we're going to take a fascinating look at infer tillty and new age baby making. come back and see us next saturday and sunday, 7:30 a.m. eastern. time now to get you a check off your top stories in the "cnn newsroom." from the cnn center, this is cnn saturday morning. it's 8:00 a.m. in the east, 5:00 a.m. in the west. good morning, everyone. i'm deborah faviric. here is what's happening now. nelson mandela is in the hospital. we'll have the latest on his condition with a live report from joe haas hahnsburg. the free syrian army and its fight for freedom against government tanks and troops, it ends and michael holmes joins us from the region with a live report. and did gas prices go up overnight?

we'll look at pump prices around the nation and see who is paying the most and why it's going up, up, up. >> from cnn's world headquarters, bringing you news and analysis from around the globe. live from studio 7, this is cnn saturday morning. former president nelson mandela is in the hospital right now. officials are calling it an abdominal complaint. the 93-year-old's health has declined in recent years and he was largely kept out of sight, shunning public appearances. first of all, what are you hearing? what is going on? >> well, deborah, the presidency and the international public congress has been very, very adamant that mr. mandela is okay, that there is no need to

panic. they're trying to reassure a very panicked public because the last they heard is that mr. mandela is suffering from abdominal ailments that really needed a specialist's attention. but the anc is saying, look, this was not an emergency. mr. mandela went into hospital because this was a precautionary measure. doctors were looking after him around the clock were worried and they wanted this checked out. and i just spoke to the presidential spokesperson just a few minutes and said no news is good news, that he hasn't heard anything from mr. mandela's doctors. the last time he was admitted was in january when we were told he was going in for a routine checking c checkup, only to find out that he had a serious respiratory infection. so people want more assurance

from the presidency in the form of details of what's going on. >> and he is 93. he has been in declining health. but, clearly, if he -- when he passes away, it's going to be a tragic end of something for south africa because of who he is, because of what he's accomplished. >> definitely. his house is of international importance. that's why people want more information. they want to rest assure with del details of what's going on with mr. mandela, knowing that he is definitely okay. and, of course, the government in south africa treats mr. mandela's health as a closely guarded secret. they think it is a private

matter and they will only give information that they feel is necessary to give to the public, deborah. >> thank you so much. we'll check in with you a little later on. we have other breaking news, this out of afghanistan. two american troops have been killed. it happened at the afghan interior ministry in kabul. according to reuters, the dead are believed to be a colonel and a major. much more on this story as information becomes available. meanwhile, people are taking to the streets for the fifth straight day in afghanistan to protest the burning of korans by international security forces. three people were killed today and another 50 were injured when protesters apparently tried to burn down a united nations building there. eight were killed in protests yesterday. president obama and the commanding coalition generals in afghanistan have apologized. let's move to syria now and

the humanitarian crisis there. the red cross hoping to get back into some of the hardest hit areas to get the wounded to safety. we are talking about homs. the city has been the he center of the uprighting and the main target of the military. activists say at least 17 people were killed there already today. joining me now is cnn's michael holmes live in beirut. >> well, going back into the besieged neighborhood of homs today, they were hoping -- they have not been back in. we're told it was because of very heavy shelling that has been going on. there is no cease-fire. we were speak to go an activist about an hour ago. we could hear the shelling going on in the background as he spoke to us. he estimates that hundreds of rockets and artillery shells have been pounding into that

neighborhood just this day alone. he said it was impossible to even think of leaving the house. the iic yesterday went in, they took out seven pound who were wounded and another 20 civilians. then it became dark. they were hoping to get back in at first light and get more people out. that has happened happened. they have not been able to get back in. they say they are priority focused was to get wounded civilians out by the severity of their injuries. but no movement on that today. those western journalists are still in there, too. the bodies of two wounded journalists, they're not even being thought about at the moment. deborah. >> michael, we've been seeing this dramatic footage shot by a french journalist. it doesn't seem as if president al assad is unvowed in the slightest. what came from the called

friends of syria conference? is he paying attention or does he simply not care? >> at the moment, it appears he simply doesn't care. he scoffed at that conference and said it was basically a conspiracy, that coming from stayed media. the conference in tunisia, the 70 or so countries that got together, what they came up with was calling for a immediate humanitarian aid. but you know what? at the end of the day, the people inside homs, the ones we have been talking to as recently as just a few memberships ago, they, too, say they are sick of the talk. they say nothing is happening. there's been talk from the u.n. into this conference in tunisia and nothing is changing on the ground. so the people inside syria say that it means nothing. the ones we're talking to in the

syrian government just continues to pound places like homs into dust, deborah. >> and the pictures really, they're so dramatic wondering when something is going to change, michael holmes reporting for us, thank you so much. to politics now and the republican race for the presidential nomination. rick santorum in michigan right now. st. claire shores participating in tea party rally in the michigan primary is coming up on tuesday. and it's a busy day on the campaign trail. but don't forget, arizona votes on tuesday, as well. paul steinhauser is watching the battle from the relative safety of waulg this morning. paul, what are the candidates focusing on right now? how do they each break out? >> we have three days to go until this crucial primary. a lot of the action was in arizona during the week.

we had our cnn debate there on wednesday night. at that debate, rick santorum was forced to defend a lot of his positions when he was in the senate. some of those positions not so popular with conservative voters. so sanatorium getting to michigan last night, taking a tougher stand against mitt romney. take a listen to what he said. >> i didn't pick, well b we're going to bail out some and not bail out others. that's a violation -- i don't know what pretties you can say are consistent when you say, i'm going to bail out one group of folks and not bail out another industry. my feeling is you're either for them or against them, but don't you start picking winners and losers. you may not like my position on bailouts, but i've been consistent and principled, unlike other people in this race. unlike other people. who is he talking about there? listen, we all know the auto bailouts are such a big issue in detroit and across michigan. as for romney, listen, we can't

say enough. this is such a crucial state for him. he needs to win it. he was born there, his father was governor there. yesterday, touting a big economic plan, he was touting his michigan roots. >> i love this country. i love this state. this feels good, being back in michigan. you know, the trees are the right height. the streets are just right. i like the fact that most of the cars we see are -- >> on the other side, how michigan is getting most of the traffic now, i was out in arizona for the debate. not a lot of xap ads there in michigan. they're getting flooded. >> obviously, detroit benefited from the bailout. the auto industry is sort of making a comeback. interesting to hear mitt romney

saying his wife drives a couple of cadillacs. is everybody resinating that in michigan, also? >> rick santorum is in michigan. he goes to tennessee after that. that's one of the super tuesday states. romney spends the whole day in michigan. he's not leaving michigan. as for ron paul, he's starting the day in oklahoma, but guess where he ends? michigan. the only person not in michigan today is newt gingrich. he has one event, which means he's probably doing some fund-raising on the side. a lot of action to comment. of course, tuesday, a big primary day. >> paul steinhauser for us, thanks so much. appreciate it. some south carolina residents will be doing some cleaning up today after two tornados tore through the state yesterday. so far, no injuries reported. and meteorologist alexandra steel is in for reynolds wolf.

how many tornados were there, actually sfp. >> there have been seven tornados reported, but still the national weather service needs to go out and assess those. some of them could be repeats of the same tornado. but the national weather service@has confirmed at least one with winds estimated at 130 miles per hour. if that were the case, that would be an ef-2, still early to ascertain that. but a second tornado new pineville, south carolina, trees, poles, wires down. you know the wind it takes to lift these massive structures. so we're going to have to see. but no people, believe it or not, have been injured with the reports of the tornados. today, the story, deb, massive wind storms. we'll talk about where it is now. >> okay. thanks. a chicago passer spends 94 days camping on a roof to send a message to prostitutes, gangs and drug dealers. what made him finally come down

from that roof, coming up next. plus, how old should someone be to get plastic surgery? we'll hear from a doctor who defends his decision to operate on his two adopted daughters. he wasn't focused on his future. but fortunately, somebody else was. at usaa we provide retirement planning 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.

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let's take a look now at some of the stories making news across country. we're going to be starting in chicago. corey brooks is waking up this morning after 94 days camping out on the roof of the south

side chicago motel. brook vowed to remain on the roof until he raised $450,000 to buy and tear down the building. he wants to build a community center in its place. the motel has become a magnet for drugs, prostitution and violence. >> to all the people who have given $1, $5, $10, $100, $1,000, i want to say thank you. >> actor and director tyler perry helped put brook's mission over the top friday, donating nearly $100,000. in california, the days of the milkman may soon become extinct. the recent rise in gas prices threatening to spoil jimmy pastor's business. gas prices have forced rockville milk to cut back deliveries from twice to once a week. in oregon, dressed in all black armed with two books, a nerf gun and some extra bullets,

7-year-old liam hit the street to catch some bad guys. >> i had no idea he was gone until my husband opened the door and there was a police officer. >> luckily, liam never ran into the bad guys. he did, however, later visit the police station for a lesson in police work. >> it's 17 past the hour. meteorologist alexandra steel is in for reynolds wolf want what does it look like? >> windy. winds advisories and watches from boston to washington, albany, new york, high wind watches, wind advisories of some sort. in pressure gradient is fierce and that will be the story. 65-mile-per-hour winds. but then as you get east and you

get towards the cape and the islands, east end of long island, gusts of possibly 60 miles per hour. so no delays at of yet. right around this bridge, around the appear labor yaps, that's where the winds will be the strongest as well today. wind is a factor. no question about that. there's the snow coming down, lake-effect snow, lake is still open for business, believe it or not. that's how mild this winter has been. maybe 2 inches or so, syracuse, buffalo. a lot of wind is falling. chicago getting their first big storm thursday into yesterday. pacific northwest, storms coming in. this has been a one-two punch. southwest, sunny, pleasant there. a fire threat. windy conditions, a little farther east and also very dry

conditions prevail. atlanta was at 76 two days ago. down to the 30s this morning. again, we'll feel a little colder than that. but even, believe it or not, with all of these 40s, windchills will be lower than that. temperatures, although they've fallen 15 to 20 degrees, it's still seasonal because temperatures have been so warm. so temperatures, believe it or not, even with this we're at seasonal averages. boston, philadelphia, los angeles, some low clouds and a similar scenario. that's a wrap. we're back with more coming up. back to you first. >> thanks, alexandra. appreciate it. a california plastic surgeon is defending his decision to operate on his daughters, both of them adopted. abc's 2020 first aired the family's story last night. both of michael nick yol's daughters are 23. one of them underwent her first cosmetic procedure at the age of ten. the other got breast implants

for her 18th birthday. the host asked nick yol if performing surgery on the 18-year-old was a little daunting. >> not really. being in practice for 30 years, i felt who would give them the time and the patience that their father would give them. >> well, the two sisters also receive regular injections of botox to prevent wrinkles because they're going to be 24 next year. well, we want to know what you think. first, how old should a teenager be to get cosmetic surgery? and should cosmetic surgeons do procedures on their own family? i can't wait to read all of your tweets. tweet me, @debfeyerickcnn. do you think you have it back when you have to fill up snuft? just look at the gas price in orlando. $6 a gallon. ouch. we were breaking down this relentless and soaring rise. and hollywood, that's right,

getting ready for its biggest night of the year. next, some new oscar apps for you to share the experience with your friends. we'll give you some of our favorites. you can with green giant frozen vegetables. over twenty delicious varieties have sixty calories or less per serving and are now weight watchers-endorsed. try green giant frozen vegetables with sauce. the day starts with arthritis pain... a load of new listings... and two pills. after a morning of walk-ups, it's back to more pain,

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i can hear the conversation now, ooh, what's going on backstage? did you see this dress that the actress is wearing inspect oscar night is all about that shared experience with friends and that means having the right app. hln digital expert mario armstrong knows just the right one. >> yes, i do. >> touch, roll, take one. let's start with the first thing most of us have. first of all, how do i get backstage if i want that personal experience with the oscars. >> there's a couple apps out there. the first one that gives you the backstage pass, it's called backstage pass. it will enable you to see all types of things that are happening actually at the show, even 12 live cameras from different angles. so you'll see cameras on the red carpet, you'll see cameras backstage with the winners. you'll see a camera in the

control room. so really revealing and fun experience to give you another look at the oscars from behind the scenes. >> what if you want to pick the most winners? >> you can do it in the backstage pass, as well, but the one that really a lot of folks are having fun with is called awards heroes. then what you can do is you can invite your facebook friends into your pool. so in realtime, you can kind of compete, see who is picking the most winners. it's all about the this social experience. what we're seeing here is being able to watch main events or large events on television and interact with our friends that may be in other cities or other countries, for that matter, and watch in the same experience and share in that together. >> so let's move beyond the oscars. there's an app that let's you share your tv experience with others when you're watching shows.

is this available to android users, as well? >> yes. it's call in2 now. it's made by yahoo!. here is what's cool about it. you take this app, point your microphone at the division and point the green button on it. it's listening to the audio of that show and then it will tell you what that show is. but then it rewards you and brings you all types of relevant and important information about that show. you'll see actors' tweet, other ancillary information about that particular program created that immersed social experience beyond just the one to one with the television. >> watching television is so interactive these days. you can't just, like, watch and tune out. >> no. >> also, we can't forget, mario, that you can follow your favorite stars who are also tweeting from the oscars. >> that's right. >> so that's another thing. but mario, i want you to stay with us.

we're going to ask you about this no track button. that's a big issue. >> absolutely. >> and google and some of the other giant internet companies are going to let us use. what do we really get out of this? mario is going to have appearses right after this to make your oscar viewing experience even better. >> so is that a cut? >> cut. >> cut. see you in a few.

before the break, i told you google and some of the other internet giants have agreed to offer a no track button for web surfers. mario armstrong is back with us to break this down. first of all, what is it? what does it mean and what's it going to do? >> what it's going to do here, deb, the bottom line, people are

being tired of being tracked on the internet from advertisers. what this will enable you to do is when you log on to your web browser, mozilla, firefox, google, you will have a button that says, i do not want to be tracked while on this page. i don't want this tracking me to send me information or send me pop-ups and things later on throughout any web experience. that's what we're talking about here, giving people the ability to control that tracking mechanism. and so it remains to be seen how well this is going perform. but that's the idea right now. >> mario, it's so interesting because, obviously, this is one way that advertisers have sort of found a way to profit off the internet. why are going sxl others agreeing to this now? >> yeah. well, because, you know, privacy is start to go really become more prevalent in our discussions about the internet. and people -- and users are getting more people online, getting more fed up.

you're starting to see lawmakers pay attention to the fact that people are feeling like they have no more privacy any more. so now you're seeing companies want to take an active role. the reason why you're seeing google be active is google is late. mozill's fire fox already has this built in as does microsoft. google wants to have this now before laegs legislation starts to get drafted. these players want to have a good seat at the table to influence that discussion. >> i think in the future the most precious commodity is not going to be gold, but it will be our personal privacy. what are these companies going to be tracking? >> i would very much agree with you on that. that's why we have to maintain and watch out for our personal privacy and understand why it's going. the bottom line is, these companies will still be able to track information, they're saying, for market demographics

or for helping them understand a little bit about who is actually viewing on certain things to help them better design their products or build their products? so that is where that line is gray there. we'll have to remain to be seen exactly how this is going to play out and what people will feel is going to be too much and too little. >> very interesting. joining us every saturday at this time as our digital lifestyle sxefrt expert mario armstrong gives us the scoop on the latest technology. of course, you can always find him online. checking top stories. two american troops have been killed in afghanistan. it happened at the afghan interior ministry in kabul. according to reuters, the dead are believed to be a colonel and a major. much more on this story at the top of the hour. former south african president nelson mandela is in the hospital this morning. officials say the 93-year-old anti-apartheid icon has a long standing abdominal complaint.

doctors felt medical attention at this time was necessary. several members of mandela's family telling cnn the hospital visit was routine and they say mandela is doing type. well, the military is identifying the seven marines killed in a helicopter collision along the arizona/california border this week. they are major thomas budrejko, captain michael kwu in, captain benjamin cerniglia, captain nathan anderson, sergeant just number everett, lance corporal corey little and lance corporal nickoulas elliott. the crash is still under investigation. and a car bomb has exploded near the presidential palace in yes, ma'am.. at least 21 people were killed. sdwroo $6 for a gallon of gas. it is the harsh reality for drivers in orlando, specifically in the disney area. a look at how the rest of the

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overnight. the national average is now $3.67 for a gallon of regular unleaded. and that's up 30 cents from just a month ago. some cities are seeing upwards of $5 a gallon. well, what's going on? our josh levs is back to explain why some cities are hurting worse than others. josh, it is very confusing. you see $6 a gallon in the orlando area near disney. why is it so high there? >> yeah. everyone is talking about this. let's go right to that video. the average in florida is just under $4. but in some of these tourist trap areas, these are especially high. but there are some states where the average is over $4. look at this video from los angeles. a lot of people are seeing gas prices over $4. and it's not getting any better. it's been getting worse and worse. and you're seeing a few things going on. a little bit is the uptick in the economy, but a lot of it is concerns about iran and the impact that's having on the

markets where oil is traded. let me show you some of these differences going on across this country. we have this really cool map here on cnn. basically, you can click on any state and see what the average is in your state. california, their average, $4.20. but if you jump over to colorado, $3.12. why so different? first, taxes. the, tas are different in different counties and different states. that can have a huge impact. next is environmental rules. there are different rules about what kind of gasoline they have to have. two more things you should know. one of the distance from supply, so the effort that it takes to get the gasoline to where you are can add to the cost. and the other thing, and this helps explain what we're seeing in orlando is competition. if you have an area that has a lot of gas stations, you might see lower prices. if you're in an area where you have to return a rental car and there's just one gas station,

where there's less competition, then you'll see it be higher. that's a good explanation of why it's so different. a blue map we have, that shows you the percentage of your income that is going to gasoline. monday over there, 10.6%. north dakota, 10%. in the northeast, about 5%. and this has a lot to do with incomes in different parts of the country as well as how much people are driving, other factors. i've got all sorts of information for you, including how to save money. facebook and twitter, cnn.com/josh. so, deb, those are the basic reasons there. what we want people to do is find the areas that have more competition so that they can get the cheaper gas. >> absolutely. it's very interesting. and you wonder whether congress is going to into into whether some areas are marking up that gas unfairly. if the national average is $3.67, and then you're getting gas for $2 more in other regions, there's something just not right about that. josh levs, thanks so much.

really appreciate it. ever wanted to hand-pick the person sitting next to you on an airline flight? good news. there is an app for that, kind of. more coming up in two minutes. but first, time for travel insider. as cnn reporters and producers, we often have the inside skool scoop on great places to go. our associate producer shows us where she goes to unwind. >> i'm nesta in duluth, georgia. at one of my favorite places to relax. the debut sauna is modelled after traditional korean spas that are popular in korea. they're affordable and a getaway for families. >> it's very relaxing here. >> a family on tour from philadelphia decided to come here and take a break. >> my favorite part was swimming in the pool. >> the pool feels like silk when you're swimming in it. >> the swimming pool and floors

are made of jade tiles. in korean tile, jade is used to bring calm and balance to the body. like spas in korea, they has multiple hot and cold saunas. each has walls lined with natural elements like gold, charcoal and salt with temperatures ranging from 120 to 140 degrees. the ice room is much cooler. owners say it's the largest of its kind in georgia. the spa just outside of atlanta, i love coming here to relax. ♪

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maybe they're a little too loud or a little too talkative or, worse, a little too boring when they are talking to you. well, apps like facebook may be out putting an end to this. nadya joins me now for this morning's passport. you can go facebook and get the skinny on who you're sitting next to. >> only if you have a klm, the dutch airline passenger and only if you choose to opt into this particular program. so you go on to the klm website. then it goes manage your reservations. if you've chosen to opt in, either your facebook or your linkedin profile will come up for the other passenger who has operated into the program and then they will decide on having you sit next to them for the long flight from hole lntd to new york or san francisco or san paolo. that's the sweet places it goes to at this point. so you have to have agreed, both of you. what i found interesting was the clause that says, what if you don't like the person who has

chosen to sit next to you? and they're very careful about that. they say you can't reject the person. so that was clever. you can't outright say, well, for some reason, i don't want that. what you have to do is change your reservation, but you have to do that at least two days before. you can't get on to the flight and decide to change your reservation. >> all right. so this way at least you're giving somebody the option, for example. but you know what's so much more interesting? you wonder why you can't rate the passenger next to you. that would be an interesting app. >> wouldn't it? >> but how many airlines -- klm is trying this out. >> and only about 200 people so far have tried and the stories are very successful. they literally sit together. it's the ultimate in networking. it's the ultimate online networking to impersonate -- you speak online, you know you're going on the same plane. i economic beforehand, you meet

and i think in a year's time we'll be saying, who got married as a result of klm's facebook linkedin program. klm, the malaysian air leans has something called mh buddies. and a danish starter has been doing this since 2010. >> you might@as well. you're on a plane, you're on there together. >> you've been speaking about privacy and you said privacy is going to away commodity of great value. it will be interesting to see if it takes off in this country. >> absolutely. nadya, thank you so much. now i'm thinking who i'm sitting next to when you go back to new york. >> thank you. >> i'll have my dark glasses on. thank you so much. appreciate it. how young should someone be to receive plastic surgery? we're going to introduce you to a father. he is defending his choice to operate on his two young adopted

daughters. plus, with so much debate about birth control coverage in the news, one doctor is here to tell us why the pill is used for more than preventing pressies.

and good morning, washington, d.c. you're looking at the white house there. it is now 47 minutes past the hour. welcome back to cnn's saturday morning. so glad you could spend part of your morning here with us. well, the debate over birth control, it has become a very hot political issue in recent weeks. especially after the obama administration issued a mandate requiring religious institutions to provide coverage to their

employees. but there are other uses for the pill other than preventing pregnancies. i'm joined now by dr. lisa flowers. are we looking at this too narrowly when we say religious institutions, if they don't want to pay you for the pill, would they pay for it for you if it were used for something else? >> we have the terminology, wore mopal contraception. but it's really hormonal therapy. they were brought in in 1997 for the prevention or treatment for municipal tral disturbances. there are so many variety of ways that we use hormonal therapy or hormonal contra septemberive in this country to alleviate the problems that women have on a regular basis. so what else are these used for?

>> for heavy menstrual flows, to reduce the blood flow that occurs during a woman's cycle, we reduce their chances of iron deficiency and anemia. the other thing is heavy, painful, municipal tall cycles. this is a big problem that causes a lot of quality of life issues, women not being able to go to work, students not be able to go to school. other issues are we know the longer acting progesterones help with fibroids. other issues, reduction of ovarian and endometrial cancer. we know women for years on contra septemberive pills have a reduction of 40% forever that cancer. these are the benefits that we use hr moneyal therapy to truly

manage these everyday problems that women have. and the -- >> it's so interesting because i think you're the first person i've heard use the word hormonal therapy. do you think it would be more pal itble to certain religious hospitals if it were characterized as hormonal tlooep therapy? >> i think it would be more pal palatable. they would understand the multiple uses that we do on a daily basis. those are everyday common problems that women deal with on a regular basis. i think if these organizations really understood the impact that it has on the quality of life for these women, the workforce and the ability for these women to be productive sis citizens in society, i think we would truly understand that it is a needed medical intervention that has significant impact in reducing morbidity in this country for women. >> and interesting.

finally, do you think it's the issue of payment. women have been paying for it, really, all along. now the burden is simply being put on another institution, another agency. do you think women would still continue to pay for it or do you think this is a fairness issue? >> you know what it is? people care. you have to really understand that those that have medical care or have the finances to buy the hormonal therapy, they'll do fine. but it's the have-nots. those who have no ability to pay for this. in this country right now, we are truly concerned, one of our biggest issues, health disparity. health disparity has been the biggest thing that we've been trying to reduce as far as the health care system and the u.s. population because we know that it has an effect. if we don't make sure this is covered, what will happen is that gap between the haves and have-nots will widen and widen. that's why we need to do.

>> dr. lisa flowers, thank you for coming in. appreciate your time. >> appreciate you inviting me. that you can. nelson mandela hospitalized. the 93-year-old former south africa president's location, it's being kept secret. we will tell you why. ice. back then he had something more important to do. he wasn't focused on his future. but fortunately, somebody else was. at usaa we provide retirement planning 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. [ female announcer ] improve the health of your skin with aveeno daily moisturizing lotion. the natural oatmeal formula improves skin's health in one day, with significant improvement in 2 weeks. i found a moisturizer for life. [ female announcer ] only from aveeno. your doctor will say get smart about your weight.

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well, you're visiting a new city and you want to have a night out on the town. who doesn't? but there's one problem, you don't know exactly where to go. a new app helps you find just the right spot. reynolds wolf starts in this week's start small, think big. chicago is a city of almost 2.7 million people. and if you're new to town, it can take a lot of exploring to know exactly where the locals hang. but here at state in chicago, they're using incredible technologies, an application that let us you know exactly wa you're going to see on the other side of the door before you even walk in. >> it's an idea cole harper had after a long night of bar hopping. >> my friends and i were going the around chicago and spent about $150 in cab fare just to find the right spot. eventually we looked at each other and said, wouldn't it be great if we already knew when bar to go to? >> it uses cameras to tell you how full bars happen to be.

facial rec initial technology allows you to find the male to female ratio. it gives bar owners a better idea of who he's serving. >> now, were you able to discern a difference before and after the technology arrived? >> we thought more people would want to come to appear establishment that was incredibly busy. it turned out to be just the opposite. our business increased 30% to 35%. people will be more inclined to come in, have a conversation. >> an idea that can become part of any night out. reynolds wolf, cnn. so we told you a story about a doctor who performed cosmetic surgery on his two adopted daughters. and we asked, how old should a teenager to be to get kos met ek surgery? should cosmetic surgeries do procedures on their family members?

>> for an older personal procedures, families would be the best to do the work because they care more about it. delanor writes it's ridiculous a parent would allow their kids to get plastic. what kind of message are you sending? south africans holding their collective breath this morning because nelson mandela has been hospitalized. it may not be as bad as it sounds. we have the latest, coming up next. a deadly shooting in afghanistan claims the lives of two americans. we'll take you live to kabul for the latest. ♪

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we're following breaking news out of afghanistan where two american troops were killed today. it happened at the african interior ministry in kabul. let's go straight to nick walsh who is in kabul. what can you tell us? why does this continue to escalate? >> we don't know much about why this incident happened right now. we know from a senior afghan police official that the two dead were american. the suggestion by the same official is this attack occurred on a separate part of the interior ministry where a small number of westerners work. now, i should bring you some other breaking news. we have just had in an e-mail statement from the taliban folks a claim of responsibility from the taliban. they named the gunman and they say this attack occurred inside the interior ministry and it was a response to the burning of the

korna. this happened at the very early stage and there are reports around the capital that greatly contradict each other about the identity of the gun man, about why this happened. all we can say at the moment, we're pretty much at this point two americans were killed, shot dead, and it's not clear exactly who the gunman was or where he is at the moment. >> nick, you mentioned that the taliban is claiming responsibility for this. are they using this unintentional koran burning, are they using that as a lightning rod to get public anger and focus it on u.s. troops that still remain there? are they the ones who are fermenting all of this? >> there is that concern. the taliban early on demanded that the african people rise up

againstforeigners because of this koran burning. they have in the past tried to claim attacks in which afghans attack americans. they come up with the name of the attacker early on in a bid to show as evidence that they are right and that their explanation is correct. this is still very early days here, but certainly this will suggest the man they refer to as one of their brave muhajaean, and it's unclear how much involvement they have had in these things while they were prepared. >> and, nick, we know it's murky and difficult to get information, but this province has been one of the areas where there has been a lot of violence. is that considered a taliban strong hold particularly? are you seeing these sort of eruptions in the areas that are known to be controlled by taliban? to be clear, this incident with the two dead americans occurred

in kabul in the interior ministry. one of you would think the safest places where american advisers could work in afghanistan. that will spark a huge concern, i think, amongst normal officers. where do they feel safe? we don't know exactly why this incident occurred, but i'm sure that's going through the minds of many americans. separately, yes, you referred to iraq where we saw much of the violence yesterday. the attack and violent protests around the continent. there are numbers of taliban or warlord controlled community on the outskirts. but haran is near iran, it's not conventionally a taliban strong hold at all. and i think the concerns about the -- this were broadly felt anger among afghans. >> okay. nick peyton walsh with breaking news out of kabul. thank you so much. we'll check in with you a little later. thanks for giving your guidance.

appreciate it. >> nelson mandela is in the hospital. the 93-year-old former south african president had a hernia separation. officials have said it was an abdominal problem. the family tells cnn that mr. mandela is doing well and could be out of the hospital as early as monday. nadya joins me now for more on mandela. first of all, you're from south africa? >> with family members there. you have introduced him as -- explain why this is so crucial. he is beloved in south africa. >> and for good reason. let's take a look at this man who gets imprisoned in 1964 till 1990. he spent 27 years in prison and emerges as a conciliator. he says to bill clinton, aren't

you bitter? aren't you angry at george ayales? he said, no, if i'm angry at them, they still have power over me. we look at a man who managed to take south africa from apartheid to a peaceful democracy, to one of the most democratic countries in the world. when he became president in 1994, the world changed how they treated south africa. particularly when we look at what's happening around the world, the arab springs, i think we look even more at ohio extraordinary mandela has been in taking a country through the most peaceful transition. at no point was he bitter or angry or said let's get rid of the whites. it was just about a rainbow nation. he spoke about togetherness. if you think about the world cup -- >> of course. >> that would never have happened without mandela. and just the way he treated people, continues to treat people, just extraordinary.

so we hope his makes his july 18th birthday. >> and you see him almost like a gandhi figure, a spiritual guide in south africa, but a significant political leader. and if it fair to say that his death would be give lent to the death of george washington, somebody who redefined what a country was supposed to be? >> on so many levels. let's hope we're not talking about that for years to come, but when the time comes, the country will be in mourning. but i think more than that, the world will be in mourning for a global leader and just somebody who managed political lpolitica culturally, socially, to do what very few people have ever done. the way i look at mandela, is he managed to turn a nightmare into a vision, a vision into a dream and a dream into a reality.

>> absolutely. certainly a hero to so many people. south africans have used the word panic that he's in the hospital. >> and they said he's stable, he's type, and i think nobody wants to even think of him being ill. >> of course. of course. >> let's hope he is very well and has many more birthday celebrations. >> nadya, thank you so much. i really appreciate that. syria's military is now pounding anti-government forces again today.. as many as 17 people were killed in homs already. the red cross was trying to get into one neighborhood in homs, trying to get the wounded to safety, but the constant shelling has kept their ambulances away. syria's president, al assad, he is ignoring new calls for him to step down and to allow humanitarian aide into places like homs. and the race for michigan is getting nasty. front-runners in the republican race are there today. hear what word rick santorum is

now calling mitt romney, coming up next. plus, meteorologist alexandra steele is standing by with your weekend forecast. >> wind is certainly the biggest factor. we'll talk about where the strong winds will be and how much snow is left in the season around the country? we'll deal with that, as well. ♪ what started as a whisper every day, millions of people choose to do the right thing. there's an insurance company that does that, too. liberty mutual insurance. responsibility. what's your policy?

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we're just three days away from the next contest in the republican presidential race. michigan and arizona the old hold their primaries tuesday. michigan is where the action is today with both mitt romney and rick santorum battling it out for front-runner status. cnn political editor paul steinhauser joins me now from washington. paul, what are the candidates saying in the michigan race? especially because a lot of the folks there are grateful to the democrats for the help they got. >> yeah, if you're talking about those auto bailouts back in 2008 and 2009. president obama followed up by president obama. rick sap tore yumm campaigning this morning, signing autogra s autographs, shaking hands. forcing them to back up his positions and santorum is now

taking a harder line@against mitt romney. take a listen to what he said at this honest in the last hour. >> we have one candidate that opposed government run health care, one candidate that opposed the hopes and politicalization of a science and we have another candidate who bought in, not only bought in, but did things when he was governor of massachusetts. it's laughable for governor romney to suggest that i am not a conservative. it is absolutely laughable to have a liberal government of massachusetts suggest that i am not the conservative in this race. >> those are fighting words there from rick santorum. he has one more event today in michigan before moving out to tennessee. as for romney, he's been talking less about sanatorium and the other two candidates, ron paul and newt gingrich over the last few days. he's been concentrating his firepower on barack obama. take a listen to what he said

last night. >> i'm convinced that if we have a president that will tell the truth and will live with integrity, who knows how to lead because he's led before and who actually goes to the american people and skd asks them to sacrifice -- by the way, you don't need a leader if all you want to hear is what your free stuff is going to be. >> he's talking about president obama there. i think the white house would disagree with that. romney spends the day in michigan. this is a very important state for him to whip. the polls indicate it's very close there. romney was born in michigan. hit us his father was governor there. it's a proportional state, but it's an important state for mitt romney. >> paul sign hauser, thanks so much. interesting that mitt romney, turning his attention on obama, as well. it will be interesting to see this raip race, really. the nuances are incredible. now we are going to check a little bit of the weather that's out there. holding firm, huh?

>> yeah. it's going to be cold in michigan for a few reasons. chicago, the upper midwest, it has the first big snow of the season thursday into friday. but how much of the winter is left snowwise? not much. so if you like it, not a lot less. if you don't like it, there's not a lot left. 20% of the snow season remains. chicago had their biggest storm of the entire season, between 9 and 11 inches thirst night into friday. but before that, there were only tep days this wynter with one inch of the ground. in new york, about 20% of the winter is left in new york. but only 7.4 inches this year. this time last year, we had four feet of snow more last year than this year. so the winter season, really, in terms of the snow season, is pretty much complete. let's look at those stories.

places like buffalo, wind is the story from albany to buffalo, boston down to washington, d.c. wind advisories. gusting 50, 60 miles per hour, perhaps. and to give you a little perspective, 40 mrch winds can knock down trees and power lines. so some very windy conditions. right now, gust to go 35 miles per hour. we're in erie. 3 in scranton. 36 northwesterly winds in syracuse. so this is just the beginning. we're going to see it all day today and into tonight, as well. big picture, there's that light snow falling. southeast, temperatures are cooler than they've been in days. about 20 degrees cooler with these strong, gusty winds will make it feel like 20s and 30s. comfortable around las vegas and phoenix. there's the snow. a one-two punch in the northwest. we had a snow a couple days ago. snow elevations are lower than

they were then. >> alexandra, thanks so much. listen, i like snow. let it snow just for a little longer. thanks so much. appreciate it. up next, how spoiled milk and moldy bread could help keep $600 in your pocket. that's right, we're serious. ng . the natural oatmeal formula improves skin's health in one day, with significant improvement in 2 weeks. i found a moisturizer for life. [ female announcer ] only from aveeno. forty years ago, he wasn't looking for financial advice. back then he had something more important to do. he wasn't focused on his future. but fortunately, somebody else was. at usaa we provide retirement planning 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.

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morning, washington, d.c. you're looking at capitol hill, looking like a beautiful day there. it is now 20 minutes past the hour. welcome back to cnn saturday morning. so glad you could be here with us. well, when you see that moldy bread in your pantry or the sour milk in the refrigerator and, come on, we've all been there. the last thing you probably want

to do is eat it, let alone save it. but my next guest, danny cios says doing this could save you up to $600 a year. and, danny, you call this the dumpster dive. explain. >> we're not eating out of the trash can. but we throw about $600 away and that could be used for gas, for vacation. >> easily. >> that's money that you take something and you're like, why did i buy this and throw it away? the very first thing you want to do, i know a lot of people are extreme couponing. if you're buying things even if it's on sale and not eating it or wasting it, you're wasting money. use smart coupons. i use a free website called recyclebank.com. i downloaded it this morning. it's a $2 off this morning for cereal. if i only get this because i love this cereal, i'll use that. that's a smart way of using coupons instead of buying things

like 50 pallets of energy drinks. >> and when i see the extreme couponers, it's like an extreme sport almost, couponing. but let's say i've got wilty or moldy food in my frit rager. i see the cellry here. i have this fantasy that i'll eat celery all the time. >> a secret tip, get a large glass or vase, fill it with cold water. a couple of table spoops of white vinegar. let it soak up the water and it crisps right back up. so you have another three to four days you can use that. >> does it taste like vinegar? >> no. a little drop. that's the key thing, don't use the whole jar. >> because i would be calling you saying my cell celery takes pickly. >> a lot of people take their bananas and avocadoes and put them together in a bowl.

look at this. i've had this next to the avocado and neck tarines. if you keep them separate from each other in brown bags, you'll get longer shelf live. mother nature didn't grow them this way, so keep them separate from each other. >> and, for example, you have cheese here and the bread. explain. >> okay. so bread, if it tastes like it's gone stale and you want to crisp it up again, all you have to do is get a spray bottle with water. spray it up, put it back in the oven. >> really, what you're doing is you are extending the live of this food. how do you know you're not going to get sick, for example? >> it's called intuition. a lot of cheeses might have mold on it, for example. if it's a hard cheese, you can cut about an inch away from the mold and you'll have perfectly good food. but with the soft cheese or something that doesn't normally have any kind of a mold -- >> you sometimes see that white fuzz growing on the outside? >> you want to throw it away.

and a lot of people think if you freeze things, it will kill the bacteria. it j really just preserves it. you have something for smoothies. >> does organic food have a longer shelf life? >> it doesn't. but it is healthier for you. if people want to buy organic but they think it's too expensive, look for gb eric brands or store brands. anything in cans, it's usda certified organic. it's cheaper than the national brand. >> it's a way of thinking about how you use your food. when it reaches the endpoint, we say, i'm going to throw it away in the trash. >> right. and you really should take note of things that you're throwing away. there's even fragile things or common things that we buy all the time, like milk and eggs.

my big trick, when you go to the store, get the milk in the back of the refrigerator and get the eggs in the bottom of the stack because they've been coldest the longest. >> that's one reason because in new york where i'm from, we often see on the date it says, will expire like a week earlier if you get it in new york which is always interesting to me. so where you buy it, also. >> and also where you store it. when you open the fridge all the time, that's the place that gets warm the quickest. that's the worst place to put eggs and milk. you want to put them in the back of the refrigerator. that's the coldest spot to do it. >> fascinating. saving food, using it longer, i think that's great because no one wants to throw away food. i've become my mother. there are people who are starving. you have to save that foot food. $600. >> danny, thank you so much. really appreciate it. really, really useful. thanks so much for coming by. it is the story we've been following all morning. former south african president

nelson mandela hospitalized. next, his family updating us on his condition. stay with us. you always have homework, okay? i don't have homework today. it's what's right here is what is most important to me. it's beautiful. ♪ ♪ but one is so clever that your skin looks better even after you take it off. neutrogena® healthy skin liquid makeup. 98% saw improved skin. does your makeup do that? neutrogena® cosmetics.

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a breaking story outs of afghanistan where the taliban is claiming responsibility for an attack that has killed two u.s. service men. barbara starr is joining us right now on the phone. barbara, what do you know? okay. we have lost barbara starr but we will be coming back with that story and much more. nelson mandela, we'll have an update for you on that. a family member tells cnn the former south african leader are a hernia operation and is likely to be released over the next couple of days. officials are telling cnn that this was planned, that it was not an emergency. we're going to be back with you at the top of the hour. but right now, we're going to go to my colleagues,