he didn't tell the truth. i would love to see newt, who i call chucky when he gets upset, i want to see him apologize for not telling the truth. >> you're making my "end point" be not going to happen. my other "end point" is it's weird to see you strangely vulnerable. little creepy. >> i was like a super hero to her. >> now willie nelson's your kryptonite. >> we're moving on to keer row phillips. we're going to be back here for "starting point." kyra, that's how we went it today. >> that roland martin, he completely throws things in a different direction every morning. >> come on, white chocolate. >> oh, no. yup. he can explain that one, soledad. soledad. bye, guys. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com i'm going to try to compose myself here. it is top of the hour. 9:00 a.m. eastern time. we begin with five days until florida's republican

presidential primary and just hours from the cnn debate there. mitt romney and newt gingrich are locked in a dead heat in the polls. this debate could be a game changer. the votes the candidates want right now, latinos. the ads prove it. joe johns is live in mount dora. he's calling romney the most anti-immigration candidate. >> reporter: that's absolutely right, kyra. it's very interesting to watch as that develops. senator marco rub yes who's sort of a favorite son of florida actually chaz tiesed gingrich for putting that radio ad out saying it was inaccurate. gingrich saying last night in a press media availability here in florida that he pulled the ad because he did it out of respect for mark yes rubio. that sort of gives you a sense of the dividing lines here in the state.

mitt romney, you would think he's a guy that would have an uphill battle because of his statements on immigration, but the fact of the matter is mitt romney in many ways is better organized here on the ground. he spent four years cultivating a relationship with the latino community, and he has a lot of really important endorsements from some of the cuban american members of the congress, from farther down in south florida. that matters, too. so for gingrich right now, an uphill battle making just a full play for the latino vote. we'll have to see how it turns out. perhaps debates tonight being the last debate could help turn the tide more in gingrich's favor. we'll see. kyra? >> yeah, indeed. we'll be talking again tomorrow and also throughout the morning and the afternoon with you, joe. thanks so much. don't forget tonight, just days before the florida primary, cnn and the republican party of florida teaming up to host our next presidential debate in jacksonville at cnn tonight 8:00 eastern. we've got a former front-runner coming to visit us

here in studio 7. herman cain joins me at 9:45 eastern. we're going to ask him about the gop race, stephen colbert, and his tea party response to the state of the union. lawmakers typically play nice, shake hands, shake hands, you know the drill. this wasn't your typical face to face. arizona governor jan bremer said she got an ear full. you can see the moment there. apparently he's not a real fan of her book. >> bottom line is that i wanted to be there, to welcome him, to come and see firsthand what arizona has done in regards to our economic recovery. he wanted to talk about the book, and i thought that he was very thin skinned. >> dan lothian live at the white house. dan, what's the white house saying about all of this and this moment? >> reporter: that's right.

that book, which the title of the book, by the way, is "scorpions for breakfast," that was published last year. interesting title. the white house says, look, when they met there on the tarmac, that she, the governor, said that she wanted to meet with the president again in the future. she invited the president to meet with her, that the president did say that he would like to do that, but that's when things got a little testy. a white house official describing what took place there and what the president told her, quote, after their last meeting a cordial discussion in the oval office, the governor inaccurately described the meeting in her book. the president looks forward to continuing taking steps to help arizona's economy grow. that book, by the way, focuses on border control and also immigration issues. she met with the president here at the white house in 2010, and in that book she writes of that meeting, quote, we sat down and started with some chitchat, but after a few minutes the president's tone got serious and

condescending. he proceeded to lecture me about everything he was doing to promote comprehensive immigration reform which was code for encouraging more illegal immigration by letting those in the country illegally jump the line. that's her description of that meeting that took place in 2010. of course, according to the white house, the president doesn't quite see it that way. >> dan lothian at the white house. dan, thanks. this morning new developments in that daring rescue by u.s. navy s.e.a.l.s in somalia. just last hour freed american aid worker jessica buchanan landed safely at a u.s. military base in sicily. zain verjee has all the details and how the story is filling out. fill us in. >> good morning to you, kyra. jessica buchanan is in sicily. what's going to happen is that she's going to undergo some important medical screenings and evaluations. what we're hearing, that as soon as possible, even in the next few days, she's going to be on a

plane headed back home to the united states. her dad is also likely to have met her at the naval base on the island of sicily. let me just give you an idea of some of the things that her dad, john buchanan, said. first of all he said he was completely flabbergasted when he picked up the phone and president obama was on the other line. this is how he described what was said to him. he said the president said, john, this is barack obama. i'm calling you because i have great news for you. your daughter has been rescued by our military. he said that he never felt so patriotic before in his life and that he was proud to be an american. let me just give you an idea, kyra, of what one new hampshisp saying today. this is "usa today." it does echo a lot of thoughts around the world. navy s.e.a.l.s have become lucky charm for obama. it goes on to say obama hasn't been adverse to the high risk, high reward operation that is have led to some of his greatest

national security successes. he has managed to roll the dice and has succeeded. i talked to some maritime analysts who said going in with guns like this is sometimes a short-term success, but in the long term it doesn't necessarily deter the somali pirates from increasing their own violence, both on shore and on land and from continuing to do this anyway. >> zain verjee for us out of london. zain, thanks. the government's top money men say that the economy here in the u.s. is recovering but it still needs a boost. so it looks like our interest rates near historic lows will happen for another two or three years. christine romans in new york. so, christine, what does this mean to you and me? >> wow. it means we know more about what the fed is going to do on interest rates now than we ever have in history quite frankly. it means they're going to keep them near zero through at least the year 2014. the fed is concerned about the pace of this recovery, just like you and i are. they want to keep interest rates low so that borrowing money is very cheap as some kind of a stimulus or boost to the overall

economy. that's what they're looking for, keeping interest rates low. kind of to keep their foot on the gas peddle of the american economy. they're concerned about unemployment, they're concerned about long-term unemployment becoming some kind of a structural problem for the u.s. economy. people have been out of work for six months or longer. that number is too high for the fed's taste and they want to get that down. they want to spur growth. they want to entice and invite investment and low interest rates is how they want to do that. also there's an interesting thing that the fed chief said. he said there is a case for additional policy action, and that's something that got a lot of people's attention because that -- in particular that line signals to them that the fed has interest rates so low right now that they might even try to find some other ways to stimulate the economy if growth doesn't get a little morrow bust. kyra? >> all right. christine romans. we will track it. thank you so much. straight ahead after the break, a mayor says that he's sorry for his tacos remark.

and now his police force and its relationship with latinos is being questioned. the fbi says four cops were more like bullies than badges. talk about that next. and australia's leader needs police protection to escape from angry protesters. we'll tell you what protesters got from the prime minister a and --

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news cross-country. in pennsylvania a public tribute to legendary penn state coach joe paterno. thousands of people will attend an on campus memorial. paterno was buried yesterday at a private funeral. he died sunday from lung cancer. paterno was 85 years old. mississippi cops have no idea where a convicted murderer is more than two weeks after he was pardoned by then governor haley barbour. this is joseph osman. he didn't show up for a court hearing challenging his pardon. a reward is being offered for any information on his location. and it's cleanup time in parts of texas after a hammering of severe storms, up to seven inches of rain fell. flooding on many roads. a suspected tornado hit austin damaging several homes and buildings and uprooting trees there. the fbi calls four cops bullies with badges. it started when the feds arrested four east haven,

connecticut, police officers and charged them with racial profiling including harassment of latinos. listen how the mayor responded to the question about a lack of latinos on the police for force. >> what are you doing for the latino community today? >> i might have tacos when i go home. i'm not quite sure. >> those comments later forced the mayor to issue this apology. >> i created something that went viral. it was something that the media says, gotcha. and ran with it. i accept full responsibility. i have apologized profusely. >> our ashleigh banfield following this story for us. the mayor on one hand, ashleigh, is apologizing, and then on the other calling this a media gotcha moment. is his apology having the desired effect? >> you know, that's a great question, kyra. when your apology goes viral

too, i'm not sure that's the desired effect. a lot of the criticism about his behavior is apparently coming from outside of that community. while this can be political at that point tall lieization too where his opponents can come in and rail on this mayor, you would think there would be more of an uproar inside the community. that's not necessarily what's happening. then again, look at us. we're the national media and we're highlighting something that's extraordinarily serious, and that is targeting a certain community and roughing them up if you're on a squad. it's message to all police forces out there, watch it because the feds might be watching you. >> so what do you think could be the legal fallout here? >> well, what's really interesting is that there are four officers who have been arrested, and there are sources who are working this story real seriously in east haven who say it's entirely possible this is just the first wave, that we could possibly see more arrests coming as well.

these are really serious charges. these are federal charges. they're civil rights violations. they're violations of your constitutional rights, so while they are serious charges, it's kind of interesting what they could face if guilty. >> ashleigh banfield for us out of new york. ashleigh, thanks so much. it sounded like a line right out of a movie. well, it was. a politician caught red handed. also ahead, jcpenney gets a makeover. lower prices, designer deals, and a star spokeswoman. life with crohn's disease is a daily game of "what ifs."

what if my stomach pain and cramps end our night before it even starts? what if i eat the wrong thing? what if... what if i can't make it through dinner and a movie? what if i suddenly have to go? what if... but what if the most important question is the one you're not asking? what if the underlying cause of your crohn's symptoms is damaging inflammation? for help getting the answers you need visit knowcrohns.com/tv and use the interactive discussion guide to speak with your gastroenterologist.

weather with rob marciano. mississippi? >> yeah. it was new orleans and plaquemines parish which came in

with a little bit of damage north of venice. now that line of cells has moved to the north and east towards -- just to the east of bay st. louis. long beach under a tornado warning eventually getting to the north and east at 35 to 40 miles an hour. it has some rotation with it. we have no confirmation of a tornado on the ground. regardless of that, it will have damaging winds. anywhere from long beach and north and eastward is where that tornado warning in effect now for the next 45 minutes, until 9:00 later this morning central time. all with a larger system that brought tremendous amount of rain and severe weather to eastern texas. beginning to quiet down there a little bit right now. >> we'll track it. thanks so much, rob. >> you bet. rough week for aussie politicians. one goes hollywood. two others trapped by protesters. the prime minister needed a police escort out of a restaurant? >> yeah. she was pretty scared and shaken up here. take a look at this video. this is what happened, the prime

minister was at a ceremony at a restaurant along with the opposition leader. this is what happened. there was an angry mob that totally surrounded the building. they were throwing sticks, rocks, smashing windows. this is an abhor ridge nal group. it's a rights group that was nearby. it broke out into the protests. shouting shame, racist. you can see this is the scene. they were throwing themselves even in front of the convoy of cars as they were leaving. the prime minister lost a shoe. she was dragged to her car by her security forces. and then what this group of protest jurors did, kyra, they belong to this group called tent embassy. they put on their facebook page, what's compared to losing a shoe compared to losing a continent. she was nervous in this situation. >> a bit of a different story involving an aussie politician. he sure shook things up when i guess you could say he kind of showed folks he's a big fan of

michael douglas. >> well, yeah, he did, right? and then he had to defend himself because of it. this guy is the transport minister. his name's antony albanys. he gave a speech to the national press club in australia. he created a complete kafafal because it sounds like these lines were ripped off by some of his staff writers in a very famous american movie. listen. judge for yourself. >> in australia we have serious challenges to solve and we need serious people to solve them. unfortunately, tony abbott is not the least bit interested in fixing anything. he's only interested in two things, making a stranger afraid of it and telling them who's to blame for it. >> we have serious problems to solve and we need serious people to solve them. and whatever your particular problem is, i promise you, bob rumson is not the least bit

interested in solving it. he is interested in two things, and two things only, making you afraid of it and telling you who's to blame for it. >> kyra, american movies, michael douglas. >> that's where it came from. naturally, as any politician in hot water like that will do, he blamed the staff. said he had no idea that this was the case. he had never even seen the movie. he took responsibility for giving the speech. >> he should hire the screen writer maybe to write his speeches if he wants to go that route. that's pretty funny. seeing the two side by side, classic. zain, thanks. we've got a major overhall at one of the nation's biggest retailers. talk about jcpenney. felecia taylor has all the new details. live from the new york stock exchange, what are we going to see, felecia? >> well, jcpenney is redesigning its stores hoping to improve its

image. it wants to develop a more clear brand identity. people aren't sure what jcpenney represents. walmart is known for low prices. target is cheap. jcpenney is somewhere lost in the middle. now the company has a new ceo that comes from apple. his name is ron johnson. he's credited with creating apple's bright and innovative retail stores. taking a page from apple johnson wants to simplify everything. right now jcpenney has hundreds of sales a year and merchandise prices change constantly. johnson said that's confusing and makes j.c.p. seem almost desperate. he's moving to a three tier strategy. everyday prices are being cut by 40% and then there will be monthly sales on in season merchandise and two clearance sales a month. hopefully johnson will be able to sort of create some kind of an image that gives jcpenney more of an identity for the public that is similar to what we have for walmart and other stores. back to you.

>> seven minutes away from the opening bell. how are things looking so far? >> we're going to have somewhat of a flat open. we've got a couple of earnings that have come out that have been somewhat mixed. we have the jobless numbers which was actually increased a little worse than expectations. nevertheless, wall street is still very happy with what it heard from the federal reserve. we could see an uptick. the european markets are up sharply. we have investors diving into gold which is traditionally the safe haven. the dollar is getting hampered by the idea that there could be further stimulus down the road. >> felecia, thanks. newt gingrich and mitt romney neck in neck in the florida polls. face to face tonight for a debate on cnn. what to watch for that could change the race. and a man who was the leader in that race for a bit of time. he's on his way here. herman cain drops by studio 7 in just about 20 minutes. what makes scottrade your smartphone's

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checking top stories now. an american aid worker rescued from kidnappers in somalia has arrived at a u.s. military base in sicily. jessica buchanan and a danish aid worker were rescued by u.s. forces during a raid tuesday night. buchanan's father says that he hopes to reunite with his daughter today. the bill and melinda gates foundation is giving $750 million to the global fund to fight aids, tuberculosis and malaria. the microsoft co-founder made that announcement at the world economic foundation. take a look at this. the earth like you've never seen it before. this high definition photo just released by nasa was taken

aboard a new generation of satellites launched to observe our planet. all right. we're just about ten hours from tonight's republican presidential debate on cnn. the last one before florida's primary on tuesday. it's looking like a two-man fight between gingrich and romney for that top spot. things have been getting pretty heated between the two of them on the campaign trail. cnn's political editor paul steinhauser live in jacksonville. let's talk about why this debate is so important. it could truly be a game changer, paul. >> reporter: kyra, all cycle along we've seen these debates have an outsized influence on the cycle, on the polls, the results. no doubt tonight could be the same. this is a last showdown. the last time they'll be on the same stage before tuesday's crucial primary. 50 delegates at stake. winner take all. let's break down our cnn time

orc poll. it was conducted sunday through tuesday. so sunday alone, look at the left side there. that was the day after gingrich's double digit victory in south carolina primary. gingrich leading among people likely to vote in florida. on the right side, look at that, monday and tuesday. a different story. maybe newt gingrich's big moment coming out of south carolina is starting to fizzle a little bit. one more number, kyra, from our poll. go to the next screen and you can see here, 25% of the people we questioned say, you know what, i'm backing this candidate or that candidate but i could change my mind. they'll be watching tonight seeing what the candidates say. maybe that's why they'll change their mind. kyra, we have the bus over here. right there, that's the debate hall where they're going to be with wolf blitzer. >> what are you going to be watching for? >> reporter: three things. three things. mitt romney, he had a big debate on monday night. he went on the offense. will he continue to do that? will he continue to go after newt gingrich. maybe more over freddie mac and gingrich's contracts with freddie mac. number two, newt gingrich, he

seemed a little more depress sedate on monday night. he didn't go on the attack. he's very good at that. he needs to step it up tonight. number three, the guys on the side, rick santorum, ron paul. they weren't that much of a factor on monday night. are they going to be more so tonight. three things i'm looking for, kyra. >> all right. i'm paying attention. thanks, paul. don't forget tonight, just days before the florida primary, as we mentioned, cnn and the republican party in florida team up hosting the next presidential debate in jacksonville. that's right here on cnn tonight, 8:00 eastern. next up, wheel of fortune host pat sajak makes a pretty shocking confession about his early days on the show. what he said after the break.

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well, surprising confession from wheel of fortune's pat sajak. "showbiz tonight" host a.j. hammer joining us live from new york. a little too much tipping of the flask, a.j.? >> i'd like to buy a vowel,

kyra. no. to be fair, here's the deal. pat sajak was asked if he ever hosted his show, "wheel of fortune," a little drunk. pat said yes. he's being honest. it turns out that back in the day when the show was in its early wheels pat and van in a white would have a couple of marg ga receipt tas. it was highly questionable when he made these incredible revelations. >> vanna and i would go across and have two or three or six and have the last shows. they're good tapes to get ahold of. >> yeah, i'm sure they're really good tapes to get ahold of. he says he has no idea if the shows were any good. as far as he knows, there were. there was that one time i remember he told a contestant they smelled funny. no, no, that never happened. two or three or six margaritas on a break. back in the day, you remember, kyra, when you used to go shopping with the money that you won on that show in the very

early days. if they were taping more than a show in the day. it took a long time to reset that stuff. what are you going to do, have a drink? >> a.j., that is playing with fire, indeed. we just learned that country singer glen campbell is going to be performing at this year's grammys despite his alzheimer's. what do you know about this and what do you think? >> yeah. this is such a powerful, powerful story. i think it's going to inspire a lot of people. glen campbell launched his good-bye tour last year. he will be honored at at grammy awards next month. the plan is for him to perform live. ally do that with blake shelton and the band perry. the country ledge gepd's now 75 years old. he revealed last year he's battling alzheimer's but that hasn't stopped him from continuing with his tour. he has several of his children backing him up. kyra, i understand there are a if you young inns on your staff who don't know who he is. let me give you a little bit of a primer here. he played with the beach boys.

he won five grammy awards. he starred in the original "true grit" with john wayne, but if for nothing else most people know him for his iconic songs "southern nights" and "ryan stone cowboy." . that was 37 years ago. punch it up on the youtube today. everybody will say, that's right. rhine stone cowboy. >> i used to lip sink that. i'm not ashamed. >> of course. >> a.j., thanks so much. i sure can't wait to see his performance. appreciate it. >> yeah. all right. actor brad pitt is opening up about his past battle with depression and his relationship with angelina jolie. a.j. will be back with us next hour with that story and other showbiz headlines. coming up after the break, herman cain right here in studio 7. he's not seeking the presidency anymore, so what is he looking

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[ male announcer ] sustainable solutions. fedex. solutions that matter. . yes, we are going to talk live with herman cain in just a minute. first newt gingrich speaking at a tea party event in mount dora, florida. >> the choice, i can live with

the american people's decision. if the american people have all the information, i can live with whatever they decide. i just had a good friend call me from tampa who watched 12 negative ads last night, all of them paid for with special interest money, all of them dishonest. let me give you an example. this person, stand up and let them all see it. wearing i miss reagan. and she has a ronald regan aircraft carrier hat. it gets better and better. i mention, michael reagan, who has endorsed me, tries to go out and visit the ronald regan aircraft carrier every time it comes back to home port. now let me take the example about reagan. i first met with ronald regan in 1974. i was a candidate for congress. he came to georgia.

i was allowed it take him to the airport because they were so grateful anybody would run as a republican in georgia in 1974. his plane was late. we chatted for a little while. he finally got bored listening to me and said how would you like to see how i give speeches? i thought, this would be good. and it was. i was on his side in the panama canal fight. i helped develop supply side economics. i worked with the campaign and actually put together the first capital steps in history in september of 1980. i worked with him as a member of congress for eight years. in 1995, at the gold water institute, nancy reagan said that ronald regan's torch had been passed to me as speaker of the house and that i was carrying out the values that he believed in. >> newt gingrich there live. his wife by his side speaking at a tea party event in mount dora, florida. we'll continue to follow all of

the live events of course as they happen throughout the morning and throughout the afternoon. herman cain, he's the former gop presidential front-runner. mr. nine nine nine. the guy who gave the tea party's response to the president's state of the union address. he's stephen colbert's new bff. >> the more mature people watch other things, but the more immature youth vote watches this show, which is why tonight i'm endorsing senator doody von, poopinpants. von poopinpants, you can depends on him. for the record, i also endorse herman cain. >> and here he is. mr. herman cain. all right. we all laugh. >> hello. >> hello. good to see you. >> thank you. >> you and i both going to try not to get into trouble here, but we're going to have a very good conversation.

colbert, he makes his living off of making fun of people, all right? >> yes. >> are you worried that he's using you as a punch line? hey, are you using him for his audience? you know he's got it. >> it's a mutual use because he reaches the youth vote, which i happen to believe is going to be very critical to winning the election in november. so one of the things that i'm focusing on is helping to keep the youth vote inspired. you have to go where they are. they are watching colbert. they are watching john stewart. i'm going to go to college campuses. that's going to be one of the things that i'm going to do. i want to keep the youth vote. i want to keep some of the disgruntled democrats. i want to keep some of the republicans and conservatives that might be losing interest because of all of the negativity. we've got to keep them inspired. colbert represents an outreach to the youth vote, and that's why i enjoy doing things with him. >> yeah, i can see you enjoy each other. that negativity, let's talk about the debate tonight, the cnn debate. >> yes. >> romney expected to go after

gingrich, of course, again. do you think that these attacks are divisive for the party or are they good because they vet the candidates. >> yes, they are divisive because they're not divisive over solutions. this is what the american people want to hear. the negative attacks discourages people from wanting to be a part of the process. it's okay to be at opposite ends over tax policy, how we should have an energy independence policy, how we should deal with the issue of the debt. fine. let that be what the debate is about and the american people and the voters, that's what they want to hear about, but they're not hearing about it, quite frankly. >> you're a businessman. >> yes. >> very successful businessman. when you entered the race -- >> okay. >> okay. uh-huh. when you entered the race you said, look, it's a business person that's the right person to lead america.

so given the choice between a career politician and a good business person running the country, who would you choose? >> i could choose either for the following reasons. right now you have governor romney and speaker gingrich are the two top contenders. i believe that each of them can win and beat president obama because they have a different set of ifs. there are some things that i believe governor romney needs to do differently. he needs to be more specific with a very clear economic growth and jobs plan. that's missing. in all honesty, his 59 point plan isn't cutting it. in the case of speaker gingrich, speaker gingrich isn't afraid to be bold with some of his solutions, but sometimes he's been accused of being a bit extreme. so it will depend on how they hone their message when they get into the general election. i said that i would be a better candidate and a better president because of all of my business experience. romney has some. newt, the thing that i like

about newt, yes, he's a career politician, but he got out of politics for a while so his head could clear. i think that's a positive. >> but you definitely said, look, it's a business person that should lead this country. i, herman cain, have that background. we know romney's business background. if you had to choose today, is romney the one that convinces you he's the one that can lead this country? >> the american people are going to choose. when i said that a businessman could lead this country, yes, but also you've got to be able to win in the general election. electability is still a big factor. i wouldn't say that the only requirement is someone who's a businessman, but i'm just simply saying electability has to be considered. that's what the voters in south carolina, new hampshire, and georgia, and the super tuesday states, that's what they're going to sort out. >> you said last week i wanted to ask you who do you endorse, you said last week i endorse the american people. >> yes. >> okay. it was unconventional.

no surprise. >> right. >> you're an unconventional man, but when it comes to an actual candidate, who do you prefer? >> i prefer the american people. now here's why. i'm not dodging your question. >> you're dodging my question. >> it's quite simply, look at some of the other endorsements. one of the main reasons that i did not want to endorse a person at this point in the race, i want my supporters to stay focused on the ultimate mission, solving problems. i want them to stay focused on nine nine nine the revolution and the other solutions that we're putting on the table. >> but there isn't a candidate out there supporting your nine nine niep. >> not yet, but we never know what's in the works. but my point is, the solutions to problems is much more important than who i personally endorse. >> let me ask you this. do you think there's a candidate that could ben fill tefit from

endorsement? >> absolutely. >> who. >> both romney could benefit from my endorsement and both speaker gingrich could benefit from my endorsement. i'm about solutions. they are coming around. i have actually heard speaker gingrich say we need to draw out the tax code. that's a good first step, but i want to see something bolder and more specific about the biggest domestic problem we have, job growth, economic growth, and creating jobs. >> let me get to the state of the union. you gave the tea party response. you said that the president had no big ideas. what about this idea to reward companies that keep manufacturing here in the united states? is that not a big idea? >> that's not a big idea. >> that's not? >> that's an old idea. secondly, there the government goes again, picking winners and losers. i don't believe government should be in the business of trying to pick winners and losers. secondly, if he's going to reward manufacturing companies for a, b, c, and d, that's the

government trying to determine who they want to reward. >> don't we want jobs? >> yes. >> don't we want more people here in the united states to be employed? >> kyra, what about the entire economy? why not reward the entire economy by throwing out the current tax code and putting in nine nine nine? yes, i'm going to continue to promote t. that's why it's in the a big idea. >> there's not one candidate supporting that. >> you just never know. my point is, when the president is focusing in on the manufacturing sector, he wants to focus in on the automobile industry, he's trying to pick winners and losers. let the marketplace do it. the tax code is unfair and it's too complex and i am going to continue to hammer that point home until the american people start to demand that we get rid of the tax code and get government out of the business of picking winners and losers. >> what about president obama talking about this trade enforcement unit? i was reading more about this. it would investigate illegal trade practices by countries like china. bold idea, big idea? >> little idea.

we know what they're doing. we don't need another agency. we've got all these agencies up there already that all the president has to do is say put this on your to do list. secondly, we're not going to be able to make china do anything. what we need to do is have more competitive products. how do we get more competitive products? get rid of the tax code. i know that many people say he keeps coming back to the same thing. the reason is it solves so many other problems. we need to level the playing field with china and other countries. do you know how my plan helps to do that? in that first nine, it does not put embedded taxes in u.s. goods. it helps to level the playing field. having another agency creates more bureaucracy and it makes government bigger. >> what do you want to hear in the debate tonight? >> i want to hear specifics on how we're going to grow the economy. i don't want to hear the words we need to grow the economy. i want to hear specifics on how growing the economy in their plans are going to create jobs. i don't want to hear, we need to

create jobs. how are we going to put people back to work. how are we going to reduce the burden of regulations on businesses, how are we going to inspire the business community to start creating jobs and the way you do that is get government out of the way rather than more stuff like the president talked about in his speech that puts government in the way. that's what i would like to hear about what the candidates are going to do. >> herman cain, thank you for stopping by. >> it's my pleasure. cnn and the republican party of florida team up to host the next presidential debate in jacksonville. watch the sparks play, tonight, 8:00 eastern on cnn. that is hels rethink how to do business. in here, inventory can be taught to learn. ♪ in here, machines have a voice... ♪ [ male announcer ] in here, medical history follows you... even when you're away from home. it's the at&t network -- a network of possibilities,

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now fast forward to stories ahead in the newsroom. president obama will talk at a u.p.s. facility in las vegas. and then a leadership network holds a predebate. jeb bush expected to speak. tonight, cnn and the republican party of florida team up to host the next presidential debate in jacksonville. we're following next some developments, so let's check in with joe johns in mount dora, florida. >> reporter: hey, kyra. newt gingrich reaching out to the tea party crowd here in florida. also slamming mitt romney for his connections to wall street. we'll have that coming up at the top of the hour. >> reporter: i'm jason carroll in new york. east havens mayor found himself in hot water after he made an insensitive remark about lati latinos. how does he explain what he said? the answer at the top of the hour. >> reporter: i'm casey whiant in

the port of long beach, and if you wondered what would happen if a disaster like the "costa concordia," we'll have a specialized dive time on how they deal with these maritime disasters under water. guys, thanks so much. big hits and broken dreams. ahead, dr. gupta looks at the devastating effects of concussions in sports. there's a risk to boys, and he'll tell us what we need to know about girls getting concussions. in america, we believe in a future that is better than today. since 1894, ameriprise financial has been working hard for their clients' futures. never taking a bailout. helping generations achieve dreams. buy homes. put their kids through college.

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got to love the time change for sports. fresh stuff. >> that's right. while most of you were probably sleeping i was glued to the screen watching federer and nadal playing. it was the best match-up djokovich is a great player. but federer is facing the long-time rival. federer takes the early lead. look at nadal just covering the court as always. this one goes to first-set tiebreaker. federer was just perfect in the first set. he won it. second set, this is when nadal's court coverage takes over. look at him get that. he wins the second set. wins the third in a tiebreaker. then in the fourth set, federer,

even when he thinks he's got it under control, he doesn't. nadal chases everything down. look at nadal get that. ready to close it out. nadal headed to another grand slam title, beats federer again. in the 27 meeting, nadal has won 18 times including an 8-2 record in grand slams. nba, the lakers/clippers rivalry getting heated. blake griffin and chris paul are there. kobe bryant taking on the clips. can't stop blake griffin. but kobe, pau gasol combined for 37 points. the lakers win it in the end. but it got chippy too. pau gasol patted chris paul on the head. he didn't like that. 96-91 the final. mavericks hosting the timber

wolves. dirk nowitzki was sidelined because of an injury. but he's a color commentary. listen to this. >> oh, oh! >> they're going crazy. he loves his teammates. sweet dunk. dirk nowitzki fired up. that's sports. >> thank you. that was great stuff. it is the top of the hour now. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com mitt romney and newt gingrich are locked in a dead heat in the polls in florida and this debate could be a game-changer. the votes that they want right now -- latinos and the ads prove it. gingrich taking heat for airing the spanish language ad that romney is calling the most anti-immigration candidate.

>> reporter: absolutely. immigration such a big deal here in florida, particularly in south florida. interesting though, romney seems to be doing better right now with a lot of latinos. nonetheless, i have to mention this event here in mount dora, florida, here just wrapping up, newt gingrich taking a completely difficult tack this morning. reaching out to the tea party crowd. the lower taxes, less government crowd. also, really going after mitt romney for his connections to big corporations, big lobbying. wall street and the republican establishment. listen to this sound bite from a little while ago. >> the message we should give mitt romney is, you know, we aren't that stupid and you aren't that clever. so he has lobbyists coming out to attack me and the press takes them seriously. why do you think this person is saying this? because they're against changing washington.

because they don't want a real reformer. they want somebody who will preside over the decay as long as they get to make money out of the decay. but real change, really tearing the old order apart. boy, that's scary. ♪ >> reporter: so if that is not a precursor to what could come in tonight's cnn debate in jacksonville, i don't know what is. gingrich headed out to jacksonville after this event in mount dora. back to you, kyra. >> thanks so much. peter hamdi is live for us in jacksonville. and the candidates are facing off tonight. and peter, this debate could be a real changer or a real change in the race. >> reporter: yeah, it really could. the reason for that is the voters in this election cycle, republican voters have been so fickle. we have seen some wild swings in the polling. a little over a week ago, mitt romney was in a tight race with

gingrich, but was thought to be in a comfortable lead. our cnn poll with time magazine and that came out yesterday showed gingrich getting a big bounce out of south carolina on that sunday after south carolina leading romney in florida by six points. and then the next two days, the momentum swung back to romney and romney had an eight-point lead over the last couple of days of that poll that came out yesterday. so it will be really interesting tonight. debates have the capacity to impact what voters are seeing in the state like florida, where you don't have that real retail politics, that part of the campaign is over. this is all about tv airwaves and voters are going to get their main impression of the candidates tonight here in jacksonville, kyra. >> there's so much talk about gingrich and romney. so what are ron paul and rick santorum doing to get their messages out? >> reporter: that's a real good question. first of all, both of those campaigns have less money than gingrich and romney.

romney has the most money, gingrich doesn't have a lot of money, but he does have a lot of super pac spending a lot on his part. santorum and paul don't expect to win here. ron paul has all but avoided the state. he's focusing on western caucus states where it's easier to organize the motivated supporters. rick santorum who doesn't have a chance to pick up any delegate, he's soft pedalled his expectations here. he's leaving the state to go back home to do some fund-raising. he won't commit to saying he'll be here on primary night. the battle for florida is between mitt romney and newt gingrich. here in florida, where those delegates are at stake and it's a close race, it's between those two guys. >> you're the ones who broke the news that huntsman was out and rick perry was out, do you have something up your sleeve for next week? any inside scoop?

>> reporter: not yet. i can't reveal that yet. i'm sorry about that. i'm just kidding. i don't have anything right now. >> but i know you're working it. peter, thanks. don't forget, just days before the florida primary, cnn and republican party of florida teaming up to host the next debate in jacksonville. it's on cnn tonight. 8:00 eastern. lawmakers greeting president obama at the foot of air force one, well, typically they play nice, they shake hands and hug. but this wasn't your typical meeting. arizona governor jan brewer says she got an earful from president obama when he landed near phoenix yesterday. apparently, not a fan of her book. >> bottom line is that i wanted to be there to welcome him, to come and see firsthand what arizona has done in regards to our economic recovery. he wanted to talk about the book. and i thought that he was pretty thin-skinned. >> dan lothian live at the white

house. dan, what's the white house saying about all this? >> reporter: well, they're saying that she gave the president a letter inviting the president to meet with her again, and the president said he very much would like to do that. but then that's when things got a little testy when the conversation turned to that book that you talked about. it's a book she wrote last year. it's called "scorpions for breakfast" and in the book, she has part where she describes a meeting that she had here at the white house in 2010 with the president where she says, quote, we sat down and started with some chitchat, but after a few minutes the president's tone got serious and condescending. he proceeded to lecture me about everything he was going to do, promote comprehensive immigration reform which was code for letting those into the country illegally jump the line. we looked at a tape after the meeting, she came out the a -- she came out to the reports and

called the meeting cordial. then john king did a one-on-one interview with her and here's what she had to say about the meeting. >> i feel as i left today i was further ahead before i met with him. i have no answers. he's told me that i would have information within two weeks that he would be sending out staff to arizona to give me the details. with that, i feel it was a successful meeting and i'm encouraged by that. >> reporter: she thought it was successful, but obviously the book said otherwise. the white house in a statement describing this conversation with her, the president told her, quote, after the meeting it was a cordial discussion in the oval office and the president looks forward to continuing taking steps to help arizona's economy grow. back to you. >> dan lothian, thanks. well, this morning new developments in that daring rescue by u.s. navy s.e.a.l.s in somalia. a couple of hours ago, american

jessica buchanan arrived at a u.s. military base in sis ali along with her fellow aid worker from denmark. so jill, what happens now to the former hostages? >> reporter: well, number one, they get checked, kyra, physically. of course there was concern about jessica's health and they will be checked out physically, psychologically. they'll get good food and in general, be looked over. and then we're also expecting that the father of jessica buchanan will be meeting with her and that will be obviously a very relieved and happy reunion. and kyra, you know, some of the other things i have been trying to figure out and get some figures on, how many americans are in somalia and if you're interested, it is very difficult to pin that down. one of the problems is exactly what these two hostages encountered. as you know, it's very dang royce and then the numbers are incredibly small.

in fact, when i contacted the state department they said they could not give a precise figure because the u.s. state department doesn't require americans to register when you go to another country. so of course in countries like that they're encouraged to to make sure that's some knowledge of where they are, but they don't have to. so the state department can't say precisely. aid organizations that i have talked to said there are very small numbers, sometimes as few in the dangerous areas as like 20, 25 people. and one of the other problems is if they come from the outside, let's say they're from the united states and they're not african-american, they would be very obvious in that area. and could be the target for kidnapping or something else. so that's one of the problems, complications of this very dangerous work. >> yeah. jill, thanks. four cops accused of abusing latinos and their mayor jokes about tacos. the remarks, yes, went viral.

and it brought more attention to the town's problem. we'll have more on that coming up of. also, beneath the surface off that cruise line disaster, off the coast of italy. live picture now from the port of long beach, california. we're going to show you how american divers train to save lives. [ male announcer ] feeling like a shadow of your former self?

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hard to get those votes. in ads the romney camp knocks gingrich for calling spanish the language of the ghetto. and the gingrich team actually pulled an ad that called romney anti-immigrant. roberto is a cnn contributor and it shows that romney has a double digit lead with latinos in florida. how you the heated words, the rhetoric, going over with the community? >> reporter: well, yes, it will affect him because what we have seen in the polls, not only the hispanic vote, but in general any vote, any voter right now, they're changing opinions every day. so when you have that kind of situation, you have to be very careful in your words around not offend any of the voters that you'll try to reach. >> are these voters truly of fended by this language? is that what you're hearing?

>> reporter: oh yes. the rhetoric we hear in the republican primary it is affecting the hispanic vote in general. in particular also in florida. because just the fact that calling them illegal immigrants for example, in the debates, the democrats on the other hand they call them undocumented immigrants. when you say illegal immigrants you're referring to the person, the person is illegal so it's kind of offensive. also, for -- remember the primaries, the primary debate, michele bachmann saying we need to build not only one wall, but two walls, and it's unrealistic and offensive. from the bush campaigns, george bush he got one of the biggest hispanic vote not only in florida, but everywhere, which was a very friendly rhetoric. on welcoming. and jeb bush, his brother, was the governor, they were related to hispanic, some member of the

families speak perfect spanish. all that helped. but here in the primary republicans -- the primary, the republican party, this election, the last election, it's a rhetoric that's offending them. >> so rebooberto, gingrich and romney both talking about fidel castro. take a listen. >> if i'm fortunate enough to become the next president of the united states, it is my expectation that fidel castro will finally be taken off this planet. >> i don't think it's ever occurred to a single person in the white house to look south and propose a cuban spring. i would argue if mubarak was bad, castro's worse. if assad's bad, castro's worse. >> now, there are a lot of cuban americans obviously in florida, but the latino community is much

more diverse. does it help or hurt to focus on castro? >> reporter: you hear both the speeches clearly gingrich's speech is more positive and welcoming. that's kind of the rhetoric that the hispanics are looking for, not only the issues. and about the question that you just asked, yes, the graphic, the hispanic vote in florida is very different than the rest of the united states. the rest of the united states is mostly immigrants from mexico and central florida. florida are cubans. then you have two. the older cubans are more interested to hear a clear message against fidel castro. but the younger ones they're interested in the same issues that any other american is interested in. there's a big difference there too. >> thanks so much. >> thanks to you. don't forget, cnn and the republican party of florida

teaming up in jacksonville. that's cnn tonight, 8:00 eastern. let's go across the country. in pennsylvania, public tribute to legendary coach joe paterno. thousands of people attending an on-campus memorial today who was buried yesterday. he died sunday from lung cancer. he was 85 years old. mississippi cops have no idea where this convicted murderer is. more than two weeks after he was pardoned by then-governor haley barbour. joseph ozment didn't show up on monday for a court order. and a hammering of severe storms, up to seven inches of r5 rain and a suspected tornado hit austin, texas, damaging several homes and buildings and uprooting trees there. ripples from the cruise ship disaster in italy.

we'll take you under water to show you how one american port trains to save lives. casey wian joining us after the break.

taking top stories now, an american aid worker rescued from kidnappers in somalia arrived just a couple of hours ago at a u.s. military base in sicily. jessica buchanan and a danish aid worker were rescued during a raid tuesday night. her father says he hopes to reunite with his daughter today. the bill and melinda gates foundation is giving $750,000 to the global fund to fight aids, tuberculosis and malaria.

the microsoft cofounder made the announcement in switzerland. he hopes that money will change the fortunes of the poorest countries in the world. take a look at this. the earth like you have never seen it before. this high-definition photo just released by nasa was taken aboard a new generation of satellites launched to observe our planet. take a deep breath. we are going under water. this is the search effort aboard the "costa concordia." how do u.s. ports train for similar disasters? cnn's casey wian is about to show us. he's actually at a port there in long beach. and casey, you're with rescue divers that are in training right now. >> reporter: yeah, that's right, kyra. we are at the port of long beach where we have asked what would happen if a disaster like the "costa concordia" happened here? well, the first thing that would happen is the u.s. coast guard would take control and they would bring in at least a dozen other agencies to respond.

here at the port of long beach, you have cargo container ships. you have cruise vessels. you have smaller boats. you have military vessels so they have to be prepared for everything. now we're with a group today the long beach harbor patrol. they're showing us how they train with their underwater dive teams to deal with one of these disasters under water. so we're going to walk inside. we've got video that we can show you of how these dive teams actually work under water. they are actually using sort of a welding torch to cut into a piece of metal and this would be done if a ship was submerged. if the ship was run aground. they might use this type of a technique to salvage a ship. they might use it to try to get a ship upright. they also might use it to cut through a ship to rescue people. now, this is the only port that has a team like that can actually have these tethered

dives. these divers can stay under water for hours and hours at a time. unlike scuba divers which have a maximum amount of time of 30 or 40 minutes under water. we can talk to divers to see what they're doing. can i just reach in here? divers, this is cnn. can you hear us? >> yes. >> reporter: can you explain what you're doing under water? >> explain what we're doing here underwater. right now, we're setting up, using the torch. and making a cut of a piece of 3/8 inch steel. the torch -- [ inaudible ]. uses the electricity to strike an arc. and oxygen to keep the burn going.

burning that at 10,000 degrees. which can cut through any material underwater. >> reporter: this is obviously something they could not do if there was actually a fuel spill. they have other ways to cut through metal in that event. but this is just one of the agencies that is trained to respond to these type of disasters and coming up in the next hour we're going to show you a little bit more. >> fantastic. great access and great insight. casey, thank you so much. as casey mentioned next hour, you're going to climb aboard a long beach police boat. we're going to be right there as a helicopter drops two divers into the water for their disaster training that's in the cnn newsroom next hour. also coming up, wes to our political buzz panel and questions about herman cain right into the ring. the former gop presidential front runner was here a few minutes ago. we'll see what our panel thinks

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the fbi calls four cops bullies with badges and the feds arrested four east haven, connecticut, police officers and charged them with harassment of latinos. then the mayor made a comment that caused outrage. our reporter asked him about the lack of latinos on the police force. here was his response. >> what are you doing for the latino community today? >> i might have tacos when i go home. i'm not quite sure yet. >> jason carroll talked to the mayor after that comment that went viral by the way. what's the latest? >> reporter: well, as you can imagine the outcry after that comment went viral from critics accusing mayor joseph meturo of all sorts of things. i went to the mayor to ask him what was going on with what he said. he told me, kyra, that the

stress of the situation got the better of him. he had planned to read me a statement, apologizing for what he had said and he did do that. but when pressed, he went on to explain what he meant by the comment that got him in so much trouble. >> in hindsight -- >> in hindsight, i meant i don't feel baing into any community. i didn't feel persecuted by what happened in our town. so by going into another section, that's all it meant. i could go into the different section of a community to have a bite to eat. i didn't feel as though i was being -- or our town was being discriminatory or that i was. that i wasn't afraid to talk to or be in the company of anybody. >> reporter: a bit of a further explanation there. will that further explanation be enough for the mayor's critics?

well, those who we speak to in east haven's latino community said it will take more than just talk to mend a lot of hurt feelings. >> it's racist to talk about what people eat or what they look like or what they do. because it's not fair. it's not fair. >> i don't know how to speak english. >> but you felt offended? >> offended that's the word, yes. >> harassment, and the people following us and it's not right. >> reporter: well, connecticut's governor called the mayor's comments insensitive. showing a lack of judgment. when i asked mayor maturo about that, he said whatever the governor said is correct, the governor is right. he said all i want to do at this point is try to heal the community. kyra? >> well, we'll follow that for sure. thanks. straight ahead, our political buzz panel joining us. hear what they have to say about

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for our military, veterans and their families. now more than ever, it's important to get financial advice from people who share your military values. for our free usaa retirement guide, call 877-242-usaa. with listerine® whitening plus restoring rinse. it's the only listerine® that gets teeth two shades whiter and makes tooth enamel two times stronger. get dual-action listerine® whitening rinse. building whiter, stronger teeth. all right. time for political buzz. your rapid-fire look at the best political topics of the day. three questions. 30 seconds on the day. democratic strategist, zimmerman and cnn contributor will deign. herman cain stopped by the studio last hour, talking about the state of the gop race. i asked mr. 9-9-9 who needs his

support the most? here's what he told me. do you think there's a candidate that could benefit from your endorsement? >> absolutely. >> who? >> both romney could benefit from my endorsement and both speaker gingrich could benefit from my endorsement. but see, i'm about the solutions. now they're coming around. >> all right. cryptic answer. but who should herman cain throw his weight behind and why? robert? >> well, first of all, props to you, kyra, because you had a very revealing interview with herman cain and really pinned him down on some key issues. but ultimately i think political pundits make a mistake of often confusing quotability with credibility. or political buzz with political clout. ultimately, herman cain's endorsement is irrelevant. so he didn't bring people together and he can't deliver them. >> will? >> you know what? i'm going to disagree with robert here. i give herman cain credit for

saying i'm about solutions and not about candidates. one thing you can say about herman cain he has been floating an idea. 9-9-9 is an idea. i met herbman -- herman in south carolina and i told him, herman, 9-9-9 is a bad idea. that's coming from a conservative perspective. and he laughed and you know what he did in five minutes? had me won over to think he's one of the most charming guys i ever met. herman cain wants to be likable. he will not endorse anybody because that fractures his likability. >> patricia? >> boy, has herman cain turned into a politician. he wouldn't answer any of your questions and it was driving me crazy. that's what people used to love about herman cain. he would say what was on his mind. for first time in his life he's trying not to get into too much trouble. so i think, yeah, your interview to me said maybe this guy wants to take another run at something he's really trying hard to stay out of trouble. >> big debate tonight as you know. it's gingrich versus romney at the top of the polls. when they get up there on stage,

what's gingrich's biggest weakness and romney's biggest weakness? will? >> well, let's set the stage. so mitt romney came out on monday night in that debate swinging. landed some punches. it reflected in the polls. he's doing pretty well. simultaneously newt gingrich sat on his hands and it hurt him in the polls. i think you'll see two aggressive guys going at each other. romney has to stay somewhat aggressive and hold the line. don't do this will you release your taxes maybe stuff. just be firm. gingrich has to be aggressive without coming off as mean. that's going to be the challenges. >> robert? >> well, gingrich's greatest weakness is his campaign is focused on everything against everything that his career has been about. gingrich has been a career po politici politician, certainly he's not exactly a champion of family values or ethics. having been fined by his own colleagues. you know, his campaign is

focused on trying to create a whole other image. that's his weakness. romney is genetically incapable of connecting with working people and how he can explain the swiss and cayman bank account, that's his weakness. >> i agree with both men. up -- i think for romney, how is he going to connect to anybody sitting in the audience, anybody watching from their homes. it's very hard to connect to somebody who has a bank account in the cayman islands and a swiss bank account. he released his details since the last debate. we haven't had him in a debate stage having to defend himself on that. newt gingrich has been pitch perfect so far in the debates but there's a fine line between angry and dangerous. every republican in the world is waiting for him to cross the line to dangerous. he needs to keep it to himself tonight again. >> guys, 20 seconds each on this one. newt gingrich talking private space exploration to a space-loving crowd.

>> by the end of my second term, we will have the first permanent base on the moon and it will be american. >> permanent base on the moon. there's a campaign promise you haven't heard before. will it work? robert? >> you know, it's important to put in perspective that newt gingrich's speaking in front of many employees and former employees for nasa. on the space coast in florida who have been laid off because of the shuttle cut backs. newt gingrich advocated making the moon the 51st state. he did. he did. it's nothing more than just partisan pandering and of course he said we should pay for it with -- he said we should pay for it with prize money. that tells you how thoughtful he idea is. >> will? >> let me correct robert, he said newt gingrich's biggest weakness is his prior policies

and positions that doesn't -- it's not a weakness. it's right, but it's not a weakness. newt gingrich's image is a man of big ideas and colonizing the moon fits right in. >> this is not just a newt gingrich idea, but the working policy of the bush administration. there was a plan for a moon base of sorts, but unless there's $500 billion on the moon this is never going to happen. the country is broke. putting a moon base up there is not going to happen until somebody finds a whole lot more money under a rock. >> read george friedman, the next 100 years. it's on sci-fi. >> will, let's not confuse big ideas with cartoons. okay, that's the important distinction there. >> i'm just telling you what's working, man. >> see, look at all the talk this has created. don't forget tonight the cnn and republican party of florida teaming up to host the next

presidential debate in jacksonville, florida, on cnn tonight, 8:00 eastern. next up, "wheel of fortune" host pat sajak makes a shocking confession. what he said after the break. ou] don't have the hops for hoops with your buddies? lost your appetite for romance? and your mood is on its way down. you might not just be getting older. you might have a treatable condition called low testosterone or low t. millions of men, forty-five or older, may have low t. so talk to your doctor about low t. hey, michael! [ male announcer ] and step out of the shadows. hi! how are you? [ male announcer ] learn more at isitlowt.com. [ laughs ] hey! ♪ ( whirring and crackling sounds ) man: assembly lines that fix themselves.

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well, this week we have been going in depth showing you the power and reach of political fund-raising and today an unlikely nerve center. a cornerstone of political

causes. john zarrella explains. >> reporter: nancy watkins, straightforward, no nonsense. >> we don't hide these committees with the u.p.s. store addresses all over the place. you would not be here today if i didn't want you to know. >> reporter: here is a nondescript white building on a corner at 610 south boulevard in tampa. a hugely important piece of real estate. from here, at any given time, nancy watkins certified public accountant and gop campaign consultant is handling the financial affairs for 100 different political entities. >> the outside, the file copy? >> reporter: to political action committees, pacs and party committees, groups with names like the super pac for america and the we love usa pac. bottom line -- her job is to make sure none of them run afoul. >> my job will be to make sure you play within those foul lines.

>> reporter: of the minefield of state and federal election laws. >> anything that needs reporting, registration, i do it. every dollar that will go in and out for your activity will go through this office. just so i can monitor and make sure you remain in compliance. >> reporter: her first major foray into the field of campaign finance was for then-republican senate candidate connie mack a quarter century ago. she hasn't stopped since. she's got the mementoes to prove it. a photo with president ronald reagan. >> look how i stand away. can you see the reverence that i hold that man in? >> reporter: a menu card from a white house valentine's day dinner she and her husband attended. of course, there's the hanging chad paper weight. >> november 7, 2000. if you'll recall -- >> reporter: hangliing chads -- >> those are actual hanging chads. >> reporter: watkins is self-assured while undergoing cancer treatments 18 months ago, a bald watkins posed with the

bald governor, rick scott. this year, she was michele bachmann's campaign treasurer. >> my goal is when they put their head on the pillow at night they're not worried about anything that goes on under my purview. >> reporter: she may fly under the public radar, but in political circles watkins is on many a speed dial. john zarrella, cnn, tampa. checking stories across the country now. >> one, two, three! >> near charleston, north carolina, a homecoming ceremony and it survived four bombings in world war ii. tours will begin in april. and in arkansas, a woman is being sued over a million dollar lotto ticket that she pulled from a trash can. the store owner says that the winnings are hers because there was a do not take sign on the

trash can that day. and which american city is the most literate? washington, two years in a row. seattle number two. third place, minneapolis. the study by the central connecticut state university looked at several factors including education levels and the number of bookstores and libraries. well, it was a surprising confession from pat sajak. a.j. hammer is joining us live from new york. i guess he liked to tip that flask a little too often? >> reporter: well, at least a salt-rimmed glass, kyra. pat sajak just appeared on the espn show, and he was asked if he was ever hosted "wheel of fortune" a little drunk. this may come as a shock, but he said yes, they used to have a lot of down time in between the shows, so pat and vanna white would knock back a couple of

margaritas during the dinner break. >> vanna and i would have two or three or six and then come and do the last shows and have trouble recognizing the alphabet. they're really good tapes to get ahold of. >> well, thank goodness those letters would light up so if pat and vanna were lit up, at least they could get through the show. their dinner break was around 2 1/2 hours long. any idea how long pat sajak has been hosting can "wheel of fort? >> how many years? >> this year, this year marks 31 years. he's hosted that show. since 1981. >> now, does that beat bob barker on "the price is right"? >> i have to check that. it's the longest-running syndicated game show in history, so maybe. >> okay. details to follow. brad pitt revealing personal information in a new interview, right? >> yeah. really candid in this interview. he talked about religion,

politics, his family. to run through the highlights for you, pitt says he was raised by a religious parents, and now he moves personally between being an agnostic or atheist. he says he's an obama support and he spent an awful lot of time depressed just hiding out in his apartment smoking pot. but he said that's well in the past with his career and his family. as for his famous partner, he does say that he and angelina jolie might in fact tie the knot because it means so much to his kids. you probably remember they famously said they wouldn't get married until gay marriage is legal, but he's not sure they can hold out because the kids keep asking about it. however, that is something he still feels very, very strongly about. he made that clear. >> all right. we'll follow it. thanks. if you want information, he's always got it. "showbusiness tonight" every

night at 11:00. sanjay gupta will join us and talk about concussions and why girls are just as much at risk as boys. you want to save money on rv insurance? no problem. you want to save money on motorcycle insurance? no problem. you want to find a place to park all these things? fuggedaboud it. this is new york. hey little guy, wake up! aw, come off it mate! geico. saving people money on more than just car insurance.

well, all this week we have been talking with dr. sanjay gupta about the risk of concussion for boys playing football, but girls in sports are also at risk. sanjay joins us this morning. well, of course you've got three daughters, i would expect you to be balanced within this report. >> reporter: i know. but this caught my eye as well. no surprise that there are more girls playing sports than ever before. so the numbers have gone up. that's not surprising. we also know -- we have known for some time that girls are more susceptible to concussions, smaller heads, just the anatomy.

so they're more susceptible. but the headline really is that girls, high school girls actually have a higher incidents rate of concussions as compared to boys. so we talk about this all the time with regard to football and boys, but this is really important. i think for girls, high school girls and their parents out there to keep in mind. if you have girl playing soccer, boys playing soccer, the girl is 68% more likely to get a concussion from the same sport? >> why soccer? >> well, you can get concussions from soccer from heading the ball. which is a common one. heldi heading the ball on average, it's about 20 gs, 20 gravitation forces your honor heon your hea. they do it in practice, typically in drills. that's one of the places where coaches are talking. do we need to hammer the head in practice? can we back off of that? that's where the trend is headed.

>> do you think we understand the symptoms well enough? >> i think it's still vague. even a lot of doctors and trained professionals sometimes disagree on what the symptoms are. with regard to boys and girls, we knee that the -- we know that the symptoms are different. with boys it's more cognitive and memory loss. with girls, it can be more aversion to bright lights and loud sounds, but headaches seems to be the common symptom between both. girls can get back to the game faster as well as compared to boys. so girls and boys are different. no surprise there, but the girls being more susceptible to concussions is interesting. they get concussions more than boys do. >> are you seeing more girls coming into your office? >> we are seeing over the last couple of years seeing more girls and because of the increased awareness. everyone blew it off, thinking -- >> now they're paying attention. >> they're saying you know what, that's a concussion. shine bright light, there's an

aversion to that. they're paying more attention to it. you and i both have daughters, and we've got to be mindful of their sports as well. >> i was thinking soccer is the safe sport. all right. we'll go back to golf. >> i'm like the grim reaper here. but i'm a sports fan. >> so am i. >> we have so much of keeping the kids safe. >> sanjay, thanks. well, sanjay will have soccer star, brandy chastain on and catch his new documentary sunday night 8:00 eastern right here on cnn. i'm good about washing my face. but sometimes i wonder... what's left behind? [ female announcer ] purifying facial cleanser from neutrogena® naturals. developed with dermatologists... it's clinically proven to remove 99% of dirt and toxins and purify pores. and with natural willowbark it contains no dyes, parabens or harsh sulfates.

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well, just about nine hours ago to the republican presidential debate, right here on cnn. mitt romney is gearing up for

the big showdown by talking to voters in jacksonville, florida. >> if i'm fortunate enough to be president of this country, i will do some of the things that a lot of the politicians in washington have been talking about. there's a culture in washington which is to say whatever people want to hear and to do whatever the heck you have favorite interests you want to do. that's what we have seen. some people call that crony capitalism. it's a culture in washington. where people are paid to say certain things and do certain things. but then what the washington folks actually do is in the benefit of the people who help them out the most. and we have watched president obama. he gave the national labor relations board the running room to do what the organized labor folks wanted and try to keep a boeing plant out of south carolina, that was a right to work state, because they're a right to work state. he gave money to solyndra and tesla and all those green jobs where are they exactly? we lost those jobs. by the way, the fister automobile company, electric car

company, like we badly need car companies. where's their manufacturing being done? finland. in finland. the president also takes general motors through bankruptcy. which by the way was the right thing to do it needed to go through bankruptcy. but he had his hand on the controls there. and made sure when it was all said and done that the people that end up owning general motors are the uaw, his friends. this kind of crony capitalism got to end. we have to return to free market, free individual capitalism that builds a stronger economy. i will lower taxes for employers. i will eliminate the burden of regulations on our economy. let me tell you, i will -- the president had a big program. did you hear about this? we're going through every agency and department and cutting out the unnecessary regulations. 84,000 pages of