your daughters deserve it and so does mine. >> thank you, it's been a pleasure doing battle with you and your equally combative daughter. >> don't mess with my mama. >> i'm never going to mess with them again. that's it for us. "ac 360" starts right now.

today, the man who could fire him but hasn't, city manager norman bonaparte, spoke about the force that chief lee runs. he said any trust in the police department is gone and this for african-americans in sanford, florida, it was shaky to begin with. >> let's be very clear. chief lee has been the chief of the sanford police department for ten months. the issues that have been brought to my attention regarding the black community and the sanford community go back many years. >> we have been looking into that, including the brutal beating of a homeless man, in which they let the son of a sanford police lieutenant go free. that led to the early departure of the police chief. we're going to detail that incident and others shortly. and you're going to hear from sanford's mayor, jeff triplett. and meantime, president obama who hasn't spoken publicly about the martin case until today speaks now.

>> but my main message is to the parents of trayvon martin. you know, if i had a son he'd look like trayvon. and, you know, i think they are right to expect that all of us as americans are going to take this with the seriousness it deserves and that we're going to get to the bottom of exactly what happened. >> well, the republican presidential candidates weighing in. mitt romney calling it a tragedy, rick santorum saying that the actions look starkly different to him than those protected by florida stand your ground law. newt gingrich said that zimmerman was clearly overreaching in his neighborhood watch duties. allen west said zimmerman had no authorization to shoot trayvon martin. meantime, the protests go on across this country. in this miami high school, the

students marched out and spelled out trayvon martin's officials for all to see. we have breaking news and we have craig sonner, the attorney for mr. zimmerman. first of all, how is your client, george zimmerman, doing? >> well, i think he's doing all right considering, i mean, he's under a considerable bit of stress as a result of all the things that have been transpired in the last few weeks. >> where is george zimmerman now? >> i don't know. my conversations have been on the telephone. i don't -- i don't know his exact location. i believe he's in the area. >> so he's still -- >> i have been in contact with him. >> you believe he's still in the united states? >> oh, yes. >> there had been some indication maybe he was in peru or a report he was in peru. that's not true? >> no, that's not true. >> what has your client told you

about the night he shot trayvon martin? >> that i believe he's probably -- he should have made a statement to police at that time. i think he did. i don't know for -- i don't know for fact because i haven't seen the police reports on this case. i have not discussed the evening of what occurred that time. i think that'll come out through the investigation process done by law enforcement. >> you haven't discussed any of the details of that night with him? >> no. >> why? >> when -- even if i had, that would be attorney/client privilege and i wouldn't be able to disclose that tonight. but at this point there's an investigation going on and i have advised him to cooperate with that investigation. and as far as what did or didn't happen that night, i think there have been interviews with different witnesses and so on, just to suffice to answer that question for you. >> the 911 tapes have been

released. do you know -- has your client heard the 911 tapes? >> other than what's being played on television? >> or had he heard what's being played on television? >> i don't know -- i don't believe he has heard what's being played on television nor have i. >> okay. you have not heard them. there are some people who believe that your client may have uttered a racial slur. some have heard those 911 tapes, they believe they may have that muttered under his breath. has he made any indication to you about whether or not he did utter a racial slur? >> i don't believe he uttered a racial slur. i asked him if he uses racial slurs and he denies that. he's been involved in a mentorship program and the funding has been cut, but he -- he was a mentor to african-american boy age of 14 and his wife was a mentor to the 13-year-old girl from, you know

-- via their parents. and in this -- i talked with the mother of the two children and she indicated she -- i asked her, you know, did he make comments to you that indicated he was a racist? and she said no. and she is african-american and for the things he's done, you know, as far as taking the children to the mall, he took them to the mall, took them to the science center. did the kind of outings to help, you know, to help the children have time out, to be a friend to them. i don't believe that's the indication of a person who's a racist to do that. >> has he given you any indication why he found trayvon martin suspicious? >> no. >> because on the 911 tapes, he says these a-holes, they always get away. he also seemed to indicate he believed that perhaps trayvon martin was high or was on drugs.

>> i don't know. what's your question on that? >> again, i mean, he seemed to indicate on those 911 tapes he found trayvon martin suspicious based on something he saw. i'm wondering if he has given you any indication or if you have any sense of why he may have found trayvon martin suspicious? >> no, i have -- again, i haven't listened to that 911 tape and i haven't discussed that with him either. >> you said your client had injuries. there were reports he had a bloody nose, there were reports of blood on the back of his head, grass stains on his back. what can you say about what injuries if any he had? >> i believe that he has -- his nose was broken. he sustained injury to his nose and on the back of his head he sustained a cut that was serious enough that probably should have stitches, but there was a delay in him getting to the emergency room. so they -- by the time they got there, got to the doctor, there

was an option not to stitch it up because it had started healing is my understanding. >> so the reports had indicated that the police didn't give him a drug test or didn't test for alcohol in your client. to your knowledge, was your client drinking or using drugs the night he shot trayvon martin? >> to my knowledge, he was not. i don't know what the results of the police report were. i haven't seen them. i don't know that they have been released. >> did he indicate to you at all how his nose got broken or his nose got hurt or the back of his head got cut? >> well, it was an injury that was done by trayvon martin. >> do you know if it was during a tussle? did he describe at all how that injury occurred? >> i have not discussed with him the incidents of that night, other than the injuries he sustained from trayvon martin i assume hit him in the face and caused him to fall back and hit

his head. that's not something i have discussed. that would be at this point attorney/client privilege and i would not disclose that even if i did know. >> sure. is there anything else you want people to know? >> just to let -- let's look at the facts of what happened and i'm not -- i really think that there is -- there are other issues in this case and it's not an issue of racist -- racism. and i don't believe that george zimmerman is a racist. >> what do you think are some of the other issues in this case? >> well, the ultimate issue is that there was some kind of scuffle that took place an there was a gun that was discharged and now there's a young man dead. so the issue is whether it was

-- the ultimate issue is was it self-defense in his case? that's what all the evidence will hopefully lead us -- lead a jury to discover or, you know, or going to the grand jury. what -- you know, what can be proved beyond a reasonable doubt occurred that evening. >> and your client tonight is standing by saying this absolutely was self-defense? >> yes. >> craig sonner, i appreciate your time tonight. thank you very much. >> all right. thank you. bye-bye. >> i also asked the attorney if his client george zimmerman has a message for the martin family? he says no, not at this time. i want to get some quick reaction from our own lawyers, former federal prosecutor jeffrey toobin joining us by phone. he wasn't saying a lot. he say he's represented george zimmerman for two to three weeks now. does it surprise you that he hasn't asked his client at all about what happened? he says he hasn't been present for any interviews or discussions his client has had with police in all that time.

>> well, that is certainly very surprising, particularly that he doesn't -- hasn't spoken to his client about what happened, although he seemed to waffle somewhat in part by saying he had not spoken to him and then he said, well, if i spoke to him, theled be covered by attorney/client privilege. so he is not putting forward a -- you know, a story of what happened. i mean, he's not under obligation. we are not law enforcement, but if he wants to talk to the public, you would think he would have some description of what actually happened that night other than to say it was just self-defense. >> he also said that he thinks it would boil down to a self-defense argument, not necessarily stand your ground he said in a previous interview. that he said stand your ground often is used for people defending themselves in a home. did that -- does that surprise

you? >> well, i think, you know, he's probably being wise not to commit himself too specifically to a defense at this point. after all, his client hasn't even been charged. the grand jury just meeting and as we have been discussing for the past week, he may never be charged. so he doesn't have to commit to a defense. but this is case obviously of great interest to the public. and, you know, the question that everybody is asking is how could a 17-year-old boy be shot dead on the street and what were the circumstances that led to it? we don't know a lot more than we did unfortunately before he started talking publicly. >> does it surprise you he has himself has not listened to the 911 tapes? i think most people in america have heard the 911 tapes. >> that's correct. i think in fairness to mr. sonner he's keep his options open, but if you want to talk publicly about the case you should at least know as much as

a generally informed -- just media observer or media consumer would know. i mean, we all heard that tape many times. it's surprising he hasn't. >> is there anything legally that a lawyer would advise his client not to send a message to the family of trayvon martin? is there any legal reason why an attorney would tell his client, look, don't say you're sorry, or don't say i'm sorry for your loss or anything like that? >> i mean, i think -- frankly, i am somewhat sympathetic to his silence on the issue. nothing he says will make the parents of this poor kid feel better. if the time comes that the legal proceeding is over he may reach out.

but at this point, i'm somewhat sympathetic to the risk of saying something, because the risk of saying something wrong can go beyond the expression of sympathy. >> joining me is the martin family attorney, ms. jackson. you heard mr. zimmerman's attorney speaking and do you have any comments on anything he had to say? >> no, i don't. george zimmerman is entitled to have a lawyer and, you know, that's perfectly fine with us. we believe in a legal system. it's the people in the legal system that have let this family down. there's not been an arrest in this case, so we want an arrest. and we want an arrest. there should have been an arrest that night. >> do trayvon martin's family, do his parents have any message for george zimmerman? >> no, they don't really have a message for george zimmerman. they have a message that they want an arrest. they believe that george zimmerman did something wrong and illegal when he killed their son, their innocent son, trayvon.

>> can you tell us anything about the meeting that occurred between the justice department and trayvon martin's parents yesterday? >> the justice department would look into whether or not this was a hate crime. they said that the hate crime standard was very, very high. it's a standard. they have to look at his actions and his intent. >> if in fact he did utter a racial slur on that 911 tape, we have played that tape multiple times and let viewers make up their own mine about whether or not they hear a racial slur, if he did utter a racial slur, our legal analyst jeffrey toobin said that would be a big part of allowing the federal government to bring in hate crime charges. is that your understanding as well? >> yes, that's my opinion. we've listened to the tape but we don't know. that's up to the jury to decide whether or not there was a racial slur. there's people that think they hear it. there's people that don't.

so, you know, really that's ultimately up to a jury and that's why there must be an arrest in this case so this case can get to a jury. >> the grand jury is not scheduled to convene until april 10. as far as -- is that an acceptable time line to the martin family? >> april 10, it has to be an acceptable time line at this point because that's that they have been told. what they don't want is any delay in that time line. >> i know trayvon's parents want to see the police chief permanently removed, not just temporarily stepping aside. right now are they confident that the investigation by the state and federal authorities are going to be done properly? >> they're cautiously optimistic. they have been told things before. we're optimistic by your words, but really your actions speak louder than words. the police chief has no say in this case at all. it's up to the state now.

>> natalie jackson, i appreciate you joining us tonight. thank you. >> thank you. >> much more on the story at cnn.com. we're continuing to cover it right now. let us know do you think we're -- we're on facebook and follow me on twitter. i'll be tweeting tonight. let me know what you thought about the interviews with attorneys. that's more to the story tonight, including otherence departments that have broken -- including other incidents, and we'll tell you about that. also sanford's mayor who was elected in part to improve the city's image. i interview him ahead. from neutrogena® naturals. removes 99% of dirt and toxins without dyes, parabens or harsh sulfates. so skin feels pure and healthy. [ female announcer ] from neutrogena® naturals. the sleep number bed. the magic of this bed is that you're sleeping on something that conforms to your individual shape. wow! that feels really good. it's hugging my body.

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the lawyer for trayvon martin's killer is speaking out. he says his client, george zimmerman, acted in self-defense. that he's not racist, and and has not left the country and would surrender to authorities if charged in the shooting. you also heard the sanford city manager talk about the loss of trust and tom foreman has the evidence on that. >> reporter: you're looking at a youtube video that caused a sensation in sanford, florida, in late 2010. long before the trayvon martin

shooting. it shows a young white man punching a black man in the back of the head outside a bar, sending him to the hospital. and yet the police made no move to arrest the assailant for weeks. why? many believe it was that young man, justin kohlson, was the son of a police officer. he later paid medical bills for the wounded man and ended up with a year's probation. but that did little to ease tension, especially in the african-american community. the nypd is right now collecting allegations of such incidents. beatings and intimidation and worse. few appear to be corroborated at this point, but they clearly resonate with at least part of the community. >> we have heard stories with regards to this department of case after case, where black men have been killed or attacked and people have walked free even though those black men were not armed. >> many of the young people have been shot and killed, some by

policemen and when they investigate then they have to get -- it's nothing. it's nothing. it's not due process. it's just injustice to the city. >> reporter: in 2005, an african-american teen was shot and killed as he drove away from two security guards with ties to the sanford police department. the guard said he tried to run over them and he fired in self-defense. they were arrested after several months. the shooter charged with manslaughter. they were eventually cleared of the charges. the city has tried to address concern over such incidents. has made changes to the police department, specifically for that purpose. and some local folks admit they have seen some progress. indeed, the current police chief came on the job less than a year ago with a mandate to improve relations with the minority community in the wake of the kohl lisen attack. still, events of recent days suggest that's a long way to go. tom foreman, cnn, washington. well, now the mayor, jeff

triplet he wants to change the perception of the city and he wants people to see sanford as a historical city with promise. a worthy ambition, but damage control comes first. i spoke with the mayor earlier tonight. mayor, first of all, what do you say to the parents of trayvon martin who still are asking why their son's killer hasn't been arrested. >> the only -- what i can say right now is that i truly feel in my heart that i have taken every step possible from the point in time that i -- that i became aware of it to -- to get answers, you know, to go to the department of justice, to ask the fdle to get involved. the things that have happened since that point in time with the special prosecutor and the investigation process that we're going through.

i can't change the things of the past. i can't -- i can't take away what has transpired. but all i can say is that i'm going down the path, i'm doing everything within my power to find out what truly happened. >> you entered a vote of no confidence in your police chief on wednesday night. he's stepped aside, but only temporarily making a point saying that he stood by the investigation his department conducted. the parents of trayvon say he should be permanently removed. what's your response to that? >> i completely understand that, that sentiment. i have not truly had the opportunity to sit down with mr. bonaparte. we have kind of gone in different directions. >> three's the city manager. >> that's the city manager, yes, sir, sorry. to find out exactly what their thoughts -- what the thoughts are with -- what the thought process was and where do we go from here. i know he's stated in the past he wants to see the true investigation to come out before

he makes any decisions about that. and as of right now, i agree with that. having him step aside, even though it's temporarily it's the right thing for our city right now. we'll make some further determinations and decisions as the days come by. >> the chief of police as i said said that he stands by the investigation. do you stand by the investigation into trayvon martin's death? >> i have a lot of questions about this. i have said that since day one. i don't know -- i have not seen the investigation. i don't know the ins and outs of the investigation, but i like everyone else in the nation has some real concern and questions. that's why we have asked outside sources to come in and review it and take a look at it. i think that's truly going to be the determination for what transpires. >> critics of the police chief and also of the police in sanford say that there have bee other incidents between the african-american community and

the police in your community. should they have faith in the police department to protect them and treat them fairly? >> i think our police department has a lot of fine ladies and gentlemen on this force that truly care about this community. i have talked to many of them over the course of what's transpired. i can absolutely though understand why they don't have trust in our police department. there has been a divide in the past. it goes way beyond the, you know, chief lee, mr. bonaparte and myself. and to a history of this. and you know, i sat down and listened the other day to a lot of -- a lot of aggrieved residents that think that the police department have not done what, you know -- have not investigated their circumstances or their issues. i'm taking down all those notes and i know that turner clayton from the naacp is taking notes too.

we plan on giving that to the review team to take a look at. have we done something in the past? have we continued down this path of animosities? if we have, it's time for us to correct it. so i think if from this tragedy if something good can come out of it, i truly believe the community can come together and make solid solutions. >> mayor triplett, thank you. the serious allegations against a first lady. she has been spending her time and thousands have been killed by the regime.

the european union slapped sanctions on the inner circle. freezing the assets of asma assad and other relatives. sanctions are piling up and they hold meeting after meeting, killings in syria continue. opposition groups said at least three dozen people were killed today. we can independently confirm that. fighting was reported in at least six cities as the rest of the world stands by. this is what the people of syria are trying to survive. in homs, more reports today of heavy shelling by assad's troops. we cannot confirm the authenticity of the videos. here's a closer look at the shelling in homs, that is a house burning. here's an even closer look. it is said to be a mosque, a frequent target. especially during friday prayers.

the video shows a mosque under attack. the cameraman is inside. you can see security forces running below. the free syrian army is fighting back as well. the syrian tank, army tank was hit yesterday. the opposition remains outgunned and outnumbered by assad's forces. in the meantime, we're learning more and more about president assad's wife asma. we told you what she wrote in e maims and were leaked to us. tonight, randi kaye goes up close. >> reporter: she is perhaps the strongest defender and thought to be the greatest asset. but now syria's first lady asma assad is under fire for living an extravagant lifestyle and doing little to help the people of syria dying in the street. mrs. assad refused to comment on her husband's regime and its use of tanks and artillery to kill protesters.

in an e-mail to the london times, according to the bbc, her office wrote, "the first lady's very busy agenda is still focused on supporting the various charities. these days she is equally involved in bridging gaps and encouraging dialogue. she listens to and comforts the families of the victims of the violence." if that's true, somehow she's found plenty of time for online shopping. this month e-mails obtained by "anderson cooper 360" believed to be from the private accounts of the syrian president and his wife provide a glimpse into their life of luxury. in february 3, the day opposition fighters reported more than 200 killed in the massacre, it appears the first lady e-mailed a friend about shoes costing as much as $7,000 a pair. the e-mail read, "these are really iconic pieces for spring and fabulous styles." during the past year of unrest, mrs. assad seems to have spent

much of her time shopping for expensive art, jewelry and furniture too. according to e-mails, she apparently using a false name, e-mailed a london art dealer asking about six pieces of art that cost as much as $16,500 and that inquiry, it was sent the very same day syrian protesters held a massive demonstration. during which they called for an end to the assad regime. yet, despite keeping her head in the sand about the violence building in her own home country, just a few years earlier mrs. assad had quite a different reaction to violence elsewhere in the region. speaking to cnn in 2009, she criticized the barbaric assault on gaza, the very type of assault her husband is leading now. >> mothers, think about when you put your children to bed at night. this is something that i think about.

you put your children to bed at night and you expect to see them in the morning. that's a luxury that people in gaza just do not have. >> reporter: and last year when she spoke in paris, she sounded hopeful syria would see peace. >> in syria, despite the conflict and despite the fact that we have -- we live in a region that is in constant turmoil and constant instability, our nation still believes that peace is the only solution. >> reporter: compare those words to these images from syria. not exactly the picture of peace as citizens are fired upon by the assad regime. asma assad grew up as a sunni muslim in west london where her father was a cardiologist. >> was he marrying into the ruling family in syria would automatically make you part of the elite. it would allow you unparalleled access to wealth and money and prestige. i think that family was seduced by that lifestyle. >> reporter: according to the bbc, she attended king's college

and got a degree in computer science. she later became an investment banker and in 2000 married assad in syria. they have three children. there was great hope mrs. asod's western upbringing might bring a softer touch to the shadowy regime and help bring reform to syria. instead, the woman once dubbed a rose in the desert by "vogue" magazine is now just another black mark on bashar al assad's inner circle. randi kaye, cnn, atlanta. >> a rose in a desert. we're following other important stories. anderson, charges filed against army staff sergeant robert bales includes 17 counts of murder and six counts after -- of attempted murder. bales is accused of shooting afghan civilians in a remote village. u.s. and afghan officials initially said 16 people, not 17, were killed. so far, no explanation for the other fatality. if convicted on even one of the

murder charges, bales could face the death penalty. british lawmakers are angling to rename one of london's most famous landmarks. if they succeed, the tower that holds big ben would become queen elizabeth tower in honor of the queen's diamond jubilee. reality tv star kim kardashian didn't see this coming when she hit the red carpet last night in west hollywood. she was flour bombed. the culprit was arrested and charged with noncriminal battery. yeah. the trials and tribulations of kim k. >> thanks. >> in raw politics, is rick santorum, is he the latest candidate to shoot himself in the foot with a costly gaffe? and will it cost him votes in tomorrow's louisiana primary? paul begala weighs in next. [ male announcer ] if your kid can recognize your sneeze from a crowd...

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raw politics now and rick santorum spent part of his day in a shooting range. he also spent some time doing damage control after shooting from the lip yesterday saying that americans might as well stick with president obama if the gop choice is mitt romney. listen. >> i've said repeatedly and will continue to say, i'll vote for whoever the republican nominee is. barack obama is a disaster. we can't someone that agrees with him on the biggest issues of the day. and that's the problem about governor romney. he doesn't provide the clear choice that we need.

>> well, if any damage those remarks may have made in louisiana, tomorrow recent polling shows him with a commanding 16 point lead in the state. nationwide, though, very different story. gallup has romney up by 14 points. i talked about the race tonight and rick santorum's statements with democratic strategist paul begala. this remark from rick santorum, how big a blunder was this? >> it's about the worst thing you could commit in the republican party. to say anybody would be better than barack obama. satan himself would be better than barack obama. rather barack obama would be better than mitt romney. i don't know though that it's going to stall him in louisiana. you know, i look today. went to monroe in the north, protestant most conservative bible belt part of louisiana. he was at a gun range in the north. that's a twin killing. he's in the bible belt part and shooting at a gun range. i think that is more powerful than this gaffe. >> rich, you say this is less of

a campaign at this point and more of a personal vendetta by santorum and gingrich against romney? >> i think so. at this point of the campaign, the second place, third place, fourth place candidates, they run into the three fs, fatigue, frustration and finances. i think especially in this cycle where you've had the enormous rises in dips and, you know, the santorum thought at some point he was really on a path to the nomination that they just get tired. they get sloppy. and they start saying things out of peak rather than out of good sense. i do think that there is a streak both among santorum and gingrich that is a personal distaste if not dislike for mitt romney. >> for all the talk about divisiveness and how divisive this primary is, you look back and so was the clinton-obama primary. hillary clinton went on to be, you know, in his cabinet, secretary of state.

just because the republican race is nasty now, doesn't mean they won't unite down the road. >> yeah. history is full of cases where enemies start talking to each other and become friends. bush and dole, et cetera, et cetera. let me tell you the difference between the obama/clinton race and the race we're seeing now. over the course of time in the obama/clinton race, what we saw, people got easier with the other person. you would say to democrats would you be all right with hillary clinton even if you support barack obama and they'd say, yeah. what's happened here, everyone has gotten solidified. they don't like this person. they say they wouldn't vote for them. i will also say that what's happening in the republican race is that their positives are going down and what we saw over the course of the democratic race is that each candidate actually got stronger. so it's -- they really would like to wrap this up in the romney campaign, i can tell you that.

precisely because they think there is some need for repair between now and august. >> paul, i don't understand how santorum could say that though about romney, you know, earlier a couple days ago, santorum said this is the most important election since 1860 and nothing less than freedom is at stake here. do you think it is just sort of personal animosity? >> i think it's both what they said. rich and candy. it's personal animosity which you can't discount. but it's also fatigue. i think he meant it. we get tired. sometimes we actually say what we really mean. i will say though, less my -- lest my fellow democrats think this thing is in the bag, the republicans have a secret weapon. the greatest unifying force for conservatives of the modern era and that is barack obama. rick santorum was not speaking for most conservatives when he said they would be better with obama. i'm obviously for him. but the kinds of voters most

resistant to romney are the ones that don't like the president the most. i don't think they'll have that much time uniting the party. where it's damaged romney is a different way. it's pulled him out of the ability to appeal to latinos and women who will be the swing votes. they'll decide this next presidency. that's where it's hurt romney. now the hard feelings were on the right where they were reluctant to vote. it was to get the right, he pulled himself so far out of the mainstream. vis-a-vis women and latinos. >> i want to pay a clip of mitt romney -- >> there's an etch-a-sketch line in there somewhere. we better let it go. >> let's listen to something that romney said on the campaign trail. >> you know, most people in this room don't give a lot of thought to something known as dodd-frank, this financial regulatory bill. i mean, you hear -- but you don't think it affects everybody -- y'all on a direct basis. i mean you all. i'm not trying to pretend i'm from louisiana. >> it was interesting to me. he clearly heard the criticism that he tries too hard to adapt to whatever crowd he's speaking to. >> well, i think it's because he's got not the greatest sense of humor in the world not withstanding what his wife ann

says. i don't think he's a good enough actor to pull it off. my sense of those sorts of things, he knows he's no good at it. he sort of making fun at himself when he talks about things like eating grits. i mean he understand that's people know he's probably only read the word grits. i'm not sure he has ever seen it on a package, actually. >> candy, how much does louisiana really matter? it's looking like santorum right now is far in the lead. mitt romney clearly from a delegate standpoint doesn't have to win louisiana. >> no, he doesn't. it will be another -- it's his last shot in the deep south state for mitt romney. he doesn't look as though he's going to win it. so there will always be that criticism out there that really the core of the republican party which has been the solid south has not yet voted for mitt romney. but going back to what paul said, it's not as though those states are going to go for barack obama.

i'm not sure as fatal a flaw as romney's opponents would like him to think. i think louisiana matters less after illinois. but certainly it keeps rick santorum in play. i don't think anything will take newt gingrich out of play unless it's newt gingrich. i think they all go on. but i think the race was fundamentally changed, really felt like it turned a corner in illinois. >> yeah. and, yet, it goes on and on. candy crawly, rich and paul, thank you. >> on the other side of the atlantic, a terror suspect's final hideout is revealed. we get a look inside an apartment in france when a gunman was killed after a 30-hour siege. we have the 360 news and so what do you think? basic.

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we have the 360 news and business bulletin. french police allowed cameras inside an apartment where a gunman was hold up for more than a day this week. items are strewn all around and as can you see, bullet holes punctured the walls. 23-year-old mohammed merah was a suspect in seven murders. he was killed in a shootout with police. millionaire john goodman faces 30 years in prison after being found guilty today of dui manslaughter in florida. the car accident happened two years ago and left another driver dead, submerged in a canal. prosecutors say goodman was drunk when he ran scott paulson off the road and fled the scene. the highly anticipated "the hunger games" opens today. it set a box office record earning $20 million. that's because some theaters started running the movie at midnight. it's nothing though compared to the second "harry potter"

installment. that conjured up $43 million. and take a look at this gem. it's the world's first all diamond ring carved from a diamond but not set in a traditional metal band. yahoo news said it took a jeweler in switzerland about a year to cut and polish it. the price tag for the 150 karat ring, $70 million. >> what?

time now for "the ridiculist." for those that thought -- i wish i could talk to the octomom on the phone right now. it's a dream come true. a new website called dial a star lets you talk one-on-one with celebrities over the phone. and the celebrities are who's who of hollywood as in who the heck are these people? of the three dozen or so stars on the site, i haven't heard about 90% of them. there are few familiar names. i mentioned octomom. you can call her for $12 a minute. which is actually the lower end of the scale. it will cost you $20 to talk to tila tequila. that's right. that's name i haven't said in a while. or you can call chris crocker. >> leave britney spears alone right now! leave britney alone! >> chris crocker, $20 a minute. i'm not quite sure how they came up with this pricing structure. michael lohan is $18 a minute,

for instance dina lohan, $25 a minute. wendy williams tried out dial a star and found out why dina lohan got on board. >> they approached me a couple days ago. i said sounds like a really cool idea. for me as a parent and being in the entertainment field for 30-odd years, there are so many inaccuracies in the media. if i can get people that call, it goes through a portal. they don't know your cell phone or home or where you are or whatever. but you can reach out and tell the truth as to all the bs out there. >> dina? i have to go. we've already been on the phone for a minute an a half. >> hey, look, it's a free country. if you want to spend $25 a minute to find out from dina lohan what is or what is not bs, go for it. i guess. former real housewife of new jersey danielle staub, she's on there, too. for $18 a minute, you can ask her what her last name is. maybe she can sing a song for you, i suggest her smash hit "close to you."

it may not have the same effect without the cheesy backup dancers. >> you're the one that i want to run to. the one i want to call ♪ when all my dreams are shattered ♪ ♪ why am i so scared >> why am i so scared? look, if you want to talk to these people, be my guest. there is already a way for fans to connect with their favorite celebrities for free. it's called twitter and it's highly effective. just ask jimmy kimmel. >> we asked celebrities to read their favorite tweets from fans. >> hello. >> this is will farrell. [ beep ] dumb. >> it's people like kathy grif -- griffin who are the root causes for why redheads are perceived as the spawn of satan. >> this one is actually sweet. can it be my turn to punch andy dick until there is bones in his stool?