here, or a large manufacturing corporation or a technology company -- >> president obama there talking about insourcing, making sure that jobs come back to this country and are not outsourced overseas, part of a campaign, of courts, to show voters that he's paying attention to the middle class. our cnn "newsroom" continues with randi kaye. hi, randi. >> hi, suzanne. let's look at the republican candidate for the white house. he's two for two but ten days ahead of the next contest, vote totals aren't the only numbers setting mitt romney apart. hours after his didsease sif wi, he took in $24 million for the year 56 million. the campaign says it has $19 million cash on hand. a big chunk of which will be spent right here, south

carolina. site of the first southern primary a week from saturday. today romney and the other candidates intent of stopping him are tearing up the other highways. he says he is the guy that republicans are looking for. >> i don't believe any moderate can debate romney successfully and i believe if you're going to defeat barack obama, you are only going to defeat him with a conservative and that requires south carolyn generals to come together. >> a lot can change in ten days. but gingrich is shown with only half of the support that romney has and compared to last month, romney has almost doubled his support and gingrich has lost have of his. this morning on cnn, sticking it

to president obama. >> i have a long way to go before i get the nomination. if i'm lucky enough to get it. but i really think we're best off focussing on the failure of the president and people want to hear and understand how we're going to lead the country and that's what i'm going to be talking about. >> right now we're going to talk about what mitt romney last night was pretty dominant. he dominated every subgroup that was out there. >> it was a very impressive win. 40%. that's pretty good. yes, he's from neighboring massachusetts and democrats are saying -- spinning it, saying that he should have done much better. look, he did a lot better than ron paul and huntsman. the two guys that he fears the

most, santorum and gingrich came in fourth and fifth. it's not over with yet. there could be some surprises a week from saturday in south carolina. who knows is newt gingrich from neighboring georgia can pick up some steam. trying to do what mitt romney and it's not over yet. >> it's not a done deal. >> not yet. >> what do you think he's going to do to combat all of that negativity? >> he's going to do what newt gingrich failed to do in iowa. in other words, when he takes a hit, he's going to hit back. he's got the money, you just reported how much money he has. $19 million on hand. he's got the super pacs that support him that have millions of dollars. they are going to saturate the airwaves over there. the anti-gingrich and romney

ads. >> of the other candidates, who do you think is in the best position to -- >> probably newt gingrich and rick santorum will hurt mitt romney. ron paul, don't count him out. ron paul has been impressive in iowa, new hampshire he, and i'll assume he'll do well in south carolina. i don't know why he says he won't worry about florida. he says he has limited funds. maybe ron paul will reassess what he told me yesterday about maybe moving, looking ahead into february, some of the caucus states in february and not necessarily devote his limited resources, he says, to florida. that may be a mistake if you're ron paul but maybe not.

>> how do you think the tea party will play with mitt romney in south carolina, especially given the endorsement from the south carolina governor. >> nikki haley, beloved by the tea party movement, she's the governor of south carolina. she has endorsed mitt romney and this is going to be a fierce battle. i don't rule out rick santorum having an impressive ruling. rick santorum will be on my show later in "the situation room." >> what time is that on? >> that starts at 4:00 p.m. >> i know. i watch every day. >> thank you, wolf. nice to see you. president obama is talking jobs today. we just heard from him minutes ago at the white house. >> we're at a unique moment,

inflection point, a period where we've got the opportunity for those jobs to come back. and the business leaders in this room, they are ahead of the curve. they recognize it. i'll give you just a few examples. after shedding jobs for more than a decade, american manufacturers have now added jobs for two years in a row. that's good news. but when a lot of folks are still looking for work, now's the time for us to step on the gas. so -- >> the president is taking a look at how the govern in the can help business owners bring employment back into the country. he hopes to turn things around in time to save his own job. in syria, a french journalist was killed in a mortar attack on a pro military protest. part of the trip organized by the syrian journalist. a dutch journalist and nine civilians were wounded. into meanwhile, in damascus,

strongly defending his government's reform and blamed the unrest on conspiracies. the arab league is looking to see if the government is adhering to an agreement to end the violence. joran van der sloot pleaded guilty in all of the charges against him. he faces a sentence of 30 years but hopes his guilty plea will reduce that term. he was arrested twice but never charged in the 2005 disappearance of u.s. teenager natalee holloway. >> ford suv and minivan owners, 450,000 vehicles, including ford free star and mercury minivans made in 204 and 2005, and ford escape models in 2001 and 2002, ford says they need to fix the problem with the loss of power. orange juice futures are up. after low levels of fungicide

was found. chemical is legal there but no in the u.s. there is no safety risk right now but if the government bans oranges from brazil, prices will likely shoot up. now back to politics. mitt romney sweeked by in iowa and dominated new hampshire. is he in for a rude awakening perhaps? we'll ask his campaign adviser, next. first, some trivia for political junkies. since 18980, which presidential candidate won the south carolina primary with the largest percentage of the vote? tweet me the answer to @randikayecnn. i'll give you the answer right after this break.

i'm really glad we took this last minute trip! you booked our room right? not yet, thanks for reminding me. wait, what? i have the hotels.com app so we can get a great deal even at the last minute. ah, well played sir. get the app. hotels.com. when i'm out with my kids, my daughter's like, "mom, wait up!" and i'm thinking, "shouldn't you have more energy than me? you're, like, eight!" [ male announcer ] for every 2 pounds you lose through diet and exercise alli can help you lose one more by blocking some of the fat you eat. simple. effective. advantage: mom. let's fight fat with alli ♪

before the break i asked since 1980 which presidential candidate won the south carolina primary with the largest percentage of the vote? the answer is al gore. he won the 2000 democratic

nomination beating out bill bradley. no matter where people stand on the issues or the pretty broad agreement that south carolina is not new hampshire and vice versa. that's the main reason that the rivals are still in the race. they are hoping that what supposedly worked for romney in new england will work against him in the south. peggy canon thinks that they are wrong. she joins me from washington. so nice to have you on the progr program. what do you think? has your man, mr. romney, locked this thing up? >> he certainly has not. there's no question that he's done an extraordinary job. he has the momentum, organization, he's going to go the disspans next week. but south carolina is a little different but i think the people, once they get a chance to hear mitt romney as the

people in new hampshire did, they are going to see that he is there for him, that they will fight to keep the jobs that they desperately need, so much so that he they will go to china to do it. to make sure that they have a fair deal and the chinese can no longer mess with them. >> if you look back to 2008, it may feel like a distant memory but with the polling that he had then, he had barely 15% of the vote in south carolina. what makes you confident this time around? >> well, you know, he came in fourth and it is tough. iowa was a tough state for him four years ago and again in new hampshire. i think the irons now are perfect for mitt romney candidacy. what are people worried about? what are conservatives across the country worried about? they are worried about the uncontrolled spending and reckless deficits. they are worried about -- they

need someone to help turn this country around. no one has the experience, background of mitt romney. as i said earlier, he will fight for american workers, go to china, make sure that we get fair deals here. he's better than anyone on that stage next to him. he's the guy that satisfies every single issue, which is the greatest concern to conservatives. those in massachusetts, lead everies, pro-life, pro-family, they said that he was a champion when he was governor of massachusetts. all of that will resonate in south carolina. voters have said so far that hopefully south carolina will agree. >> the exit polls show that he did carry the christian right. how do you think his mormonism will play in south carolina. >> i believe that should be an issue. i think can we find somebody that not only understands how to turn this economy around, has

the courage to make those tough decisions and the ability to beat barack obama. that's what we care about. we know this country and we know that it's not going well. we need new fresh blood and someone who knows how to do it. i think religion is not going to be the issue and that's why i believe that he will be strong. >> speaking of an issue, this is not only the first southern primary but also the first to take place in a state with high unemployment. will that come back on mitt romney and make it more vulnerable given bain capital? >> i think people are looking for a leader who understands the economy, who knows how to turn it around and how to make the decisions that need to be made

at the federal level and that's what he's done in his life. that's what his greatest experience has been and he's shown himself to be enormously effective there. he's a true leader when it comes to the economy and he's got the plan out there. so i think those who are suffering out there realize this is a man who has done it in the private sector, understands it, and will allow the private sector to be turned on again and get the government regulations off of it so it can start again creating jobs for american people. >> all right. well, we are just about a week and a half away from there. we'll see what happens. bay buchanan, thank you very much. nice to see you. >> sure. young voters are showing support behind the number two man, ron paul. what's the appeal there? his supporters call it the new revolution. i'll speak to one of his organizer in south carolina, next. i'm really glad we took this last minute trip! you booked our room right?

not yet, thanks for reminding me. wait, what? i have the hotels.com app so we can get a great deal even at the last minute. ah, well played sir. get the app. hotels.com. the doctor leaned over and said to me, "you just beat the widow-maker." i was put on an aspirin, and it's part of my regimen now. [ male announcer ] be sure to talk to your doctor before you begin an aspirin regimen. go see your doctor now.

i sort of have to chuckle when they describe you and me as being dangerous. that's one thing they are telling the truth, because we are dangerous to the status quo in this country. >> maybe ron paul is right. maybe he and his supporters are dangerous to the status quo if by status quo he means the establishment candidate mitt romney and if by dangerous he means he's here to stay. pundits and media have repeatedly dismissed paul as being a joke even. but perhaps it's time all of those pundits, analysts, and even the media ask which romney candidate will emerge.

maybe ron paul is that candidate. we want to go straight to the grounds, specifically to a ron paul supporter on the ground. a grass roots group is spreading the message. first tell me about your group. what specifically are you guys doing there in the comes days? >> well, i'm actually based in spartanburg which is ut in the out skirts of south carolina. tomorrow we're going to various colleges and talking about ron paul and trying to meet as many volunteers as possible. we plan to have close to 100 people doing a sign wave in spartanburg at one of the most busy intersections in the area. so we're doing a lot of grassroots organizing and it seems to be working. i mean, ron paul's campaign has taken off. a few months ago those of us that were doing this, we were

laughed at at times and ron paul is on his way to, you know, probably being the next president of the united states, the way that i can see it. >> you're young, passionate, a supporter of ron paul. just to give everybody a look there, ron paul got 47% of the youth vote. why are you so passionate and why are you part of this revolution? >> we understand the message of liberty. we're going on the internet and finding out everything about ron paul. those of us that do the research understand that this message of liberty is for all of us. it doesn't matter if you're republican, democrat, or independent. it's for everybody and we want to be part of it. >> i wanted to read you something related to the issue of electability. he said, i won 12 elections

already and we're doing quite well now. it's amazing that i do so much better than all of the candidates that are electable. they are in fourth, fifth, or sixth. i come in third and they say, he's not electable. i don't know how that adds up. he does have a point but why do you think he's being seen as n nonelectable? >> a lot of people don't understand that message. it's all about going on the internet and googling ron paul and reading the brochures that come out in the mail. that's all there is to it. we're so passionate about it. those of us, this is what we do full time in order to support ron paul and the liberty movement. >> nice photo we just showed.

young voters tend to be more liberal. how do you feel about his stance on gay marriage and also his stance on abortion, which is both conservative? >> well, the liberty movement, those are particular issues that, you know, all of us have -- we come up with our own decision on this. but the liberty movement is for anybody that wants to get the rights taken back to our states. the federal government has way too much power and we're not going to have that happen and that's through the constitution and through ron paul. >> and you think he is the guy? >> absolutely.

he is our guy. >> evan mulch, thank you very much. four convicted killers are walking the street. the door to freedom was opened by the mississippi governor. how did this happen? and is there anything that anyone can do? a live report straight ahead. h. shhh. i'm researching a role. today's special... the capital one venture card. you earn double miles on every purchase. impressive. chalk is a lost medium. if you're not earning double miles... you're settling for half. was that really necessary? [ male announcer ] get the venture card at capitalone.com and earn double miles on every purchase every day. what's in your wallet? cover for me. i have an audition.

outraged families because of the pardoning of criminals granted by haley barbour in his final day of office just yesterday. the four murders were freed on

sunday. daftd gatlin shot and killed his wife while she was holding her baby. joseph was con convicted of murder, conspiracy, and armed robbery. anthony mckra was convicted of killing his wife back in 23001 this mablg ed, this has a lot of people angry and talking. nearly 200 pardons. it sounds to be an unusually high number. is it? >> that seems to be the case. in addition to 14 of them profiled, 14 of them murders, another 16 convicted of drunk

drivers that were killed in accident. devastating news to many across the state of mississippi. >> what are you hearing? what has been the reaction? it certainly hasn't been good. >> no. i think a lot of people -- i've spoke to a lot of people in mississippi. they say, look, i'm a strong republican. people who have voted for haley barbour twice before in the past. david gatlin murdered his estranged wife and shot that other man, randy walker. the prosecutor in that case said that haley barbour is insane for letting this man go. those are strong words. randy walker survived the attack on him. they were not sure that he was going to survive. listen to his feelings and the way he talks about the news that the man who shot him is being

reloosed. >> i feel like my safety is in jeopardy. i feel like we are in jail now and david is out of jail. we will forever be looking over our shoulder wondering if today is the day that gafd decided he was going to finish what he started. >> randi, what has left a lot of people angry is that he has left the governor's office, left town without offering any explanation, giving any comment. we have tried repeatedly, his spokesperson, to decide what this was based often. >> where are these free murderers now and can anything be done to reverse this? all right. we lost ed lavandera. released, pardoned by governor haley barbour. romney has won two

primaries. will south carolina be a knockout? so what can mitt romney do but b newt gingrich ds attacks and does he need to have a plan to shake off number two, ron paul? that's fair game, next. when was the last time a democratic presidential candidate won south carolina the presidential race? you can tweet me the answer and i'll give a shout out to the person person to give me the answer right after the break. 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. we may see more cavities, bad breath, oral irritation. a dry mouth sufferer doesn't have to suffer. i would recommend biotene.

the enzymes in biotene products help supplement enzymes that are naturally in saliva. biotene helps moisten those areas that have become dry. those that are suffering can certainly benefit from biotene. can you enjoy vegetables with sauce and still reach your weight loss goals? you can with green giant frozen vegetables. over twenty delicious varieties have sixty calories or less per serving and are now weight watchers-endorsed. try green giant frozen vegetables with sauce.

before the break i asked when was the last time a democratic presidential candidate won south carolina? the answer is in 1976, jimmy carter. congrats to zack for tweeting the right answer. keep on playing, please. mitt romney is two for two but a fierce negative ad awaits romney in carolina. that supports newt gingrich. a so-called super pac and the anti-romney commercials like this one which targets romney's career as an investor with bain capital. >> mitt romney became ceo of bain capital. >> they don't care who i am.

>> he's for small businesses. no, he isn't. he's not. >> his record is hard game and so are republicans just like that one. ed he is spin know za joining us today from austin, texas. lenny, i'll start with you here. $3 million. they sent a million so far that will buy a lot of ads. is this gingrich's last stand, do you think? >> it has to be newt gingrich's last stand. he's a guy of the south. he's a conservative and has had success as a leader from the 1990s. if he doesn't remind people about the good things of his campaign and remind people about the romney possibility, he's going to be out of it by the time he gets through florida. this is it. he has to have some state before we go into super tuesday.

>> you know, these attacks by the gop, they really sound a lot like the same attacks coming from the democrats on mitt romney. let's listen to what mitt romney said last night. >> president obama wants to put free enterprise and in the last few days we've seen people join forces with him. >> so, ed, let me ask you, are they creating a road map for the obama administration to follow here? >> well, what mitt romney calls desperate republicans, everybody else calls 60 to 70% of the republican electorate. if he's going to win the nomination and consolidate his base, he needs to stop calling them desperate republicans and recognize their conservative republicans and solidify their

credentials with them. i want to go back to something that lenny said about south carolina and he is right. this is newt gingrich's last stand not just for political reasons but south carolina may be the last place where newt gingrich can afford to run a campaign against mitt romney. after that you go into florida, an he can treemly expensive state and then multiple state primaries that get really expensive. the only other state where somebody can legitimately compete in terms of affordable media markets is nevada, which is an important state but also one of the highest mormon populations in the country: it benefits mitt romney. >> let me ask you about that, lenny. 60% of the south carolina primary voters are evangelicals. how do you think that mormonism will play there? >> i think that mormonism will be more of a quote, unquote, problem for mitt romney if rick santorum and newt gingrich weren't catholic. ka tholism is christianity.

although they will have that undercurrent against mormonism, it's not going to be that much of an issue. like i said previously, folks that are evangelicals on sunday still have to go to work on monday. as long as mitt romney sticks to the message, he will be fine there. >> what do you think about ron paul? he hit that mark. the 20% point. he's not seen anymore by the fringe candidate. how much damage do you think committee do to mitt romney? because he's probably going to stay in this for a long time. >> well, what ron paul has demonstrated, he's got a steady support of 20% in the republican primary. what's also being demonstrated here is that there are about 30% of hardcore conservatives looking for a place to go. that's 50% of your electorate. what's new in this republican primary process is we have proportional allocation of delegates. if mitt romney cannot in

convincing fashion and do it any time soon, he runs into problems up against the republican national convention. now, i'm not saying that there's going to be a brokered convention but what i am saying is that people can second guess that by the time they come into august. >> will they have to make a deal with him? >> they might. there's a strong anti-ron paul movement and there's a lot of hard core gop members that are going to make sure that ron paul has in the polls already and second and third place in the first two states is in fourth place in south carolina. don't expect him to climb much further up than fourth place in the carolinas. >> lenny, ed, thank you both. and both newt gingrich and rick santorum had a weak showing in new hampshire but they have a plan for south carolina. we'll talk to their campaign

advisers next. an accident doesn't have to slow you down... with better car replacement, available only from liberty mutual insurance, if your car is totaled, we give you the money to buy a car that's one model-year newer... with 15,000 fewer miles on it. there's no other auto insurance product like it. better car replacement, available only from liberty mutual. it's a better policy that gets you a better car. call... or visit one of our local offices today, and we'll provide the coverage you need at the right price.

liberty mutual auto insurance, responsibility -- what's your policy?

welcome back. this is just in. a four-alarm fire in new jersey.

live pictures coming from our affiliate wabc. you can see the flames shooting through the roof of what appears to be a residential building in new jersey. we have the hoses out and it's hard to see if there's any people. it looks like we don't see any people there in the building. boy, look at those flames roar. we'll continue to keep an eye on this and let you know how they are managing it there. well, we've talked a lot about the republican presidential candidates at the top. mitt romney is the clear winner but the fight heads to south carolina and it's a different playing field. one that plays right into the conservative appeal and hands of these guys. newt gingrich and santorum. both of them finished towards the bottom in new hampshire. that could be a different with romney and south carolina and gingrich's co-chair.

santorum, as you know, he finished just eight votes behind romney in iowa. he lost some momentum in new hampshire but south carolina provides a different opportunity. maybe an opportunity to get that back. so what's the plan? >> yeah, you're exactly right, randi. iowa is so much like south carolina in a lot of terms, we knew we weren't going to do well but the plan is basically the iowa plan. nobody worked harder, nobody went to aufll of the counties except rick santorum. we're here for the next ten days. meetings from small groups to town hall meetings, we're going to press the flesh and use the shoe leather and do it the old-fashion ways with a little bit of sweat equity. >> let's look at the polling, okay? let's take a look. unlike gingrich, santorum has gained some ground in south carolina. you can see it there.

he was at 4% in december and now at 19%. gingrich and rick perry both are portraying themselves as the true conservative alternative, too. why would voters choose santorum over newt gingrich or anybody else? >> well, originally if you remember, there were two tiers, the so-called leader group which was the paul, gingrich, romney group. and then there was a second group which was more of of the evangelical christian right so to speak. that was perry, bachmann, and santorum. bachmann is out. those people are coming in droves to santorum because i think it's the natural fit. you think about perry's performance in iowa and new hampshire, i think the governor has been seriously wounded. i'm hearing from a lot of them because they are close friends of mine. >> all right.

thank you very much for your time. let's move on to polls that can only tell us so much but results speak for themselves. gingrich has placed fourth in both iowa and new hampshire. so how are you planning to turn this around? what's your strategy? >> our strategy is too look at the issues and go straightforward to the issue that newt gingrich is a ronald reagan conservative. >> we talked about the blistering attack ads that's hitting the airwaves in south carolina against mitt romney. how much has the gingrich campaign spent on these ads and how much of his own money and does that -- i assume that doesn't even account for the money being spent and put into this ad campaign for this pac that is supporting newt gingrich.

>> i have no idea what the 427 group -- 527 groups have spent. we are prohibited from anything there. and i don't know what we're spending but we're going to spend things for positive advertisement. >> i want to play a sound bite for you and tell me if you remember this. >> we are not going to go out and run nasty ads. we're not going to go out and run 30-second -- >> we are sick of negative politics. we're sick of cynical consultants by simply refusing the to vote for any of the candidates who ran negative ads. >> so what happened to playing nice nice? it seems that gingrich has ran an aggressive campaign against romney. >> well, there's a difference. being aggressive is fine. that's what i just said. we're not running negative, nasty ads. we're going to tell the truth about him being a ronald reagan conservative. governor romney has disavowed

ronald reagan conservatism. that's a fact. >> let me ask you about the polling in south carolina just very quickly. if you take a look at it, you can see that gingrich has taken a pretty big nose-dive from december. what happens if he doesn't finish strong in south carolina? what happens next? >> i don't think there's any question, he will finish strong in south carolina when we look at the issues and get the message out. >> john, thank you very much for your time. plus -- >> thank you. >> -- 2012 could get expensive. six things that you'll be spending more on this year. hold on to your wallet and stick around. beth!

hi. looking good! you've lost some weight. thanks! you noticed! you know these clothes are too big now, so i'm donating them. not going back there again. good for you! how'd you do it? eating right, whole grain. whole grain? whole grain. [ female announcer ] people who choose more whole grain

tend to weigh less than those who don't... multigrain cheerios has five whole grains and 110 lightly sweetened calories per serving... more grains. less you! multigrain cheerios.

now it's time for a look at stories making news across the country. at street level, and we start in north bergen, new jersey. we want to show you some pictures just in to cnn. this is from our affiliate abc. four-alarm fire there in north bergen, new jersey. we've been following the flames bursting through the windows. you can see the firefighters are on the ground, a couple stretchers coming out of that building. some heavy smoke. we will continue watching that four-alarm fire in north bergen, new jersey.

we have six items that will cost you more in 2012. airfare hikes on ticket prices as airlines cut more routes. if you like meat and fish, you'll pay more. that cup of joe will cost you more, too. starbuck's has already raised prices. and gas should go up, though there's a chance they could actually go down. stamps go up to 45 cents. clothes are higher due to transportation and raw materials. assemblyman tom amiano pulled the bill today that would have allowed kids to play on teams for their ability rather than their biological sex. for example, a boy would have

been able to try out for a gi s girls' team. next hour in waterville, maine the search for a maine toddler has been on for weeks and weeks. the 21-month-old girl was last seen at bedtime, december 16. police say they suspect foul play, but they also say ayla's parents, who do not live together, have cooperated in the investigation. a coal mine has settled lawsuits of men killed in an explosion two years ago. they said the final deals were reached just yesterday. the settlement must be approved by the court. the explosion was the worst mining disaster in the united states since 1972. there's been no comment from the new owners of the mine. the national health and safety

administration says the blast caused by ignition caused a gas explosion. despite delays, the coast guard ice breaker and tanker carrying fuel are slowly getting closer. they are less than 100 miles away and could make the delivery as soon as tomorrow. ice went over the bering sea to prevent deliveries in the fall. if the delivery isn't made, the city of 3600 could run out of fuel by march. the alaska town is buried under 18 feet, and they are in desperate need of help. first, trivia for all you political junkies. i know you like this. which republican presidential candidate dropped out of high school to join a rock band? wow, that's a hard one. tweet me the answer.

if you get it right, i'll give you a shout-out right after the break. [ male announcer ] imagine facing the day with less chronic osteoarthritis pain. imagine living your life with less chronic low back pain. imagine you, with less pain. cymbalta can help. cymbalta is fda-approved to manage chronic musculoskeletal pain. one non-narcotic pill a day, every day, can help reduce this pain. tell your doctor right away if your mood worsens, you have unusual changes in mood or behavior or thoughts of suicide. antidepressants can increase these in children, teens, and young adults. cymbalta is not approved for children under 18. people taking maois or thioridazine or with uncontrolled glaucoma should not take cymbalta. taking it with nsaids, aspirin, or blood thinners may increase bleeding risk. severe liver problems, some fatal, were reported. signs include abdominal pain and yellowing skin or eyes. tell your doctor about all your medicines, including those for migraine and while on cymbalta, call right away if you have high fever, confusion and stiff muscles or serious allergic skin reactions

like blisters, peeling rash, hives, or mouth sores to address possible life-threatening conditions. talk about your alcohol use, liver disease and before you reduce or stop cymbalta. dizziness or fainting may occur upon standing. ask your doctor about cymbalta. imagine you with less pain. cymbalta can help. go to cymbalta.com to learn about a free trial offer. not quite knowing what the next phase was going to be, you know, because you been, you know, this is what you had been doing. you know, working, working, working, working, working, working. and now you're talking about, well you know, i won't be, and i get the chance to spend more time with my wife and my kids. it's my world. that's my world. ♪ can you enjoy vegetables with sauce and still reach your weight loss goals? you can with green giant frozen vegetables. over twenty delicious varieties have sixty calories or less

per serving and are now weight watchers-endorsed. try green giant frozen vegetables with sauce. oh, yeah, we're getting funky in the cnn newsroom. before the break i asked which presidential candidate dropped out of high school to join a rock band. the answer, john huntsman.

huntsman quit school to play keyboards in the rock band wizard. yes, really, that was the name of the band. can you spot him? that is him in the upper right. i love this picture. he did go back to school, though, eventually graduating from the university of pennsylvania, and a big congrats to kenzie for tweeting me the right answer. kenzie from north carolina. when it's winter and you live in alaska, you expect to see snow, right? but probably not this much. look at that pile that is 18 feet high. cordova, a little town of only 2,000 people, is digging its way out of the white stuff with the national guard's help. jennifer gibbins is editor of the cordova times. she's on the line now. can you get outside? >> i see snow, snow and more snow. i can get outside. fortunately, we're having a little break in the weather, but it's been tough. >> how bad is it?

certainly winter doesn't come as a surprise in alaska, but were folks there prepared? >> well, i think it's not so much that we've had a big snowstorm, it's that we've had continuous snow for weeks on end, and it's gotten to the point where we're exhausted, we couldn't keep up with it and it just kept coming. then we had another storm that dumped three more feet on us and, you know, it just keeps coming. thank goodness the national guard and the coast guard are here, and our city is really going into full emergency operation and doing a great job. >> how is the national guard doing? what are they actually working on? i think i read somewhere they're actually trying to melt the snow. >> well, when the mayor declared a state of emergency, we were able to get some support thanks to the governor, and so some resources were brought into town, heavy equipment, snow melters, things like that. what the national guard has brought into town and the coast guard, too, is, you know, bodies

and manpower and some really fresh energy. that's really helped us mentally as much as it has with actually moving snow. >> do you have enough shovels, enough snowplows? >> if you have a shovel, you better hold onto it, because they're hard to find right now, and the hardware store is completely sold out. >> so how many snowmen are out there? i'm just curious. are people at least enjoying it even though it's difficult? >> no, i think -- i'm pretty impressed with people being able to maintain a sense of humor, but i would say at this point it's not a matter of anybody having fun, it's just everybody trying to stay ahead. >> yeah. well, has it stopped snowing? you're in good shape? >> today it's drizzling and raining. the big concern around here with the snow has been the weight of the snow on buildings, so this drizzling is good news/bad news. it's going to melt a little bit of the snow, but it's going to

add to the weight factor which is a big concern. >> jennifer, i certainly hope they get things under control there and dig you out. thank you very much. thank you for watching out there as always. i'd like to know what you think. you can continue the conversation with me on line on facebook or twitter. now to brooke baldwin. brooke? >> thank you, randi. have a good rest of your day. i'm brooke baldwin. i would like to get caught up at the top of the hour. microsoft is investigating working conditions at its chinese plant that makes the xbox game systems. reports surfaced that 300 workers have threatened to commit suicide over their play at the plant. we're going to take you inside, show you this exclusive report in just a couple minutes. also a journalist has been killed in syria as unrest

continues to shake the country. they confirm the reporter died in a mortar strike in the city of holmes. we do have details of the strike and the horrific aftermath. just a warning. some of what you're about to see is pretty graphic. and here is cnn's nic robertson in the capital city of damascus. >> we're just a few miles from the center of damascus, and there is a crowd here -- thank you -- this is a crowd here of perhaps several thousand people. they threw rocks in the road to prevent the police from coming in here. >> today alone at least 19 people have been killed across

syria. ford recalling 450,000 older model mini vans and suvs. ford says there is a risk of fire with the 2001-2002 ford escape compact suvs. the risk of losing power prompted a recall for 2004 and 2005 mercury monterrey minivans. the man suspected in natalee holloway's disappearance pleaded guilty to killing a woman in peru. we're talking about joran ver der sloot admitting to killing the woman in 2010. van der sloot was arrested twice but never charged in the natalee holloway case in aruba. for the first time in 61 years, there is no paterno on the penn state coaching staff. jay paterno will not be returning under phil o'brien, his father. the legendary joe paterno fired in november after sex assault

charges were handed down on jerry sandusky. the son said he will explore options both inside and outside football. governor hailey barbour made the call just hours before leaving office. one man let go was accused of killing his estranged wife as she held a six-week-old baby in her arms. her sister says it's not right or safe. >> i mean, she's in jail for 18 years. she was 21 years old when she died and had her child laying in her arms when he shot her in her head. and he's pardoned? >> barbour pardoned 17 convicted murderers while he was governor and granted early releases to three others. much-needed fuel is expected

to reach this alaska town hopefully by friday. they're plowing through ice three feet thick. they do have enough fuel to last until march, but conditions are expected to get much worse. look at that, just white as far as the eye can see. other alaska towns buried by about 25 feet of snow in the last few months. and smoking cigarettes. it is worse for your lungs than the occasional joint. this is a finding over the course of 20 years with 55 people. researchers say using to bae fwa "

cco is worse than smoking a joint. in your windshield. it's a micron away from death. >> yikes. it makes microns. imagine. the driver thinks it flew off a truck in front of them. what evidence have police found after reopening the investigation into natalie woods' death? the answer is nothing so far. they're still doing interviews, still trying to keep the case open. wood drowned back in 1981 while boating with her husband. robert wagner, christopher walken. the public opened this case back in november after someone called them claiming to have additional investigation. twinkies fans? hostess is reorganizing under chapter 11, but it is not -- they say they're not planning

any layoffs, any closures, and it will continue making those twinkies for you in addition to the ho hos and the ding dongs. about 19,000 people work for hostess. we have a lot more to cover for you over the course of the next two hours, including this. a soldier is found dead in her barracks, naked and stabbed. we're searching for answers in this mystery at fort carson. i'm brooke baldwin. the news is now. mitt romney's role. newt gingrich is fighting. >> this is the most important election in our lifetime. >> as the former house speaker takes heat for beating up on romney, they unveil its defining moments. a nuclear scientist targeted, killed after someone puts a bomb under his car. now iran is pointing fingers. plus, as the race for president makes headlines,

president kim is in china. katy perry's dad under fire today for a remark he made about a religious group. now he's responding. : 1-800-3450 ttd#: 1-800-345-2550 let's talk about the cookie-cutter retirement advice ttd#: 1-800-345-2550 you get at some places. ttd#: 1-800-345-2550 they say you have to do this, have that, invest here ttd#: 1-800-345-2550 ttd#: 1-800-345-2550 you know what? ttd#: 1-800-345-2550 you can't create a retirement plan based on ttd#: 1-800-345-2550 a predetermined script. ttd#: 1-800-345-2550 to understand you and your goals... ttd#: 1-800-345-2550 ...so together we can find real-life answers for your ttd#: 1-800-345-2550 real-life retirement. ttd#: 1-800-345-2550 talk to chuck ttd#: 1-800-345-2550 and let's write a script based on your life story. ttd#: 1-800-345-2550

and it hasn't been going exactly as planned. cut. cut! [ monica ] i thought we'd be on location for 3 days -- it's been 3 weeks. so i had to pick up some more things. good thing i've got the citi simplicity card. i don't get hit with a fee if i'm late with a payment... which is good because on this job, no! bigger! [ monica ] i may not be home for a while. [ male announcer ] the new citi simplicity card. no late fees. no penalty rate. no worries.

the republican primaries, you know romney won the iowa caucuses, so now he is the first non-incumbent ever to sweep the

gop's first two nomination caucuses. romney took 39% of the vote, ron paul number two, john huntsman number three. we're going to talk with romney in a moment, but first i want to start with ron paul. paul has already moved on to south carolina. that's where this whole thing is going next, and today his team is saying he is the guy. he is number two. he is the alternative to mitt romney. here is ron paul just a short time ago. >> we did have an exciting evening last night. did anybody watch tv last night at all? well, it was strange. you know, it's pretty amazing how sometimes if you're in second place, they talk about the first and the third place. but last night it was a little bit different. they had a little harder time avoiding the real conversation. >> so we'll have that conversation with ron paul. dana bash has been covering ron

paul here. dana, nice to see you. late night for you. you're in new hampshire. can ron paul credibly claim now the whole boom and bust cycle of anyone but the romney crowd is over, that he's sort of the anti-romney? >> can he claim it? not sure. is he claiming it? the answer is yes. in fact, he didn't waste any time doing that, brooke. i actually had a chance to speak with him literally minutes after we learned we were going to call second place for ron paul last night, and i asked him about that, about how he feels about himself now vis-a-vis the other republican candidates in the field. >> are you now considered a buffer between romney and the rest of the candidates? >> i don't know what you want to call it, but i know we're next in line to him, so we're the only ones really in the race with him and it will have to remain to be seen what turns up. >> so he's trying to make this a

two-man race, obviously, brooke. he said he's nipping at romney's heels. but new hampshire is different from south carolina and iowa for many, many reasons. it is going to be a bit of a struggle going forward in south carolina, but they're hoping the momentum for doing so well in these first two states will really help. >> i have wolf sitting next to me and we're going to talk about how south carolina is so different. it's sort of dirty politics in south carolina. the primary is ten days away. a hugely important state. you and i were talking florida a few days ago. another important contest that comes after south carolina. why has ron paul elected to sit that one out? >> you know, for now it's about two things: money and momentum and kind of the long-term strategy. first of all, let's talk about

money. his aides tell me he's going to pour about a million dollars into south carolina. they're hoping that will be a good showing for him. but long term, what he is really making clear, brooke, is that whether he wins the nomination or not, he wants to keep his movement going and keep it going probably all the way to the republican convention in tampa. so in order to do that, he's got to wrack up as many delegategats he can to have an impact there. in florida, winner takes all. whoever gets the florida primary gets the 50 delegates. obviously, he doesn't think he can win that for lots of reasons, primarily it costs about $10 million minimum to spend there in order to do remotely well. so it doesn't make a lot of sense for him to try to compete there. more sense, his campaign thinks, is to go to some of the caucus states where he can really wrack up those delegates, brooke. >> so beyond the movement and not having money in florida,

what else in terms of strategy does camp ron paul have, and at what point do they throw their hands up in the air and say enough is enough? >> i would not look for that point any time soon, throwing their hands up in the air. they really, really feel that they have the wind at their back right now. remember, this was the little engine that could, so to speak, for years and years and years. we were here in new hampshire four years ago and barely anybody paid attention to him. rightly so, he got 8% in the polls. he claimed, and i think he's right about this, he didn't change his talking about the issues at all. the electr the electorate changed, the issues changed, and he fits right into the message. the things you can't und underestimate are the young people who were very late last night at his headquarters, and

you saw it in south carolina and across the country. they're traveling across the country to help organize in these states, and that kind of organic help you really have to -- >> you can't deny it. >> you can't deny it. >> thanks, dana, in new hampshire. i've got wolf blitzer right by my side. obviously mitt romney has a lot to brag about. what, you predicted his victory at 8:00 last night? >> the polls closed at 8:00 and we predicted him as the winner with the official numbers that already came in plus the exit poll. if you take a look at the exit poll numbers we got, it's very close to the final numbers. >> he would obviously love to do one, two and three, three being south carolina. my question is, can he lose? >> yes. he can still lose. it's unlikely, but he can still lose. in ten days we've got south carolina. that's a long time to see -- newt gingrich, for example, who

is from neighboring georgia. he's got a base in south carolina. if he spends a lot of money and pounds away at mitt romney, they're going to do an attack against mitt romney and ron paul will presumably do the same thing. we know santorum is going to do it, huntsman is going to do it, so romney has his work cut out for him, he does have the money. they went after newt gingrich and he didn't respond. in south carolina, mitt romney will respond. >> things get really dirty in south carolina. why is that? >> i don't know, but i remember the 2000 campaign, the republican campaign in south carolina, and it was bush versus mccain. all of a sudden these rumors started circulating, these flyers, mccain's illegitimate

black daughter, stuff like that. he has an adopted daughter from india. and all these ugly, nasty rumors got heard in south carolina. we might see it, we might not see it. what we will see is a bitter fight on television in these ads between romney and gingrich and ron paul to a certain degree. it will get ugly, i don't think it will be as nasty as it was in 2000. we're looking at florida, the mitt romney ad. this is his spanish-speaking son. >> do we have a clip? >> yeah, let's roll it. [ speaking spanish ] >> craig romney, mitt romney. >> so that is one of his sons. at the very end you can hear mitt romney saying, i'm mitt romney and i approve this message. that covers hispanic votes.

crucial for general election? >> he's going to have a problem because he already said he would veto the dream act that a lot of latinos and hispanics would like to see happen. if you have an opportunity, you went to high school, you lived here your whole life, you get a college education and all that. so he's going to have some problems, although this is a very effective ad, and i like the way he says in spanish at the end, i'm mitt romney and i approve this ad. did you enjoy it? >> i loved it. >> we'll see you again? >> i'll be at the south carolina primary. colorado. mystery there. workers in a plant that makes microsoft xbox gaming systems are reportedly threatening suicide. this is all in a dispute over pay and poor working conditions. coming up, we're going to hear from microsoft, and take a look at the same sort of situation that happened just two years ago

at a chinese plant that made apple products. what's happening and why? that's coming up.

hundreds of workers at a plant that makes microsoft xboxes reportedly threatening to kill themselves. they're apparently quite upset about raises and robots in this particular plant in china. let's pull the map out so you can see what we're talking about. this is a foxcom plant located in wuhan. they say they're not getting enough money and they're worried about being replaced by manufacturing equipment. here is what microsoft told us. microsoft takes working conditions in the factories that manufacture its products very seriously, and we are currently investigating this issue, end

quote. this chinese company, foxcom, makes brand name electronics. in fact, in 2010, foxcom was in the news after 18 workers committed suicide by jumping off the buildings in another city with this software company. it seems john dawes got an explosive look at the factories then. >> rarely does the plants open up to the outside world. the makers of i phones and ipads are strict about security. 300,000 mostly young workers from the countryside live, sleep and work here. this could be their first job away from home, right? >> most of them first job. >> reporter: a growing number of these workers either killing themselves or trying to. and foxcom doesn't know why.

>> translator: we've never seen anything like this before, said the company spokesman. workers spend long hours on the assembly lines not only supplying parts to apple but also to tech giants dell, hewlett-packard and nokia, earning less than $300 a month. we talked to one. >> so you're a happy employee? critics say that's not the whole story. >> they have breaks, they go to work, they work a solid shift, they come back to their dormitory, they sleep. it's a very dehumanizing place and the workers are little more than the machines there. >> reporter: employees live in dormitories eight to a room common to factories in china. often roommates will not know each other's names. >> do you know these guys? do you know their names? do you know where they're from and that kind of stuff? >> i arrived three days ago.

i don't know her name, she says. >> there is no real sense of community there, and i think that's one of the factors behind this alarming number of suicide. >> reporter: managers have been known to abuse workers if they make mistakes or miss deadlines. >> translator: we can and must change is the rude attitude some managers have towards our workers. >> reporter: while this complex is like a city within a city with hospitals, restaurants and supermarket, recreation facilities like a library and computers. the company has set up a hotline. how many suicide have you prevented in the recent year? >> actually it may be over 30. >> reporter: counselors have

been called in. and in this stress room, employees can work out their frustration. even so, mr. lew says another suicide is a matter of when, not if. >> translator: i don't think our prevention is enough to stop the suicide trend. >> reporter: so what could be happening here, according to some experts, has all the hallmarks of what's known as a suicide cluster, when the idea of suicide quickly spreads among young people, often teenagers or young adults. none of that keeps back the hundreds lined up every day, hoping for a job. >> have you heard about the guy who committed suicide? >> some people might find it stressful and difficult work, he says, but it's not a problem for me. because for many young workers moving to the city, a job at foxcom is still a better option than staying home on the farm.

>> at least 14 foxcom workers have killed themselves since they brought you that story in 2010. the company announced that it will start replacing the workers with robots that can complete simple, repetitive tasks. they have sold more than 650 million of those xbox gaming systems. as far as the stock market goes today, it is trading at just about $28 a share. a motorcycle slides up tech toex and then lead the way. that is what went down moments before a nuclear. who did it and why. we just eat whatever tastes good? like these sweet honey clusters... actually there's a half a day's worth of fiber in every ... why stop at cereal? bring on the pork chops and the hot fudge. fantastic. are you done sweetie? yea [ male announcer ] fiber beyond recognition.

fiber one. hey, i love your cereal there-- it's got that sweet honey taste. but no way it's 80 calories, right? no way. lady, i just drive the truck. right, there's no way right, right? have a nice day. [ male announcer ] 80 delicious calories. fiber one. ♪[music plays]

when you're responsible for this much of the team... you need a car you can count on. ♪[music plays]

the way this next story is unfolding, it really sounds like something out of a spy thriller. this video is coming to us out of iran, so what we have is a car destroyed by a bomb after this motorcyclist whizzes by, attaches an explosive device and drives off. killed in the bombing, a nuclear scientist. this death is just the latest in a string of attacks on scientists working on iran's nuclear program. iran is blaming israel, the u.s. and also britain for these attacks. our senior correspondent state department, and jill, we reported on this so much that the tensions between the u.s. and iran already so strained, this has to just worsen the situation. >> oh, there's no question. it's just a string now of provocations back and forth between the united states and

iran, and as we said, they're blaming the u.s. and israel. secretary clinton just this past hour was asked about it, and she's denying it. let's listen to what she said. >> i want to categorically deny any united states involvement in any kind of act of violence inside iran. >> so you have just misthinking of the whole wild things. you have the assassination, you have iran announcing they're enriching uranium at the uranium site, and you also have them condemning american guests in tehran for alleged fines. it's very, very tense. >> it's tense, but also this

attack was not the only one. there was one in july of last year, one in november of 2010 and one in january of 2010. why would someone want to target nuclear scientists? >> these are the people who are allegedly working on the iranian nuclear program that is the worst, the iaea says, and they're working to develop a bomb. so it does make sense that you want to undermine their program to get to the people that are involved in that type of research. in fact, i was talking to one expert that said some of these assassinations aren't having an effect because iranians have been complaining that some of the scientists do not want to work in the program because they're getting worried about assassination. so that could be having the desired effect. >> looks like they have reason to worry, and i know that some speculated that the victims here were members of the opposition

movement in iran and could have been targeted by iranian forces, internal forces. have you heard anything along that vein, any reason that might be the case? >> you know, there are a number of people who might want to have that happen. you certainly have to say, it would be in israel's interests, it could be in a lot of kids killing it. there is a context of there is a lot of political chaos going on right now in iran. don't forget they're. he's. and he will have an oil embargo against iran, and that can really, really hurt. so iran right now is under enormous stress, their economy is very bad, and you're going to get -- many experts believe

they're just striking out against the international community. >> joe daugherty, our official correspondent. thanks for calling in. the sdpood drawing administration, coming into the u.s. from other countries so they can test the juice for f k funkside, chemical residue, here's their concern. that the u.s. will flat out ban products. brazil it about the largest money. a soldier from texas found dead

in anterior barracks. we're going to see where it comes from after the break. live the regular life. fe] phillips'.

someone killed a soldier and left her body in the barracks of fort carson. that's an army base in colorado. army investigators are not saying a lot about how brandy fontenaux died, except for the fact that it was a homicide.

a family member says fontenaux was naked and stabbed. a sergeant was found in another room covered in blood. fonteneaux was 28 years old. she was from houston. crystal, i know your station was able to talk to fonteneaux's sister. what did she say? >> she was very upset when we did approach her at their home. she basically didn't want to go into talking about her sister, but she said, you know, her sister knew what kind of relationship they had and she would miss her. the only thing that caught us off guard was she said all military people that come back from iraq need medical treatment for the rest of their lives. and she wouldn't go into detail about that, but she kept repeating it to us. >> had brandy deployed to iraq? do we know who she was referring

to? >> no, she had not. from what we know, she was not deployed. but she did state that anyone who comes back from serving in iraq, they need to get medical treatment for the rest of their lives. and she just kept repeating that to us. >> your station also interviewed a friend of brandy fonteneaux from texas university? who is he? what did he tell you? >> we interviewed a good friend of hers, herman shelton, and bakely he talked about this girl was really loved in the houston area. she went to psu, she was an outstanding track star from high school into college. he talked about this was sad because this girl was always nice and friendly, always had a smile on her face. you know, you could just tell from even when we looked at her facebook page, there was so many people there that reached out and really were just in shock by this happening to this person. >> so, bottom line, army not saying much. it's obviously an active

investigation. is there anything else you can tell me about what your tv station has found out? >> well, i mean, at this time we did go on her facebook page, and from the pictures that we saw, you could tell that she was very active and within the army, and she was -- you know, she expressed how she was happy to go join, and we just don't know what happened from there, though. >> 28 years of age, college he had indicated -- educated. it's sad and hopefully the army will get to the bottom of this. republican presidential candidate mitt romney now 2-2. he came out on top in the new hampshire primary. brooke baldwin is back. he's going to talk about the attacks on mitt romney and will he'll survive them.

the race for the president has now headed south, to south carolina. we had the iowa caucuses back on january 3. leading the way there, mitt romney, then rick santorum, then ron paul. last night you had new hampshire, romney, paul and huntsman, one, two and three. so romney has swept the last two, now headed to south carolina. gloria worked nice and late last night as well. nice seeing you in here. >> nice seeing you.

you look so cheery. >> that's what the bright lights do to me. see me in two hours, i'll be exhausted. what is different about the race today versus about 12 hours ago? >> first of all, romney is now clearly the favorite to win the nomination, and if he wins in south carolina, i think we could then say he is the presumptive nominee. the interesting thing to look at about what mitt romney did was that he was really able to consolidate the republican faith. now, in new hampshire, okay, but he won with tea partiers, he won with self-identified conservatives. very important for him as he heads to south carolina. he won, and he raised money with this, which is also important. we learned today that he raised $24 million over the last three months, he's got $19 million cash on hand, so if mitt romney is going to be defeated, chances

are he's going to have to do it to himself and really mess up along the line somewhere, which, by the way, any candidate is capable of doing. >> he could. >> but he seems to be really well on his way right now. >> newt gingrich would like to stop him, obviously, and he is continuing those negative attacks today. he's continuing to attack romney's background in bain capit capital, a private equity firm. let's listen to newt gingrich. this is from today. >> i think it's funny that on the one hand he wants to run around touting his record. on the other hand, if anybody asks a question about his record, he hides behind an entire framework . to question the facts is to be anti-capitalist. baloney is the term i was using the other morning. >> are we going to be hearing romney combatting that line? >> i think we will.

i've been talking to people in the romney camp. clearly they were thrown for a loop at this kind of attack. it's not like romney really handles it very well. romney telling people, i know what it's like to be afraid of getting a pink slip, harvard business school graduate -- it sounded a little inauthentic. i think what we saw last night when romney sort of took on newt gingrich directly, called the attacks from newt gingrich and rick perry, by the way, desperate. >> didn't name them by name. >> didn't name them by name, but we knew -- >> they were republicans. >> exactly. and on soledad o'brien on cnn, romney said gingrich and perry were playing right into the hands of barack obama and were becoming, and this is a quote, witnesses to the prosecution. so he's not going to stand there and take it, and his superpack -- now, he doesn't direct his superpack, there is a wall -- but his superpack is probably, i would have to guess,

coming out with an ad to object to all this bain stuff. >> could it come back to bite him, kbl newt gingrich? >> it could. they're asking why do we want to eat out of our hand. even rush limbaugh is saying, this isn't going to work. to be fair to newt gingrich, south carolina is very conservative. 9.9% unemployment. the attacks could work, and don't forget, he's also taking on romney ones issue of abortion and his flip-flopping on that position. >> which could play well. >> which could play well and is a very legitimate thing to raise about mitt romney. if you're talking to evangelical voters and conservative voters. we have all seen it, homes in foreclosure, people

scrambling just to pay their mortgages, the economy slow to recover. one man says he has the answer to both those problems, so coming up next, the possible solutions to our housing crisis and our in the dump economy.

if you want to fix the economy, you have to fix housing. that is the message federal reserve chairman ben bernanke is sending to capitol hill. the feds have been doing what it can to push mortgage rates to new lows, and now he's looking

to the rest of washington to help. let me tell you what bernanke is saying, and i'm quoting him. restoring the health of the housing market is a necessary part of a broader strategy for economic recovery, end quote. how big, though, how big is the impact of the real estate collapse on average americans? according to the fed, house prices are down 33%. this is from the peak in 2006. the resulting loss, two american hou households, perhaps your own. look at this number, $7 trillion. so how do you fix it? how do you fix housing? i want to bring in a real estate professor and co-director of the richmond center for business law and public policy at the columbia business school -- quite the title. let's get to this, chris. you know, look, this isn't something that homeowners want to hear, that they're paying more than they need to each and every month. how many americans, first of all, are we talking about and

how much more? >> well, there are about 8 million american households that are paying 6% or more on their mortgage when mortgage rates are below 4%. that's just 8 million government guaranteed loans and there are millions more out there as well. >> so why aren't more people refinancing? >> well, i mean, unfortunately, i think the federal reserve report that chairman bernanke delivered to congress, really, the white paper does an excellent job of laying out some of the issues. there are fees that the government charges people, and there are other impediments to doing refinancing. these are what i consider to be a very, very strict interpretation of what conser conservetoreship of what fannie may or freddie mac is. they also believe holding back

credit to this extent is really having a material harm on the housing market. >> let's get to the fix because this is going to make people's ears perk up. i know you co-authored this paper with your college roommate glen hubbard. the message is to get money back in americans' pockets. would this apply only to folks with fannie may and freddie mac loans? >> this would involve, you know, refinancing what we think would be up to 20 million or more mortgages. the average person would save about $2300 a month -- a year in mortgage payments. in the aggregate it might put incrementally as much as 40 or $50 billion per year back into the economy. it would prevent what we think is hundreds of thousands of coming foreclosures and other

points the feds talked about in the document. we think it would not negatively impact the deficit. in fact, if done appropriately would actually help the deficit. we think this is one of the few things sitting around that's actually low-hanging fruit to kind of help the economy. >> so i just have to ask, cynical me sitting here, what's the catch? >> well, i mean, i think people who have looked at this, there are a couple major critiques, but i'll focus on one which is, in particular, wiould this harm already fragile credit records? the president was going to do a reassessment to replace the head of fannie may and freddie mac's regulator with someone who would actually do such a thing. the stock market was in better shape. the concern that this is going to negatively impact the market, i think, has been overblown, and

partly people are sort of tooting their own portfolio saying, gee, the sky is going to fall in if you do this. but nobody said the sky would fall in when the feds bought more than $100 trillion that helped the bond holders. >> well, $2300, even if that's what you're saving a year, that's a nice bit of change. we'll follow this skpand see wh it goes, if americans refinance. katie lindell rocking out on the guitar. i had no idea. whatever she's doing, we're going to do more of it after the break. stay here. it's the only calcium supplement that can be taken with or without food. that's why my doctor recommends citracal maximum. it's all about absorption.

and it hasn't been going exactly as planned. cut. cut! [ monica ] i thought we'd be on location for 3 days -- it's been 3 weeks. so i had to pick up some more things. good thing i've got the citi simplicity card. i don't get hit with a fee if i'm late with a payment... which is good because on this job, no! bigger! [ monica ] i may not be home for a while. [ male announcer ] the new citi simplicity card. no late fees. no penalty rate. no worries.

trouble with a car insurance claim. [ dennis ] switch to allstate. their claim service is so good, now it's guaranteed. [ foreman ] so i can trust 'em. unlike randy. dollar for dollar, nobody protects you like allstate.

all the technology that will blow your mind in 2012 is in one spot right now, that being vegas, baby, site of the consumer electronics show, ces, anything that plugs in or links up. the lelectronics show is the sie of 35 football fields, so this is heaven. katie, we were in new york together a couple weeks ago and you were already jonesing to get to vegas for the ces. the floor is yours. >> this is like the superbowl

for nerds, brooke. i have assembled quite the crowd already. everyone is quite excited. >> oh, my. >> so brooke, let me tell you, i have put together a snapshot of some of my favorite gadgets, the wacky and the practical. this is my very own i -- microphone. >> this is an eight-foot-long iphone doc. you can pick one up for $30,000. he turned this up for me yesterday, i thought i was going to die. it was the most amazing power, guys, you wouldn't believe it. also if you want to talk about the practical -- >> i want to see the size of the ipod with this massive speaker.

is this for your apartment? no. is this for a football field? yes. >> it is for your apartment if you have 30 g's. that's the caveat. this is my favorite gadget of ces. let me talk about the practical. a big buzz word here at ces is microbook. super lightweight, super thin, this is the acer aspire s-5 and it's packing serious punch in terms of power and efficiency, brooke. >> cool. what else do you have? >> okay, so something for the moms. i picked up two really crazy gadgets. first off, from whythings, a company that will put things on facebook. they have created a baby scale. if you thought it was annoying on facebook to get people's ultrasounds, imagine sending their weight out ev