thank you to our panelists. i'll see you south by southwest. that's where we're doing the show from live. let's go to "cnn newsroom" with let's go to "cnn newsroom" with carol costello. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com an unbelievably scary, fascinating, possibly inconvenient, a huge solar storm, the largest in five years is racing towards the earth at 4 million miles per hour. all of that stuff is expected to hit the earth today. cnn meteorologist rob marciano loves this stuff. rob, should we take cover? >> this's no need to take cover but there may be some minor inconveniences over the next 12 to potentially 24 hours. we've been talking about the sun here for a good couple of months because we're entering the cycle or part of an 11-year cycle where we're in the solar maximum. the next 18 to 24 months really we'll see a lot of this stuff. what do we mean by that? a lot of this stuff. black areas on the sun. sun spots. a lot of geomagnetic energy

there. these are areas that throw out solar flares. we love looking at these puppies. this stuff coming to us. this is as measured in the x-ray part of the wave lengths. that just looks cool. this is the solar flare that happened a day and a half ago. you see it kind of bubbling up and then, boom. there it goes. all those x-rays and radio wave lengths immediately get to the earth. the radio blackout happened about 1.5 days ago. it also emits coronal mass of plasma that's highly charged stuff. that eventually gets to the earth as well. when it does so, boy, we start to see some things happen. typically just the northern lights. when it's this strong, this is an x class flare, so when it's this strong we have some other things that we need to worry about. let's go over them. first of all, the radio blackout. that already happened. ignore that. power grid issues. we could see that happen. this is the strongest one we've seen since 2006.

we had some minor problems back then. gps and satellite interruptions. that could mean in your car, if you're looking at your smartphone. that could be interrupted as well. the positive is brilliant auroras. planes that travel high altitudes, they get a little bit of that x-ray as well. if you're at high latitudes, i should say, planes will fly a little bit different course so that people inside aren't getting all kind of zapped. same thing with astronauts. the positive here is -- >> let's talk positive. >> when we get these coronal mass ejections, solar wind, which by the way is not like what you feel on the earth, but it does affect satellites. some of the satellites, the junk that we have out there, we're lower in altitude and it will burn up in the atmosphere. we didn't see that happen much the last time. we have a lot of junk up there and we need to get rid of it. sometimes the solar flares help push that junk down to the atmosphere and let it burn up and go bye-bye. that's the positive spin i have. >> two quick questions. how long will it last?

do we need to wear sunglasses? >> it's happening right now. don't need to wear sunglasses. we could have, i suppose, you know, some surges in the power grid. so just keep your candles handy and a map handy as well in case gps goes out. >> good old-fashioned map. rob, thank you. >> you bet. now we turn our attention to iran and growing concerns. new satellite images show iran may be carting away evidence from a suspected nuclear site. you're going to see it in a minute. this is the partian military base. today world leaders are calling for more talks. patience may be running out. israel is considering military action. benjamin netanyahu fears the u.s. ally is willing to strike. >> i believe that israel will attack. i believe that diplomacy must be

given an opportunity. israel believes they are prepared to handle it. now what happens after an attack is another story. >> netanyahu told her israeli leaders have not made a final decision when cnn asked the prime minister in a decision had been made. he declined to answer that question. in the meantime, in syria more explosions rocking that country today. a high ranking government official defects and joins the revolution. in washington, one republican senator wants the u.s. air strikes to help topple the regime. >> we intervened in bosnia. we intervened in kosovo because people were being massacred. that was part of the president's stated national security policy. we need to act and we need to act with other nations who will join us in this cause. opposition activists say government forces killed at least ten people today. as always, we cannot verify that number because the government bans most foreign reporting. nic robertson is monitoring the situation from beirut, lebanon.

nic, what can you tell us about this defection? >> reporter: well, it's a senior deif he cannion. it's no doubt going to embolden, if you will, the activists and give them a feeling that they are, perhaps, beginning to chip away at the sort of central state structure that's unlikely the deputy oil minister unlikely to be able -- unlikely himself to really sort of ring changes with the regime. but it is an indication that people are pulling away from this regime. government, senior government people. now he said that he's defected to join the revolution but he said at the same time he recognizes that this could cost him very highly. he said that his home will probably be burned. his family back in damascus will probably be harassed. he's decided it's an end for the regime and he started associating himself with the opposition. >> so we also know the head of the u.n.'s emergency relief services has met with top government officials.

can you tell us anything about that meeting? >> reporter: the only thing that we know that was reported from that meeting between valerie amos, the u.n. humanitarian chief, and the foreign minister was that he had told us she could go wherever she wanted in the country. we've already found out now that she's been denied access to opposition areas in the city of homs. she hasn't had full access. the most telling thing is normally when you have two senior figures like that meeting, there's often a joint press conference afterwards where there are points that they've agreed upon would be announced publicly. there has been no press conference and i think that is the biggest insight we can get into what's being discussed, that there is, frankly, very little or no agreement at all between the two sides. but she is pressing for humanitarian access and to find out what's going on in the country. has she been able to meet anyone from the opposition? that really remains the biggest question. no details on that yet so far, carol. >> nic robertson reporting live from beirut, lebanon.

cnn sunday night, the victims caught in the chaos are desperate to be heard and helped. learn what it's like to be trapped in terror for 72 hours under fire. that's cnn presents sunday night at 8:00 eastern. just 30 minutes ago we found out more people are filing for unemployment benefits. that's not so great news. the government just released the latest figures, and here are some specifics for you. the number of people filing for first-time unemployment benefits went up to 362,000 last week. that's an increase of 8,000. so what does it mean? let's go to christine romans. christine, lately the numbers haven't been so bad so what do these latest numbers tell us? >> they tell us that the people who lined up for the first time for jobless benefits last week was more than we've seen for about a month, but it's still near four-year lows so that's good. any time you have this number below 400,000 it shows a labor market that's healing. carol, it's numbers like these

that are probably way more important to what's happening out in the political arena than any kind of polls we're taking right now. everyone wants to know when jobs are coming back. tomorrow we get the big february jobs report. it's a short month that's expected to show 210,000 jobs created in that little short month. and when you look at private sector jobs creation, a survey of economists by cnn money.com. the private sector continues to grow. we keep digging within these numbers. where are the jobs growing? in the service sec torks lower wage jobs in the big important manufacturing jobs we've been losing for 20 years now. we'll be digging in to see where that jobs growth is coming from. it looks like slow and steady jobs growth. you still have futures higher this morning. >> all right. christine romans, live from new york. thanks. >> you're welcome. newt gingrich is turning away from kansas focusing instead on a big battle in the south. our political editor paul

steinhauser joins us live from washington. paul, explain. >> reporter: it's all about alabama and mississippi, carol. that's the headline here. newt gingrich originally was going to campaign in kansas. they have a caucus on saturday but he is going to concentrate all his efforts on alabama and mississippi. it seems the other candidates are as well. today you have gingrich, santorum, and romney in those two states because they have primaries on tuesday. that's where a lot of these candidates are now putting their emphasis. what about the delegate count? carol, this is a battle for delegates. here are the latest numbers. mitt romney is pretty far ahead, 429 delegates. way ahead of rick santorum, newt gingrich, or ron paul. 1144, that's the amount needed. so everybody is still a long way away. the romney campaign suggesting to the other guys, hey, you really don't have a mathematical chance of clinching the nomination. maybe you guys should drop out. the santorum campaign saying, thanks, but no thanks, romney campaign. i think we'll stay in. you know what's interesting as well though is an independent

group that is backing santorum yesterday urged gingrich to drop out of the race. but rick santorum himself says, no, i'm not going to do that. take a listen. >> i don't want him to get out. if he wants to get out, i'm all for him getting out. i'm all for -- i'm for everybody getting out. i wish president obama would just hand me the thing, but that's not going to happen. so the idea is let folks decide, you know, what they think is best, what's best for getting a conservative, someone that's going to put this country on the right track, elected to president. that's my objective. that's why i'm running. that's why i'm still in this race. >> reporter: i love that. i'm not asking him to get out. heck, no. if they want to get out, sure, fine. carol, nobody is getting out. let's see what happens after tuesday. as of today, they're all in. >> paul steinhauser, live from washington. we'll have another political update for you in the next hour. a reminder, for all the latest political news go to our

website, cnnpolitics.com. a powerful democratic senator wants rush limbaugh to suffer more consequences for calling a college student a slut. you've never heard of a child support case like this one. a man is being forced to pay for kids his ex-wife had without his permission. we'll explain next. in america, we believe in a future that is better than today. since 1894, ameriprise financial has been working hard

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sanford, florida. checking stories cross-country now. it looked like a scene from the wild, wild west. when a gun fight erupted outside an oklahoma courthouse. it all started with a man shooting inkrim nantly into the air. police were called in and it became a full shootout when the man waved his gun at deputies. in the end the alleged shooter, a bystander, and a sheriff's deputy were wounded. in massachusetts a court says a man has to pay child support for twin girls born to his wife through in vitro fertilization. he has to pay even though he and his wife split up years before the kids were conceived. the court said the father was responsible because his actions, quote, resulted in the creation of a child. a train carrying chemicals crashed in abbeyville, south carolina. hazardous materials teams are on the scene. not yet known what chemicals are inside the cars. it is the controversy that

just will not die. rush limbaugh's show has been bleeding advertisers over his use of the word slut to describe a georgetown law skew tent. a democrat is calling for the armed forces networks comments -- i'm sorry, the armed forces networks to drop limbaugh's radio show. the obama administration is already under pressure from online activists to drop limbaugh from the military air waves. so far the pentagon is not budging. if our troops want to listen to that, they should be able to do so. ashleigh banfield is here to tell us what senator leaf vin had to say. >> very good point. hey, carol. of course, you know, he may be the democrat from michigan but he is a he a very powerful chairman of that very powerful committee. when he speaks, people listen. but how much is he speaking i think is what a lot of people are asking? is this an edict or a request? have a listen for yourself. >> i would not try to legt it. i would hope that the people who

run it would see just how offensive this is and drop it on their own volition. >> all right. so that's pretty critical. this is a request. this is something that is obviously getting a lot of traction because, carol, there are between 10 and 20,000 women -- excuse me, 10 and 20% of the armed services are actually women and while some people are saying this is much ado about nothing. the armed services network broadcasts to a variety of different viewpoints including ed schultz who knows on msnbc he used the slut word as well. the armed forces network is saying there's a variety of view points. while some say this is much ado about nothing but others are saying women in the armed forces will have a different viewpoint particularly because there has been a real crisis with regard to sex crimes in the armed forces, too. so i think a lot of people are chewing over this a little differently than just who's saying what and who has a different viewpoint. i think there's a bigger issue

afoot here as well. >> i heard what senator levin said he doesn't want to legislate the armed forces radio from eliminating the rush limbaugh show but he could affect the funding of the armed forces network, couldn't he? >> very good point. i think a lot of people forget that the armed forces network is 100% taxpayer funded and there's a lot of funding that goes to that network as well. this is a network that broadcasts overseas to the troops commercial free. we pay the bill for that. it's $27 million annually. i think to that end there's an organization vote vets.org which got together and decided to put together a petition asking for the show to be taken off the air. they had 12,000 signatures, i think, in three days of putting that online petition together. listen, don't forget the marketplace has also affected rush limbaugh as well. i think at the last count, i'll quote this from a liberal advocacy group, take what you will out of that, media matters said 45 different local and national advertisers have pulled

off spots from rush limbaugh's show. so who knows if rush limbaugh will be on wafers imas style and this will not be an issue. whether legislators will have to deal with this a little bit more than just with what carl levin said. >> as they say, we'll see. ashleigh banfield. >> congratulations on the new show. >> thanks so much. same to you by the way. >> thank you. you gripe and the feds listen. the consumer product safety commission putting out the top ten consumer complaints. we will have them for you right after a break. plus queen elizabeth and her granddaughter in law get ready to hit the road. they're celebrating the diamond jubilee in the u.k. prince harry had to go to the caribbean. more on that next. the map shows you where we go... but not how we get there. because in this business... there are no straight lines. only the twists and turns of an unpredictable industry. the passengers change... the gates change.

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refrigerator doors that fall off, dish washers that catch on fire. alison kosik is at the new york stock exchange. what do we complain about the most though, alison? >> well, we seem to complain the most about things that are in the kitchen, carol. that's kind of understandable. there are a lot of gadgets in there. a lot of stuff can malfunction.

you know what people complain about the most, appliances? stoves, dish washers, refrigerators, followed by baby equipment, toys, and then shoes. shoes, you ask? yes, i wondered about shoes as well. some are actually easy to fall in. in fact, kids' shoes sometimes have these decorations on them that can fall off and become a choking hazard. now these complaints are actually sent to the consumer product safety commission. there's a reason for this list of whines, because the cpsc looks for patterns and patterns in how many problems are being called in. some of these complaints actually lead to full-on recalls. did you know that the cpsc actually gets about 600 complaints a month. carol, people getting that annoyed where they call in or write in saying, i don't like this appliance, i don't like this pair of shoes. >> so then what does the cdc do? does it investigate? >> they investigate. they collect everything and they notice if there are patterns. if there seems to be a pattern that, let's say there's a safety

hazard like i said about the decoration falling off the shoe, perhaps the shoes would be recalled. >> excellent. let's talk about the markets because they're not so great this morning. >> actually, no. they're actually doing pretty well. futures are pulling off their premarket highs. the dow is in the plus column. the focus today, carol, is going to be on greece more than the u.s. economy because there's an important deadline. investors who hold greek bonds have until today to agree to take a loss on them f. they agree, that would mean that greece will owe investors less money. and reports are that most bond holders at this point are on board. and because of that, it could clear the way for greece to get its second bailout. so you're seeing buyers jump into the market today as we see the market really making its way back from that 200 point selloff that we saw an tuesday. carol? >> alison kosik at the new york stock exchange. the hbo movie version of sarah palin makes its debut in

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checking our top stories now. the house plans to vote today on a bill that stream lines small business investment. the jobs act marks a rare agreement between the obama administration and house republicans. toyota is recalling 680,000 vehicles for two separate problems. the biggest recall involves airbags. from 2005 to 2009 tacoma trucks. the other is for faulty brake lights in some sedans and crossovers. if you have a problem with your gps over the next few days, blame the sun. a solar flare is hitting the earth and could cause problems with electronics. game change will make its washingt washington debut tonight. don't expect many in attendance to be republicans.

the hbo film is about the mccain palin run for the white house. is it a true to life account or is it propaganda? here's cindy mccain, senator john mccain's wife. >> sarah palin is a remarkable individual. whether you agree or disagree, she has served our country and she has been a good stalwart. i think any depiction of any woman particularly that is unfair in that way is just wrong. >> cnn contributor will cain and democratic strategist robert zimmerman are here to talk about "game change" and more. robert, i know you saw the movie. i saw the movie in atlanta. it kind of seemed one sided to me. it's not exactly all the press's men. let's show a bit of the trailer before we talk about it. >> i'm not sure how much she knows about foreign policy. >> you can actually see russia from land here in alaska. >> oh, my god. what have we done? >> it wasn't my fault. i wasn't properly prepped.

i'm sleeping with my baby. >> she's on the verge of a complete nervous breakdown. >> they tell me what to say, what to wear, how to talk. >> i am not your puppet. >> will, i promise we will get to you, but i'd like to talk to robert first since he's actually seen the film. >> sure. >> robert, i saw the film with a roomful of democrats, frankly. they had to be because they laughed smugly through most of the movie. you're a democrat. what did you think? >> well, look, carol, i'm not above laughing smugly, i'll grant you that. there are times, sure i did. i shook my head in disappointment or disgust with sarah palin's hubris and the campaign cynicism. i walked out of that screening with a lot of very sophisticated and cynical new yorkers who have a sense of sympathy for sarah palin. out of respect to how she rose for the occasion even though she wasn't prepared for the position. there are a lot of things sarah palin fans can appreciate. this is not an oliver stone

fiction. it's not a michael moore lecture or rant. this is based upon a book by two journalists, and hbo has produced brilliant documentary dramas like the adams family certainly or from the earth to the moon. for that matter, recount. so that's really -- this is a brilliant piece of theater based upon serious history from the actual staffers. >> will, some republicans are saying a lot of people who had a hand in this movie gave money to democratic candidates and causes? does that make a difference? >> yeah. it muddies the water. as you said, carol, i'm the only one who hasn't seen the movie. i can't speak specifically to that. i can say the waters are always muddied around sarah palin. it's emotional whether you're for or against her. you're always viewing any kind of drama or anything about sarah palin with some kind of skeptical eye. i will watch this movie. i am interested but i will be skeptical.

it's the way sarah palin's world has evolved. you don't expect a sense of fairness. that's what we ask for in our media. i don't think you can ask media for a lack of bias. bias is there for everyone. all you can ask for is fairness. give your side's point of view put forward and give your opposite, your opponent's side put forward. i don't know how you do that in a two-hour movie. >> the way it was done here, they go to the actual sources who are on the ground. steve schmidt who managed the campaign for john mccain, nicole wallace who worked with sarah palin, tried to prep her for the debates. if there's controversy, it's not because it's about democrats or republicans, it's because the people who worked with her and on the campaign are giving testimony to what transpired there. >> although robert, i will say that we didn't see many of sarah palin's political players around her. no politicians from alaska were depicted. none of sarah palin's aids that came with her from alaska are actually in the movie, if they are, they don't say anything.

so in that sense to me it seems sort of unfair. >> well, i think that's a very important point you're bringing up, carol. you really do see it from the campaign staff but, of course, they as well don't always look particularly good. the cynical approach of choosing her because she was a woman and they felt she was a game changer, if you will, versus vetting her properly to see if she was equipped to do the job. it doesn't paint the mccain staff in a particularly flattering light as well for that reason. nonetheless, it does show what the staffers who were engaged with the campaign are saying. >> will, one last question to you. there's a competing sarah palin movie out. i'm not sure that people will flock to see that one, but when you look at these types of movies that are out these days, is it good for america? does america learn anything about american politics? >> i think your question's fascinating. i can't say what's good for america. i can say what's good for me. you characterized it well. do you learn anything? the truth is i'm skeptical that

you would learn anything from two camps that are putting out propaganda, some essence of propaganda. i don't like political books because i sense that i'm getting something strictly spun to me. so, no, it's not good for me. i don't know whether that means it's good for america. i'll choose to read something else. >> thanks for joining us this morning. we appreciate it. the campaign trail gets a bit rocky for the man known as joe the plumber just two days after winning a congressional primary, the ohio republican took offense during an interview on cnn. he balked at being asked to defend his earlier statements about homosexuality such as refusing to let his children be around gay people or denying the word queer is a slur. >> listen, in my dictionary, in everyone's dictionary from the 1970s the word queer meant strange and unusual. do you challenge that? >> no. i'm questioning whether or not you still stand by these

positions. >> i'm trying to get where you're coming from. what context are you using this? >> the context that i'm using it -- >> you're trying to do a gotcha moment. it's quite obvious. >> no, it's not a gotcha moment. i think we need to understand whether or not you have changed your positions on these two issues. >> i tell you what, i have spoken over at go proud and we're in agreement that i'm going to work towards all-americans, homosexual, straight. they want jobs. i'm allowed to have my opinions as an american, but it seems the left becomes very intoll ler rant when you have an opinion other than what they state. >> samuel first gamd fame during the 2008 presidential race when he questioned barack obama on his tax policies and how they would affect his plumbing business. joe the plumber faces a challenge in the november election. the chevy volt was supposed to be detroit's answer to toyota's pri us and other hybrid

cars. have you noticed the people getting the most mileage are politicians. we'll ask a car expert if it's fair. plus queen elizabeth and her granddaughter-in-law get to hit the road while prince harry wraps up his trip to the caribbe caribbean.

harry to pack up the sun block and leave jamaica. he's been there helping to celebrate his grandmother, queen elizabeth's 60 year rein. max foster joins us from mon teeing gee bay. max, the prince found time to cut loose and be an everyday kind of tourist, didn't he? >> reporter: well, he did try, carol. i'll have to say.

he had a look around one of the towns here. got absolutely mobbed and the whole meet and greet of some people there had to be stopped. he has taken this island by storm. he did get a chance to go to a beach party and relax a bit with some performances. i was over there, too. had a nice conversation with him. he's clearly thrilled with how it's all going. and when you look at the pike tires, you can see why. the royal family are pretty thrilled with this so far. >> i'm kind of embarrassed i want to know the answer to this next question. i did hear that harry is getting some advice from his big brother. what was it? >> reporter: well, it's interesting. one of the palace aids told one of the newspaper reporters here that actually william's been phoning and texting harry giving him advice, particularly advice on how to mix the informality that is prince harry with representing the queen. he's been advising him all the way along we're told throughout the tour.

perhaps a contribution really to the success of the tour. >> in the meantime, kate and the queen are stepping out for the june bill lee too. they probably need -- actually, they probably need a lot less sun block, don't they? >> reporter: yeah. absolutely. the weather's not quite the same in the u.k. the queen there in her coat. kathryn with her. this is bringing kathryn on board for the start of the u.k. tour. so the queen is doing a u.k. tour. harry's part of the international tour. william and kathryn will also take an international tour to asia. this was a successful visit so far. it's still going on. and they went to the university actually. one of the students designed a shoe for kate. they all have to design shoes. they chose a particular shoe. one girl is already speaking to clothing companies and shoe manufacturers about getting a patent on that. anything that kate wears sells out immediately. there's one student making shoes for her currently. he's very pleased indeed.

the shoes are going to be delivered to clarence house in a couple of months. >> congratulations on that. makts foster, reporting live from jamaica. the chevy volt, it's like a political football on wheels. president obama is a volt fan but production has been suspended and his critics have grabbed that football and taken off for the end zone. we'll ask a car expert if the criticism is fair. ♪[music plays] ♪[music plays] purina one beyond. food for your cat or dog. but what about your wrinkles. neutrogena® rapid wrinkle repair.

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president obama now wants even bigger tax breaks for people who buy alternative energy cars. maybe that would persuade more people to buy, oh, the gas electric chevy volt. it was motor trend's car of the year last year and it's european car of the year this year. general motors has halted production. people aren't buying enough of the cars. the $40,000 price tag is an issue, but the volt might have another problem as well. a political one. president obama has been a big cheerleader. he even said he'd buy one when he leaves office. republicans have gotten lots of political mileage out of it. >> i have a message for president obama. you cannot get a gun rack in a volt. >> and ahead of the republican national committee tweeted the halt of the volt with the hashtag obama on empty. let's talk with edward need der

meyer. welcome. >> hi, carol. thanks for having me. >> first of all, how did the volt become so political? >> well, i think it started with the bailout. the timing was really bad in the sense that it just came out right at the time of the bailout and i think it's always kind of been associated with the bailout because of that. >> how has that hurt sales or has it? >> well, obviously it gives it a political angle. it makes it a political symbol. i think now the bailout aspect is less important. i think now it's more a symbol of obama's green energy program. >> and it's just odd because i understand the political implications from the republican side, but it is kind of strange that republicans are in a way rooting against general motors, a great american company, right, and the workers who make the volt who are now like on temporary layoff. >> yeah. and i think the problem with this, i don't think it's so much the rooting against the workers,

the factories, anything like that. i think for them the issue is you have development subsidies to develop the cars and the technology behind them. you have subsidies for production and you have subsidies for consumption. all three of these angles are being paid for in some way by the government and there's still no market for the vehicles. i think that's frustrating and probably rightly so. >> okay. let's talk about the volt itself because it's had its share of bad publicity with the fire thing and all. then it was later declared safe but the damage was done. so when you look at the volt, i'm sure you've driven it, what do you think of the car? >> it's a great car. it's amazing piece of technology. i think that it's definitely not for everyone. it's one of those cars that, you know, for certain people it's great and i think that gm just overestimated the market for this and is paying the price. >> so what's your prediction? >> i think we'll see it steadily climb up. i think it's going to be stuck

in a relatively niche volume compared to the larger market. i don't think we'll see it selling on the prius level for a few more years. but i think that eventually general motors will come out with a new version where they'll reduce the price and possibly offer more range or performance. i think that slowly but surely the technology will evolve and eventually it will catch on. >> thanks so much. we appreciate it. >> thank you. quarterback peyton manning leaves indianapolis and goes to miami. dolphins fans don't get too excited, at least not yet. we'll explain in sports. that's just eight minutes away. s i've got a friendly disposition and they love my spinach dip. five foot ten... still doing a little exploring. but... my sign is sagittarius, i'm into spanish cheese, my hairline is receding but i'm getting a weave. getting a weave. there's an easier way to save. who wants some ronald tonight!? who wants some ronald tonight!? geico. fifteen minutes could save you 15% or more.

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this morning on "health for her," new research shows that women who use estrogen alone as hormone replacement therapy after menopause had a lower risk of developing breast cancer. the reduced risk lasts up to five years after they stop taking the hormone. it was added onto a study from 1993 that looked at the risk of two hormone and one hormone therapy after menopause. we're following lots of developments next hour. let's check in with jason carroll. noted director james cameron is trying to go to the earth's final frontier. where is it located? 36,000 feet deep. i'm going to tell you all about it coming up at the top of the hour. good morning, carroll. i'm christine romans also in new york. i'm looking into the jobs situation. tomorrow is the really big important february jobs report, probably more important than any

poll in the political arena right now. i'll tell you what we're expecting at the top of the hour. i'm barbara starr at the pentagon. iran says it's going to let inspectors back in to look at a secret site. does that mean any of us should be less concerned that iran's trying to make a nuclear bomb? we'll have details at the top of the next hour. >> thanks to all of you. plus we've seen rush limbaugh get slammed for calling a college student a slut. we've seen his advertisers bail. but comedian bill maher uses at times worse language without the backlash. is there a double standard going on here? we'll talk about that in the next hour. helping millions of americans retire on their terms. when they want. where they want. doing what they want. ameriprise. the strength of a leader in retirement planning. the heart of 10,000 advisors working with you one-to-one. together for your future. ♪

time for my favorite part of the show, sports. miami already fot lebron. are they going to get peyton too? >> i don't know if he's going to hold a big show like the decision or anything like that. it very well could be we might see him on south beach too. it might not be the big celebration that lebron had, but espn says a dozen nfl teams have already approached peyton manning's reps after the coalts let him go yesterday. there were people tracking him, going through miami. he had to stop in a church parking lot to answer questions. there's speculation the dolphins of miami will make the move for the first time free agent. manning has a home in south florida and works out there with another former colt reggie wayne. as for his health, manning says no worries. >> my neck is fine.

my neck is fine. doctors have cleared me. that's been a relief to me. i continue to work hard. the best part about it is being out there throwing again. >> carol, i know you'll be talking about colts fans, dealing with peyton's loss. coming up next hour, more on this. >> that was an emotional press conference, don't you think? >> as excited as everyone is in miami about him coming down there, in indianapolis, it's almost like mourning. they love him, and he's been there for 14 years. >> and he obviously loves them. >> clearly, he did not want to go. now he's got to move on and think about what comes next. >> he's a classy guy. nba, bulls and bucks down to the wire. chicago has the mvp derrick rose, and he breaks their hearts at the buzzer. buries it for the win. mobbed by teammates. even lots of fans in milwaukee love seeing that one. rose scored 30 in the bulls' win. see, this is what happens sometimes when you get excited. high school hoops announcer brian snow is penal coding a

viral video star. a warning, snow is not subtle. >> finds oden. oden slips back to mac. mcintosh on the drive to the corner. out. three williams. yeah! >> that's his call as chicago's marist high school pulls out a regional final win last week. he's not done. listen. >> oh, no! woo hoo! woo hoo! >> that was last night. it happened again. the team came back again. this guy is becoming a viral star because he screams at the top of his lungs. it's like ear piercing, but it's fantastic. >> fun, though. >> this guy loves his team. marist, give credit to them, they are still going to the illinois state basketball championships. >> that's awesome. that's really awesome. we're going to talk about march madness because, of course, we must. >> it's that time of year. three more teams made it last night going to ncaa bids. montana, lehigh, and liu

brooklyn. slowly but surely, we're seeing the field of 68 fill up. >> selection sunday is three days away. we want you to join, all of you out there, we want you to join our bracket contest because i'll be filling out a bracket, as will you, jeff, right? >> i will. >> you can compete against us and beat us. >> carol has so much knowledge. she's going to put me away. >> not in college basketball, i don't. baseball, football, yeah, but thank you, jeff. >> okay. a cupcake craving in the middle of the night used to mean you had to wait until the next day, but not anymore. here's cnn's jeanne moos. >> reporter: it may look like an atm, but when's the last time you saw someone this tickled at a cash machine. who needs cash when all you need is a credit card at the cupcake atm. each one comes in a box. >> i'm so excited. it smells good just standing here. >> reporter: that's because it's located at sprinkles cupcake bakery in beverly hills. sprinkles is so famous for its

mouth watering cupcakes that they were paired with champagne in the series "entourage." >> roc crystal and sprinkles cupcakes, your favorite. >> reporter: now you can get them out of a machine. >> this is awesome. 24 hours you can have cupcakes. >> reporter: just choose your favorite, say red velvet or dark chocolate. >> we are actually stocking it continuously throughout the day with fresh cupcakes, day and night. >> reporter: the owner of sprinkles, candace nelson, happens to be a judge on the food network show cupcake wars. she dreamed up the idea of a cupcake atm after having late night cupcake cravings while pregnant. it's definitely a novelty. >> i'm videotaping you with my camera. >> reporter: they eventually hope to open cupcake atms at all ten sprinkles nationwide in places like new york and washington. it's one thing for, say, a coke to pop out of a vending machine, but a cupcake, it needs tender loving care.

the screen gives your view as your cupcake is retrieved by a robot arm with a suction thingy. the excitement was almost too much for this first timer. >> oh, my god, is this real? >> reporter: she was less excited about paying $4. >> $4? >> reporter: but look how the hungry hordes line up to buy them. ♪ we love sprinkles >> reporter: they're 50 cents cheaper inside, though you probably have to wait. and what if the store isn't open? you'd be surprised at some of the weird things that have come out of vending machines, from ladies nylons back in the '50s to meat, steaks and chops, and even live bait? but night crawlers can't compare to sprinkles. even get dog friendly versions. >> do you want your own cupcake? >> reporter: so next time you're at a cash machine with your hand out waiting for those crisp twenties, imagine a nice soft cupcake that you can withdraw and deposit in your mouth. jeanne moos, cnn, new york.

we begin with a dangerous and unprecedented mission to the deepest point on the planet, a place only two people have ever set eyes on. the bottom of the mariana trench off the coast of guam. it's nearly seven miles beneath the pacific ocean, uncharted territory, and home to life forms we've never seen before. in the coming weeks, legendary filmmaker james cameron will try to dive there inside a high tech submersible craft. cnn's jason carroll was the only news reporter invited on cameron's shift for his test dives. he's back in new york. he joins us live now. it must have been fascinating, jason. >> it was incredible, carroll. you know how much i like stories about this. every single person on board that ship passionate about what they're doing. this is really an explorer's dream. but it's not just about exploration. it's about potentially discovering new forms of life that exists on this planet's

final frontier. james cameron is on a mission, and what you're seeing is another step, or better to say dive, towards reaching it. >> it goes by fast. no, it does. it's so exciting. every second you're seeing something cool. i'm telling you, i'm wiped out after the dive because your brain is going 1,000 miles an hour. >> reporter: though cameron may be best known for directing two of the highest grossing films of all time -- "avatar" and "tit "titan "titanic" -- he's also known in the scientific community as a deep sea explorer. cameron and his scientists have created a technologically advanced sub to take him to the deepest point on the planet. in a joint project with national geographic society, cameron sets his sight on the charger deep. it's carved in the marianna trench, nearly seven miles down. >> i want to get down and look around the image and use the 3d

cameras and bring it all back so people can see what's there. it's the last unexplored frontier on the planet. >> reporter: cameron has taken his sub, aptly named deep sea challenger, on a series of test dives. already they've collected strange looking organisms at depths so extreme it would crush a man. it's a treasure trove for scientists, and on this day, our cameras are invited for a key test dive. >> we're going to 26,000 feet. we, meaning me and the sub. >> reporter: good. >> tomorrow afternoon. no, you're not coming. it's a one-seater. >> reporter: but the test at 26,000 feet cut a little short. >> challenger is requesting permission to send, over. >> reporter: deepsea challenger made it to a little more than 23,800 feet then had to come back. >> good news is it's now officially the deepest diving submersible in the world. bad news is never saw the bottom. had about five major systems failures that prevented me from going on.

>> reporter: but cameron and his team did go on to reach a point beyond 26,000 feet. their next step, challenger deep. and, carol, cameron has been on more than 70 submersible dives by one count here, 50 of those to deep sea depths. so he is well aware of the risks that are at play here. but he's dedicated to science, and he has a desire to explore. we'll see what happens. >> i know. when will we get to see those new life forms? >> reporter: well, if you tune in to my story tomorrow, carol, you'll be able to see a lot more. >> i definitely will then. jason carroll, thank you. if you thought that sounded like a science fiction movie, listen to this. a huge solar storm, the largest in five years, is already hitting earth today at 4 million miles per hour. cnn meteorologist rob marciano, this is just hard to wrap your mind around. >> it is. we've talked about this in the past. this is the strongest one that we've seen since 2006. so it's got everybody on alert

right now. it's happening right now. the first pulse of these x-rays and radio waves came through about a day and a half ago. that's when you'd have a bit of a radio blackout. there you see that little explosion right there. that is where the solar flare emitted all that radiation, some of which got here at the speed of light, which takes about an hour roughly. others which travel between 3 million and 5 million miles an hour. that is arriving right now. all emanating from these sun spots, which have become quite active in the past couple of years, and will continue to be active for the next 18 months or so. we're in this solar cycle. what that does and what that means for me and you are the following. first of all, high frequency radio blackouts. that came with the first round of radiation, about 24 hours ago. that's done. but the potential for power grid outages with this magnetic storm that's happening right now, that's possible. gps and satellite interruptions, meaning if you're driving down the road with your gps on, that

could be interrupted. so keep the map handy. and the good news is brilliant auroras. this also affects airline travel. if you're flying at high latitudes, those planes will be rerouted a little bit closer to the poles or lower because that radiation will penetrate through the skin of the aircraft. also, astronauts, and it can affect them as well. as of right now, they have not -- they're measuring that on the iss, and the word right now is they have not told the astronauts to seek shelter just yet. and the other thing, of course, the brilliant auroras. other piece of good news, you think about satellites, all the satellites we have up there and the amount of space junk we have. we've had these satellites falling to the earth recently, and that's another thing we've been talking about. part of the reason is during these solar maximums, that kind of pushes these satellites a little bit closer. it actually helps clean up some of the junk. that's the positive here. we'll get maybe with the solar wind pushing some of those junkie satellites down and get them out of orbit. >> so quickly, you talk about brilliant -- the brilliant

things in the sky we can see. where can you see those things? >> the auroras? the further north you are, the better. tonight a good bet is as far south as milwaukee, minneapolis. maybe as far south as st. louis. we've had a full moon too. that kind of dims things. anyway, move north, clear sky. maybe see some northern lights. >> thank you, rob. can you believe it? there's bipartisanship happening on capitol hill today. the house votes on a bill calls the jobs act. it's designed to help small businesses remove the barriers to veflt. president obama, democrats, and republicans all on board. most of the act's measures have already been passed. the economy clearly still needs help. a little more than an hour ago, we found out more people are filing for unemployment benefits. that's not so great. the government just released the latest figures, and here are the specifics for you. the number of people filing for first time unemployment benefits went up to 362,000 last week. that's an increase of 8,000. what does it mean? let's go to the woman who knows,

christine romans. >> it means things are getting a little better. they're not getting better very quickly. that's what it means pace icaba. tomorrow we get the big jobs report. we expect it to show 210,000 jobs created. a cnn poll of money analysts, 210,000 is what they're expecting tomorrow for the jobs report. unemployment rate steady at 8.3%. want to caution you too, carol. we could see the unemployment rate tick up. that's a potential for this week and for months ahead because, as the economy looks like it's healing a little bit, you could get a lot of people who completely dropped out of the labor market, who come back in and try to work, try to find a job, and that means that rate could go up. clearly, that's one of those funny things where a healing labor market could make the unemployment labor market rise in the near term. >> we always make a big deal of the unemployment numbers. it's really not the whole picture when we take a look at the entire economy.

>> no, it isn't. when we talk about the healing labor market, we're bombarded by comments by people who say, it doesn't feel that way to me. i'm still out of work. i'm working, but i'm not making it as hard as i used to or just the number in general. there's a problem called the underemployment rate. it's the u-6 number on the bureau of labor statistics tables and charts. it's 15.1%. what does that underemployment rate contain? it's people who are unemployed. it's people who are working part time, but they really want to be working full-time. they're just working part time because it's all they could get. they are underemployed. it includes people who aren't looking this second for work. they are available to work, but within the last year at some point they tested the waters and couldn't get something. those people are called marginally attached. those people are included there too. it's 15.1%. if you look at african-americans, it's more than 20%. if you look at hispanics, it's more than 20%. looking at different groups of people, it's young people, very, very high number as well. so you look at that 8.3 number,

and remember it's a very dynamic, big labor market. and the situation could be different for you depending on where you live and who you are. >> gotcha. christine romans in new york this morning. >> you're welcome. let's talk about iran now and growing concerns that it's secretly developing nuclear weapons. new satellite images show iran may be carting away evidence from a suspected nuclear site just south of tehran. this morning world leaders at the united nations called for more inspections of that military complex you're looking at. that's where the agency's nuclear watchdogs believe work may have been done on developing weapons. >> iran is not telling us everything. that is my impression. so we have to -- we're asking iran to engage with us proactively. and iran has a case to answer. >> barbara starr is at the pentagon for us.

why is this site such a concern. and how much does the u.s. trust iran? i would say not very much. >> reporter: i think you're exactly right, carol. the inspector general laid it out there, a little bit diplomatically, but he was very specific. they want to hear more from iran about what they are up to at this site that we showed the satellite photo of. what the inspectors believe, what u.s. intelligence believes, is that iran did some explosives testing, some very high tech testing of explosives that would be used in a nuclear trigger to trigger a nuclear bomb. it's very technical, very specific work, and iran hasn't let inspectors into this site since 2005. now suddenly, they say they might let inspectors back in. but the satellite evidence that nobody has exactly seen in the public yet, seems to show, we are told, that there's been some

cleanup work done. a little coincidental, cleanup work, and now they're letting inspectors back in for the first time since 2005, that's the problem there. it's a cat and mouse game with iran, the u.s. and the inspectors feel, and they really wanted it sorted out at this point. it couldn't be more serious. israel looks at this and believes iran is well down the road to making a nuclear weapon. the u.s. is concerned about it. they have to somehow determine what iran is really up to and where it stands on all this. >> there's lots of concern that israel may act. in fact, one u.s. senator, after meeting with the prime minister, benjamin netanyahu, she says the u.s. ally is ready to strike now. this is barbara feinstein. >> i believe that israel will attack. i believe it's important that diplomacy be given an opportunity. israel believes they are prepared to handle it. now, what happens after an attack is another story. >> so, barbara, why does the

senator believe israel will attack? >> reporter: well, look at who's talking there, carol. as you and everybody else knows, senator feinstein is the chair of the senate intelligence committee. she has direct access to the most sensitive intelligence information. she spoke to israeli leaders when they are in town this week. she's getting some of the most current information. so if she says this, one can only assume she's got good reason to believe it. israel believes fundamentally that iran is well down the road towards assembling the ability to make a nuclear weapon. they want to stop iran before they get the capability. the u.s. position is a little bit further down the road. the u.s. wants to stop iran from getting a weapon but doesn't really have that position of stopping them from getting the capability. it's a fine point. people can argue over it, but the real bottom line is that israel has a position that leads

it to want to act more quickly against iran than the u.s. does. the u.s. still very much hoping that sanctions work. >> barbara starr live at the pentagon. indy loses its hero. peyton manning is gone from the colts. we'll talk about his emotional farewell.

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in syria, more explosions and bursts of gunfire rocking the country today. opposition activists say government troops killed at least 56 people today. as always, we can't verify that number because the government bans most foreign reporting. but now an insider is speaking out. a high ranking government official defects and joins the revolution. >> translator: for this i decided to join the voice of the ri righteous despite the fact the regime will burn my house, destroy my family, and ruin many lives. >> nick, first of all, who is this man, and how important to the rebels is his defection?

>> reporter: it's important to the rebels. it shows signs of there's cracks in the regime. his defection is unlikely to bring down the regime, but it is the most senior person that we're aware of so far to split with the regime and certainly come out publicly and say he's joining the opposition. so it will be a worry for bashar al assad. it's going to send a serious message to people in that part of society, the sort of middle class. the support for the government is cracking and waning, and people are beginning to move away from it. it won't bring down the government. it will certainly boost morale for the activists and opposition and perhaps send an important message to the business community about which side -- the fact that they need to begin to choose sides, carol. >> we're hearing of terrible humanitarian abuses, and we know the head of the u.n.'s emergency relief services has met with top government officials. but is she getting any information?

>> reporter: it's not clear. interestingly, after she met with the officials yesterday, valerie amos, the u.n. representative, didn't have a joint press conference. in these situations, there will be a joint press conference if there are issues that have been agreed upon, and it seems to indicate there weren't any issues agreed upon. she was told by the foreign minister she could go wherever she wants in the country, but she hasn't been allowed so far -- according to her team, she hasn't been allowed into any opposition areas. exactly what is being discussed, we don't know. reports from activists today in the city of homs, the city that valerie amos, the u.n. representative, visited yesterday, that a family of 44 people have been found killed by government forces. we can't verify that, but what's what activists are telling us, carol. >> nic robertson reporting live from beirut for us. indianapolis loses peyton manning. did you see the press conference? this guy has class.

he could teach a class on class. we'll talk about his emotional farewell with sports radio host dan dockidge. ( whirring and crackling sounds ) man: assembly lines that fix themselves. the most innovative companies are doing things they never could before, by building on the cisco intelligent network.

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talk about class, peyton manning should teach a class on class. did you see it? the face of the indianapolis colts franchise. if you didn't see it, here's peyton manning saying good-bye to a city he clearly loves. >> it truly has been an honor to play in indianapolis. i do love it here. i love the fans, and i'll always enjoy having played for such a great team. >> dan dockidge hosts an afternoon show on espn 1050 in indianapolis. thank you for joining us. >> my pleasure. >> in watching that press conference, he's standing beside the owner who had to let him go. they're both crying, and they both seem to understand this had to happen for the greater good. you don't often see that these days. >> jimmy irsay will cry when he sees a new puppy but not so much peyton. peyton will get mad after games, after particularly losses, or

maybe on the field at a teammate, but you don't see that kind of emotion. i think what you saw there was a guy that legitimately loved his teammates, legitimately loved the organization he played for, and he legitimately loves the town that he lives in. there's a peyton manning children's hospital here that he's donated not only money to but a ton of time. he's been all over the community doing a ton of things, both privately and publicly, and he's a guy that loves this town. >> i know that on your radio show yesterday you asked fans to call in and share their favorite memory, their most beloved memory of peyton manning. was there a common theme? >> well, people -- obviously, the super bowl was their memory, but the prevailing feeling was sadness. people understand this had to happen, the $28 million had to be paid by friday. they paid him $26 million last year. it gets a little confusing, but if they pay the $28 million, it activated a four-year deal, which was really going to hamstring the colts in terms of

cap space for signing other people. and andrew luck, the first pick of the draft, is considered the best prospect since manning. i think people understood it, but it's still a huge sense of sadness and a bit of a sense of loss. it was very, very odd yesterday listening to people talk about a guy who's only in his 30s, still healthy, but as if he had passed away. it was that kind of mood at least on my radio show and another local show. >> you talk about andrew luck. what kind of reception will this kid have? >> i think he's going to have a great reception. i think people are excited about him. they know about him. he's always handled himself with such class, a lot like peyton. actually, peyton's family and luck's family are friends. peyton's dad was a starting quarterback late in his career, and oliver luck, andrew's dad, was his backup. they've known each other for a long time. people are excited about andrew luck. there's no question. but as all sports fans know, win

sg a great panacea. if andrew comes in and improves the team, it will be great. a couple of years from now, if they lose, it's a tough thing to replace peyton manning and all the winning they did. initially, people are very excited about andrew luck. >> it will be even more interesting if peyton manning gets his wish and gets another super bowl, and he wins with another team. dan dakich, thank you so much for joining us. we appreciate it. john mccain is beating the drum for military action in syria. do we have an appetite for more military intervention? [ male announcer ] this was how my day began.

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checking our top stories, the house plans to vote on a bill today to streamline small business investment. the jobs act marks a rare agreement between the obama administration and house republicans. toyota is recalling 680,000 vehicles for two separate problems. the biggest recall involves air bags in 2005 to 2009 tacoma trucks. the other is for faulty brake lights in some sedans and

crossovers. if you have a problem with your gps over the next few days, blame the sun. a solar flare is hitting the earth and could cause big problems with electronics. political buzz is your rapid fire look at the best political topics. 30 seconds on the clock, three topics. playing with us is democratic strategist robert zimmerman. chris moody, a political reporter for yahoo! news, and senior political contributor will cane is with us. john mccain has been beating the drums for more action, military action on syria. here's a bit of what he's been saying. >> if we can do something about it, and we can, we should unilaterally -- excuse me. not unilaterally. no boots on the ground. with other nations who will join us if we lead, and we can bring this to a halt. >> no boots on the ground. the question today, do americans have any kind of appetite for any kind of military action right now? chris?

>> well, i think, if you look back at libya, just a year ago, it didn't make much of a blip nationally. there was no anti-war movement that rose up after that. so i think people wouldn't necessarily be paying much attention so long as there weren't boots directly on the ground there, if there was a strike with other countries. i think it would go off, and people wouldn't necessarily notice it that much here in the united states. although it's true that people don't necessarily have an appetite for more foreign wars. i'm not sure it would make much of an impact on the conversation. >> robert? >> i'm always so inspired by how our country steps up for humanitarian issues around the world, even when we're facing crises at home. i think we would stand together as a country to help alleviate the crisis in syria and step up for the refugees and the victims of assad's regime. the issue is how to do it? we're dealing with a much more sophisticated military than exists in libya, and we're

dealing with a coalition of opposition that's not united. that's the challenge. and the president's been doing an effective job with secretary clinton in terms of building a coalition. >> gotcha. will? >> to answer your question directly, carol, is americans do not have an appetite for doing anything in syria. there's a month old cnn/orc poll that says 75% of americans feel no responsibility to intervene in syria. chris said something that really needs to be reflected on. he said it might not be a blip on the radar. i think that's extremely presumptuous based upon a short-term outcome in libya. we shouldn't go into any war, any military action with the presumption that it might not be prettied by eiey ebad. i think americans understand that. what's the end goal? libya is not over. we'll see how this plays out. >> let me play you guys a bit of the trailer from the sarah palin hbo movie that debuts this week. take a look. >> i'm not sure how much he knows about foreign policy. >> you can actually see russia

from land here in alaska. >> my god, what have we done? >> it wasn't my fault. i wasn't properly prepped. i miss my baby. >> she's on the verge of a complete nervous breakdown. >> telling me what to say, what to wear, how to talk. i am not your puppet. >> so this movie has generated a lot of talk, a lot of controversy. what i want to ask all of you, is all this fussing going to make people want to see the movie? robert? >> i think they will want to see it. i think they should see it. first of all, hbo has a well-documented history of producing brilliant docudramas, like the series on john adams or earth to the moon or recount. this is a great tradition. secondly, it's based on serious factual analysis done by two brilliant reporters, mark halpern and john heileman. i'm a detractor of sarah palin. i walked out feeling somewhat

sympathetic to her. >> from a sheer strategic standpoint, all this fuss will make people want to see it more, go watch it on hbo. we're talking about, for instance, right now on cnn. i don't know if it makes me want to see it more. i'm going in with a skeptical eye of how fair it will be, but i will watch it because of "the wire" and game of thrones and "deadwood" and all the other series hbo has put together. i'm assuming dramatically it will be pretty good. >> i saw the movie. it held my interest through the whole thing. chris, your opinion? >> the best way to get someone to see your movie is have someone high profile, sarah palin, to tell you not to see the movie. i think it's great publicity. it's no surprise she would be nervous about how she'll be depicted given the past, how the media has depicted her, and she's been depicted in popular culture. but i've read some early reviews that said it makes you feel fairly sympathetic to her in certain ways. i think we might be surprised.

she may be saying it's terrible, don't watch it, but let's give hbo a chance. >> here's your third question. take a look at this. this is a 15-story hotel in china that went up in six days. that's all it took. six days. here in the united states, we can't even agree on building highways and infrastructure. is this how we should get things done in the usa? will? >> quickly? listen, i think this is actually somewhat symbolic. there is a barclays bank report that came out a few weeks ago that said there's a direct correlation between skyscraper booms and following property bubbles in recession. this may not be a good indicator for china in the future, carol. >> chris? >> you've got to think of this as one giant ikea dresser. it was prefootbaabricated, they the parts. they put it together. i'm impressed. i think, if donald trump wanted

to have a competition and build something quicker and had the prefabricated materials, he could pull it off as well. >> the issue is not that it was built in six days, let's see how long it stands. i don't accept the conventional thinking that china is beating us. we are still the economy the world envies. we are the destination of the world. and ultimately, if you look at china's problems with their infrastructure, with their environmental problems, with the fact that they have a tremendous poverty amongst their people, i don't think they're an economy to envy, and i would never discount our strength in our economy. >> thank you for playing today. robert zimmerman, will cain, and chris moody. we appreciate it. apple is in trouble with the feds. the justice department reportedly preparing to file lawsuits against apple and five book publishers. we'll have that story for you ahead. back then, he had something more important to do. he wasn't focused on his future but fortunately, somebody else was. at usaa we provide retirement planning for our military,

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the first television show to focus on arab-american muslims will not be back for a second season. all-american muslim earned critical acclaim, but conservatives did not like it. a.j. hammer, the host of "showbiz tonight," joins us from new york. what really killed the show, a.j.? >> tlc won't give us any reason publicly, but in the end what really killed the show were ratings. the series lost half of its viewership from the premiere episode to the finale, from 1.7 million viewers to 900,000. it's really that downward trend that matters so much more than the number of people actually watching the show at the end of

the season. the question is did the attacks on the show in any way compel tlc to make the decision to not renew it? the show lost a major sponsor when lowe's pulled out after some groups complained "all american muslim" was islamic propaganda. there was also thinking the backlash to that move should help keep the show around. tlc does not shy away from controversial topics. it airs shows like "sister wives," "toddlers and tiaras." those shows have attracted a lot of criticism, that people feel are more justified than those surrounding "all american muslim." the season was only eight episodes. not a strong commitment to start with from tlc. let's talk about whitney houston. her will has reportedly been filed. what's in it? >> appropriately enough, it looks like whitney's daughter bobbie kristina will be benefitting from the will. we're still waiting to get our hands on the document, but bobbie kristina is getting the

bulk of the estate in a trust. some money when she turns 21, more at 25, and access to everything when she turns 30. bobbie kristina is only 19 now. and also to access it for specified reasons, like paying for education or starting up a business. the money, the jewelry, all of whitney's possessions, certainly valuable. but probably the most important part are the rights to whitney's music. if bobbi kristina can manage all of that well, it will hopefully keep her financially secure for a long time to come. carol, just in case you were wondering, her ex-husband bobby brown reportedly did not get a dime. >> a.j. hammer, thank you. you want information on everything breaking in the entertainment world, a.j.'s got it tonight at "showbiz tonight" at 11:00 eastern. we've seen rush limbaugh get slammed for calling a college student a slut. we've seen his advertisers bail. but bill maher uses similar, if not worse language without the backlash. is there a double standard here?

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rush limbaugh's slut comments are now infamous. we've seen a wave of criticism. the national organization for women wanted him to be fired. more than 40 advertisers have left his radio show. but comedian bill maher is on limbaugh's side even though he's hardly a ditto head. maher recently tweeted, hate to defend rush limbaugh, but he has apologized. liberals looking bad, not accepting.

also hate intimidation by sponsor pullout. problem is bill maher has his own woman problem, but his rather vile comments targeted republican women, like sarah palin. >> sarah palin finally heard what happened in japan, and she's demanding that we invade tsunami. oh, speaking of dumb [ bleep ], she's not qualified to be the mayor of wasila. this is a category 5 moron we have on our hands. if bachmann and palin get in, that's two bimbos. that's a real beevis and butthead we've got there. >> let's bring in howard kurtz of "newsweek" and cnn's "reliable sources." thanks for being with us. >> i was wondering which part you were going to bleep, carol. >> there's so much material there, we had to pick and choose. we had to bleep a lot. the question is is there a double standard going on here? >> to some extent, there is. liberals kind of shrug their

shoulders when bill maher uses that kind of language as well. he's just a comedian. one distinction here is that bill maher, in going after people like sarah palin or michele bachmann, he's picking on big girls, so to speak. they're politicians. they're in the arena. they're used to fighting back. ro rush limbaugh's big mistake here was using that kind of language against a 30-year-old law student nobody had ever heard of. it seemed like a bullying tactic because she's not somebody who's a public figure. >> there are some out there and some nonpartisan groups who say bill maher just donated $1 million to one of president obama's pacs. president obama shouldn't accept that. after all, president obama called the parents and said they should be proud over those comments by rush limbaugh. >> it went to the super pac, which is supposedly independent, but those distinctions are turning out to be a joke. but it does show you, with maher

putting himself more into the political arena by giving the big bucks to a committee dedicated to helping the president, it does give the republicans ammunition to say you should distance yourself from these guys, especially you liberals who are all so upset about the language that rush used. one distinction here -- and sarah palin, in fact, is calling on obama to do that. one distinction here, you talked about -- maher said that liberals should accept rush's apology. the person who needs to accept rush's apology, and who he has not personally called is sandra flute. >> bill maher's show is on hbo, and that's a lot different than the public air waves that rush limbaugh broadcasts on. >> that seems pretty week to me. the fact he uses that kind of language on a premium cable channel, and rush uses it on over the air radio waves, i think that's pretty lame. >> howie kurtz, thank you for being with us. we appreciate it. >> thanks. apple's making news today,

but not for its flashily products. the report says the justice department is preparing to sue apple over setting the price of e-books. feds are targeting publishers too. financial was founded back in 1894, they've been committed to putting clients first. helping generations through tough times. good times. never taking a bailout. there when you need them. helping millions of americans over the centuries. the strength of a global financial leader. the heart of a one-to-one relationship. together for your future. ♪ today is gonna be an timportant day for us.re. you ready? we wanna be our brother's keeper. what's number two we wanna do? bring it up to 90 decatherms. how bout ya, joe? let's go ahead and bring it online. attention on site, attention on site. now starting unit nine. some of the world's cleanest gas turbines

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apple is making headlines again today, but not for its flashy new products. apple and several major book publishers are reportedly in hot water with the justice department, which accuses them of raising the price of electronic books, collusion, don't you know it? alison kosik is at the new york stock exchange. will the justice department take action? >> reporter: carol, "the wall street journal's" reporting that the doj plans to sue apple along

with five publishers, including simon and schuster, penguin, harper collins, and mcmillan, the suit saying these publishers allegedly teamed up with apple to fix the price of e-books. "the wall street journal" kind of says that apple is the ring leader in this, telling publishers to set the book prices so they get what they want, meaning a higher price on these books, and then apple would get its 30% cut. now, apple reportedly stipulated to publishers as well that they had to offer that same price to other retailers, meaning publishers couldn't offer lower prices to rivals. so it's this alleged collusion to keep prices high, carol, that caught the doj's attention. carol? >> now it's caught the doj's attention. what happens next? will somebody cave? will e-book prices go down? >> reporter: these are all great questions. you know what, there is a possibility that prices could go down. you know what, it is a little too early to say. "the wall street journal" says that some publishers who are

accused in this are in talks to come up with a settlement. instead of taking the matter to court where there would be an expensive, drawn-out legal battle. and if apple goes back to this old model, it would actually be the retailers, not the publishers, who would set the price on books. it's questionable whether that would happen because retailers typically discount. you think about what borders did. borders used to offer 30% off new hardcovers, and barnes and noble gives you 10% off if you're a member. the problem with this now is that e-books are growing more and more popular. apple is a giant in the industry, and it has a lot of pull. so when it comes to pricing, the old model of pricing books is kind of being thrown out the window in favor of coming up with a new model for the digital age. really a lot of unanswered questions at this point, carol. >> alison kosik live at the new york stock exchange. stories we're working on later today. cnn newsroom later. first lady michelle obama

attends the international women of courage awards hosted by secretary of state hillary clinton. at 4:00 p.m., treasure secretary timothy geithner visits the dallas/ft. worth area. he'll stress the importance of infrastructure development and take part in a roundtable discussion on the economy. and president obama and the first lady will dine with donors who won a contest sponsored by his re-election campaign. and your daily dose of health news. new research shows that women who used estrogen alone as hormone replacement therapy after menopause had a lower risk of developing breast cancer. that reduced risk lasts up to five years after they stop taking the hormone. this research was a followup to a landmark study that began back in 1993 that looked at the risks of two hormone and one hormone therapies after menopause. mitt romney adds to his war chest. his campaign says he took in $11.5 million last month, but another candidate was not far behind in the money race. your political taker coming your way next.

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checking stories cross-country. officials with virginia tech university are telling a court what the school did and did not do minutes after the first report of a shooting on campus in april of 2007. a lone gunman killed 32 people that day. the families of those two students are suing the school. in henryville, indiana, we're the getting our first look inside the high school damaged by a 175-mile-per-hour tornado -- that was the wind speed -- that also ravaged the town last week.

repair crews are working 24/7 to get the school ready for students to return in august. and an incredible story from san antonio, texas. a 5-year-old kindergarten student saved his friend's life when he started choking on a chip during lunch at school. the little boy never learned first aid but instinctively used the heimlich maneuver, something he says he might have seen on television. >> nicholas was choking, and i saw his face turn red, a big chee-to. he was choking on a big chee-toh. >> thanks for saving my life, buddy. >> that was so cute. let's talk politics now. rick santorum says it wasn't me. he says he's not asking anyone to drop out of the race. our political director mark preston joins us now. honestly, mark, if someone does leave, i don't see santorum stopping him. >> no. what's interesting about this whole debate about the republican presidential race is, if someone is to leave the race, whether that's rick santorum or newt gingrich, it's really going

to shake up things where they stand right now. a lot of people are talking about the inevitablity of mitt romney becoming the nominee. if newt gingrich gets out of the race and throws his support behind rick santorum, the race could be turned on its head again. rick santorum, in fact, was asked this yesterday. does he want to see newt gingrich get out of the race? he says no. he's not going to tell anybody to get out of the race. interestingly enough, a couple of his backers are asking newt gingrich to do so. in fact, the super pac red, white, and blue has called on gingrich to get out of the race. so has a very prominent social conservative backing rick santorum. in a sense, rick santorum does not have to ask newt gingrich to get out of the race. he's got friends that will do that for him. >> even if he did, what could he say to newt gingrich that would make newt gingrich change his mind about continuing his race for president? >> i don't think there's much he could say. let's flip the coin and say, if mitt romney was able to convince rick santorum to get out of the

race, mitt romney then could potentially help rick santorum erase any campaign debt, if rick santorum has any, and he could potentially offer rick santorum a position in his candidate or administration if he were elected. a lot of people are wondering if there are talks going on behind the scenes -- which i don't think there are right now -- between romney or supporters of mitt romney to try to get rick santorum out of the race. >> fascinating. let's talk about fund-raising. man, so mitt romney raised, what, $11 million? >> $11.5 million just in the month of february, which is not chump change. but not to be outdone by that, rick santorum raised $9 million. now, bottom line is campaigns in politics are fueled by money. i know people don't like to hear that, but, in fact, that is true. just yesterday we're on a conference call with the obama campaign, and that question came up. we asked how much did president obama raise? you know what they told us, carol? they wouldn't tell us, surprisingly. they're going to release that on their own of the