vitac -- www.vitac.com sup fer perfect tuesday. 419 delegates are at stake. the candidates are desperate to break free from the pack. paul steinhauser is in the battleground state of ohio where rick santorum and mitt romney are deadlocked. david mattingly is in georgia, a state newt gingrich says he must win to keep his campaign alive. let's begin with paul. he's in mount saint joseph, right outside of cincinnati. paul, tell us again, why is ohio such an important state? >> reporter: well, because you're from there, carol. there are other reasons as well. listen, it's a good answer. it's a battleground state. we know that. it's also a real player in the primaries. i guess arguably it's the most important on super tuesday. a blue collar state, a working class state. mitt romney needs to win here. if he doesn't, questions about whether he can win the nomination. for rick santorum who's been trying to appeal to blue collar voters, very important state for

him to win. the neighboring state to pennsylvania where he's from. large catholic population here. a lot of conservatives. today, look at this, can't get any closer to this. here's our cnn orc poll. that's about a dead heat, isn't it? i think it's pretty much all tied up at the top according to our poll with gingrich and santorum a little lower down. carol? >> i know it's early, but i wondered, do you see voters rushing to the polls? >> reporter: yeah, we've seen a steady stream of voters right here. we are in hamilton county, just west of cincinnati, just a stone's throw from downtown. third most populated in the state. pretty conservative. we're seeing a lot of that. we're seeing a lot of candidates in a lot of commercials. especially for mitt romney and his super pac. his last closing argument here is directed against president obama. take a listen. >> this man is out of ideas and he's out of excuses and in 2012 he's going to be out of office.

>> reporter: mitt romney really going after the president and not really his rivalries. rick santorum trying to bring mitt romney down. here's what he said yesterday in ohio. >> when you have 12 billion and can you outspend someone 12, 20, 30 to 1 you can stop answering the questions. he won't be able to avoid answering the questions in the fall and as a result he will be the weakest candidate we could possibly put forward on the most important issue of today. >> reporter: rick santorum going after mitt romney. ron paul is in idaho and is concentrating on the caucus states. >> you were talking about the political calls that are coming in. my mom lives in ohio. she's a republican. she's getting a call every ten minutes from somebody with some campaign. it's driving her crazy.

>> reporter: it is ground zero. no doubt about it. >> no doubt about it. paul steinhauser, thank you. let's head to georgia where newt gingrich is relying on a big win to keep his candidacy alive. david mattingly is in marietta. so, david, does gingrich have his former power base locked up? >> reporter: well, he's predicting a very, very decisive victory here in his former home state. all indications are he's going to get exactly that. the former speaker in the latest cnn poll showing he's got 47% of the likely voters in today's primary. that's ahead of romney with 24%, santorum 15%, ron paul with 9%.

the former speaker spending a lot of time here. he has a very long and influential history with the georgia state republican party and in looking at the polls today, typically we don't see a lot of people showing up to vote on primaries, but it has been steady. no lines, no waiting. gingrich very strong with those traditional republicans. those are the people who typically come out today. the speaker has been spending -- the former speaker has been spending a lot of time here, probably seven of the last nine days he's campaigned in georgia. and that includes this morning. he had just a few comments just a little bit -- a little while ago. we have some of that sound for you now. let's listen. >> so the president goes on after that and he says the republicans have a strategy, three-part strategy. part one drill, part two drill, part three drill. and i just want to say, mr. president, you understand exactly, drill, drill, drill. okay?

>> reporter: that was actually a comment from yesterday when he was campaigning in chattanooga, tennessee. the speaker today repeating that. very big part of his speech now is about gasoline prices. he says that with his energy policy he could bring gas prices down to $2.50 a gallon. aaa reporting that gas prices have actually come down just a fraction to $3.76 a gallon nationwide. so that trending the wrong direction for the speaker, but today it's going to be the voters who are going to be having the floor. they are going to be talking today and they will be telling the former speaker if he has what it takes to actually stay in this race past super tuesday. carol? >> david mattingly, marietta, georgia this morning, thank you. three candidates taking a super tuesday time-out this morning. they're speaking in front of the american israel public affairs committee. rick santorum is addressing the

pro-israel group in washington. guess what he's talking about? iran, israel, nuclear weapons. mitt romney, newt gingrich speak via satellite. mark preston is here. mark, with so much at stake in states like ohio and georgia, why aren't these candidates speaking in front of apac. >> i think it shows how important it is. it says a lot that rick santorum left ohio to come to address apac in person. by doing so what he's trying to do is build up his creds with the jewish vote in the united states. it would be remiss without pointing out that newt gingrich's campaign, which has been running on fumes financially, has been backed by sheldon adelson, a casino magnet in las vegas. some people say he's done that because newt gingrich has been such a strong supporter of israel. >> the u.s. and other countries have made another offer with iran to negotiate. israel's prime minister benjamin netanyahu says time and patience

have been running out. he talked about iran and then spoke at apac himself. >> israel has waited patiently waited for the international community to resolve this issue. we've waited for diplomacy to work. we've waited for sanctions to work. none of us can afford to wait much longer. >> so we play that sound bite for you because this means much more than an american election. this could lead to nuclear war. that's what some people say. let's go to ms. sweeney. is there a sense in israel that war is inevitable, that netanyahu has already made up his mind? >> reporter: well, actually, israeli media here, carol, is saying that in his meeting with president obama yesterday benjamin netanyahu said he hasn't yet made a decision about whether to strike iran. the fear about all out war would be a consequence of any israeli strike against installations in

iran, and the question for israel is if they made such a strike, would they be able to contain the fallout on all four fronts from hezbollah, in hamas. what you saw yesterday and what you had from benjamin netanyahu last night is both the united states and israel sticking to its same core positions of how they were the last two weeks. both are saying all options are on the table. both are saying that iran will not be contained and both are really trying to focus on where their interest doef tails. the question for benjamin netanyahu is when will he decide that the time to give sanctions a chance to work are up? >> i'm sure people in israel are closely listening to what people in america are saying. rick santorum just spoke in front of apac. we were talking about that a short time ago. we want you to listen to some of what he had to say. >> we need to say to the iranian government, the time is now.

you will stop your nuclear production now. you will open up your facilities for inspectors from the united states and other countries so we can certify that those efforts are stopping and being dismantled now. >> so, mark preston, i want to bring you back in because we heard what she said. this is serious stuff. when the candidates speak in front of organizations like apac and they talk tough about iran, does the bigger picture enter into their picture? >> yeah. there's no question about it. in fact, when mitt romney addresses apac in just a short time, one of the things he's going to say according to what his campaign is telling us is that hope is not a foreign policy, which is a direct criticism of president obama's play on the word of how he was going to bring hope to washington and hope to the world. so what we're seeing here in the united states is the fact is

israel now has become a political football in this general election campaign. >> can you just tell people the differences between president obama's position on iran and israel and these republican candidates' positions on iran and israel? >> i think it's very hard except to put it in very simple terms is that the republicans are taking a very hard line with no wiggle room on negotiations with iran and what we heard on sunday was president obama saying we should not have a rush to war but in the end we would have israel's back. so there he is a a little wiggle room with president obama. republicans are straight down the line. >> mark preston, ms. sweeney, thanks so much. our coverage of the super tuesday primaries begins at 6:00 eastern. that's followed by complete live kovlg of the primary results at 7:00 with john, wolf blitzer, erin burnett, canty crowley and so many more people. paula deen is the face of southern cooking. working at her empire wasn't so

hospitable. we'll tell you about the latest accusations against paula deen. plus, a woman polishes her nails on a southwest airline flight and when the plane lands, she is hauled off to jail. what happened? we'll talk about that just ahead. and it's free. ya know, for whoever you are that day. it's just another way you'll be traveling at the speed of hertz.

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checking stories cross-country now. we begin in new jersey where a former rutgers university student is on trial accused of spying and intimidating his

roommate who later killed himself. da rum ravi texted himself about a viewing party that would show tyler cla men at this being intimate with another man. he is accused of setting up a secret web cam to watch clementi. >> where's he at? where's he at? >> to utah showing a snowmobiler getting caught in an avalanche. his friends sprang into action. about 30 minutes later they dug him out from under ten feet of snow. that's unbelievable. he's a okay this morning. >> a dispute over nail polish lands the southwest airlines passenger in a houston jail. jeannie daniels used a curse word in a heated argument with a flight attendant about polishing her nails. when the plane landed daniels was arrested. she spent more than 10 hours in jail before a judge finally set her free. >> paula deen, the queen of her own southern cooking empire is under fire from one of her former employees.

deen and her brother, bubba, is being sued by lisa jackson for among other things, sexual harassment. sunny hostin joins me now. this hasn't been a good year for paula deen, sunny. >> that's right. she's coming off of the controversy of her diabetes and her alleged spokesmanship for a diabetic company. let me say this, this certainly was filed yesterday, march 5th. we're talking about a 33 page complaint alleging, as you mentioned, sexual harassment, battery, many things. lisa jackson, the former manager of it's called uncle bubba's seafood and oyster house, she alleges that -- which is pail la dean's brother's place, she alleges that paula deen condoned sexual harassment, racism. she used rachael epithets and startlingly, carol, she alleges that bubba displayed pornography

at work, was physically abusive and interestingly enough, she says that paula deen also used these racial epithets and discussed having a southern plantation style wedding and using a racial epithet towards african-americans, she said she wished they could wear long sleeve white shirts, black shorts, black bow ties in the shirley temple days but that wouldn't work out because the media would have a field day with her. of course, these are just allegations. it's unclear at this point whether anyone else heard these words coming from paula deen, but the complainant here says that this conduct, carol, was universally known at paula deen's establishment. so really a tough, tough complaint alleging some pretty terrible behavior by paula deen and her brother, bubba. >> most of the complaint seems to be about bubba, right? could paula deen walk away from this cleanly? >> well, you know, a lot of it does have to do with bubba's

behavior, but she also alleges, again, that paula deen was knowledgeable about this behavior and that she, too, took part in a lot of this behavior, especially using rachael epithets. i don't think that she will just walk away from this because she also is part owner of this restaurant. this is her establishment and, in fact, paula deen hired lisa jackson. so, you know, paula deen certainly is a big part of this complaint and, again, we need to remind our viewers, these are just allegations. paula deen hasn't responded to these allegations, but she's seeking unspecified damages and so this is a civil suit filed in savannah, georgia, state court and not a good thing for paula deen. >> sunny hostin, thanks so much. a fight over underwear. true. the navajo nation is suing urban outfitters. the tribe says the retailer stole its name and with it millions of dollars. we'll talk about that after a break.

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prince harry, he's in jamaica and on the track with olympic sprinter and world record holder. max foster is in kingston with the prince as he wraps up his queen jubilee tour. max, the prince is in training with the olympian today. will he actually take to the track and try to beat him? >> reporter: i was thinking not, but looking at the banter between the two of them, i think we could be set for quite a lively race. they're currently having a chat with each other in front of an audience. someone suggested he's saying bolt but he looks a bit scared. harry says, that's because i'm right here and i'm in my prime of 25. they're lining up for a race. lots of joshing going on between them. harry here to promote sort of british sport but to get involved in the race. they'll do some starts, but we hope to see them run the whole race. it's going to happen in ten minutes, carol.

we'll have a picture. >> i was hoping prince harry would have his track suit on. maybe he'll put it on. >> reporter: he has put a track suit on looking very serious about the mission. >> darn, i missed that picture. we have to get a little serious now because the prince is meeting with jamaica's prime minister. she wants to cut ties with the british monarchy so is this sort of thing helping patch things up between britain and jamaica? >> reporter: well, the prime minister speaks very highly of the queen and of britain. she says it's a broader thing than that. she's welcoming prince harry. they are going to be meeting a bit later on. it will be interesting to see if there is any awkwardness. she has said she wants to get rid of the queen. harry's here representing the queen in her jubilee year. it's going to be interesting to see. certainly a lot more republican -- a lot more people wanting a republic here. >> at least it looks like he's having fun as well as dealing with some serious issues.

max foster reporting live from jamaica. thanks. on wall street, stocks are set for a bit of a selloff this morning. dow futures down just about 90 points just a few minutes before the opening bell. alison kosik is at the new york stock exchange. what's the problem today? >> get ready for the dow to hit a deep hit. they woke up to where the global economy is headed. the eurozone economy, we found out, contracted at the end of last year. its gdp shrank. one analyst says europe could be in a mild recession. other countries, you realize that europe is having a hard time of it. look at our gdp here in the u.s. our gdp grew at a 3% annual rate in the final three months of last year and we're still having a tough time. look at our job market. it's still slow to recover. housing market, it's still depressed. our recould havy ovkocovery is . india's economy is growing at a 6% rate.

china's is growing at 9%. that's considered really, really fast. you step back and say, why worry about europe? you know why? europe is our biggest trading partner. what happens in europe can affect us. carol? >> okay. we must talk about urban outfitters because this is such a strange lawsuit. urban outfitters is in hot water because it sold clothes labeled as navajo. we're specifically talking about this, they're cute, i've seen them, underwear with a little navajo pattern on it. the indian nation doesn't think they're so cute. >> right. they're not laughing about this. you're talking about navajo nation. that's a large native american tribe. it's suing urban outfitters. this lawsuit says the retailer sold lots of products with the navajo name, products like jewelry, shirts, even slacks. these products had names like the navajo hipster panties. staring at star's strapless navajo dress. huh. the navajo's say, urban outfitters didn't have permission to use the name.

they filed a cease and desist order last fall. they removed some of the items, not all of them. now the group is suing. navajo says that they want some of the profits from some of those items. >> alison kosik, thanks. voters in ten states are redefining the republican presidential race on this super tuesday. we'll talk to a candidate who was part of that race until a couple of months ago. congresswoman michele bachmann will join us in just a few minutes. "why did i roll over my i.r.a. to scottrade?" "for starters, it didn't cost me anything." "and i got a one-hundred dollar cash bonus for rolling over by april 16th." "i like bonuses." "plus at scottrade, there are thousands of commission-free investments." "and if i need help, i can find it online, by phone

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checking our top storiesnow. opposition activists say syrian security forces have killed at least 14 people across the

country today. senator john mccain wants to target the regime with air power. three presidential gop candidates are taking time to speak to apac, the pro-israel lobbying group. they'll likely discuss growing tensions over iran's nuclear program. the suspect in the chardon, ohio, high school shooting is back in court today. t.j. lane is charged with three counts of aggravated murder. a funeral service will be held today for one of his alleged victims. and just in, congressman donald payne has died. the new jersey democrat had been battling colon cancer. he was 77 years old. today super tuesday could be the day everything changes in the republican presidential race. it could bring clarity or it could just bring more chaos. it's up to the voters in ten states now. the race in some crucial places like ohio in a dead heat. let's talk about all of this with someone who knows this race

as well as anyone. congresswoman and former presidential candidate michele bachmann joins us. welcome. >> thank you. it's he great to be on with you this morning. it's a i big day. >> i have to ask you this. have you endorsed anyone yet? will you endorse someone today? >> i won't be endorsing anyone today. i think it's really important that people across the country in the primary field have their say for who they believe our nominee should be. i think we will find greater clarity after the end of this evening's tallies come in. i think the voters are anxious to get in touch with who our nominee will be so we can press forward and you night as a party. >> let's talk about uniting as a party. there's been some vicious rhetoric of republicans targeting republicans. you suffered that yourself when you were in the campaign. i just wanted from a human standpoint, how does that feel? >> well, it's part and parcel of the race. it really is a difficult thing to be a candidate, but it's very important that a person goes through this grinding machine of the whole process, whether it's

the debate, the interviews, the vetting process. it's all good. i favor this process because our nominee has to be at the apex of their game because when the final debates come, the primary debates are over, there won't be anymore debates. the final debates will be this fall with president obama. our candidate needs to be at the apex of their game because over 100 million people will tune in and there's no margin for error. but i am fully confident that our nominee will be up to that task and have a positive, pro-job growth message that the people will want to hear. >> 'sitivity at this. there was a wall street journal poll taken just yesterday. it was in the "wall street journal." it said all of this negativity, republicans targeting other republicans, which is really unreagan like, right? all of that negativity is turning voters off and making them not want to vote in this primary. >> well, the problem is it's inevidenceable when the

candidates have to show their distinctions, there is negativity that comes forward. so it is inevitable, but, again, if you remember people thought the, quote, blood loving that was occurring between barack obama and hillary clinton would have a decisive impact and they thought especially that women wouldn't be able to get behind obama because they had backed hillary clinton. they had a unity occur in 2008. i think you're going to see that on the part of the republicans. in fact, i think you're going to see more than republicans unite. i think you're going to see a lot of disaffected democrats and independents unite behind our candidate as well because they have looked at barack obama, they've looked at his mishandling, unfortunately, of the economy and they're now casting about for someone else because they want to see jobs grow, they want housing prices to increase, and they're very nervous about escalating gas prices. so i think that the republican nominee has a very, very strong chance of being the next president in 2012. >> is there a republican war on

women? >> oh, of course not. i'm a republican woman, and i think one thing that i see as a woman, women are the overwhelmingly are the greatest purchasers of health care. what women see is that health care costs have only spiked into the stratosphere after the passage of obama care. they know obama care won't be good for their family or themselves. they want to attack the real problem in health care which is costs. they want to bring costs down. i think that's what our nominee will bring forth. the obvious solution to address the real problem that's access to care by bringing the cost of health insurance down. >> i hear ya, but i've got to say, i have to ask you the rush limbaugh question. republicans haven't exactly come out strongly and condemned him for calling that georgetown law student a slut and prostitute. why is that? why doesn't a republican woman like you say, rush limbaugh, friend of mine, but come on, you

were wrong? >> well, i think rush limbaugh has already addressed this issue. he came out and he very forcefully said that he was wrong. he apologized not once but several times. i think he's put that issue to bed. to me the bigger issue in all of this is this was a 3d example of what obama care will look like in all of our lives because now one person is a health care dictator. they can decide what health care we get, what drugs we get, what procedures we get, what's worst, what we won't get. that's the bigger story of obama care in the future because it will be what government takes away from women. >> i think when republican leaders don't come out and strongly condemn remarks like rush limbaugh made, the more intelligent argument gets lost in the weeds. if republicans don't come out and say, you know what, those are vile comments, rush limbaugh, vile, i think you should stop it right now because nobody has the right to call any woman expressing her opinion that name. >> i can tell you during the

course of the campaign i was called name after name after name. there was no media firestorm when it came to me being called a name like that. unfortunately, what we've soon seen is conservative women have an open field day. that isn't right. if a woman is liberal or conservative, we need to be respectful on both sides not just depending on what their political persuasion is. >> can you say to rush limbaugh now, rush, you were wrong. this was vile. please don't ever do it again. >> i think, again, he's taking care of that issue. >> i think some republican women who admire and respect you and your stature want you to do it. >> well, you know what's interesting, that's the focus that the media has taken. i'll tell you what i've been doing in the last three weeks. i sit on an intelligence cumulative committee. we deal with the nation's classified secrets and i literally spend dozens and

dozens of hours a week. we had an attack here, a potential attack on our united states capitol where we had an islamist inspired terrorist what he thought was a bomb on his body and be try to blow up our capitol. i was in the capitol with 435 members of congress voting. we could have a very different discussion this morning if he would have succeeded and the fbi interdicted and stopped him just blocks from the capitol. that's been my focus, and the media's been focusing on these little pinprick issues when really i think we should be focusing on these bigger issues that people really do care about and have greater impact to change the future of our nation. >> michele bachmann, congresswoman, thank you for joining us this morning. we appreciate it. >> thank you. we'll be back. thanks again. >> i hope so. today at noon eastern wolf blitzer and cnn's political team will host the cnn election roundtable. that's a chat about what's at

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first since the death of whitney houston. everyone has wanted to talk to her daughter, bobbi kristina, and oprah will. a.j. hammer has that and more from new york. bobbi kristina could have chosen anyone. why oprah? >> well, carol, i think it comes down to history. oprah did have a relationship with whitney houston and even though you'll remember they covered some pretty tough ground in that interview, the two of them did back in 2009, oprah was very fair with whitney. there's inevitably a lot of trust with the family there so i think it does make a lot of sense that she's the one to do this interview. in addition to bobbi kristina, we will also get to see oprah speaking with whitney's brother gary, and her sister-in-law and manager, patricia. the special episode will air on sunday night. she taped the interviews last week. oprah is saying bobbi kristina recalled memories of her mother, talked about how she wants the world to remember the legendary singer, and, carol, oprah took to twitter. she wanted to reassure her fans who are obviously worried about

how the houston family is doing. oprah tweeted that there is a lot of love flowing through the family right now. still, carol, you know this is going to be an emotional interview on sunday night. >> your heart goes out to bobbi kristina. she has to put up with so much. she's had in her life, her mother has died. it'll be a touching and fascinating interview, that's for sure. let's talk about baby jones. some of the monkees might not show up for his funeral? >> yeah. i thought this was very interesting. the reports are that jones' family wants to keep it a low key and private service to out of respect the other monkees are apparently worried about being a distraction. miccy dolans says they are expecting to hold public memorials for jones somewhere in new york and the united kingdom. the rest of the band would be at those events. he did say that he could see the rest of the group playing some kind of a memorial concert somewhere. no dates for those services just jet. carol, i think everybody is still getting over the shock of davy's death. another one that we couldn't have imagined and it caught us

all by surprise. >> yeah, just 66 years old. thanks, a.j. a.j. will be back with us in the next hour with more showbiz headlines. kim kardashian's lavish and short-lived wedding back in the news. aren't you excited about that? this time it has something to do with charity. a.j. will explain it all. quick check of the big board. right now the dow is down 150 poin points. there it is. i was looking all over for it. we'll be right back. brad needs car insurance, but, uh, brad doesn't want to spend too much. who's brad? this is brad. ahh! well, progressive has lots of discounts for a guy like brad. brad's intrigued. paid in full, safe driver, multi-car, going paperless -- all can help brad save a bunch.

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three of the republican presidential candidates are taking time out from the campaign trail to address apac, a pro-israel group that's quite influential addressing them mitt romney. let's listen. >> in recent days and weeks we've heard a lot of words from the administration. its clear message has been to warn israel to worry about the costs of action against iran. i don't believe we should be issuing public warnings that create distance between the united states and israel. israel doesn't need public lectures about how to weigh decisions of war and peace. it needs our support. we'll have more in the next hour. in the world of sports, an nfl defensive coach has admitted heoused a bounty system with his players giving them cash rewards. brian todd explains what all of this could mean to the game.

>> reporter: it's wildly popular, and recession proof. in no small measure because of its violence. now the nfl's got a major scandal on its hands at a time when it's ep forcing new rules on concussion injuries. according to a league investigation, the new orleans saints had a bounty program that paid employers for injuring opponents. as many as 27 players were involved, the nfl says, were paid $1500 for a knockout that took an opposing player out of a game. $1,000 for a so-called cartoff, when a player had to be carried from the field. >> i think it's going to be a huge scandal. i think it'll involve multiple suspensions, some of them 1/2 season or more in length, involving coaches, players, and also heavy sanctions toward one of the league's growing, exciting franchises, the new orleans saints. >> reporter: "sports illustrated" senior writer peter king says he's seen a confidential nfl memo sent to all 32 teams part of the

investigation. king says the memo deals some of the bounties, including one in the 2010 nfc championship game between the saints and the minnesota vikings who had 40-year-old quarterback brett favre under center. >> the nfl has named a player, line macker jonathan vilma, a star defensive player for the saints, that before this game he offered $10,000 in cash, according to the nfl, to anyone on the field that day for the saints who would put brett favre out of the game. >> reporter: favre took several vicious hits in that game, left the game temporarily, but finished. we could not reach jonathan vilma for comment. they say the saints are co-op perfect eighting. the bounty program was administered by then saints defensive coordinator gregg williams who's with the rams. williams issued a statement to the "new york times" pick kay un

taking responsibility. he said it was a terrible mistake and we knew it was wrong when we were doing it. instead of getting caught up in it, i should have stopped it. >> reporter: the washington post reports that the washington redskins had a similar bounty system when gregg williams was their defensive coordinator in the mid 2000. they'll also investigate the redskins. i spoke with cynthia bore ran of the post. >> they will investigate the redskins. there are some allegations about the titans when gregg williams was with tennessee. >> reporter: contacted by cnn, the redskins would not comment on the post report. joe gibbs, who was the redskins head coach when williams was defensive coordinator, has said he had no knowledge of a redskins bounty program. brian todd, cnn, washington. the drexel dragons bring a 19 game winning streak into the colonial title game. vcu stops their move. sports highlights in a few minutes. . >> i'm

stories we're working on later today in the "cnn newsroom," at 1:15 eastern president obama holds his first formal news conference of the year on super tuesday. at 3:00 eastern t.j. lane has a pretrial hearing. he's the teenager charged in last monday's high school shooting in chardon, ohio. at 7:00 eastern, the polls close. cnn, of course will, bring you live results. we're following lots of developments in the last hour of the "cnn newsroom." let's check in first with paul steinhauser. >> carol, i'm at a polling station just outside of cincinnati. ten states today, 419 delegates at stake. such a crucial day in the battle of the gop nomination. the whole story coming up in a few minutes.

i'm dan lothian at the white house. president obama will be holding a news conference this afternoon. he will be asked a number of questions about foreign policy, domestic issues, but also will be announcing a new housing plan to help those in the military and veterans. i'll have more details at the top of the hour. i'm elise labbott in washington. israel prime minister heads to capitol hill after talks with president obama and tough speech about iran's nuclear program, coming up in the next hour. >> thanks. also in the next hour one of newt gingrich's key supporters will join us. georgia governor nathan deal. and asked if today could make or make the gingrich campaign.

it is conference championship week in college basketball. four more teams have cards to the big dance. vcu used their defense to knock off drexel and take the colonial tournament. the dragons won 19 straight. the rams back in the ncaas after making it back to the final four in the season. to the west coast conference there. go zags couldn't find the same magic in o.t. the final shot, yeah. it misses. st. mary's holds on for the win.

second ncaa bid in three years. it took two overtimes to decide the southern conference championship. davidson's clint mann gets the ball on the baseline and he jams it home. western carolina has one last chance for the win but three misses the mark. davidson returns to the ncaas for the first sometime since 2008. and fairfield facing off against l loyola of maryland. he hits the baseline jumper to put loyola up by six. the greyhounds hold on to win. they're going to the big dance for the second time in school history. i am a loyola fan, and, yes, i was watch that game last night. selection sunday is just five days away. we want you to join our bracket challenge. go to cnn.com/brackets and see if you can pick the ncaa winners better than our ank course. a politician's appearance with his son led to a mystery. here's jeanne moos. >> reporter: kids on tv. they scratch, they sigh, they

love to make faces, but that isn't why this interview by fox was pronounced creepiest thing ever. it wasn't what the kid did, it was his dad. >> what are your friends saying when they see you on tv? >> i don't know right now. >> did you notice the dad's lips moving? sort of like a bad ventriloquist? the boy is 5-year-old hudson henkly who did a cute political commercial for his dad, a republican from rhode island, running for the u.s. senate. >> this is national debt when i was born and this is the national debt what it is now, yuck! >> reporter: but when they were interviewed by cavuto. >> hudson, are you worried about our debt? >> worried about paying back the money. >> no. >> reporter: what do you expect, the kid is 5. the creepy part, that made mem want to go wash my eyes out, was watching the dad when hudson asked what he wants to be when he grows up.

>> i want to be a end the war and save the country. >> reporter: when we showed the clip, everyone had a theory. >> he's already told him what to say. it. >> looks like they're both reading from the same script or teleprompter. >> i want to be a good senator. >> really? >> it reminds me of a stage mom. they rehearse it and see their kids on stage and say, say exactly why told you to say. >> reporter: why were you mouthing the words that he said? >> well, i'm not sure. you know, obviously we were a both bit nervous. first time we did national tv. that's all. there was no queue cards. >> reporter: a psychologist told cnn this type of repetition can happen when someone is anxious about how a child or a spouse is being perceived. some suggest that it might be a verbal tick. the involuntary tick of echoing. >> god, no. i've done mund hundreds of interviews myself. it was the first time i've ever worked with a 5-year-old live. obviously it didn't go as

planned but live and learn. >> reporter: and if it all feels like a. little bit like a ventriloquist act, say maxwell and hugo. >> what sort of dummy do you think i am? >> reporter: at least hudson and barry survived the interview, unlike hugo. but read my lips, no more interviews together. >> this is real bad. >> reporter: jeanne moos, cnn. >> i want to be a good senator. >> really? >> reporter: new york. across much of the country the polls are open and the republican race is being shaped. it is super tuesday, the single most important day of the nomination process. ten states holding kkes or primaries and 419 delegates are up for grabs. for the candidates, big wins could help them break free from the pack. 63 delegates are up for grabs in ohio but the numbers tell only part of the story. history shows ohio is a critical testing ground. and right now rick santorum and

mitt romney are locked in a race that is too close to call. paul steinhauser is in mt. st. joseph right outside of cincinnati in boehner country, right? so, paul, why is ohio such an important state? georgia has more delegates, right? >> georgia does have a few more delegates. carol, besides you being from ohio there are other reasons why it's important. battleground state in the election. if mitt romney can't win a state like this in the primaries it shows that he's got troubles ahead for himself. rick santorum is going after the blue collar vote, working class vote. if he can't win the state that neighbors pennsylvania, trouble for him as well. that's why you've seen both of these candidates spending so much time here and mitt romney and that super pac backing him, carpeting the airwaves with ads going after santorum. cnn/orc poll came out yesterday group can't get any closer than that. deadlocked at the top with former house speaker gingrich and congressman ron paul of texas lower down. we've been at this polling

station all morning. there's been a steady stream of voters. hamilton county is crucial. it could decide tonight's outcome. >> so santorum and romney remain close and close around one of them wins by a percentage point and split the delegates. will ohio really, like, clarify this race? >> it might. but it might not. let's say mitt romney wins here but doesn't do well in the south. let's say tennessee goes to santorum and he wins oklahoma as well. well, yeah it's a pretty tight race. really depends on the outcome of all these states combined. in tennessee, santorum did have a big lead there. oklahoma, another social conservative state on the republican side. santorum has large lead. let's talk about virginia, another important state. santorum and gingrich are not on the ballot there. >> paul steinhauser, thanks so much. let's talk about georgia now. it is the state with the most delegates. 76 in all. it's most important to newt gingrich. he himself has conceded that he has to win his former home state

to keep his campaign alive. david mattingly is in marietta, the hub of one time gingrich. david, gingrich seems to be doing pretty well in the polls but he needs to win 50% of the vote to really make this matter. >> that's right. he doesn't just have to win today, he has to win extremely big in georgia. this is his former home state. this is a state he represented in congress. and so far the polling that we're seeing, the recent cnn poll, shows that he has a 20-point lead over mitt romney. that is very important as he's approaching the 50% mark because the way georgia's 76 delegates are doled out here, they are portion based on performance at the district level and at the state level. it's kind of complicated, but the speaker has to do very well across the board to walk away with a lot of those delegates. he has to do extremely well here

in order to convince voters down the road after super tuesday that he has what it takes to be the party's nominee. the voting today has been about what you would expect to see during a primary, especially when you have one candidate dominating. people trickling in and out. no lines, no waiting. again, it all comes down to percentage about how that -- those delegates are going to be doled out. the speaker though not taking anything for granted. he's been campaigning here in georgia. seven of the last nine days, including this morning, talking to a group, having some very familiar things to say now about president obama. listen. >> i think this is the most important election of our lifetime. i mean that literally. i believe a second obama term will be a disaster on a scale which will put us in a situation where the very fabric of the country that we inherited will begin to disappear. >> reporter: well, back to today, if former speaker

gingrich does not win, most if not all of the 76 delegates that are up for grabs here in georgia, today might be a disaster for him as he, again, goes after super tuesday to try and convince voters in other states that he does have what it takes to stay in this race. carol? >> david mattingly in marietta, georgia. in just a few minutes one of gingrich's key supporters will be here with us. he served with gingrich in the house. coming up we'll ask him if today is a make or break for his old friend and colleague. three white house candidates are taking time from super tuesday campaigning to address the pro israel lobby group apac. american israel little public affairs committee. they're speaking to a group at an annual policy conference in washington, d.c. newt gingrich speaks shortly via satellite. right now leon panetta is speaking. rick santorum and mitt romney spoke in the last hour. both candidates took a hard line against iran and criticized the president's middle east policy. >> we need to say to the iranian

government, the time is now. you will stop your nuclear production now. you will open up your facilities for inspectors from the united states and other countries so we can certify that those efforts are stopping and being dismanteled. now. >> there's a critical moment. america must not and, if i'm president, it will not fail this defining test of history. the current administration has distanced itself from israel and visibly warmed to the palestinian cause. it's emboldened the palestinians. they're convinced they can do better with the u.n. and better with america directly than they can at the bargaining table with israel. >> in his speech to the group, president obama said all options are on the table to keep iran from developing a nuclear weapon. less than two hours from now at noon eastern wolf blitzer and cnn's political team will host

cnn election round-table. live insider chat about what's at stake today in the presidential race. you can follow it at cnn.com/roundtable. and be sure to join us tonight. coverage of the primaries begins at 6:00 eastern with a special edition of "john king usa" followed by cnn's complete live coverage of the primary results at 7:00 with john, wolf, erin burnett, anner son coop ene ene and candy crowley. president obama has scheduled a news conference for this afternoon and we're just learning what he will talk about. our dan lothian is at the white house. it's interesting the topic the president will begin with. he's going to talk about a new housing plan for homeowners who are under water. >> that's right. you know, as you know, the u.s. housing market continues to be under pressure. and economists will say that, you know, this really lieses at the heart of the economic recovery. if you don't get the housing market turned around it will be much more difficult to get the overall economy going. and so the president will aim yet again to provide some assistance for homeowners as

part of some information released by the white house early this morning. quote, today is president is announce two steps the administration is taking supporting homeowners and their families, providing relief for service members and veterans, including those wrongfully foreclosed upon or denied a lower interest rate on their mortgages and reducing fees for fha borrowers looking to refinance. just to break that down a bit, those with fha loans could see smaller fees under this plan and savings, according to the white house, of $1,000 a year. and for those who are in the military or veterans under an agreement with the lending institutions, the president will announce that they could be compensated for excessively high interest rates that they were charged or for being wrongfully foreclosed upon. now, republicans are already fighting back. the republican national committee pointing out that this administration has rolled out other housing plans in the past.

they have not lived up to promises that were made and that pointing out that the u.s. housing markets continue to be under much pressure. carol? >> of course, it is fascinating, the president is telling the nation this on super tuesday, which is kind of unusual. >> that's true. >> dan lothian, many thanks. we want to talk about the housing crisis because there is more evidence that we are still in a crisis. christine romans is here. is the rnc right, president obama has come up with other plans to ease the housing crisis. have they worked? >> well, frankly, they work for some people, but not for all the people that were advertised. let me zero in on the service members part of story because this is interesting, carol. it's illegal to foreclosure on an active duty military person but it happened, it happened over and over again during the housing crisis. this would be an automatic review for any service member who was foreclosed on going back to 2006. they would get $116,000, plus any lost equity in the house that they were kicked out of.

so this is something pretty interesting. and the banks are agreeing to look at this. the banks also, we're told, agreeing that for service members who had to move because of their job and they lost value in their home and they suffered that loss, banks are going to step in and pay for that, too. this is really important information here for veterans who have been hit very, very hard by the housing crisis. you ask me whether the other plans have worked. this is just the latest in a suite of housing rescue plans that, frankly, have underdelivered. here's why. the housing crisis was so much worse than anybody thought. there was something called half, you will remember that. it was designed to help 4 million people. it helped 910,000. there was something called harp, refinancing program. that was designed to help 5 million people. it actually helped about 962,000. so some people were helped but seriously not as many people as we had thought. what dan was saying at lowering the fees for an fha-insured loan, this could help people refinance into lower rates.

that's something that's really important to putting money in people's pockets. but conservatives, people who oppose the president's housing plans will say, okay, we'll see if that works, too. carol? >> interesting. christine romans, many thanks. you will probably be listening to the president's speech that comes your way at 1:15 eastern time. cnn will carry that live. the president will outline more of his housing plan and there will lots of questions from reporters about iran, israel, and, of course, nuclear weapons. time to start bombing syria? that's senator john mccain's suggestion to end the brutal crack down. a top general is speaking out saying that might not be a great option. splenda® essentials™ no calorie sweetener with b vitamins, the first and only one to help support a healthy metabolism. three smart ways to sweeten. same great taste. splenda® essentials™. only hertz gives you a carfirmation. hey. this is challenger. i'll be waiting for you in stall 5. it confirms your reservation

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have more fiber than other leading brands. they're the better way to enjoy your fiber. newt gingrich has been campaigning nonstop, a speech this morning outside of atlanta and right now speaking to the pro israel group apac on israel, iran, and nuclear weapons. >> i'm not sure anybody thinks romney can outraise obama. it ain't going to happen. you better be prepared to wage a campaign of ideas this fall because the only hope we tr to

beat obama is to have better ideas to communicate clearly and cutting through his billion dollar campaign because he will be relentlessly negative. >> governor of georgia, nathan deal, is a big gingrich supporter and he's here with me now. welcome. >> thank you, carol. nice to be with you. >> thank you so much for coming in. we appreciate it. so newt gingrich has to win big in georgia. i mean, he can't win with like 35% or 40%. he has to win 50% of the vote. do you think he can do it? >> well, he has to win 50% to get all of the 76 delegates. obviously it's a proportional if you are less than that percentage. we think he's doing extremely well, polls indicate that. weather is beautiful in georgia today so there's no excuse for people not to get out and vote. we're hoping that he's going to have a big win here. >> what if he doesn't though. will he remain in the race? >> well, that's certainly his decision but not mine. i do think that it will show that he has significant support for people who know him the best. that's the people in georgia where he represented our state for 20 years.

brought the speakership to our state, which is a huge distinction. >> is this the strongest primary that you can remember? >> it would certainly fit that qualification. it has certainly been one of the most brutal, i think, in terms of negative ads. i think people are getting tired of that. you may recall that speaker gingrich started out with a pledge that his was not going to be a negative campaign. i think until about middle to the latter part of december last year he held to that pledge. but of course he was getting bombarded by that and he felt like he had to retaliate or answer. >> that kind of puts a politician in a rough spot because they can pledge not to do any negative campaigning, but it works, right? >> unfortunately. >> it also turns off voters in the end. so you're caught in this weird place. what do you do? >> it is very difficult. you know, people profess that they don't like negative advertising, but the polls and the results indicate that it does work in some cases. i think that's unfortunate. i think when you have it over

such a prolong eed period of ti as we have seen in this primary season, i think it does begin to wear thin and people want to know, what are your ideas, how can you implement your ideas? i personally think that having served with speaker gingrich in the congress of the united states, i saw what he was able to do, translate his big ideas into reality. welfare reform, balance in the federal budget. those are things that are still issues that are important to conservatives in this country. >> one of his big issues is $2.f$2 $2.50 gas. most economists say it's just not reality. he can't do that, especially in the short term. >> well, i think we all recognize that we are in a global economy in terms of the cost of energy. but the reality is that's a contrast with the administration's position about not allowing us to fully utilize the resources we have available to us here domestically. >> but even that will take a lot of time, i mean, we can like develop the keystone pipeline, you know, if the president would

allow it, right? >> right. >> but that will take a long period of time and we're not going to see $2.50 a gallon unless the markets say we're going to see $12.50 until maybe that pipeline is completed and we increase domestic oil production. >> the sooner we get at it the better and closer we will come to $2.50 a gallon. the problem has been we have talked about this issue for a very long time and have not really significantly addressed it. we have the capacity to be relatively self sufficient over the long haul with our natural gas, with our shale oil and with other traditional oil resources, both onshore as well as offshore. we have put ourselves in a posture of sitting in a time-out corner for a very long time. and when you tdo that you becom subject to these international sources. i think that's what speaker gingrich is addressing. >> i would also like to talk to you about obama care and something that mitt romney said yesterday in youngstown, ohio. he was comparing his plan to obama care and he said that his

plan differs from president obama's and he wishes the president would have called him at the time. so let's listen. >> mr. president, one more thing, why didn't you call me when you were working on this thing? why didn't you pick up the phone and say, is what you are doing in massachusetts a good model for the nation? i would have said, no, no, what you're doing is wrong. it's going to make a mess. >> so you served in the u.s. congress and one of your last vote, right, was against obama care. >> right. >> so as you listen to mitt romney and he strives to put, you know, a different stamp on his plan from president obama's, is it -- are they different plans? >> well, i'm not going to try to address what the massachusetts plan is. it's not one that would work in georgia, in my opinion. but i think the real distinction here is whether or not government is going to mandate that individuals purchase something. you know, we've talked a long time about doing away with the death tax. this is a living tax. if you are alive, you're mandated to buy something. and i think that's the main

difference here between conservative opinions and the obama care plan. >> it doesn't really matter what mitt romney would say though because you have to buy insurance in massachusetts. >> that's right. and the mandate, i think, is the critical focal point on which much of the discussion is hinged. i think, quite frankly, when the supreme court rules on it it will be that question on which the decision may very well pivot. >> governor deal, thank you for coming in today. we appreciate it. less than two hours from now at noon eastern, wolf blitzer and cnn's political team will host the election round-table, live insider chat about what's at stake today. you can follow it at cnn.com/roundtable. and join us tonight, our coverage of the primaries at 6:00 eastern with a special edition of "john king, usa" and the complete primary results at 7:00 with john, wolf, erin burnett, candy crowley and more. senator john mccain calling for u.s. led air strikes against the syrian government but one top general says not so fast. what he calls some extreme

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we're now hearing from a top

u.s. general one day after senator john mccain called for u.s.-led air strikes to stop the brutal government in syria. the arizona republican said it is the best option to stop the slaughter. >> the united states should lead an international effort to protect key population centers in syria, especially in the north, through air strikes on assad's forces. >> so let's talk about that. our pentagon correspondent barbara starr is here with us. air strikes happened in libya. why not syria? >> well, you know, it's a question that a lot of folks are asking, that what the administration is saying and even senator mccain is acknowledging that air strikes in syria are very complicated. the syrians have a very capable air defense system. even at this morning's hearing we're hearing about the fact that they have thousands of surface-to-air missiles, radars, all the capability that would make it very tough for u.s. warplane or anybody's warplanes

to really fly into their airspace. much more complex than libya's situation. but senator mccain is very adamant in this hear that we're watching this morning, right now, on the senate -- in the senate on capitol hill. he is quite adamant that saying that it's tough is not a good enough reason not to do it. he feels very strongly the syrian people are desperately suffering and that somebody has to step in. so he's calling for air strikes, establishing safe havens, so humanitarian relief can be brought in. even as he acknowledges that would be very tough to do. i have to tell you, he is also very much challenging the administration and the military assumption that the opposition in syria may be part of al qaeda. he says he has heard this throughout the arab spring. and he simply doesn't believe it. so this is -- this is quite an adamant hearing of senator mccain, although a republican in the minority on that committee, a very strong voice for somebody

stepping up and trying to help the people in syria. carol? >> barbara starr live at the pentagon today. thanks. former first lady barbara bush says the current republican primary race is the worst she's ever seen. the political buzz panel on why is harsh words. that's next.o ave used androgel , there's big news. presenting androgel 1.62%. both are used to treat men with low testosterone. androgel 1.62% is from the makers of the number one prescribed testosterone replacement therapy. it raises your testosterone levels, and... is concentrated, so you could use less gel. and with androgel 1.62%, you can save on your monthly prescription. [ male announcer ] dosing and application sites between these products differ. women and children should avoid contact with application sites. discontinue androgel and call your doctor if you see unexpected signs of early puberty in a child, or, signs in a woman which may include changes in body hair or a large increase in acne, possibly due to accidental exposure. men with breast cancer

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everyone works as a team. and i only need to talk to one person about her care. we're more than 78,000 people looking out for 70 million americans. that's health in numbers. unitedhealthcare. political buzz is your rapid fire look at the best political topics of the day. three question,s 30 seconds on the clock. playing today, democratic strategist robert zimmerman. for the funny side, dean, founder of the arab american comedy festival. and boris, republican strategist and columnist for "u.s. news." welcome to all of you. first question, i want to start by playing some sound as we say in the biz from former first lady barbara bush. this is what she had to say about the current republican presidential campaign. >> it's been, i think, the worst campaign i've ever seen in my

li life. i think people think compromise is a dirty word. >> so here's the question i want to ask all of you. how bad is it when your grandma scolds you. let's start with you, boris. >> it's not good. and the candidates should look up and notice that barbara bush is telling them this is the worst campaign they've ever seen. there have been some strong campaigns in the background. let's not forget the lee atwater campaign for her husband. santorum and gingrich should specifically notice and probably at this point in time realize their time is up. it's time to get out. stop being nasty and let the republican party coalesce around the best candidate that we have, which is mitt romney and our best shot for bringing the presidency to the republicans in 2012. >> time-out. robert? >> you know, it wasn't just that grandma scolded, grandma really nailed it. and the reality is mrs. bush has a an important message to political activists in both parties. republican party, leading

conservatives like bill bennett was defeated by the tea party or mike was defeated by christine o'donnell in delaware or richard lugar and orrin hatch, threatened with primary challenges. the message simply is that the republican party, because it's being controlled by this extreme fringe, is not prepared to lead or build coalitions to win. >> dean? >> well, you know, barbara bush continued on in her statement, carol, and said i think the rest of the world is looking at us these days and saying, what are we doing? with all due respect, i think they were saying the same thing when her son was president. in 19 8 her husband ran one of the worse race campaign ads ever with the horton ad. i'm tired of blaming the politicians. we elect these people and re-elect them. we're like frankenstein. we have created a monster. like dr. frankenstein, we will be killed by our own kree situation. >> second question. let's hear from ann romney first. >> for me, i just want to make my family bigger.

those that are suffering from ms or from cancer or from any disea disease, i feel like i just want to throw my arms open and just say, welcome to my family and welcome to the place where i've been. and so, you know, we can be poor in spirit and i don't -- i don't look -- and i don't even consider myself wealthy, which is an interesting thing. it can be here today and gone tomorrow. and how i measure -- how i measure riches is by the friends i have and the loved ones we have. >> that is a lovely sentiment but some people, and you know who you are, seem to be taking parts of that out of context. they're just using the i don't feel wealthy part, of course. the question today though, is there anything either of the romneys can say about money right now that won't get twisted? robert? >> you know, mitt romney does have an important message to bring up in this campaign, me bait in this campaign about his business career and economic record. that should be the subject of the campaign. i must tell you i think my party

does a tremendous disservice and disrespect to ms. romney by taking her statements out of context and members of my party who did that undercut my credibility when he attacked the romney campaign by taking president obama's contents out of context. we should respect what she's saying. >> wow. that was a lovely bipartisan thought, robert. boris. >> thank you. >> i agree. to continue the bipartisanship, i agree with robert. there is absolutely no need to take words out of context. really a great message by a woman who has been a survivor and fighter, survived m.s., fighting m.s. and survived breast cancer. it's a great message. there's absolutely no need to attack her for it. there is nothing the romneys could say right now that could not get them attack, money or anything else. and just like on the left, unfortunately on the right we have some who are saying things that are insend dare and unnecessary. potential first lady of the united states. >> the buzzer came back, sorry. thank you, boris, dean?

>> the buzzer got me. >> i agree with both gentlemen today about not attacking ms. romney for her words. you know what, mitt romney has opened a door on questions about is he out of touch with his wealth. the $10,000 bet, saying things i like to fire people, saying my wife drives two cadillacs. mitt's got to do something to connect with the average person. he sounds like he's running for the president of a country club, not the united states. maybe like bill clinton, go to a mcdonald's and eat there. then they would probably make a gaffe. why do there, apersonal chef or a butler. >> buzzer sounded. okay. time for the buzzer beater question now. and i want to draw your attention to these. they are a pair of mitt flop, several designs being sold online. aren't they cute? i want to hear your ideas for other political clothing lines that would make us all very wealthy. boris? >> i got two. one is a civil war era suit line

named after ron paul. the ron paul civil wars. okay? the number two is line of bibs named after newt gingrich, the gingrich bibbs. >> loving it. robert? >> you know, maybe it's just me, but these guys just don't speak fashion to me. for that matter natural fibers. but if i had to choose i would say probably maybe a line of ron paul leisure suits because that is what he really represents from the '70s or '80s. rick santorum, a bib because he's always throwing up on kennedy's speeches. newt gingrich -- >> i'm sorry. we can't get to your third one. >> full disclosure, robert is wearing a styling three-piece suit today. i just saw him in the hallway. >> stop the left and the right from fighting. it's my turn, gentlemen. >> it is, dean, go for it. >> two things. one, i like to say newt gingrich smoking jacket so if you want to impress young women around the office, that's something you can wear. rick santorum against birth

control, a chasity belt with his picture on it. you know what? a sweater vest he wears is a former birth control, maybe the sweater vest birth control unit sold by rick santorum. million dollar ideas. i'm just giving them out to people. >> i feel guilty for laughing at that, dean. >> you're allowed to laugh. that's what i do. >> you're true. you are a comedian. >> carol, from all of us congratulations on your new time and new program. >> thank you so much. >> congratulations. >> i am humbled and quite excited. thank you all. i hope you will return. >> thank you. arraignment -- got to get serious now. arraignment for murder suspects ends with more arrests after the accused killer is attacked in court. more on this courtroom shocker. also ahead, kim kardashian is trying to change the conversation about her lavish and short lived wedding. and this time people in need will get the benefits.

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israel's prime minister is on capitol hill right now. benjamin netanyahu is meeting with no, sir and later house members. right nous he's talking about iran and israel's safety. he talked about the u.s. role in preventing iran from developing a nuclear weapon yesterday with president obama.

cnn foreign affairs color elise labbott is in washington. the prime minister later spoke to the pro-israel group apac and clearly not buying iran's story of nukes for peaceful purposes. let's listen. >> ladies and gentlemen, fit looks like a duck, if it walks like a duck, if it quacks like a duck, then what is it? what is it? >> a duck! >> that's right. it's a duck. but this duck is a nuclear duck. and it's time the world started calling a duck a duck. >> the prime minister also said he won't allow israel to live in the shadow of annihilation. so how does the u.s. deal with this? >> well, carol, i think it's all about an issue of timing. i don't think the u.s. disputes the israeli assertion that iran is going towards a nuclear weapon. i think the u.s. and a lot of the international community

think that. it's all about timing. israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu, the israeli people think that they should go against iran with perhaps a presumptive nuclear attack in advance of them actually moving towards a bomb. the president kind of thinks there's more time for diplomacy and it should be when actually they're going to build the bomb, not that they have the capacity. let's hear though what defense secretary leon panetta just said trying to allay israeli and congressional fears that the u.s. will not act if it has to. >> of course we prefer the diplomatic path. and as the prime minister himself has said, military action is the last alternative when all else fails. but make no mistake, when all else fails, we will act. >> but, carol, again, it's when they will act and what will the u.s. do. i think that's what the prime

minister is going to be speaking with congress obviously going to have a very warm welcome. and just as a prelude to that, senator mitch mcconnell from kentucky, republican senator just told the apac lobby, we should use overwhelming force against iran now to prevent them from a nuclear attack. so i think although there are some disagreement about the timing with the white house, i think that the prime minister will have a real more receptive setting on the hill. >> some people think benjamin netanyahu has already made up his mind and he's going to use force against iran. what are you hearing? >> well, i do think that there are a lot of people in washington that think that the israelis think they have to attack now, that they have much more different concerns, their history, their geography, the fact that they don't want iran to have the actual capability to have a nuclear weapon and they have to go against that now. in washington they think that there's more time for diplomacy, more time for sanctions to work. we're going to already have some

very tough sanctions but they're going to be even more crippling sanctions come july when pretty much a full oil embargo against iran is going to take into effect. even as we're talking about this, carol, so-called p5 plus one, the united states and the permanent members of the u.n. security council plus germany sent a letter to iranian today asking for talks on their nuclear program. i think the president is hoping these talks will lead to some serious negotiations to give him a little bit more time for diplomacy to work. carol? >> live in washington, it is super tuesday. ali velshi is live from the heartland. he's in a state with one of the country's lowest unemployment rates. hi, ali. >> hey, carol. i'm here in guthrie, oklahoma, at katie's diner talking to sooners about how they feel about the economy. stand by because "newsroom" is coming right back. if you are one of the millions of men

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engulfed in flames. no one was injured. no word on what started the the fire. springfield, massachusetts, a man accused of murder is attacked during his court arraignment. two of the victims' family members came after him. they attacked him to the ground and taken into police custody. they were arrested. no one hurt here, either. voters in ten states including the heartland are heading to the polls today on this super tuesday. but for oklahoma, facing low unemployment rates and rising gas prices who they choose could depend on policy than popular y popularity. ali velshi is in guthrie, oklahoma. he's talking about what matters most. let's hear it, ali. >> that's a man who actually owns the hat that i was wearing. i couldn't resist it, as you know, carol. clayton is a hay broker. he buys and sells hay from obviously from places where it grows and is bundled to horse ranches and things like that.

he lives nearby. i'm at guthrie, oklahoma, at katie's diner. you are going to vote today in the republican primary. you haven't decided who you're voting for. why not? >> well, i just haven't made my mind up. i don't know why i haven't. i need do. i've got to today. >> are you close? have you been -- is it between two candidates? >> yeah. i'm kind of -- i don't know. rick, i will probably go with him. >> okay. what's your biggest issue right now? what are you thinking about that's going to motivate you in the election? is it the economy? >> the economy is a big thing, yeah. the economy. we've got to get this economy taken care of. the taxes are getting way too high. unless the business comes in, come back in this country and leave them going out, you know, that's not serving this country. >> how about gas prices? this is a state that does well by oil. but you and your business when you're moving hay around, obviously that's costing you money with rising gas prices.

>> right. it affects my business, the prices are going up and affects the person receiving hay, it's going to cost them more. yeah, this -- oil prices aren't and the fuel prices don't matchup. >> all right. clayton, hope you make up your mind before you have to cast your ballot today. obviously one of the ten states, carol, that's voting here in oklahoma, particularly conservative state. mostly everybody we've run into this morning is likely to vote in the primary today. carol? >> clayton is a cool looking dude. he looks like a character in a movie. >> he looks good, right? >> he does. >> thanks, ali and clayton. who has the most to win, who has the most to lose in today's super tuesday contest? we'll talk about that in our political ticker, that's seven minutes from now. [ male announcer ] this was how my day began.

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stories we're working on later today in the "cnn newsroom" at 1:15 eastern president obama holds his first formal news conference of the year. he's expected to announce a new plan that includes reduced refinancing fees to help people hit by the housing crisis. he's doing this on super tuesday. at 3:00 eastern, t.j. lane has a pretrial hearing in juvenile court. at 7:00 eastern the polls close in the first of ten super tuesday states. cnn of course will have live results for you. researchers in europe say the more scenes of alcohol use teenagers see on the big screen the greater the risk of binge drinking. ages 10-19 students from germany, iceland, italy and the

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okay. let's get some super tuesday analysis now with our political director mark preston. it's an exciting day. >> it is. >> it is the biggest day. that's what everybody says. whos that most to win? or most to lose, i should say. >> they all have the most to win.

right? but let's talk about the losers. >> yeah. >> this is not going to happen but if newt gingrich were to lose georgia, it would be devastating. his campaign would have to be over. i don't know if he believes it would have to be over but we do. in ohio right now, mitt romney, if he is to lose ohio today, that could be very troubling for him. now, he is ahead in the delegate count, however, the perception is that he could not empathize with people from ohio, such as yourself, right, where you grew up, and that could be a devastating near narrative for him. >> i got to say that rick santorum speaks more of the language. mitt romney just can't seem to excite them at all. >> he can't. and rick santorum grew up right across the border. you know, he was from the pittsburgh area. son of a coal miner, grandson of a coal miner. he has those roots. but mitt romney could have a very good night though. if we are to talk about the good things, he could win upwards of five states. maybe more. if that's the case the narrative

tomorrow would be mitt romney will likely to be the nominee. >> let's talking about the voter turnout because it doesn't seem that voters are that enthused in any state on super tuesday. who does that benefit? >> certainly benefits barack obama, right? >> that's true. but in this primary, doesn't that benefit rick santorum? >> you know, state by state, it all depends on what you're looking at. it would benefit santorum buzz he doesn't necessarily have the romney machine where romney is trying to get the romney vote out. they are very likely to be with santor santorum. who it would really help in some states is ron paul. out west, north dakota, idaho, and alaska. low turnout really helps ron paul. >> so looking forward, six more contests next week. no matter what happens tonight, this thing is probably not over. >> yeah. it's probably -- it's definitely not over. here's the reason. newt gingrich is not -- he did a campaign events this morning but he's in alabama. and will be in a couple of hours for two more events.

alabama holds a primary next week. newt gingrich is going nowhere. they already have their schedule set. this is going past super tuesday. >> mark preston, i know you have a long night ahead of you. no sleep tonight. thanks so much. join us tonight, our coverage of the super tuesday primaries begins at 6:00 eastern with a special edition of "john king usa" and complete live coverage of the primary results at 7:00, with john, wolf blitzer, candy crowley, mark preston will be there, too, i betcha. let's throw it to kara now. >> thank you so much. hello, everyone. it is 11:00 on the east coast. 8:00 on the west. we've got a busy hour just ahead. let's get straight to the news. ten states, more than 400 delegates, four main contenders, and one looming question, can mitt romney put the gop presidential nomination in the bag or will it take republicans a few more weeks or even months to pick a challenger to president obama? welcome to super tuesday, everybody. the biggest single day on the