cnn.com/thenextlist or join us on facebook and twitter or on my life stream. see my blogs, tweets and photos there. thanks for tuning in. see you next sunday on "the next list." you are in the cnn newsroom. i'm richelle carey in for fredricka whitfield. furry in the streets of northern afghanistan today. this anti-american demonstration started calmly and turned violent. one person was killed, several u.s. troops hurt and an explosion and small arms fire outside an american base. the man who killed two u.s. officers in afghanistan yesterday is still at large. afghan officials have named him, they say he works at the interior ministry. more people hurt, more people killed today across syria.

>> this is the city of ham ma where nine died in street battles before security forces and anti-government fighters. violence has not let up despite today's nationwide vote on whether to change syria's constitution. much more on that in a minute. an update from michael holmes who is in beirut. nelson mandela, founding father of democracy in south africa, is out of the hospital. he was discharged today after being treated for an abdominal ailment. a family member said it was hernia surgery. the 93-year-old was impressened 27 years for fighting impar tied. he was awarded the nobel peace prize. turn to politics. mitt romney got what could be a much-needed boost in the tightening race for the republican nomination. arizona governor jan brewer

publicly endorsed romney. she made the announcement on nbc's "meet the press." >> he has that pro business background and that political history that i think that he would serve america the best of all the candidates and so it was a difficult decision, but i think mitt is by far the person that can go in and win. >> brewer is a conservative republican and met with several of the candidates last week before choosing romney. newt gingrich spent the morning with voters in his home state of georgia. the former house speaker addressed a church congregation north of atlanta. with his poll numbers shrinking he's bypassed michigan and arizona to focus on super tuesday and georgia. mitt romney made a pit stop at the daytona 500 this morning, shook hands and talked with nascar fans before the track before heading back to his home state of michigan. rick santorum is at the daytona 500 in spirts.

his campaign is sponsoring tony rains car. on the hood see red whishgts and blue stickers that read rick 2012. there are more stickers on the side of the car as well. we are two days away from the presidential primaries in michigan and arizona. up for grabs a total of 59 delegates and the all-important title of frontrunner. big deal, pretty important. mitt romney and rick santorum are neck and neck in the polls. will there be a clear winner after tuesday. joining us with insight is political reporter peter hamby. let's start with this endorsement from jan brewer. there's not really a consensus on what endorsements really mean anymore but can you put this in context for us? >> you're right. endorsements tend to be a little overblown. this is a good pick-up for mitt romney. there are conservatives as we know in this country who are skeptical of mitt romney. jan brewer as you said is a very

conservative governor who's put immigration at the top of her agenda. as you know she signed the tough immigration crackdown bill last year. this gives conservatives who might be skeptical of mitt romney a little bit of a comfort zone, a little bit of a blessing to go to the polls and vote for him, but also, you know, no politician at this level makes an endorsement like this without some level of personal calculation. you have to think that jan brewer has seen some polling perhaps, knows mitt romney is probably a safe bet, a lot of political observers think it's trending in mitt romney after rick santorum had a tough debate in mesa the other night. it's a good pick up for mitt romney. >> you're saying politicians rarely go out an a limb. why do the two states in michigan and arizona matter so much in this race, peter? >> we've been in a dry spell all of february after the january gauntlet of early key primaries, waiting for super tuesday and a lot of contests in march.

february doesn't have that many contests and we've basically seen a lot of questions come to the floor about mitt romney's conservative. seen rick santorum rise and the race turn into a two man race between romney and santorum. this will be a tie breaker if you will, between the two and don't forget that romney has always made michigan sort of a central part of his biography, his father was governor here, mother ran for senate, born here, met his wife here. if he loses michigan that's bad news for mitt romney. he's got to win here. going to be a tight race. they're trying to outconservative each other here. take a listen to what santorum had earlier to say in marquette. >> for mitt romney to go out and suggest i'm not conservative, i mean, this is a guy who said that he would, you know, again, you heard me say what he did with cap and trade, done on obama care. i didn't tell you what he did on taxes. 700 tlm in tax increases.

he said he was going to be better on gay rights than ted kennedy when he ran against ted kennedy, he would protect a woman's right to choose when he ran in 2002 for governor. he said he had a conversion and two years after his conversion he provided public financing for an abortion clinic in massachusetts. and for him to go out and say i am somehow the liberal in this race is a joke. >> reporter: so you see the rhetoric sharpening as the polls are tightening nationally and in michigan. i can tell you talking to republican insiders, pollsters following the race, the race is really tightened in the last just the last couple days and it's going to be a nail biter here in michigan on tuesday night, richelle? >> cnn will be the place to be for that. thank you very much. >> thanks. it's the biggest night of the year for hollywood. the oscars. and you can bet there will be plenty of star power, glitz and

bl glamour. a.j. hammer joins us live. this is when a.j. gets dressed up. i love it. you're so hollywood with the sunglasses. i can't stand it. >> i haven't put the tie on yet, richelle but george clooney said i could wear my shades this part of the day. >> it's going to be a big night. billy crystal got the call once again. what can we expect from him tonight? >> i think billy crystal will knock it out of the park. coming off last year when james franco and anne hathaway hosted the show to lit critical acclaim, got universally panned, i thought they were a terrific idea at least, eddie murphy was supposed to host this year and that didn't work out so billy crystal who has hosted the show eight times before but not since 2004, is back on stage. i think we can expect lot of comedy. i think we'll see billy certainly involved in some of the old tricks that he used to

do see him digitally inserted in the best picture nominees and a big musical number. don't know how he's going to open the show because that is kept very tightly under wraps. what we know is the stage set, although we haven't been able to see it yet, is going to evoke a classic movie theater and the theme this year is the enduring nature of the movie going experience when you have nominees like "the artist" that lends itself to that and enduring hollywood stars involved with major showdowns this year. we have george clooney being pitted against his best friend brad pitt in the best actor race. i think that one is actually going to be a battle between clooney and jean dujardin and in the best actress category another showdown, meryl streep, 17-time nominee coming in this year and she's up against the great viola davis who was wonderful in "the help." the edge, the money is on viola to win that. really until the envelope is opened tonight, anything is

possible as we know. >> man, that's some star power. i love it. okay. sacha baron cohen, what is going on is he going to show up as himself, as one of his alter egos? >> here's the deal. and security just came through and, in fact, i've never seen it quite like this before about five minutes ago, we saw the dogs something through, sniffing around. one tried almost to jump on me to make sure i was cool, but they're checking everything out and maybe that's a sign that shahbaz, the sex crazed middle eastern death spot is going to be here. that is an alter ego of sacha baron cohen who knows how to do publicity. word got out he was going to show up in character as the dictator. the academy folks said we don't want you to do that. but things changed in the course of the week. now he's got a couple tickets. great publicity for him and great publicity for the oscars which is why i think they're going ahead with it. interesting to see how he shows

up but i have a feeling it will be in costume because he will milk this for all he can. >> and i think the academy does want him to show up just like that. good stuff. look forward to seeing you tonight. a.j. will be live from the red carpet for "showbiz tonight" road to gold at 6:30 p.m. here on hln. four more years of president obama, that's what secretary of state hillary clinton predicts. she sat down with cnn and explains why she went out on a limb, that's just ahead. ♪ [ woman ] i was ready for my trip, but my smile wasn't. [ female announcer ] new crest 3d white intensive professional effects whitestrips. it goes below the enamel surface to whiten as well as a five-hundred dollar professional treatment for a transformation that's hard to believe. ♪ wow, that's you? [ female announcer ] new intensive professional effects whitestrips.

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the syrian government says a referendum people are voting on today is aimed at changing the constitution and a step towards ending the deadly conflict. well that hasn't stopped armed groups and security forces from battling in holmes and da mass ka and hama. across syria at least 45 people were killed just today. michael holmes is watching developments in syria from beirut. >> dozens more syrians died around the country sunday. violence and anti-government protests in cities from dharat in the south. many victims in the familiar and still besieged neighborhood in the city of homs. the shelling began just before dawn and continues throughout the day according to activist we spoke with. the violence ironic

accompaniment to voting on a new constitution. syrian state media showed president bashar al assad voting with his wife and ran video of other syrians casting their ballots as well. 14.5 million were eligible to vote. how many did yet to be known. certainly not many in parts of homs where this man expressed his views on the referendum as one of the city's marketplaces burned behind him. >> translator: the referendum on the constitution is the 26th of february. this is the referendum on the constitution, burning the shops, the heavy gunfire and explosions taking place at the main market in homs. look what bashar al assad has done to the market. >> reporter: the proposed new constitution would conditionally allow multiple parties and pave the way for an election in three months and limit the president to two seven-year terms. that could mean bashar al assad will be in power for a long time

to come. opposition groups, many foreign governments, and protesters on the ground in syria, said it was a sham, meaningless. bashar al assad didn't abide by the old constitution, one activist told us, why would we believe he would honor a new one. efforts by the international red cross and syrian red crescent to get in, stalled for the second consecutive day leaving the wounded and trapped western journalists facing conditions that worsen by the hour. michael holmes, cnn, beirut. other headlines today, 16 americans are on trial in cairo. they're accused of fraud following a crackdown on pro-democracy groups and egyptian officials say are interfering with the government. one of the americans on trial is the son of the u.s. transportation secretary. west africa, this is senegal on

election day, people are furious at the president. they don't want him re-elected to a third term. the highest court cleared him to seek a third term despite the constitutional limit to seek a third term. this what is osama bin laden's former hideout in pakistan looks like today. being demolished. the work started last night. pakistani officials say they don't want the compound to stand as a gathering point for bin laden followers. imagine you could help save 30 lives with one unselfish act. one man did donating a kidney, a kidney. the first link in the kidney donation chain. you have to hear his story. i am talking to rick next. don't go anywhere. we were having too much fun, we weren't thinking about a will at that time. we were in denial. that's right. [ laughter ] we like our freedoms, but at the same time we have responsibilities to the kids and ourselves. we're the vargos and we created our wills on legalzoom. finally. [ laughter ]

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sanity. they say the harvard shop that sells it intended to honor the grad, not offend him and now using a waffle cones instead. so a man walks into a hospital and offers to donate a kidney expecting nothing in return. that would never happen. but it did happen. a year ago. a california man donated his kidney and by doing so became the first link in the world's longest living donor kidney chain. the chain ended just before christmas when an illinois man became the 30th recipient. can you imagine? and the man that started this is here. rick was that donor. the first donor. rick, thank you so much for joining us to talk more about this amazing thing that you have done. it's an honor to talk to you. what prompted you to do this, basically putting your own life at risk? there's no such thing as routine surgery. >> i didn't really start the chain. i met a woman melissa who had

donated a kidney and she told me her story of how she donated a kidney and it was no big deal and didn't understand why more people didn't do it. telling me that story inspired me to want to donate a kidney. i went home the next day and looked into it. >> you had to convince the doctors at riverside community hospital you were on the level, you knew what you were doing, that you weren't trying to get attention, fame, glory. how did that conversation go? >> well, i'll tell you the kidney donation was easy. the interviews aren't. this is -- no. it was very professional. i was just asked, why do you want to donate a kidney and every time i would just simply say because i want to help somebody. i just wanted to help somebody. so there was nothing to -- it was that simple. >> when they started to explain that there are risks involved in any type of surgery, was there ever a moment, for even a split second when you had a conversation with yourself and

thought, do i really want to do this? >> i've never had second thoughts. there's risks every time you step into a car that you can do and you don't think about that. i didn't think -- never thought about the risks. i was excited i was going to be able to donate a kidney to help them and get them off dialysis. >> let me share numbers. about 90,000 people are on the waiting list hoping to get a kidney transplant. fewer than 17,000 will get one and about 4500 people die every year waiting for a kidney. basically what you set in motion the way the chain kept going a combination of people donating to a stranger or someone saying i want to donate to my family member and they weren't compatible to they would give to a stranger as long as my family member gets one. kept this chain going. the fact that you were the person that set this in motion that saved lives, how did that change you as a person?

>> it doesn't change me. i'm just glad that i was able it to do it. i was glad i was able to help. that's all. >> so no profound moments where you're like i'm the person that did that are look at the world different? >> no. i mean, no. it couldn't have happened if it wasn't for melissa, it couldn't have happened if it wasn't for riverside community hospital, for shannon white the transplant coordinator, for the surgeon dr. wallstrom and garret hill who started the national kidney registry and for everybody else in the kidney chain it couldn't have happened. i'm just a chink in the chain and there's just a little microscope on me right now but i'm just a part of it is all. >> your attitude is phenomenal. it's phenomenal. i get what you're saying, it takes all of us. rick, thank you so much for sharing your story and thank you for what you've done. >> okay. you're welcome. >> i see what he means. he doesn't like doing the

interviews. he did the bigger thing for sure. secretary hillary clinton predicts president obama will get re-elected but felt the need to explain it. >> probably, you know, my enthusiasm for the president got a little out of hand. >> hear what else clinton had to say about her boss's prospects next.

secretary of state hillary clinton is predicting president obama will be re-elected and made the comments over students in tunisia yesterday and clinton talked about that more in the cnn interview with elise labbot. >> you said yesterday that president obama will be re-elected. it's not -- raised a lot of eyebrows, not really the secretary of state to say

anything about an election and it seemed to be kind of a campaign statement. >> remember the context, i was asked whether the comments in the primary campaign some of which have been quite inflammatory, represented america and i represent america and know what happens in campaigns, been there, done that and i know that things are said that are not going to be put into practice or policy. but i did think i needed to point that out to the audience. and probably, you know, my enthusiasm for the president got a little out of hand. >> no -- no political juices flowing there. >> you know, i'm trying to dampen them down, trying to have -- tried to have them taken out, you know, blood transfusion but occasionally they rear their heads. >> does that suggest maybe going back in at some point? >> no. it suggests i want what's best for our country. >> blood transfusions.

more from hillary clinton at 5:00 p.m. we'll hear her thoughts on syria. i will be back in one hour to talk politics. rick santorum's lead over mitt romney is all but disappearing. stay with cnn, "your money" starts after the break. the lans grows with snow. to keep big winter jobs on track, at&t provided a mobile solution that lets everyone from field workers to accounting, initiate, bill, and track work in real time. you can't live under a dome in minnesota, that's why there's guys like me. [ male announcer ] it's a network of possibilities -- helping you do what you do... even better. ♪ if they'd booked with travelocity, they could be paying less for the same room. noooooooooo. [ female announcer ] the travelocity guarantee. from the price to the room to the trip. you'll never roam alone.