appeals is set to announce its decision on whether california's proposition eight violates the federal constitution. the voter approved measure banned same-sex marriage in the states, that was back in 2008. these are live pictures you are looking at. today's decision by a panel of three judges follows the rulings of this judge, retired judge vaughn walker declared proposition 8 unconstitutional in 2010. saying it violates the constitution's equality guarantee. sponsors of the ballot appealed walker's ruling to the ninth circuit court which brings us to today. either way the court rules the battle over same-sex marriage could be headed to the supreme court. the moment that we get that decision, we are going to bring it to you live. now to a country where it seems all humanity is dissolving. a government is killing its own people. syrian government forces continue to fire heavy shells into the city of homs and other areas today.

homs is ground zero of the uprising against president bashar al assad. opposition groups say at least 21 people, including children, have been killed today alone. the russian foreign minister arrived in syria today, holding talks with assad and calling for an end to the violence without foreign interference. another development, gulf arab states in france, spain and italy, recalled their ambassadors today, as well. so coming up in about ten minutes we're going to break down what is going on in syria as best as we can from the city's affected, to emergency care, to the specifics of the humanitarian crisis that is going on. we're also going to talk with arwa damon, who has been in that region. she'll provide some much-needed understanding as to what these we'll can do. stay with us, that is just a few minutes away from now. meantime back here in the united states, the republican presidential candidates are gearing up for a big night. three states, colorado,

minnesota and missouri, cast their votes today. with 70 more delegates up for grabs in two of them. and even though he's fresh off wins in florida and nevada, mitt romney isn't taking any chances making his momentum. romney has the best chance of winning in colorado, where he is campaigning today. but rick santorum could be the man to beat in minnesota and missouri where he's got a slight lead in the polls there. a win in either state could give him a second victory this year. and it might not be such a good night for newt gingrich, though. the former speaker isn't even on the ballot in missouri. he's already looking ahead to super tuesday, campaigning today in ohio. we are going to go to dan simon in san francisco now. we're getting some updated reports here on proposition 8. what can you tell us? >> hi, zoraida. the ninth circuit court of appeals has invalidated proposition 8, which now means that same-sex marriage here in

california is legal. let me put this in perspective. we believe this ruling is put on hold meaning that same-sex marriage couples cannot get married while this process continues to be under appeal. next this case is ultimately headed to the supreme court up. but i want to get a little bit of reaction here in front of the courthouse. this is billy bradford. you're with which organization sir? >> marriage equality usa and get equal. >> there are about a few dozen same-sex marriage supporters here at the courthouse. can you just summarize your feeling? >> for me it's a beautiful day. not only for these great gay families and gay couples in california, but it's a great day for the constitution. and for the values that our country was founded on. equal rights, equal protection for everyone in the state of california. >> the ninth circuit panel found that proposition 8 is a violation of the constitution's equal protection clause. next this case is headed to the united states supreme court. this is just one step in the

process. do you feel like this subpoena only a partial victory or a short-term victory? >> for me, any time any court affirms our constitutional right to civil marriage, it's a victory for us and for me. there are several cases going to the supreme court. this is one of many. what judge vaughn walker said in his ruling, the tide is turning. people in america understand there's nothing wrong with allowing gay couples to get married. >> thank you very much, mr. bradford. we should also point out that in this riling, there was an issue about judge vaughn walker. he was the district court who originally invalidated proposition 8. judge vaughn walker himself is gay. and protectmarriage.com, they're the ones who advocated proposition 8, wanted to have that decision thrown out based upon the fact that judge walker is gay, and they felt like he stood to benefit from his own ruling. well, here the ninth circuit court of appeals said that has no standing whatsoever.

that judge walker's ruling stands, and that his sexual orientation has no bearing on the case. from here you'll be seeing a number of rallies across the state of california with same-sex marriage supporters, proposition 8 supporters. this group is called protectmarriage.com. they're sort of quiet in the sense you don't really see them gather here on the street, voicing their opinion. they feel like in a city of san francisco they'll be demonized by their opinion. but, of course, a lot of supporters here today and very happy with this ruling. >> i was going to ask you if the crowd is very boisterous or were they when they heard the news? oh, there they go. >> as you can see, holding just a little impromptu rally here in front of the courthouse. we imagine that the likely head over to city hall. that's where this whole odyssey began here in 2004, when then-mayor gavin newsom allowed

same-sex marriage, marriages to take place. there on the steps of the city hall. and we would anticipate that you'll begin seeing large amounts of people head over to city hall and celebrate, but again, this just one small step in this very long process zoraida. >> all right, dan simon live for us in san francisco. thank you very much. before proposition 8, 18,000 same-sex couples were legally married in california. after proposition 8, the door was shut and gay marriages were banned. how today's court ruling could impact how other states view same-sex marriage. it's water from the drinking fountain at the mall. [ male announcer ] great tasting tap water can come from any faucet anywhere. the brita bottle with the filter inside.

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welcome back. it's a federal ruling gay rights advocates have been waiting for. a year and a half now. just moments ago we learned the decision. the ninth circuit court of appeals says california's proposition 8 violates the u.s. constitution. that measure banned same-sex marriage in the state. today's decision is a milestone in the gay rights movement. this comes on the heels of a long, often muddled legal battle. that began after the ban went into effect back in 2008. the court's decision today upholds an earlier federal ruling in 2010 that declared proposition 8 unconstitutional. but this fate is far from over. many believe the next stop could be the u.s. supreme court. cnn's senior legal analyst jeffrey toobin joins me now from new york. are you surprised by today's decision? >> well, i'm not surprised by the result. given the background of the two judges in the majority, given the way the oral argument went, it is not a surprise that they struck down proposition 8. the way they did it is somewhat

surprising, and, frankly, a little confusing. >> what about the supreme court? >> i think the way they decided this case makes a trip to the united states supreme court less likely. the two judges in the majority very much limited their ruling to the peculiar circumstances of california. california had a california supreme court decision which said same-sex marriage was legal. as you pointed out earlier, about 10,000 couples got married. then proposition 8 ended same-sex marriage in california. what today's ruling in the ninth circuit said was, that unusual set of circumstances, granting, and then taking away the right to same-sex marriage, that was unconstitutional. the court very explicitly did not say that the consequentitutf the united states required same-sex marriage in every state in the union. that's what some supporters of same-sex marriage were looking for. they got a very narrow ruling just limited to california.

the good news for same-sex marriage supporters is it means a conservative supreme court might not decide to take the case. and this may well be the last word. >> we saw a lot of people gathered there, and do you think that now they're going to be lining up in order to get married? >> well, that's a question we don't know. one of the things that we have to study and frankly this decision came in five minutes ago, is will the court issue a stay. because as of now, the ruling on the merits is that proposition 8 is unconstitutional. the supporters say that's it, we can get married today, tomorrow. but earlier in the case they had issued a stay saying, look, the status quo is you can't get married. we're going to wait until these legal proceedings are resolved. the ninth circuit is resolved so a big question, unanswered as far as i know, at least, so far is whether there will be a stay, and whether gay people can start to get married in california right away.

>> so we're seeing a longer list now of gay marriages allowed in different states. how is this ruling going to affect other states going forward? >> well, i don't think it will directly affect any other states. because it is so limited to california. but think about how, assuming this is the last word in california, california, new york, massachusetts, washington state, iowa, massachusetts, if you add up all the people in the states that have same-sex marriage, if you include california and washington, it's about a fifth of the united states. that's a lot of people. and i think supporters of same-sex marriage say that that will lead to a momentum that will bring more states along, or lead the united states supreme court to say everybody has to have it. >> your best guess what happens next here in the state of california? >> i think this will be the last word. i think it will be upheld in the ninth circuit, but it will not go to the supreme court. it will not create a national precedent.

but, you know, there's 39 million people in california. that's a lot of people to have same-sex marriage all of a sudden. >> all right, jeff toobin. cnn legal analyst. really appreciate having you here. >> all right. >> jumping all in with all the paperwork. go study it. thank you. so women and children slaughtered in their homes. the government attacks their very own people. desperately trying to hold on to power. we're going to take you live to that region. coming up next. arthritis pain.. a load of new listings... and two pills. after a morning of walk-ups, it's back to more pain, back to more pills. the evening showings bring more pain and more pills. sealing the deal... when, hang on... her doctor recommended aleve. it can relieve pain all day with fewer pills than tylenol. this is lois... who chose two aleve and fewer pills for a day free of pain. [ female announcer ] try aleve d for strong all day sinus and headache relief.

the appalling slaughter of syrian civilians by their own government continues without letup.

government forces today resumed a relentless attack on the city of homs, ground zero of the nearly one-year revolt against president bashar al assad. opposition groups say at least 21 people, including children, were killed across the country. that was today. 128 people were killed yesterday. victims are crying out for international help. and listen to this voice of desperation. an activist in homs talking to our anderson cooper last night. the situation clearly breaking him down. >> let me say one word. i think that the entire world should be ashamed of what's happening here. everybody is just silent, and looking at us being slaughtered every moment. for no reason, just for asking for our freedom. everybody is just looking at us like this. we are slaughtered. russia has gone for veto.

china is going for veto. the rest of the world are condemning this veto, and what else? looking at us. i condemn the entire world for watching us so silently. we are getting killed every moment. we are not able even just to get some basic medicine to injured people. children are hungry. i swear, children are hungry. no power. no fuel. it's too cold. this is too much. for god's sake, this is too much. >> it is too much and making matters worse, the main obstacle to international assistance for the syrian people, russia and china. last week they both vetoed a u.n. security council resolution

that would have demanded that president assad stop killing his own people. the foreign minister of russia, one of syria's few allies, arrived in syria today for talks with assad. he described western condemnation of the veto as hysterical. he said that a solution to the rebellion must be reached without foreign interference. assad repeated his claim that he's willing to have dialogue with the opposition and work with the arab league to find a solution to the uprising. the latest diplomatic blow to the assad government, several more countries are pulling their ambassadors out of damascus. among them members of the golf cooperation council and economic alliance that includes kwoit, the uae and saudi arabia. also with drawing envoys, france, italy and spain. the united states and great britain have already withdrawn their ambassadors from syria, as well. despite the growing and determined opposition against him, most analysts agree that

president assad remains fully in control of the government. and despite some defections to the rebels, assad has the support of the military. assad became president 12 years ago. inheriting the harsh dictatorship from his father. he's 46 years old and married, and he has three children. assad speaks fluent english and is a graduate of a medical school in damascus. like most dictators assad has firm control of syrian media, and he only rarely allows foreign journalists to enter the country. cnn's arwa damon has been to syria before. she is now covering developments from debut. arwa, based on your reporting inside syria, and talks with diplomats and other sources, help us understand the lack of international response to the revolt. you know, it's such a difficult, complicated situation. and you just heard that activist voice there talking about how it was too much, he said.

and that is really what we've been hearing from just about every single activist that we've been talking to. that same sense of desperation of despair, of sorrow, as if they're all consumed by the knowledge that their fate is the inevitable or is going to be inevitable deaths. they say that is what is going to happen as long as the international community is unable to unite when it comes to syria. as long as the assad regime knows that it continues to have powerful international allies like russia and china, it is only going to be emboldened. it is not going to be feeling sufficient pressure to even begin to alter its ways. and the other issue is the issue of some sort of peaceful resolution through dialogue. well opposition activists say the window to that closed a long time ago. quite simply because of all of the blood that has been shed. what is especially disturbing about all of this is we continue to look at the situation unfolding in syria, is that it seems that a full-blown war is the inevitable situation.

>> desperation and devastation, as we are watching all of these images. can you talk us through a little bit about what the people are facing? we heard somebody talk about no medical attention. that the children don't have food. can you walk us through that? >> that is really the status quo in a number of neighborhoods in that flashpoint city of homs as well as throughout other areas throughout the country. it is by no means isolated to that one city. but once government forces do go into these hotbeds, if you will, that have been the scenes of clashes in the past between security forces, members of the free syrian -- even just areas where people were going out and demonstrating on a regular basis. these neighborhoods end up being shut off from electricity and communications. that is the first warning signs that activists will get that residents will get, that an all-out assault is going to take place. and then, these areas effectively end up being under

siege. there is a military blockade. getting food in. things like bread, baby's milk, those are basics that one would need. they end up becoming scarcities. other things like fuel, cooking oil, especially necessary now, they also become rarities, as well. then comes getting medicines in. in these particular areas where assaults are happening people have to set up underground secret clinics because they're too afraid to go to government hospitals because they say they'll either be killed or detained there. so you have an entire elaborate underground network of doctors who are trying to set up these makeshift hospitals that are on the floors of houses, but they also have to get in enough medicine, they have to get in enough additional blood to carry out blood transfusions. all of this ends up nearly nonexistent when they're faced with these paralyzing situations with the syrian government's blockade, and creating in these

various neighborhoods. >> it is simply horrifying. thank you arwa damon. stay with cnn. this network is committed to keep telling the serious story. our people are in the region and are doing everything they can to keep you informed of what is going on in that region. the replacing the whole staff. one california school takes an incredibly unusual step in the wake of a horrific child abuse scandal. but are they around 20 years too late? we have a live report on that straight ahead. digest. it's real milk full of calcium and vitamin d. and tastes simply delicious. for those of us with lactose intolerance... lactaid® milk. the original 100% lactose-free milk.

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in a dramatic move a los angeles school has replaced its entire staff to contain the community's outrage. but the backlash is intensifying at miramonte elementary school just south of downtown los angeles. it is here that two teachers are being accused of sexually abusing their young students. so to give us some context it's worth noting the students here are mostly minorities, specifically latino. most from working-class families. the neighborhood far from upscale. so here's the deal. the school reportedly first got a complaint about one of the accused teachers, mark berndt, as far back as 20 years ago. he's the one on the left. but berndt wasn't removed from the classroom until last january. then came news of a second teacher, martin springer, arrested for allegedly fondling two young girls in class. we have cnn legal contributor

paul cowen standing by to talk about the legal implications here. and casey wian live from l.a. with the latest details. so casey i want to start with you. if you can clear something up for us. we noticed the superintendent was very careful with his words. he never mentioned the school staff was fired. so is the school replacing all of the staff temporarily? >> not exactly temporarily, zoraida. what's happening is the entire staff at miramonte elementary is going to be taken out of that school, retrained, and reassi reassigned to a school that is now being -- is still under construction. a new staff will be brought in, a staff that has been prescreened according to the school district, will be brought in when classes resume at that school on thursday, zoraida. >> all right. i want to go over the time line here, because it's rather interesting. berndt was first investigated back in the early 1990s. the most recent investigation that we have here began in october of 2010. he was not removed from the

classroom until last january. was berndt allowed back into the classroom after that? this is mind boggling to understand that he could be in a classroom, again, with children. >> well, actually, he was, believe it or not, allowed back into the classroom after he was removed. the district tells us, though, it was just for a half hour that he was in the presence of another staff member, and that no students were in the classroom at the time. he was allowed back in to receive his personal effects, his firing from the district is actually under appeal. so believe it or not, even if he is convicted of these allegations, he still stands to collect his school district pension for the rest of his life, zoraida. >> now we understand that 98% of the population there is hispanic. and i was listening to a mom who was very concerned about what was happening at the school. and she said that if this had happened in a beverly hills neighborhood, for example, that they would have responded immediately. and removed that teacher.

and addressed the situation with the children. is there any explanation about that? >> well, just to be clear, beverly hills is a different school district. so who knows how they would have handled the situation. but that's what a lot of parents are saying. they do believe that if it was in a more affluent neighborhood, that maybe these allegations would have been caught earlier. parents do concede, and community leaders do concede, including a former california state senator who was addressing these parents outside the school yesterday, that silence by the parents may have been a contributing factor. because so many of these families are immigrant families, many of them coming from mexico. where teachers are often looked at as almost second parents, looked at as the status of doctors where they are often beyond reproach, beyond question. and that is why some of these parents may have not questioned some of the behavior and some of the things that their children may have been telling them. so there may have been a cultural issue that actually contributed to this abuse

allegedly going on for so long, zoraida. >> and do you think because of that cultural issue that perhaps also they were scared to contact the police? >> that's a possibility. we haven't heard that from any parents, but the reality is some of these parents are likely in the country illegally and have a distrust of the police. they also have a distrust of the police because of their experiences in their home country. so that could have been a contributing factor. >> all right, casey wian, live for us in skra. thank you very much for that. at least ten families are already preparing to sue the teachers and the school district calling what happened a massive cover-up. the family's lawyers say that number could grow. >> there's no question there's a significant number of additional kids over the last 30 years who were sexually abused or mistreated at the school. and i think that number is -- is going to be dwarfed by the actual number of ultimate cases. >> so let's bring in cnn legal contributor paul cowen, who has

prosecuted child sex abuse cases. this is just an outrageous story. what kind of a liability could the school face, the district, in a situation like this? >> you know, zoraida, you're right. it's one of the most shocking cases that i've heard of in a very, very long time. there are 23 students who allegedly were abused by berndt and there's another two by springer. now if this is true, you've got 25 students that we know of at this point. so it's a huge number of potential lawsuits that could be brought against the school district. and these lawyers that we just saw talking at a press conference, if they can establish that the school district knew about this, knew about the propensity of these men to abuse children, and did nothing about it, then the school district will be liable for damages, and very, very substantial damages. but we have to see what can be proven in that regard. >> we know that even after they found these photos of these alleged victims that berndt was allowed back in to the classroom with the children. >> well, what i found to be

very, very disturbing is, you know, the fact pattern is that apparently a photo place saw these bondage pictures of these children. reported it to the police in october. now, from october until january of 2012, what happened? why aren't the police going in and saying get him out of the classroom immediately? apparently he's not removed until january. but i would like to know whether the police were responsible for that or were they late in notifying school district authorities. that remains to be seen who is at ought here. but somebody's at fault. then he's not arrested for another year. the arrests just took place recently. during that period of time, even though he wasn't in the classroom, he was living in the community. apparently somebody even saw him on a tandem bike ride with a child. how many other children were abused after a one-year investigation of an alleged pedophile occurred. there are some really serious questions and real reason for these parents to be disturbed at

this school district. >> what do you make of this decision to go ahead and just remove the entire staff from the school? when i read it at first i thought well maybe this is in an effort to appease the families, the parents who are just outraged over this, and maybe it's a way to protect themselves to say, no, we're doing everything we possibly can. >> well, it's an unprecedented development. i think, to remove 150 staff and teachers, because for the innocent, and the vast majority of them -- maybe all except the two who have been charged, are innocent, they sort of have a cloud hacking our their read being removed from the school district. the school district is saying we're just doing this for logistical purposes. but i understand why the decision is made. 25% of the kids stopped attending class. and i can see how a lot of the parents would say, i don't want to send my child back there. if the school could be put out of business. so instead of moving all of the children, they decided instead to move the teachers and staff, and i can't criticize them for that. i think in the end, that may be the sensible way to help this

school survive if it can survive these horrific allegations. >> and i just wanted to clear this up because we wrought it up and we didn't really address it. if, in fact, there are some undocumenteds within the school, they should report to the police because they're perfectly safe. >> yes, they should absolutely report to the police. it should not affect their status in the united states. there are laws to protect them in this situation. and you know police authorities want to hear everything here. one of the things we're going to see, zoraida, as this case proceeds now, there are 1500 students in this district. all 1500 are going to be interviewed by the sheriff's department and the police. how many other allegations will there be? and will they be accurate? or will sort of hysteria and fear and, you know, they're all little kids, will they be affected? you really need skilled investigators to get to the bottom of this. >> paul callan as usual, we really appreciate it. politics now. embracing the super pac.

president obama changes his mind on unlimited campaign contributions. it may mean more money, but will it brand him as a hypocrite? it's fair game and it's next. çtl

welcome back. this is part of the show when we

go to the hearts of the political debate where all sides are fair game. today voters in three states will make their choice in the republican presidential race. we've got caucuses in colorado and minnesota, and a primary in missouri. so join me now as former national political director at the republican national committee and democratic strategist robert zimmerman, nice to see you guys. so does it matter that these races are -- does it matter that these races are technically nonbinding votes? gentry, we'll start with you. >> i don't think it matters. i think that what's likely to happen today is that the fundamental infrastructure of this race will be reaffirmed. which is that governor mitt romney has done quite well consistently across a wide variety of states across a wide variety of geography. and, between santorum and gingrich, we've seen this competition to be the not-mitt candidate. neither one of them has been able to sustain it. it looks like that will continue today with senator santorum expected to do well in at least

a couple of these states. after today there are only a couple of more contests, they move out west, those are good states for governor romney. time is really running out for one of these candidates to establish themselves as the anti-romney candidate. >> robert? >> well, i think even though this will be interpreted as a beauty contest there are a couple of truths we're going to learn from this contest. first of all if rick santorum has potential to go further he has to score impressively in minnesota and missouri. also a test of ron paul, whether he can really effectively caucus which he claims is his strength. and for mitt romney he just can't coast by doing well enough in colorado. he's got to show impressively in minnesota, and also in missouri, if he's going to be more than just -- have a broader base and truely be able to win the support of the republican party. the real problem for mitt romney is, though, to succeed politically in the republican party, it's moving so far to the right wing that ultimately, it's going to be very hard for him to

reach back to main stream and independent voters. president obama's campaign is now encouraging donors to give money to a super pac to support the president's re-election bid. here's what the campaign manager is saying. we are not going to fight this fight with one hand tied behind our back. it is a change for a president that has railed against the super pacs. but here are the cold, hard facts. you are looking at $30 million for a romney super pac and $18 million for a republican super pac. the obama super pac is just around $4 million. so, guys, how does this place out, necessarily or hypocrisy, or he be called a flip-flopper? gentry? >> well, hypocrisy at the highest level. look, this president himself came out and called these organizations a threat to democracy. 33 his chief political adviser, axelrod, came out and said that these are only started by people who have their own interests, their self-interests in mind, and not the interests of the country. and so if this is a president that believes those things, then

what he is doing is, in fact, a threat to democracy. i think it's the height of hypocrisy coming from the very highest levels in this white house. >> and suspect -- >> it's a real threat -- okay. real threat to democracy, gentry, is the fact that the republican presidential candidates and leadership have embraced these super pacs and the special interest money that they represent. it's not just that you have $30 million from one pac or another. it will total over half a billion dollars of right wing, special interest money that will flow through super pacs. the president, to his credit, opposed the establishment of super pacs. but if he's going to compete effectively he's got to deal with the political reality created by the supreme court ruling. let's understand something, the president, and the congressional leadership of my party, the democratic party, has got to step up with a very clear, specific agenda to cup ter act the citizens united decision. by either endorsing specific constitutional amendments or legislative action. i think for my party to fail to do that really undermines their credibility and this argument.

>> all right, gentlemen, i want to deal with one last thing. it's a follow up here to president obama's campaign is giving back around $200,000 in donations that comes from family members of a mexican casino owner who fled to mexico after his arrest in iowa. this 206s years ago. is this going to be a campaign issue? and do the campaigns really know the history behind the donors. gentry? >> well, it's certainly possible that the president didn't know that he was accepting money that was intended to buy a family member a pardon. what isn't possible, though, if you really want to get to a more important issue, it's not possible that he doesn't know that he's taken more money from wall street than all the republican candidates combined, more than $15.5 million at the end of last quarter. now this president is running around saying that wall street bankers are part of the problem. and not part of the solution. yet his campaign is taking millions and millions of dollars, those are the dollars this president ought to return if he believes his own rhetoric. >> robert? >> gentry, you need some new

talking points because the reality is if you look at the role of wall street supporting the super pacs, and supporting the republican candidates, you might find a very different number at the end of the day here. but the bigger point is this, every campaign goes through this process of scrutinizing donors and doing the best they can to check them. the obama campaign has 1.3 million donors who contributed. the money's been returned. no family member was involved in any wrongdoing here. likewise the romney campaign returned $600,000 this past quarter alone. in campaign contributions. but we're not going to solve the campaign financial -- the campaign finance crisis and let's understand the financing of our campaigns is a stranglehold on our democracy. every major issue we confront in our government is impacted by the way our campaigns are funded. we're not going to address it by going after individual donors about changing the system and putting laws in place to overturn citizens united. >> robert, do they actually do background checks on all of the donors for the campaign?

>> oh, sure. they will do them. >> all of them, it doesn't matter on dollar amount? >> they don't hire private investigators. but donors, i believe, who give above a certain level, i think it's over $250, have to fill out disclosure forms, addresses, information and the like. and very frankly campaigns from both parties do this. i think it's a mistake despite gentry's best efforts to try to play this like a partisan issue. the real issue is the republican presidential candidates are supporting and engaging in the special interest money under super pacs, at least my party has expressed a desire to change it. >> all right, guys. robert zimmerman, gentry collins that is fair game. >> thank you, zoraida. >> all right, a registered sex offender could live right next door to you and you may not even know it. so coming up an insed look at u.s. marshalls tracks down those sex offenders. early stages of cancer, and it's something that we're extremely proud of. you see someone who is saved because of this technology,

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sex offenders on the run and

in hiding. despite the mandated registry, some just vanish into thin air and are not where they are supposed to be living. law enforcement officials say they're searching for roughly 100,000 sex offenders in hiding. our sandra endo got a hans to ride along with some u.s. marshals who were trying to track them down. >> reporter: a registered sex offender could be living right next door. but you may not even know it. this team of u.s. marshals is on the hunt to find the ones who are in hiding. >> we approach a house as if someone is inside that wants to do us harm. >> reporter: state internet databases list where these registered sex offenders should be living. but oftentimes they're somewhere else. a new report by the national center for missing and exploited children shows the number of registered sex offenders nationwide grew 23% over the last five years. out of roughly 750,000 registrants, nearly 100,000 of

them fall off the map and don't comply with registry requirements. during this sweep, finally marshals get a good lead on one alleged fugitive. they arrest this sex offender, who says he was convicted of statutory rape, and served his time. but marshals caught him at a different address from what's listed on the registry. did you think you could hide? >> leave me alone, man. >> he later tells cnn he knew he was violating the rules. but finds complying with the registry is difficult. >> well, one thing i can't find a job. i got to deal with people seeing my picture on the internet. >> it's not enough to say go forth and sin no more. there needs to be a meaningful system in place for their benefit, as well as society's benefit. >> you got to get a guy like that off the street. >> sandra endo, cnn, baltimore. law enforcement officials say more resources are needed to

track down noncompliant registered sex offenders. so far 15 states are in compliance with a federal act to create uniformity between sex offender registries. with sex offender registry. so raccoons, rabbits and possums are being wiped out. how giant pythons are growing in record numbers and threatening the florida everglades. i want healthy skin for life.

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just this hour ruled california's proposition 8 violates the u.s. constitution. you'll recall the ballot measure banned same sex marriage in the state back in 2008. today's decision is a milestone in the gay rights movement. it upholds an earlier federal ruling that also declared proposition 8 unconstitutional. but the legal battle does not end here. both sides expect the u.s. supreme court to take up the case, possibly as early as next year. to pullyup, washington where we're getting the final picture of a murder/suicide. police say josh powell slashed his two sons with a hatchet and then blew up their home. he is a suspect for killing his wife in 2009. this is a voicemail he left just moments before his death to his dad. >> hello, this is josh. i'm calling to say goodbye.

i am not able to live without my sons and i'm not able to go on anymore. i'm sorry to everyone i've hurt. goodbye. >> powell sent several similar goodbye e-mails including one to his pastor, attorney, family and friends. powell's children had come to see their dad for a court-ordered supervised visit on sunday. he drenched their home with 10 gallons of gas and then set the place on fire. children's health care of atlanta is phasing out a series of ads which included messages like "being fat takes the fun out of being a kid." the hospital says it was meant to raise awareness. critics felt the ads were too negative and reinforced negative stereotypes. the hospital is now shifting its focus to changing the culture. so let's head further south

to the florida everglades where pythons are causing an alarming amount of destruction. according to the new study, the burmese python has nearly wiped out several species. the pythons have eaten nearly all raccoons, possums, rabbits. this is in a national park. the problem, they tell cnn, is there is no real answer to the problem. biologists estimate as many as 100,000 pythons are in the glades, mostly pets that were actually tossed away. and up to a million football fans packed the streets of new york city today to welcome their superbowl champs, the giants. the ticker tape parade began this morning and winding its way through the city's canyon of heroes. the giants players and mvp quarterback eli manning road on top of the float with the lombardi trophy, of course. and if you were wondering, mayor michael bloomberg said the parade cost the city $38 million. but bloomberg said the costs will be offset by all the

corporate sponsors. it's a three-state battle among presidential hopefuls today, but one of the candidates may not be paying that much attention to the results. your political update is coming up next. we're america's natural gas and here's what we did today: supported nearly 3 million steady jobs across our country... ... scientists, technicians, engineers, machinists... ... adding nearly 400 billion dollars to our economy... we're at work providing power to almost a quarter of our homes and businesses... ... and giving us cleaner rides to work and school... and tomorrow, we could do even more. cleaner, domestic, abundant and creating jobs now.

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the three states are making their choice today in the republican presidential race, but while there are around 70 delegates on the table, today's results may be more about momentum than numbers. senior editor paul steinhauser, what makes these states different than what we've seen so far? >> the first time we've had multiple contests. you got two caucuses, minnesota and colorado, and you've got a non-binding primary in missouri. mitt romney already hit the campaign today, starting to downplay conversations maybe he won't win all three states. rick santorum thinks he can do well, especially in missouri where newt gingrich is not on the ballot. and minnesota, ron paul is

looking to pick up delegates. for gingrich this could be a little bit of trouble tonight. he may not come out victorious and it could look like trouble for him heading into march. >> paul, i think you did that in record time for us. >> how about that. >> thank you very much, paul. >> you got it. >> thank you for joining us. brooke baldwin is going to take over in the cnn newsroom. or good afternoon. >> good afternoon, all of you. i'm brooke baldwin. let's get you caught up on everything making news. rapid fire. let's go. here we go off the top. today's huge ruling on same-sex marriage. a federal appeals court in california has ruled proposition 8, the ban on same-sex marriage, is unconstitutional. let's go straight to san francisco on dan simon. dan, talk to me about the significance of this decision today. >> reporter: well, proposition 8 is now struck down, meaning that you can have same-sex marriage in the state of california.

however, this ruling is effectively stayed, meaning as the appeals process goes on, we're not going to be able to see people get married right away. this case now is ultimately headed to the supreme court. at least, that's what most legal observers think. nevertheless. it is a huge symbolic victory for same-sex supporters here in san francisco. we're at the court of appeals where this ruling came down a little more than an hour ago. you had several dozen people standing here behind me. they're now marching at city hall, celebrating this ruling, and, of course, it's a big win for them today, brooke. >> what about quickly, dan, on the flip side, i know a lot of people are celebrating. some people are not. >> reporter: that's exactly right. the sponsors of proposition 8, a group called protectmarriage.com, you don't really see them on the streets of san francisco. the way they characterize it, they feel like they'll be demonized if they voice their support for proposition 8. we did get a statement from the

alliance defense fund, a christian organization, and it says in part, we are not surprised at this hollywood orchestrated attack on marriage. sorry it turned out this way, but we're confident the fate of marriage will be upheld in the supreme court. brooke? >> a reminder for all of you, 1:00 right here. two of the people who challenged prop 8 will be joining randi kaye. the horrific violence we've been seeing playing out in syria. assad is slaughtering innocent civilians. we're talking about bombs ran raining down on men, women and children every day. almost two dozen people have been killed alone just this morning. they estimate 6,000 people have been killed since the uprising since al a s srkassad began a y.

we'll bring you updates as they come in. we want johnson! we want johnson! >> what a story this is. angry parents crowded into a los angeles school auditorium. this is just last night. looking for answers. miramonte elementary school is at the center of not just one, but two, child abuse cases. and the superintendent john daisy has announced the entire staff -- entire staff -- will be replaced. >> i can't have any more surprises here at miramonte even though the police have told us what they have to do. and if there are no more, thank god, we deal with the horror and tragedy that i have already. if there are more, we will have to deal with that. we're going through that investigation, and the process of doing that, i think, has led to a situation at this school that is very disruptive.

>> two teachers were arrested last week. they were accused of lewd acts with children in their classrooms. coming up, we're going to talk to a parent of a child in that elementary school, and she is angry. voters are headed to the polls in three contests. colorado, minnesota and missouri. live team coverage as always beginning tonight 7:00 eastern right here on cnn. a georgia teenager's brutal beating caught here on video. a young man unaware of these guys around him. you see them closing in, suddenly attacking him, pumpnchg him, kicking him, one throws a tire at him. someone reports the assault on their phone. this will make you cringe. this is a circus stuntman on a

motorcycle in michigan. there he goes. wait for it -- and there he went. so the guy goes off the ramp, hits a cable. listen. >> it almost seemed like it was in slow motion just as he went up and he hit, and he just went bam. you heard this big loud crash and you saw the bike falling down and him falling down. it was scary. >> so the stuntman was rushed to the hospital. we're told he's okay. also a shriner dressed as a clown was in the crash as well. kid rock prides himself on his michigan roots, even calls his clothing line made in detroit. but the press is calling him out. only some of these t-shirts are actually made in the u.s. she found made in detroit products that had lablels that actually read made in the dominican republic, made in honduras. some didn't even say where they

were being made. they have called for more shirts being made in the usa. a man shoots himself in the head way nail gun. 45-year-old jeff was working on a home in north dakota when he shot himself with a 3-inch-long nail. the nail was lodged between the right and left hemispheres of his brain, and as it happened, he said he was most worried about his family. >> that's all i could think about was what would happen to my daughters and my wife if i would be gone. >> took two doctors to pull that 3-inch nail out, but we are all told he's expected to make a full recovery. whoo. robots at the white house. the president hosting a science fair for more than 100 students. you can see the projects exhibited here in all shapes and sizes. even president obama getting hands on. >> have any of you ever had

robots running all over your house? i also shot a marshmallow through an air gun. >> a marshmallow through an air gun. the president is pushing math and science. we have more stories in the next two hours, including this. it's one of the biggest schools in the country, and suddenly the entire staff is sidelined because two teachers now sit behind bars, and angry parents want to know, who is to blame? i'm brooke baldwin. the news is now. women light themselves on fire to escape their husbands at home. >> no pain could be greater than what they're suffering now. >> an exclusive and painful look at what pushes these women to the edge. a dad gives away his sons' toys just before killing them and himself. why josh powell's in-laws say the warning signs were there.

plus a team of u.s. martials on the hunt for sex offenders. >> did you think you could hide? >> cnn takes ah long for the ride. you saw him in the superbowl. meet the guy who does this for a living. we're going to talk live with andy lewis. when you have tough pain, do you want fast relief? try bayer advanced aspirin. it's not the bayer aspirin you know. it's different. first...it's been re-engineered with micro-particles. second, it enters the bloodstream fast, and rushes relief to the site of your tough pain. the best part? it's proven to relieve pain twice as fast as before. bayer advanced aspirin. test how fast it works for you. love it, or get your money back. a little bird told me about a band... ♪

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an elementary school in los angeles is replacing its entire staff. i'm talking teachers, january to -- janitors, everyone, all because of two teachers who were involved in disgusting behavior involving their students.

parents want answers now and hundreds crowded into this auditorium fuming mad. beatrice diaz is one of those parents. her son attends miramonte elementary school, and ms. diaz joining me on the phone. to begin with, i know your son's teacher is one of the two men sitting in jail right now. can you tell me how you found out about this? >> i found out in the afternoon that the incident occurred. i took my son in the morning to school, and i found out in the morning and on the news that they caught another teacher, but i had no idea it was my son's teacher. so in the afternoon, i was at work and my mother called me and said that my son's teacher was the one who was arrested. and i immediately went on the internet and i looked up an article, and sure enough, i saw the name of the teacher on line. >> so just to make sure i'm hearing you correctly, you initially found out by watching the news.

did the school ever call you? >> the school did not call me to inform me. and i was very upset because of that. i mean, i think they should have taken the time to call each parent individually and notify them that way rather than having to look on the news or read something on line. i just feel like we had the right to know that morning before we took our kids to school. >> i had read that a lawyer representing some of the parents here involved told our tv affiliate ktla that some of the parents are actually having their kids -- we're talking again, an elementary school's kids -- tested for ptsds. did you ever hear about your son being touched sexually and

inappropriately? >> i had a conversation with him that same day, that tuesday morning when i found out. actually, i ended up finding out about the first teacher when i dropped my son off at school. i saw the news vans and then i went -- i also went back home and i saw it on tv, so i immediately talked to him as soon as i found out. >> how is he? is he okay? >> he's fine, yeah. he's fine. he knows what's good and what's bad. i mean, i have this conversation with him a lot because i don't really trust anybody, whether it be a teacher, whether it be a friend. you know, you have to be cautious about things like that with your kids at an early age. >> i understand there is a lot of absentee students this week at this elementary school. are you taking your son? is your son back in school this week, today? >> no, no, my son -- i didn't send my son to school yesterday because i wanted to take him out of the school. if they're hiding this from us, what else are they hiding?

i'm sure they know -- i'll be moving my son from the school, yes. >> and people not in the l.a. area, we're talking one of the biggest schools in the l.a. greater city area, 150 teachers and administrators, and now we're hearing it's up to the districts. they could be replacing the teachers temporarily or permanently. that's a huge move. what do you make of that? >> it's a big move. i mean, the bay had to close down the school today and tomorrow, and they said there will be a fresh start thursday, but these kids are asking a lot of questions. why am i not going to school? why isn't my teacher here? i think the same way they teach kids about, you know, the sexual education, i think they should teach kids about being touched and stuff as well so they can report when it does happen to them. i mean, they need to do more, basically, you know.

and they need to notify the parents. they have all these meetings and everything. they need to involve the parents more when it comes to their child as far as when teachers get in trouble and stuff. they need to notify the parents as soon as possible. >> final questions involving your son. is there anything this school could do so you would keep your son in school, at that particular elementary school? >> i'm just done with the school overall. i mean, i was having issues with the school prior to that, and it wasn't necessarily with the teachers, it was more of the test scores and stuff like that with that school. i always -- i didn't really like it as much. the only reason why i took my son there was because it was closer to my child care with my mother, she watches my son, so that was the only reason why i was taking him there. i never really liked the school to begin with, so this is just more, you know, of a reason to

actually pursue removing him from that school. >> we appreciate you calling in. best of luck to your son wherever he lands in the l.a. area. appreciate you calling in. >> thank you so much. now this story. some women are setting themselves on fire. >> at 19 they say there's also self mutilation. those wounds are still raw, and that self-preservation means she still calls what happens another cooking accident. >> we are going to show you why these women, why they think burning themselves is a better alternative to living their lives in afghanistan. stay with me.

we're tracking today domestic abuse so brutal, so intense that some women in afghanistan feel the only way to escape is to set themselves on fire. we follow the culture of suffering in silence. >> reporter: two women admitted to this burns unit in iran died. for the rest, survival normally means lying about what brought them here. the gas stove blew up. i was in the kitchen cooking. it burned me. no pain could be greater than what they're suffering now. she was married after her cousin, age 10. after six years of abuse from her mother and sister-in-law, she became an opium addict. her suffering in silence. one day she committed the only act of protest she could think of. >> she burned herself because of

them. she poured the oil and burned herself because of violence. >> reporter: it's taken months for her to admit what happened in private. in public she admits she's a mother. here, again, these women are silent. at 19 she's also a victim of self-mutilation. the wounds are still raw and that instinct of self preservation means she still calls what happens another cooking accident. >> will the patient admit what actually happened? here you will smell the fumes. self-mutilation is taboo if our society. the shame of it. >> reporter: the truth would bring shame on her family, and

that could mean they kill her. self mutilation is almost epidemic in 83 suspected cases in this hospital in the last ten months, a record. many asked why here, because such abuse is prominent in iran. the stranglehold these women feel in their lives is so intense that to die is the only way they can speak out about the brutality of their life. they carry scars now forever from a devastating brief moment and wish they felt they had a voice as their suffering in the past and future continues in silence. >> i want to bring in nick peyton walsh. nick, excellent reporting shedding light on these women. i'm curious because they were willing to speak with you, if they were already living their lives in fear, what happens when they leave the hospital? >> reporter: that's absolutely a good question. many of them will go back to their families.

there are shelters, there are groups that can help women in these situation, but clearly many of them felt enormously owe pressed and terrified about their domestic situation. they couldn't speak out about the abuse that drove them to set fire to themselves. now they recover from their wounds and go back to their family. that woman you saw in the top piece is in fact living with her family. she'll go back not getting the treatment the doctors say she needs for her burns. that really explains the silence they come up with because that's how terrified they are to talk about what really happened to them in terms of setting fire to themselves and the abuse that led to it. they must say it was a cooking accident. >> you mentioned shelters. what else is there to protect these women, to empower them? anything? >> very little, to be honest. many come from the rural areas around this western city in afghanistan, and they come to this hospital in terrible

condition, needing urgent medical assistance. the government here has tried an information campaign, they've tried educating people but really end the day talking about going to a very isolated, very backward, traditional way of treating women and certainly we see these self-mutilation cases in the rough edge of these societies. survival the real key thing, brooke. >> that's horrendous, the alternative setting themselves on fire. nick paton walsh, thank you. now i want to quote something to you. the quote is, i will not be able to live without my son. that's a quote in a voicemail left by josh powell. he is the father who hit his kids in the head with a hatchet before setting them on fire. so now i can take the lead on a science adventure.

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about the violence in syria. they are pronouncing 6,000 people dead since the violence burst out a year ago. they're talking about how to bring change to syria. i'm going to play some sound. you just heard from white house spokesman yay carney. >> our views are it was the wrong decision to block that security council resolution and to, in effect, by doing that, give solace to and help sustain a regime that is brutally murdering its own people. and a regime that, by the way, is not going to last. there will be a transition in syria, and it is a mistake, we believe, for any country to put its eggs in that basket, if you will, because by doing that, you're alienating the syrian

people and many others in the region who are on the side of putting pressure on the assad regime to get it to stop this behavior and step aside so a transition can take place in syria. >> so he mentioned the word "transition" two times there. we're going to discuss what a transition in syria might look like in a few moments with an upcoming guest. but the story of josh powell reveals even more evidence of how evil a father he was. first, here's an interview he gave in august of last year. >> i will protect my sons. i will protect my sons. >> those are the words, and they sting with hypocrisy after an autopsy showed josh powell used a hatchet on his little sons, five-year-old braiden aden and

seven-year-old charlie before blowing them up this past weekend. powell spoke to family members 20 minutes before the house just went up in flames. >> hello, this is josh. and i'm calling to say goodbye. i am not able to live without my sons. and i am not able to go on anymore. i'm sorry to everyone i've hurt. goodbye. >> those little boys were at the center of a nasty custody dispute between powell and the pare parent, his wife, susan, who disappeared in 2009. the children were wito go see jh that was supposed to be supervised, and he locked the social worker out. >> they didn't want to go see him when it was time, and i told them, daddy is waiting for you,

i tried to talk them into going, but they clearly did not want to go. >> the boys were beginning to remember new details of their mother, one of them even drawing a sketch of her in the car when they went camping at the time braden was just two and charlie four. the couple, again, was on "good morning america." >> both had told us at different times that mommy was with them -- that the last time they remember seeing mommy was on a camping trip. and when we told them -- when i would say, well, daddy said mommy stayed home, then they would go back to, well, i don't remember, a rehearsed or coached statement. but at one point braden did draw that picture with mommy in the trunk of the car, correct? >> yeah. that was the summer after she went missing. >> 2010. >> in 2010. >> now, the kochs' daughter that

they expected the police to arrest josh soon. >> they were working on the case without a body to go after him for murder, and it was within a few weeks, it was going to take -- the arrest was going to take place, and we were all excited that something was going to happen. >> there are so many layers to the story. next hour i'll be speaking with the attorney for susan powell's family who was there when her father found out charlie and braden were gone. innocent men, women and children slaughtered in syria. we cannot say enough here on cnn what an absolute humanitarian crisis this is in the midst of the middle east. the man behind the bombing, president al assad and we're asking how and when -- not if -- this man will be brought down and we'll talk about transition as well. be right back. americans are always ready to work hard for a better future.

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i want to show you what's happening today in syria, gastly oppression. government troops have taken off the gloves and are attempt to go wipe them out. some of the worst carnage is in the city of homs. if you would, i want you to watch and listen. you heard and saw the masses blast. what you're looking at is a residential district. in homes, smoke blowing off from explosions from a rocket shell. the syrian government is shelling its own people. next i want to take you to the capital city of damascus, government supporters waving russian flags to support raglov.

here he is shaking hands with assad. they just rejected bringing peace to syria, and while their pushing a peaceful resolution, a cynic might say they're trying to buy time for one of the world's worst presidents. good to have you on. it just happened over the weekend. what do you make of what the russians are doing here? are they hurting, are they helping the syrian people? what's your take? >> they are definitely hurting the syrian people because this is an uprising that will eventually topple assad, and syrians will liberate themselves, and i think russian will find out they supported a moving horse because they are supporting an oppressive regime that's killing hundreds of people every day. >> i read something you wrote, it's not a matter of if, but when, assad falls. he says there will be a

transition in theory, there will be. you lay out a series of scenarios. let me run through a couple of them. fight to the death like gadhafi or face unrest like milosevic. is there any hope for assad? >> in the near future, assad might try to arrange an agreement with his patron russia which will take him in, and that would be the only way to survive. if he takes to power and decides to crack down further on the protesters and decides he's going to go the bloody route, it's very likely he will end up getting killed by his own people or perhaps by his own regime. the leader of armenia, they were taken out by his own people. i think it's time for assad to

decide, does he want to live or does he want to give up power and let syria return to a united society. >> you say it will be a when, not if. i want to talk about when in terms of the world. when and if assad falls, what should washington and the rest of the world be doing that they aren't doing now to try to save all these lives? 6,000 lives lost last year, according to the u.n. >> he will definitely fall, because the fear factor is no more there. the uprising started a peaceful demonstration and he started to crack down on them, and then it turned violent. there is near insurgency in the country and a civil war in some parts. we don't want a civil war. we don't want a regime committing massacres on its own people. what we need is a resolution that will not only decide on his

leadership, but such as bosnia where a community delegated a safe haven. they were protected with air power, and i think that's one way of going at it. >> but -- if i can throw a but in there, we saw what happened over the weekend, russia and china vetoing that. how do you get china and russia on the same side as the rest? >> to get the chinese on board, you need to get the rugssians o board. how you get them on board is getting them basically what they want. the strategic goal here is the fact that the russians have been maritime based and this is their last and remaining base on the mediterranean in what the russians call warm waters. this is a russian dream having access to the mediterranean around the base because russia is surrounded by seas the entire

year around. so the deal has involved giving this base to the russians and saying, stop supporting your regime and you'll keep your maritime base after he goes, and i think this is the best way to get the russians on board. >> it sounds potentially like a viable possibility. thank you very much for coming on. if you want to read more about your opinions for taking down as sarks assad, you can go to cnn.com. voters in three states casting ballots today. the big question is mitt romney and newt gingrich aside, could this be rick santorum's day? we've got dana bash to tell us, next. [ male announcer ] this is lois.

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eyeing most closely is rick santorum. caucuses today, colorado, minnesota, primary there where you are in missouri. so why all the talk about rick santorum? >> because he has been talking himself up effectively and because we don't really have a reliable poll in any of these three states, but it seems as though he is poised to do pretty well in at least two of the contests, minnesota and here in missouri, maybe even win those two. he has not won one in the last five contests since he belatedly won the caucuses in iowa. so for him to stay in for the long haul, which he says he is, he needs to be ready tonight. >> so you're saying it's a possibility, maybe, for minnesota and missouri to pull forward with the win. should he show a strong showing, who would it hurt worse here? >> well, you know, if he does very well, it could hurt both

newt gingrich and mitt romney, newt gingrich because of the fact that for the past maybe two or three weeks, it really has been effectively a two-man race between newt gingrich and mitt romney. and rick santorum has been kind of screaming from the rafters, no, newt gingrich is not the real conservative alternative, i am. this would give him an opportunity to actually prove that if he does well tonight because newt gingrich is not expected to do well in any of these three contests tonight. mitt romney, he has for the first time won two consecutive contests, in florida and nevada over the weekend, so he has the wind at his back, he wants to prove he's got momentum, give this air of inevitability off, but if rick santorum does win, that could hurt him. in missouri where he's going to be, you see them setting up the stage behind me, this is a beauty contest.

there are 52 delegates at stake in missouri but none will be awarded tonight. this is a primary that is going to effectively be -- a local paper said it would effectively a glorified elected opinion poll. but for rick santorum, who wants to prove he can beat newt gingrich and mitt romney, this is the place he wants to at least illustrate it symbolically. >> that public opinion very much matters to him. dana bash and our all-star team, we thank you very much. all the time we hear about horrific acts of child abuse, and you can't quantify the emotional cost of these children, but here's what you can do. you can calculate it. you can calculate the huge financial cost to cities around the country who have to investigate and prosecute all these cases. we're going to break down the numbers for you in 60 seconds. be right back. look! the phillips' lady!

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we talk on this show how we can do better, how we all can do better for our children. not just teachers but all of us. kids are abused all the time and they often make the news. a newborn baby abandoned in sacramento last week with a bottle of brandy. a five-year-old girl, her mother smashed her head against a toilet. then there was the toddler in kentucky duct taped to a floor mat in a daycare. just an example of the stories not a lot of people hear about, but they trouble me and i'm sure they trouble you as well.

but don't you know, they cost a lot of money, a 12-digit number, in fact, $124 billion according to this new report from the center for disease control and prevention. 124 billion is the lifetime cost of all these children being victimized or killed by child abuse in one year. they chose the year 2008 across the united states. joining me now is the director for cdc's national center for injury prevention control, linda gudis. linda, why put a dollar figure on the abuse? >> well, we want to know basically what the cost is compared to other diseases and how much it really is affecting our communities in ways other than the -- just the sex that we see on an individual child. we wanted to quantify the cost. >> i know right now there is a bill that's been proposed in congress, the protect our kids

act. they're trying to form a commission to address the child abuse problem in the united states and come up with a strategy. cdc points out the three programs that are working, and i want to focus on that, why they're working. i want to begin with the nurse family partnership that focuses on new moms. tell me about that. >> the nurse family partnership pairs a nurse with a first-time mom from the time before a baby is born until the child is two years old. and that nurse is then available to that mom to give her guidance, to help her understand what the child's development will be like, to help get her through some of the periods that may be frustrating to her and to help her understand how to cope with that child's development and cope with the difficult times. >> the next program that's working, early start. how does that work is this. >> this specifically focuses on children who have disabilities, and sometimes those children are at high risk for abuse because

their care skuconsumes so much e time and energy for the caregiver, so this teaches the caregiver how to deal with the children, how to deal with their own stresses so they don't feel like they have to take any of their frustrations out on the child. >> and number 3, we wanted to highlight triple p. how does that work? >> triple p is a positive parenting program. it really deals with the community at large in showing parents how they can really provide positive role models for their children, positive actions to help their children grow and really a positive and supportive and nurturing relationship with their children. so it involves many people in the community supporting parents and helping parents to develop even better. >> we can do better, we can all do better, because it's often

not the parents who know they need to seek help, but it's the neighbor, the cousin, the uncle. how do you get this message out to people who aren't even parents who can help? >> i think someone who recognize thaz recognizes that a parent is doing something or having some difficulty, if they don't feel they can approach them, there are resources they can call. they can contact the child abuse hotline which i think you're going to share at the end of this segment, and they can contact somebody is ask for help, help somebody learn how to cope and learn how to deal appropriately with their children. >> we need to be aware and to help. linda degudis, thank you. you mentioned the phone number. if you think a child needs help call toll free 1-800-fora-child. we can do better. facing the day with less chronic osteoarthritis pain. imagine living your life with less chronic low back pain. imagine you, with less pain.

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cymbalta can help. go to cymbalta.com to learn about a free trial offer. sunday's super bowl was the most watched tv program ever in the united states. more than 111 million people watched the game and the half time show. but here's what we've all been talking about on my show. did you catch this guy, the guy who was performing on what looks like a tightrope thing? it's called slackline. he is a professional slackliner and we found the best of the best of his clip reel on youtube. if you thought that was crazy on the half time show, you ain't seen nothing yet. 8% every 10 years. wow. wow. but you can help fight muscle loss with exercise and ensure muscle health. i've got revigor. what's revigor?

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the super bowl and half time show was very entertaining, and i'm not just talking about madonna. look at this. he had all of us saying, whoa, how does he do that? he even got a peck on the cheek from madonna herself. andy is on the phone from moab, utah, and andy, i have to ask a question off the top that a lot of people are wondering. the first thought i had was, wow, the second being ouch. doesn't that hurt? >> i actually just -- i just made a video that you can view on youtube right now.

it's called andy lewis balls of steel. you should check that out. >> i'm going to move on. we don't need to get specific, i'm just asking if you're okay. when we looked at your highlight reel on youtube, what you did sunday is kind of small potatoes. you've been on cliffs, hangers and necessitits. tell me how you got started with that. >> you start low to the ground and you say, hey, i could probably walk a slackline that's a little bit higher, then you go to ten feet, 50 feet and then 100 feet. after a while, it doesn't matter how high you are, it's more of a mental thing than a physical thing. it's more a mental journey of trusting yourself with death as a risk. >> in this mental journey as i'm watching this video of you, what are you focused on at the moment? are you focused on the rock or tree ahead of you? how did you do that at the super bowl with the lights?

>> the super bowl with the lights, training my focus is something i had to learn to do. at the half time show, we had to train in the stadium before anyone was even there. it was fine with all the projection, the lights they designed, but the hardest thing was when we had 70,000 people with cameras flashing, and that was actually the hardest thing to focus through because it was really random and very captivating. it was hard not to look at the flashes. >> 111 million people. lots of eyeballs on the screen sunday night. has your phone totally blown up? >> well, it's mentally just getting a whole lot of views and a whole lot of people are posting comments and just interacting with it. i definitely wanted this kind of attention for a long time for the sport just to get the sport known and kind of more mainstream. it's been underground for the last couple of years, and now i definitely think this show has