison, how did we get here? >> how did we get here? first of all, let's look at the

numbers. the opening bell rang about two minutes ago. the dough is up 40 points. nasdaq and s&p is mixed. what's been happening is the markets are reacting to economic reports that come out lately that show the recovery is picking up speed. the economy's adding job, housing numbers improving. if you look at the dow and nasdaq they're at multi-year highs but still well shy of all-time records. you have to take a breath because, remember, the market isn't really meant to go in a straight line in either direction. it's not the healthiest thing for the markets because that's when bubbles form. but no worries about that. we've got greece keeping everything in check. but some good news on that front. european finance ministers, they're expected to approve a $170 billion bailout on monday so on that good news, if it happens, you do see the dow up 45 points just a few minutes into the trading day. >> thanks so much, alison. marines back from afghanistan made a special trip

to see their wounded comrades. guys they haven't seen since medical teams rushed them out of the war zone. cnn pentagon correspondent barbara starr was there for the emotional reunion and has this exclusive. >> my man. >> what's going on? >> here's my man. how are you? >> glad to see you, man. how you doing? >> reporter: the marines of bravo company just got home from afghanistan. one of their first stops, this washington, d.c., military hospital to check up on wounded buddies like corporal christian brown. they haven't seen each other since he stepped on an ied in december. he lost both legs. >> how are you doing, man? >> good. what's up, dude? >> how are you doing? >> good. how's it going? >> i think it's great now. >> reporter: cnn was given exclusive access to this extraordinary reunion of young marines taking place all over the hospital. 170 marines back from war for

the first time seeing their wounded buddies since they were medivaced under fire. in the moments before his buddies came in corporal brown was full of anticipation. >> i think it's going to be very emotional. >> what's up? >> reporter: lots of hugs and a few tears. >> reporter: what's it like for everybody to see each other again for the first time? >> it's amazing. >> i can't describe it. >> i was down the whole week, the whole time i got back until i got to see them. right now i can't describe how it feels to see brown now. >> reporter: you haven't seen these guys since you got hit? what's it like today to see them again? >> it's good just to know that they're okay, you know? >> reporter: you're laying here and you're worried about them? >> yeah. you learn not to worry about yourself when you're out there. that's the whole point.

>> reporter: captain paul trem bli, the commander of bravo company during its seven month combat tour had the idea for the reunion after having one marine killed and 16 badly wounded, he thought seeing each other would help everyone heal, including him. >> from seeing them on the ground injured to seeing the medivac experts taking off to seeing multiple casualties on this deployment, it all kind of happened walking through that door. >> you hear about him getting hurt but then you just don't see them anymore after that. it's like they disappeared. >> you sweat, you bleed with these guys, you know? you suffer with them. so that's a bond you can't break. no one will ever know what it's like to be a marine. >> reporter: good-byes for now. >> love you. >> love you too, dude. >> motivation. >> reporter: a final good-bye. a lucky charm carried through the war and brought home for a

brother in arms. and barbara starr with us now. barbara, what was it like being there when they all saw each other? >> reporter: you know, it really was very emotional. what i remember is a couple years ago general david petraeus said to me once, he said, you know, people, civilians really never will understand the bond borne between men who serve in combat together. i think that's what we saw a little bit of. the curtain lifted a little bit. seeing the hugs and kisses. you just knew that the memories of that seven-month combat tour were almost silently being exchanged between these young marines. >> yeah. it seems like their bond is indelible. it is forever. they are like brothers, aren't they? >> reporter: you know, they really are. they call each other brother. they really mean it. you ask them and these young men, all the ones we've talked to over the years will tell you that they really feel they will all keep in touch. they will know each other as they become old men in their later years. so that's what part of this

reunion was about. an effort to bring everybody together because when they get wounded, they're medivaced off the battlefield, often under fire, and their buddies who are still there on the ground still fighting never really know what happens to the wounded. it was really important for them to put eyeballs on each other. >> really nice to bring them back together. thanks so much for bringing us that, barbara starr. >> sure. and funeral plans for whitney houston are being finalized now. the star studded guest list next.

whitney houston's funeral is tomorrow and a more complete star studded list of guests is

out. "showbiz tonight" host a.j. hammer is live in new york. a.j., there was a lot of talk about whether houston's ex-husband bobby brown would be among them. the houston family said, yes, he is welcome. >> yeah, that is true, bobby brown is expected to be there, fred. "showbiz tonight" has confirmed he was officially invited although he is still performing on his tour. he was on stage last night with his group, new edition. he'll be back in concert tonight and tomorrow night after the funeral. we've been told, this is certainly understandable, he finds the shows to be a therapy in helping him get through his grief. as for other celebrities expected to be there, fred, the list of people we've con fermd includes tyler perry, aretha franklin, clive davis, steve have i wonder, alicia keys and dionne warwick all expected to be there in newark, new jersey, at the new hope baptist church tomorrow. >> among those actually performing. aretha franklin for one. are there others? >> there are, yes. some of the names i just mentioned, alicia keys is expected to perform. steve have i wonder is expected

to perform. the winans family involved. they were like family to whitney houston and the whole houston family. marvin is giving the eulogy as we know. last night on "showbiz tonight" i spoke to his brother, the grade bebe winans. he told me he and his sister cece will be singing. i asked him what he chose to sing. watch what he told me? >> i'm going to sing a song that i actually wrote for my brother that simply says i'll miss you. i'll miss your smile. i'll miss your whit, your charm, you know? and most of all, most importantly, i'll miss that time that we shared together when there was nothing else to do and there was nowhere else to go. >> yeah. bebe told me that he and whitney used to sing to each other on the phone all the time. fred, he also told me that he and his brother had a really hard time with the idea of even being a part of the service. they're really grieving, but he said when mama houston, as he called whitney houston's mom, cissy, when mama houston asks

you to do something, you just do it. >> no questions asked. it's going to be a heart felt tough time for so many people. thanks so much, a.j. cnn of course has full coverage of whitney houston's funeral tomorrow morning beginning at 11:00 a.m. eastern time. join piers morgan, soledad o'brien, and don lemon as the music legend is remembered. cnn.com and cnn will have it at 11:00 a.m. eastern. also coming up, why the environment could be a critical election issue for latinos next. i gotta get a guitar.

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. checking stories cross-country now. in washington state josh powell's mother says he will not be buried by the two sons he's accused of killing. crime stoppers and the local sheriff even helped purchase the plots on both sides of the boys to make sure powell would not be buried there. new jersey lawmakers pass a bill legal liedsing same-sex marriage. that sets the stage for a confrontation. governor chris christie vows to veto the bill and call for a referendum allowing voters to decide the issue. in tennessee a woman is charged with breaking into the home of country singer kenny chess any. she took a limb mow to his home. she found her in a bathroom with a bottle of wine.

the latino vote a critical factor in the 2012 presidential race. both president obama and the eventual republican nominee will be campaigning hard to win it. cnn contributor and democratic strategist maria car doen know said president obama has the edge because of his commitment to the environment. maria, why do you think it's the environment that's the key issue? explain? >> well, it's certainly one of the key issues, fredricka, that has risen to the top of the concern for latino voters. i wrote this piece because it's not necessarily an issue that elected officials connect but it is. first is the long standing cultural connection that latino voters who have become a very important demographic, especially in the swing states out in the west, they really see this. they have a keen connection to the air and the water from generations that a lot of the families have been there for. the second thing is health and safety concerns, fredricka. as you know, latinos more than

anyone are a group that tend to lack health insurance coverage and latinos more than one in two latinos live in counties that frequently violate epa regulations on pollution. and so latinos tend to live in communities where there are dirty facilities, dirty plants, that tend to spew pollution into the air and water. as ayla teen know mother, which is an important demographic within an important demographic, we really look at these regulations as protecting our families and protecting job growth and job creation in this country. >> are you or other latino mothers hearing this being addressed by any of the gop contenders? >> no, and that's another reason why i wrote this piece, because it is something that latino voters are looking to hear from their elected officials. a lot of polling that has been done, fredricka, you see that latinos across the board, more so than the mainstream population, really support

strong regulations, strong federal regulations to keep the air and the water clean. and what we're hearing from republican candidates are that all of these regulations are job killers and that's exactly the opposite of what we have actually seen. in 2010 we actually had a savings of $1.3 trillion because of these regulations and those are the kinds of savings that really benefit not just latino communities but communities across the country in terms of job growth and job creation. >> maria cardona, thanks so much. people can read more on your article at cnn.com. all right. straight ahead, more lin formation on the new york nix hot rookie, where he is crashing now at the all-star weekend and how he is changing betting lines. peppery poblano, sweet butternut.

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some stories we are working on for you later today. 2:35 eastern time, president obama visits the boeing factory in everett, washington, he will talk about domestic manufacturing and american exports. 3:00 eastern, nasa celebrates 50 years of americans in orbit. the first two americans to circle the earth, john glen and scott carpenter, will be speaking at the kennedy space center. a couple hours later, nasa will try again to launch an atlas rocket, bad weather scrubbed yesterday's scheduled liftoff. and we are following developments in the next hour of the cnn newsroom, check in first with susan candiotti. susan? >> hi, fred.

you know, today could be the last day that whitney houston fans can bring flowers and mementos to her childhood church before the funeral on saturday. i will have a live report coming up. >> i'm joe johns in shelby township, michigan. rick santorum campaigning in the state a second straight day, we have heard a lot of talk about the government-sponsored bailouts. do the voters here in michigan really care about that right now? i will have that coming up at the top of the hour. and i'm alison kosik at the new york stock exchange. got an iphone? surprise, "the wall street journal" reports that google has been tracking where you travel online by side stepping your privacy settings. frederica, i will have more on that in the next hour. >> thanks so much, everyone. plus, we will take a closer look at the humanitarian crisis in syria. life is getting desperate in some of the hardest hit areas. relief groups say people who need food and medicine the most are not getting it. [ bird squawks ] ♪

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a baseball legend passes on. here with a tribute. >> gary carter, truly one of the great catchers in baseball history, he loved playing baseball. got the nickname, the kid, for his enthusiasm at his first major league training camp. that enthusiasm, his winning smile, stuck not only for his entire hall of fame career but also his life, which ended yesterday. gary carter died nine months after being diagnosed with brain cancer.

carter played 19 seasons for four teams, mostly the mets and expos, 321 home runs, won a world series ring with the mets in 1986. that series was a classic. carter started the game, mets rallied against the red sox, ended with most of the famous plays in baseball history, the ball dribble through bill buckner's legs. darryl strawberry saw carter last month, carter said he was blessed. strawberry says i wish i could have lived my life like gary carter. carter did die too soon. he was 57. two words, jeremy lin. >> the biggest star in new york is jeremy lin. >> linsanity. >> inexplicable. >> can you believe this is happening to you? >> no. >> truth, right there jeremy lin will be a part of the nba all-star festivities next weekend, take part in the rising stars game and make a cameo helping out a teammate in the dunk contest. lin is impacting las vegas.

one sports book says before his first game you the knicks were a 40-1 shot to take the nba title. now the line is 18-1. remember how lin didn't have his own place and was sleeping on a couch, moving on up, got an apartment in trump tower in white plains, new york. lin and the nix take on new orleans tonight. lin has a new playmate, injured superstar carmelo anthony could be back in the lineup. making a basket, jeremy lin try this with a boxing glove, one of the trick shot buys jonathan brockman in the trick shot video. the milwaukee bucks forward is challenging fans to make their own trick shot. he will choose the best video and will play the winner in, yes, a game of fours. check this out from the rafters. >> no. no. >> bam. >> unbelievable. >> yeah, he is -- >> un-unh un-unh. of course it has to make it 'cause they were rolling on it. >> my favorite is the boxing

gloves but, yeah, all over the court. >> what? >> you know, he has got plenty of time to practice because he doesn't play much in the games, he is truly the last guy on the bench that is how he spends his time in practice. >> he has mastered those shots, pretty impressive. thanks so much, dev. lots of fun. hello again, i'm fredricka whitfield in for kyra phillips on assignment. more on who will be performing at whitney houston's funeral. aretha franklin, stevie wonder, alicia keys, all performing at the church. the list of mourners paying respects includes denzel washington, mel gibson, jamie foxx and janet jackson, just to name a few. also getting a look at new photographs never seen before whitney as a young woman, at least a lot of folks have never seen them before. we also know now that her former co-star, kevin costner, who i guess folks have not heard from this week, well, he will be among those speaking at the services. and the former husband, the

ex-husband of whitney houston, bobby brown, he also has officially been invited. susan candiotti is in newark this morning. susan, authorities are making some real changes there around the block. so, this is a last chance many people will have, as you say to place flowers or mementos at the church. >> reporter: that's right, fred, good morning. you can see the biggest changes is how much farther back we are from whitney houston's childhood church, where we have seep those pictures of her singing as a little girl. the police started barricading some streets off, blocking them off last night and setting up a perimeter that's why we are across a parking lot where it is believed some of the guests will be leaving their cars before they go into the services tomorrow. but up close, we can show you how people continue to come and leave behind moment toes and flowers, personal messages, posing for photographs, all in hopes of getting as close as they can to where whitney

houston's body will be brought for this funeral tomorrow. and 1500 guests will be there in aten dance. now the police are telling everyone to stay home because they are going to keep them back at least two blocks away from the church, setting up that big perimeter that we mentioned. and also, the family continues to ask for privacy. that's why they are asking everyone to simply watch from home, watch on cnn and cnn.com. and this is what reverend joe cart her to say about the privacy issue. >> this is a church and we are going to have some church in this celebration and once again, thank you for respecting the privacy of the family and respecting the sanctity of our church campus and we are asking that you continue to pray and thank all the fans through all of their support, ton pray for the family. >> and over at the funeral home, we are also seeing that they put a large photograph of whitney houston in the front window on

that home. they have set up privacy drapes around some entrances to the funeral home as well as police security tape. you know reverend carter, one of the other thing also he told us is that this will be a celebration. it will be filled with laughter and with tears and that's what all of us will be doing tomorrow, remembering whitney houston in our own special way. back to you you frederica. >> susan candiotti, thanks so much, outside new hope baptist church there in newark, new jersey. meanwhile, investigators tight continuing their focus out singer's prescription drug use and behavior in her final days. they are examining her final television appearances. one source close to the investigation tells cnn that they are also trying to speed up toxicology testing. the singer was seen drink october morning she kind the anti-anxiety drug, xanax, was among the prescription bottles found in her hotel room. cnn has full coverage of whitney houston's funeral tomorrow morning beginning at 11 a.m.

eastern time. join piers morgan, soledad o'brien and don lemon as the music legend is remembered. whitney houston, her life, her music, live on cnn and cnn.com this saturday morning beginning at 11 a.m. eastern. the syrian city of homs is enduring its 14th day of pounding. snipers and tanks have targeted neighborhoods in the city. activists based in london say nine bodies have been found in homs today. many residents have either fled the city or are too afraid to leave their home, cnn found. thousands of people are gathering across syria to protest president assad's regime. all this comes one day after the u.n. general assembly condemned the crackdown. the relentless shelling of homes is creating a humanitarian crisis. relief groups say they can't get food, water and medicine to people who need it most. cnn's barbara starr is following that story and we know that

supplies needed. why isn't it, i guess, getting to them? >> you know, it's -- it's a terrible situation there right now, frederica, with the regime forces continuing their shelling, continuing their pounding of civilian areas, relief organizations, of course, simply can't get in. so, what you're beginning to see is this conversation amongst countries, is there something they can do? can they establish corridors of safety where perhaps supplies can be brought in and refugees can come out? a lot of discussion about this. a lot of this led by the turkish government. of course, turkey on syria's northern border. but until the shelling stops, until the fighting stops, there's a sense that this disaster will simply grow because if you establish those corridors inside syria, you either have to use a lot of military force to defend them or those corridors itself, it is believed, would become a target

to for further violence by the regime. fred? >> u.s. position here is there any consideration or discussion about how the u.s. would assist, intervene, participate in any way? >> right. absolutely. you know this is now one of the options. when you talk to administration officials, what are you considering? they will tell you that they are still looking at the diplomatic option, that pressure on the assad regime. but it is very clear behind the scene scenes, they are looking at other avenues, are there things they can do? they still come up against this problem, until the violence stops, until there is some sort of political settlement in syria, it is very hard to do anything. relief organizations, private organizations, the u.n., all waiting to see if they can get in there, but it would take a political settlement, the u.s. believes i, and right now, they don't see that coming. without it you are stepping right into the middle of a war. frederica? >> barbara starr, thanks so much at the pentagon. a "new york times" reporter has died in syria.

anthony shadid apparently a fatal asthma attack. a photographer for the paper carried his body into turkey, shadid covered the middle east for nearly 20 years. he won two pulitzer prizes for his work in iraq and was kidnapped last year covering libya. shadid was 43. it has been one year since libya's arab spring began with a day of rage. the uprising was the beginning of the end of the gadhafi regime. now, there are claims that militias are committing human rights abuses and threatening libya's future. max foster joining us now from london with more on that. max? >> yeah, there's certainly celebrations about the fall of gadhafi on this day, but the problem, the background to this is that many of the militias who actually ousted him from power have refused to give up their arms and concern they had may get organizers, some how the country will break down looking forward. they need to give up those arms for a peaceful future ahead. a lot of the newspapers around

the world really looking at this on this poignant day. the irish times saying songs and uncertainty one year on in libya. some talking about growing disenchantment with the slow pace of change. others cling to determined optimism, looking to elections planned june and arguing anything would be better than chafing under gadhafi. the national rights, many challenges ahead on libya's revolution day. exactly a year after taking up arms against gadhafi, getting the militias to lay down their weapons is proving as difficult as defeating the old regime. the times and motor, future still uncertain, libya's new leaders face an enormous challenge to build a country based on the rule of law after 42 years of one family rule, whilst preventing revenge attacks. still a very delegate situation, frederica. al qaeda is trying to capital lirkz get support in that country, no great success so far. >> max foster, thanks so much

from london. politics now in this country, the general election battleground state in michigan is now the site of a turf war between republicans and a new poll shows rick santorum on top, leading mitt romney by 6 percentage points. our joe johns is in detroit. so, joe, romney, he is trying to make up some ground and score some points with the auto industry there and it's really gonna hurt if he doesn't do well in the state in which he was born. >> that's for sure, frederica. it will be very tough for him. this is a state where he was born, also where his father was governor, that was about 40 years ago. some question as to how many people actually remember the romneys. a lot of republicans suggesting that they do. however a lot of the talk, at least the last 24 hours or so, what have been about bailouts whether they were a good idea, obviously because the auto industry got a big bailout and

gm reporting record profits but interesting how the candidates talk about them. rick santorum, for example, on the campaign trail here in this state saying yesterday that as far as he is concerned, bailouts are not a good idea, period. listen. >> this is a president who is disarming america economically. robbing us of our freedom. controlling more and more power in washington, d.c. we need to have somebody who can go out and say, mr. president, give us our freedom back, allow americans the opportunity to provide for themselves and their families. >> now, mitt romney has taken a lot of heat also because he said he wasn't for the auto industry bailout. he would have liked to have seen more of a structured bankruptcy which he says is pretty much what happened, so the big question of course, frederica, is whether all of this really matters to republican voters and

some of our polling suggests republican voters really aren't focused so much on the bailouts. it's the democrats who want to make the case and whichever of these candidates if it's romney or santorum ends up being the nominee for the republican party, that's the time when michigan will really have a debate perhaps over the bailout. we will see. fred? >> joe johns, thanks so much. coming up next, the man who worked with whitney houston on the bodyguard shares his memories. darryl simmons has worked with a lot of talented people but he doesn't think he will ever see a talent like hers again. two f-16s intercept this private plane after it strays into president obama's restricted airspace. wait until you hear what was found on board. that's next. whwheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

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have more fiber than other leading brands. they're the better way to enjoy your fiber. the world is getting ready to say good-bye to whitney houston and many of them are fans, some are colleagues lucky enough to work with her. grammy-winning songwriter and record producer darryl sim mops worked with houston at her peak on "the bodyguard" soundtrack and good to see you. >> thank you. >> i know this is bittersweet because it gives you an opportunity to really talk about how enamored you as a friend and a colleague were of her but at the same time, tough talk about her in the past tense. >> yeah, never think of having to do that, you know, when you're working or you're hanging out, doing what you're doing. you just never think that day will come. we don't think that way.

we are in the moment. >> when you worked with her during "the bodyguard," you were co-writing with her, you had kind of been approached by "the bodyguard" to say we need to you write this song and here's the title. that was kind of a backwards way of approaching a song for you as an artist. how did you do that? >> my partners and i, l.a. reid and babyface, we are a song writing team earthquake the project was pitched. normally we write from music and let the music move us. this music sounds like i should laugh, this sounds like i should cry, here the producers came in and said we need a song called "queen of the night" and we were like, well we don't write like that we come up with it and we tell you this is what it s and so it was really challenging but it was great to have whitney there because i can honestly say if she hadn't been a part of it and hadn't written it with us, it probably wouldn't have made the album. >> what did they bring to that moment? what do you recall? her emotion in?

her words? >> she never gave up on it we were frustrated with it we felt like we were pigeon holed into writing something someone told us to write and to me, actually, at the end of the day, she was far greater than the song was. >> what do you mean by that? >> i felt like musically, i felt like we didn't really bring it home the way we wanted to because we were so pigeon holed into being told what to do. in other words, her performance was far greater than the song was. >> something about her range. henchts range, her energy, her spirit, her voice. >> how excite the was she to be part of this process? >> she was excited but it was really hard, tough remember she was filming during the day. and i'm not an actor, but those days start pretty early ands as musician, producers, like to work at night, start at 6:00, 7:00, go to 3, 4 a.m. here she was getting the at 3, 4 a.m. to be on the movie set all

day, have to leave there and come to the studio to work on the music so, one of the things that i thought about when i was at the studio and i look at one of the plaques, wow, there was a lot of work that went into it, everybody sees the end result. they hear the end result of the song for four minute bus they don't know the process of what she went through, the work, the long days that it took to get the final little product. >> something, michael walden, comp pores, songwriter spoke of her, his people rips of her, talked about how she brought this incredible talent of being able to bring so many different riffs, different levels of her singing voice and it may happen in the span of three or four hours. just as you say, the rest of the team is working overnight i the next morning, marrying it all together and how she would come in and hear it and she could identify, that's hit. that was nailed in that moment. >> and she had that thing we call magic, you come in, david foster said it the other night, he was on, you give her

something to sing, hey, whitney goes like this, she bring it is back to you, you go, wow. >> kind of exceeded expectations? >> way over. something you never would have thought of that she turn it had into whitney and you just say, okay. and you can't take credit for t. >> even were you sometimes just awe-struck by her? >> that was the hard thing. i remember one session and she went in and she was the first singer that i worked with that could sing from beginning to end without stopping, give you all the verses, all the ad libs, came out of the booth, always had this sweat at the top of her lip and said, "oh, got some that time, baby." l.a. looked back and said we got a problem. she said what's that? gave us too much good stuff. we don't know what to pick. >> what can we leave on the floor what can we edit out? >> yeah it was all good, too good. >> she really was a one-take wonder. >> one-take wonder. very rare in our field because

we are use to going in, guiding, giving direction, i may even sit there myself and try to make it up, oh, okay, give me five minutes, i will tell you what to sing, here she was, she would go do it and at the end of the day, you really didn't feel like you did anything. it is like, well, i can't take credit for this, this is all of her. >> you just revealed a lot about her that most people democratic didn't know. i asked deborah cox earlier, what is that thing that quality about her that perhaps you know the general public doesn't know about her that you are hoping people will remember her for? >> that she sang do shall she sang because she loved to sing. when she came too work, it was about work, it wasn't about do you have my special bottled water at room temperature? do you have my blue m & m's? do you have my -- it was when she got there about ready to sing? you guys ready to go? let's go, baby. let's go. that is what it was about. it was always about work. you know, the love of singing. i never felt like it was about i'm a star. oh, i've got these problems.

i got to do this. it was about truly for the love of i just love to sing. she always sang with a smile on her face. her friend, robin, said whether she had a cold, whether she was sick, whether she could hit the note or not, she sang it with a smile on her face. >> so nice. >> and she made you feel that she was giving you everything, even though that particular night, yes, she may not have hit that high note, you know what i felt that she really tried to. and i believe it and i felt it. >> thanks so much for helping us to remember whitney houston. i know it is going to be a tough day four. >> let's celebrate t let's celebrate the music. i hear about all the -- i have blinders on. all i think about, the great songs. let's think about the great songs, the great performances, let's not focus on all the negative, 'cause there's a lot of good that she brought to the world. >> and helping us to see that. thanks so much. >> thank you so much. >> daryl simmons, thanks so much. appreciate it. of course, cnn has full coverage of whitney houston's

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so how much of what you do online is being tracked? turns out more than you think. alison kosik is at the new york stock exchange with details of the latest privacy uproar involving google. alison? >> what google is apparently doing tracking where some people browse on the web and these are people who thought they put their privacy settings into place to prevent that very thing from happening. this involves millions of people who have iphones who have mma mack computers and "the wall street journal" is saying they caught going well their happened in the cookie jar a tracking code embedded in ads on google websites wound up installing itself onto apple devices. let's say you visited fandan fandango.com, match.com, aol, tmz, urban dictionary, what happened is it tracked people who used the websites using apple safari browser. safari blocks tracking by

default. leave it to going toll find a loophole. "the wall street journal" called google out and google then disabled the tracking. frederica? >> so did apple or any of the websites know about this? >> the without journal is reporting that there is no indication that the sites knew anything about the tracking, meaning that apple knew anything about the tracking. apple is saying that it is working to put out a fix to its program. now, google is claiming that the "wall street journal" mischaracterized what happened that it made it seem more nefarious than it really was. google is saying that no personal information was collected but you know, when you step back from this issue, privacy is really a big deal lately. some are calling for a privacy bill of rights because some companies are really pushing the envelope. but if you are an advertiser, think about it, knowledge it is really the holy grail for advertisers because if they know what people are looking at online, they can tailor ads right to them over and over and over again.

you know, pop-up ads, too. . annoying pop-up ads. >> they are kind of annoying. thanks, alison. politics straight ahead, rick santorum is trying to distance himself from some off color comments made by one of his biggest supporters. our political panel is next and we will ask them if this is a glimpse inside rick santorum's world. 8% every 10 years. wow. wow. but you can help fight muscle loss with exercise and ensure muscle health. i've got revigor. what's revigor? it's the amino acid metabolite, hmb to help rebuild muscle and strength naturally lost over time. [ female announcer ] ensure muscle health has revigor and protein to help protect, preserve, and promote muscle health. keeps you from getting soft. [ major nutrition ] ensure. nutrition in charge!

check the top stories now, final funeral plans are set for whitney houston, a long list of stars will honor houston tomorrow at her childhood church in newark, new jersey. ex-husband bobby brown is expected to attend. and today, congress could approve the deal extending the payroll tax cut and unemployment benefits. president obama will sign the deal when it hits his desk. the mississippi river is closed in one part because two vessels collided this morning,

it leaked oil into the river. the vessel has been pushed up into a bank but no longer leaking. no word on how much oil did spill, however. today, our roundtable, maria cardona, chris moody for yahoo! news and boris epstein, a republican strategist. good to see all of you. two female democratic council members walk out of a committee hearing, contraception rule, because there were no women on the panel of witnesses what is at stake here? maria? >> what's at stake i think is the downfall of the republican party because they should take a page out of rick perry and take boots. they wouldn't be big enough. they need to take rubber suits.

they are not just stepping in it they are rolling in it. the majority of women in this country have taken contraception and they demand, we demand equal access to preventive services. imagine that outrage joyce we would demand equal access to life-saving services. the republicans are wrong on this. they have already alienated latino voters and going down the wrong path. >> all right. boris? >> this could be handled better from the republican perspective no question about t this framed as a constitutional debate. does the president and the federal government have the right to mandate that these -- this contra step. the same time the employers are the insurers. that is how the debate should be framed. both sides are trivializing it by saying republicans don't want it to have contraception and republicans are saying that democrats, president obama, want to trample on religion that is not happening with either one. smart about the debate.

>> surely there was a republican aide looking at the names of people that were going to speak at the hearing and said, you know, maybe they will criticize us for not having any women. i'm actually surprise they had didn't think about that. of course, they were criticized for it. it wasn't republicans who started that mandate on -- that could violate certain people's religious moral convictions. the issue is who swung first? >> foster freeze makes a joke about women using aspirin as a contraceptive. santorum putting distance between him and his comments but is this giving us a glimpse into santorum's world? worry, you first. it is bad. to go on "andrea mitchell" and say that, it was awful. a glimpse into santorum's world? maybe yes, maybe no. what we know about rick

santorum, someone who has spoken against women in military forces, women in the workforce, he has spoken out against gay rights, someone who con accept traits on social issues, someone who is not for a big republican tent. and we need to concentrate on small government, low taxes, national security, how we can beat president obama and win the senate while keeping the house. rick santorum at the top of the ticket exwe will have a problem in all the races. >> maria? >> i think it is not only a glimpse into rick santorum's world, i think a glimpse into this new extreme republican party who doesn't respect women. the only election the republicans will win any time soon are elections on new england's moon colony t is ridiculous what they are doing in terms of alienating critically important demographics. >> and chris? >> rick santorum and his

campaign, a little bit embarrassed by foster friess' comments. every time i have heard him, he has been extremely clear to say he separates his personal views from policy views. you look at his record throughout the 1990s, he doesn't necessarily vote against contraceptives and i thank you is something that is overlooked quite a bit, he separates those two things. >> buzzer batter, 20 seconds each, romney is now in a dogfight in his home state of michigan. even with an endorsement from the governor, why is this such a tough battle for him, maria? >> in addition to the fact that this is not somebody that conservatives trust or conservatives like because he has flip-flopped on so many issue, the key argument for his candidacy, he is a businessman who knows how to turn around ailing industries has completely tanked because of the fact that he came out against the detroit bankruptcy plan or bailout plan that has, in fact, saved detroit

and saved the key industry in michigan. >> all right. boris? >> saved the key industry, costing taxpayers billions and billions of dollars. the bailout comments are a problem for mitt romney. long-term, he is going to overcome these issues and he is going tonight republican nominee because, again, he doesn't concentrate on social issues like santorum does and focus on what people care become the economy and national security. michigan's going to be a dogfight. long-term, romney is the nominee no question about t. >> all right. chris? >> when it comes to his lack of support for the bailout it is kind of a damned if you do damned if you don't scenario for mifrmt he said if i support the bailout, he said you are feerngd michigan or eye been a donning your free market republican principles. people are saying michigan could be a waterloo for mitt romney. i don't know if that is extreme but tell us if we will have a much longer primary sea seine here going forward. >> next time, we need more time on the clock for you guys next time. very fiery. >> did seem very short today, frederica. >> all right, maria, chris and

doris, thanks so much. >> have a good weekend. >> have a great weekend. all right. just days before the arizona primary election, the gop contenders debate the issues again. the arizona republican presidential debate on cnn wednesday night, 8:00 eastern time. and more stars are being added to the guest list for whitney houston's funeral. details straight ahead in showbiz headlines. there are patients who will question, why does my mouth feel dryer than i remember it to be? there are more people taking more medication, so we see people suffering from dry mouth more so.

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a man definitely making his mark, new york nix rookie point guard, jeremy lin. >> two words, jeremy lin. >> the biggest star in new york right now is jeremy lin. >> linexplicable. >> linsanity does it again. >> all he does great. >> let the greatness of jeremy lin wash over you. >> can you believe this is happening to you? >> no. >> lin taking the nba by storm and helping the knicks to a seven-game win streak, a double-double in his last game wednesday night, 13 assists in 26 minutes. in earlier games, he had numbers like 38 points against kobe bryant and the lakers one week ago. then 27 tuesday night in toronto, including you the game

winner, with just .5 left. he won't be counted on to score as much, however, with the injured superstar car people low anthony coming back, maybe as soon as tonight's game. piers morgan is talking to jeremy lin's agent to find out what life is really like for the young star. watch that interview on piers morgan tonight, cnn, 9 p.m. eastern time. whitney houston's final have tomorrow and we are just finding out more big stars are being added to that guest list. "showbiz tonight" host a.j. hammer joins us live with more details on this from new york. aj? >> the list of people confirmed to be attending continues to grow at this hour. we do know that aretha franklin, kevin costner, tyler perry, clive davey, stevie wonder, alicia keys, deion warwick and jesse jackson are all among those who will be there. and fred, "showbiz tonight" just confirmed more names, beyonce, jay-z, elton john and r. kelly

will be saying good-bye to whitney tomorrow. >> and among those who are actually performing? >> we know that aretha, alicia keys and stevie wonder are expected to sing at the funeral 12 noon to the wine nans family is very involved, the houstons and its wine nans are practically family. marvin wine nan is giving the eulogy as we know, last night, he said he and his brother and sister will be singing at the funeral with members of their family and he said, and i think this is very important, he said the service will be about whitney houston that they all knew and not the whitney houston the superstar that we all knew. watch what he told me about that. >> and she is going to be surrounded by people who absolutely involved and adored her for who she was and for the heart that she shared. and so it will be those people. so, we will cry, we will laugh, with he will do all those things because that's who she was.

>> and according to bebe, she was a very funny person, hearing from friends this week. despite her superstar status, also hear that she is just very, very real. >> yeah, very down to earth. i spoke with one of the co-writers from "the bodyguard" earlier, daryl simmons, something wonderful about her, she was very casual and at ease and lots of fun. so apparently, her ex-husband, bobby brown there were some rumblings that he wasn't invited, but the family came out and said, no, he is very much welcome what more do you know about that? >> yeah, no, bobby brown is expected to be there tomorrow, fred. "showbiz tonight" confirmed he was officially invited. though he is still continuing with his current tour, on stage last night with his group, new edition, touring a while, back in concert tonight, up on stage with them. tomorrow night, planning on performing after funeral. we haven't told he finds the shows to be a sort of therapy helping him get through his grief. despite his history, he is

mourning as well. of course, he is the father of his child with whitney houston, bobbi kristina who obviously is having an impossible time right now. >> thanks so much. aj hammer in new york. appreciate that cnn has full coverage of whitney houston's funeral tomorrow at 11 a.m. eastern time. join piers morgan, soledad o'brien and don legend the music legend is remembered. whitney houston, her life, her music, live on cnn and cnn.com this morning beginning at 11 a.m. and for information on everything breaking in the entertainment world, watch aj this evening on "showbiz tonight," 11 p.m. on hln. coming up after the break, a behind-the-scenes look at fashion week 2012. alina cho taking us beyond the cat walk, talking to an icon and supermodel.

music, live on cnn and cnn.com alina cho taking us beyond the

from dkny to uniforms for mickey d's, alina cho has your inside look to fashion week and her special that airs next weekend. >> reporter: for 27 years, donna karan has been an icon in the fashion world, but even though the 63-year-old loves designing, her latest passion is haiti. car ran helps haitian artisans in the earthquake zone by buying their products and selling them in her urban zen stores. >> 100% of the profit all goes back to the haitian art sans. not only are we buying product from haiti but we are also foundationally giving all the money back to haiti. >> what do you get out of it

then? >> my heart. >> reporter: we also talked to the designer behind red carpet sensation, marchesa. georgina chapman takes me behind-the-scenes for a look at the gowns worn by halle berry, jessica alba and jennifer lopez and answers the question whether her husband, hollywood heavyweight producer harvey weinstein, encourses a-list actresses to wear marchesa groups. it doesn't hurt. >> of course it doesn't hurt. i think his relationship with actresses is a very different relationship. i don't think anybody is going to let harvey tell them how to get dressed. >> reporter: a growing trend is designers who are not just creating looks for the runway but for fedex, too. one designer for sephora, another for the cocktail waitresses at a new york hotel. stan herman has been designing

uniforms for 40 years. >> office hot designer on 7th avenue and somebody approached me and said would you like to do uniforms? and i said what is that? and i discovered i loved doing it because it was like brand new, branding a corporation. >> reporter: and what's fashion week without supermodels? this season, it's all about joan. joan smalls, seemingly overnight, she went from catalog model to catwalk stunner. global face of estee laud and a new face of chanel. >> i'm going to get it i'm coming to be great. >> all that, plus a look at how the editors at people's style watch take the runway and make it real way. and president obama is out with a spring collection, of sorts. we will explain. back to you. >> all right. thanks so much, alina. for more of alina's inside look at the fashion industry, watch fashion backstage pass airing

saturday, february 25th, 2:30 eastern time. and take a look at this amazing images captured by nasa. rob marciano lex plain what scientists think is going on here. [ tires squeal, engine revs ] ♪ ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] not everything powerful has to guzzle fuel. the 2012 e-class bluetec from mercedes-benz. see your authorized mercedes-benz dealer for exceptional offers through mercedes-benz financial services. through mercedes-benz weight loss programs can be expensive. so to save some money, i just got the popular girls from the local middle school

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okay. we have never seen pictures like this before from nasa, amazing video of what looks like tornadoes on the sun. meteorologist rob marciano is here to explain what are we looking at? >> this is from that satellite we launched two years ago, frederica. we have been getting really cool pictures similar to this for the past two years, these just came in a couple of days ago. store, is amazing stuff here. when you look at the size of what these tornadoes can be. now, granted, there's no weather on the sun and this isn't a solid surface so, this is plasma that's just being stretched in all different directions here by magnetic fields, you get that swirl right there. now, when you think about this, exactly how large these things are, you know, the size of the earth, that is probably about the size of the earth. so one of those puppies would pretty much engulf the earth. the solar dynamics observatory, the sdl, as we like to call it, is a satellite they put up and

this is one of the things they are studying, the magnetic field, what drive it is and what exactly does do? $860 million project, a good thing we are getting cool pictures from this thing. this is not associated with a solar flare but cool pictures nonetheless. >> they are gorgeous. thanks so much, rob. >> you bet. today's daily dose now. new neuroimaging research shows the wiring in the brains of children with autism divers from other children, even by six months of age. researchers say the brain net works of autistic children don't develop properly and that is evidence even before symptoms of autism appear. scientists hope the finding could lead to early interventions and help. coming up in in the next hour of the newsroom, suzanne malveaux will be live to talk with grammy award-winning artist, ashanti. whitney houston appeared one of ashanti's music videos and she

refers to ahouston as an inspiration. ashanti live, in the next hour of the newsroom. 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. anything not moving forward... is moving backward. [ tires screech ] [ engine turns over, tires squeal ] introducing the 2013 gs, with the lexus enform app suite -- the most connected information and communication technology available in an automobile. [ engine revs ] the all-new 2013 lexus gs. there's no going back. see your lexus dealer.

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a deep-pocketed supporter of rick santorum is now apologizing for this comment he made on birth control. >> this contraceptive thing, my gosh, it is such inexpensive. back in my days they used bayer asprin for contraception, the gals put it between their niece and it wasn't that costly. >> cnn political editor mark preston joining us now.

so, foster friess' comments upset a whole lot of people and now he has something new to say? >> he has a new statement out, fred, where he apologizes for actually making the comment. let me read this to you quickly. after listening to the segment tonight, i can understand how i confused people with the way i worded the joke and their taking offense is very understandable. to all those who took my joke as a modern-day approach, i deeply apologize and seek your forgiveness. you know, foster friess also went on to say in this statement that his wife, while she understood the joke, didn't like it either, fred. so perhaps this controversy will be water under the bridge. i would suspect though that it will continue the conversation around contraception and santorum's views on t. >> meantime, let's talk about newt gingrich, very few folks have been talking about him or seeing him very much. but apparently, there's new life in that campaign. how and why? >> there's new financial life it appears. this news nugget that was dug out just this morning by our own kevin bond, sheldon adelson, who

is the casino mogul in las vegas and property around the world, given $11 million to a super pac that has helped newt gingrich motor on in the past two months or so well, kevin has now -- has now reported that, in fact, sheldon adelson is going to donate another $10 million to this political action committee this is significant because newt gingrich hasn't been part of conversation, due in part because of the rise of rick santorum and we are told that the reason why shemd adelson is actually putting the money in is 'cause he doesn't want rick santorum to win the nomination and he thinks by helping newt gingrich along, certainly this $10 million, make sure that mitt romney then becomes the nominee. fred? >> very interesting stuff. thanks so much mark preston for bringing us that the next political update in one hour a reminder for all of the latest political news, you know exactly where to go our website,