lifelock: relentlessly protecting your identity. call 1-800-lifelock or go to lifelock.com today. that's it for "starting point." i'll see everybody back here tomorrow morning at 7:00 a.m. cnn newsroom with carol costello begins right now. >> good morning to all of you. i'm carol costello. stories we're watching right now in the newsroom. the soldier accused of killing afghan civilians could meet with his lawyer again today at ft. leavenworth as they plan their defense strategy. the attorney says staff sergeant robert bales wasn't drunk the night of the shootings and cannot remember what happened that night. federal prosecutors have the fbi investigating the death of trayvon martin. some people are outraged the watch captain that shot the unarmed 17 year old is not facing charges. george zimmerman said it was in self-defense and police say there is no evidence to refute that. new outrage over the pat

downs at the airport because of this youtube video showing a screener patting down a 3-year-old boy in a wheelchair. the boy's father shot the video about two years ago but he's just now sharing it saying he became enraged all over again after coming across it over the weekend. on this first day of spring, we're seeing more severe weather. oklahoma, heavy rain is causing problems. forecasters say flash floods are possible in oklahoma and surrounding states and in texas, a tornado touches down 30 miles from san antonio. there's report of damages and injuries and one person remains unaccounted for. denver broncos are in final contract talks with peyton manning. if the broncos sign the nfl's top free agent quarterback, it will likely mean the end of tim tebow's time in the mile-high city helping lead the broncos to the playoffs despite poor passing stats. let's go in depth on the case of staff sergeant robert bales. he'll likely meet with his

attorney again today. bales' wife put out a statement. carol bales says "what has been reported is completely out of character of the man i know and admire." the victims and their families are all in my prayers as is my husband who i love very much. she and her two children have the added stress of moving out of their home. bales have been having money problems. their house was put up for a short sale before the shootings. now let's head to ft. leavenworth, kansas, and ted rowland. what have you got for us this morning? >> reporter: we're getting more information through bales' attorney, john henry browne. after meeting with his client, browne says bales told him he doesn't remember the actual shooting itself. he says he has memories before and after but doesn't remember exactly that period of time where of course 16 innocent afghanis were gunned down

including nine children. we are at ft. leavenworth outside and today john henry browne is expecteded to meet with his client again during the day and according to the folks here at the post he'll be back again tomorrow. you mention those financial issues that bales had. we're learning more about that as well. first of all, you mention the issue in washington with his real estate. he had a condo that he had foreclosed upon and also this house that was put up in a short sale scenario. also in ohio before he joined the military, he was with a financial group and they were accused of bilking an ohio couple out of $1.5 billion. there wasn't a prosecution in the case. an arbitration report specifically named bales and said that he engaged in fraud. we're also learning about a bizarre incident in 2008 where bales was behind the wheel of his car, got into an accident, and then scurried into the woods

in his army fatigues with blood on his forehead. we talked to a witness. we tracked down a guy. take a listen to him. he ran into bales shortly after that accident and this is what he says bales did immediately after the accident. >> we asked him if he needed help. he was on the cell phone saying something like, man, i really screwed up. whoever he was talking to. i screwed up. do you need help? it appeared like he had blood on his face. he was ignoring us and walking up the hill away from where there would be help. there was gas station about a third of the mile down the hill. he was walking up the hill away from help. >> reporter: so, carol, today again the lawyer, john henry browne, will meet with bales. no charges in the case handed down by the military. we don't know how long he'll be held here at ft. leavenworth. whether he'll be moved and whether the trial proceedings as they start up will be at another facility or here.

carol? >> ted rowlands reporting live from ft. leavenworth, kansas. we'll talk to a military life and blogger who has written an open letter to bales' wife carolyn. she wants carolyn to know that it isn't her fault. new developments in the shooting death of an unarmed florida teenager. the fbi and federal prosecutors have now joined the investigation. outraged protesters are demanding justice for 17-year-old trayvon martin. he was only carrying candy and iced tea when a volunteer watch captain, george zimmerman, killed him last month. zimmerman says it was in self-defense. he has not been charged. sanford, florida, police say there's no evidence to refute his story. martin's dad told anderson cooper, it's racial profiling. >> i think it's just a matter of profiling, which i think that's an issue that mr. zimmerman himself considers as someone

suspicious. a black kid with a hoodie on, jeans, tennis shoes. as you said, thousands of people wear that outfit every day. what was so suspicious about trayvon that zimmerman felt as though he had to confront him? >> martin's family is petitioning the district attorney's office to prosecute zimmerman. so far more than half a million people have signed the petition on change.org. we also have some new insight into george zimmerman's determination to report crime. he frequently made calls to police to report suspicious activity even when he was not on duty as a volunteer watch captain. here's a sample of one of those calls although we don't know exactly what happened as a result of it. but listen. >> our neighborhood got burgl y burglarized or robbed today. my wife saw one of the kids that did it and we see someone that

matches his description in the neighborhood right now again. >> is he white, black or hispanic? >> black. he just went between the houses to the back. >> since 2001, zimmerman has made 46 calls to police. we'll have more of those calls and what they could mean coming up in the next hour of "newsroom." parts of the south on alert for heavy rains and possible flooding. >> it hit. it hit! it hit! >> this after a tornado touched down in texas yesterday about 30 miles from san antonio. hundreds of calls have poured into local officials about damage and injuries. at least one person remains unaccounted for. meteorologist rob marciano is tracking all of this strange weather we're having. >> it continues. i'm being told live pictures out of texas where that tornado touched down. let's take a look at it. air yaerials from our you affil.

some damage there. a few injuries as carol mentioned. one person unaccounted for. no fatalities at the moment. that rough weather has moved to the east. let's look at the maps and show you where the line is. headed toward houston right now. three reports of tornadoes just to the south and west of the san antonio. you see the line now motoring toward houston. there's a tornado warning out for harris county which is houston proper. no reports of a tornado on the ground but a warning for radar indicated tornado potentially moving through the galleria area. highly populated area of houston. this is moving to the east at about 30 miles an hour. if not a tornado or winds, rain is the other big issue. a very slow moving system. areas around dallas, areas around austin and san antonio and now houston will be if they haven't already receive a tremendous amount of rainfall in some cases estimates to near 10

inches. six inches in arklatex region and severe thunderstorms a threat as the slow moving storm pushes into the east into record breaking heat for probably the fifth or sixth day in many cities. 80s as far north as chicago and through atlanta and that looks like it will hang around. it's helping certainly feed some of the heat and moisture into this system which is creating some of the severe weather across texas. >> i know it's hot here in atlanta. the pollen count yesterday was 9,000. normally at this time of year it's in the hundreds. >> even at 6,000 was the old record. we're off the charts. that will continue in the next couple days until we knock it down with the rainfall. spring has sprung last night officially. >> it's rain and pollen here. thank you. voters as you know going to the polls in illinois to pick a republican presidential candidate. two of those candidates are now battling over the importance of the unemployment rate. paul steinhauser is in wheaton, illinois. paul, hello. >> reporter: here we go again, carol. another tuesday. another primary day.

it seems like deja vu all over again. i'm in wheaton, illinois, suburbs of chicago. here's the brand new polling in this state. this is from american research group. it came out yesterday and was conducted over the weekend. you can see according to this public opinion survey, mitt romney with a 14-point advantage over rick santorum, the former senator from pennsylvania. you can see newt gingrich, former house speaker and ron paul congressman from texas further down here. it's really kind of a two-person race in illinois. 54 delegates at stake today. 54 delegates up for grabs. it's proportional. not winner take all. you don't have to win to grab some of those delegates. it's an open primary. democrats can vote and so can independents and republicans. this part of the state in suburban chicago you could say more romney country. more moderate vote. he's supposed to do well here. rick santorum is supposed to do downstate with more rural and

conservative voters. >> rick santorum made news again for something he said although he probably didn't mean it the way people took it. >> reporter: yeah. this was a big talker last night. rick santorum was talking about the major issues in this contest. he was talking about health care and then he segued to the economy. take a listen. >> i don't care what the unemployment rate is going to be. it doesn't matter to me. my campaign doesn't hinge on unemployment rates and growth rates. there's something more foundational going on here. one nominee says he wants to run the economy. what kind of conservative says the president runs the economy? what kind of conservative says i'm the guy because of my economic experience that can create jobs. >> reporter: so the bigger point he was trying to make is it's more than just the economy. health care, other important issues. he did have to say of course i do care about jobs. i do care about unemployment. carol, as you can imagine, the

romney campaign and candidate himself quick to react. take a listen. >> i'm concerned about the people that are out of work. one of the people running also for the republican nomination today said he doesn't care about the unemployment rate. that doesn't bother him. i do care about the unemployment rate. it does bother me. i want to get people back to work. i'm concerned about those that are out of work. >> reporter: just a little taste i guess you could say of the rising acrimony between these two candidates, carol. >> would have been better if he didn't say one person and romney had said rick santorum. it was interesting. paul steinhauser, thanks so much. michelle obama was david letterman's guest on "the late show" last night and the first lady got emotional when talking about her dad. >> my father had multips. i knew him to work so hard. i learned complete unconditional

love. the notion that kids really don't need anything but to know that their parents adore them and i think that's the greatest gift they gave us. just their constant support and stability and that's really what we try to instill in our girls. you talk about raising kids, it's just really -- we had rules. we had boundaries. but there wasn't anything my dad wouldn't do for us. don't make me cry. this isn't "oprah." it's supposed to be "letterman." >> coming up in the next hour, the first lady talks about her shopping trip to target and what happened when she thought her cover had been blown. video of a disabled child getting patted down by a security screener. a tsa agent. it's gone viral fueling more criticism about how far tsa agents should go. you'll hear from the child's father who shot and posted this

video. that's coming up. it looks like peyton is coming and tebow is going. denver decides on their quarterback of the future. where could their current qb land? we'll talk about tebow coming up. there is one immigration issue that seems to have support from both sides of the aisle. it all has to do with luck of the irish. we'll tell you why just ahead.

♪ ( 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. do about medicare and social security... security. that's what matters to me... me? i've been paying in all these years... years washington's been talking at us, but they never really listen... listen...it's not just some line item on a budget; it's what i'll have to live on... i live on branson street, and i have something to say... [ male announcer ] aarp is bringing the conversation on medicare and social security out from behind closed doors in washington. because you've earned a say.

happy belated st. patrick's

day to ireland's prime minister. the prime minister will lunch with john boehner. no stress here. america has always had a soft spot for the irish. even if it appears when it comes to immigration. there is a bipartisan effort to increase immigration for one particular group, the irish. republican senator scott brown and democratic senator chuck schumer argue ireland deserves 10,500 more special work visas because the u.s. immigration policy has limited the number of irish entering the united states and we need irish immigrants because they are highly skilled. roy beck is president of numbers usa.com. his organization is opposed to this move. welcome, roy. >> good morning. >> so what's wrong with granting irish immigrants more work visas? >> well, first of all, there are 20 million americans who are

unemployed or have been forced into part-time work. 20 million still. so why would the senate be talking about increasing foreign work visas at all. the senate ought to be talking about how to decrease foreign work visas and secondly this is offensive. it's not the 1860s or 1840s. there's nothing in immigration law that discriminates against the irish. it's ludicrous. irish are treated the same as people all over the world but now we have ireland lobby saying we want special treatment. why? because we speak english? on our website we've had people coming on accusing us of being anti-irish saying these are exactly the people we should have come in. people who speak english. people are white. they're not mexican. that's why this is so offensive. >> we did ask republican scott brown and chuck schumer to come on our program. both declined. weened that senator brown is runnirun

running in a tight race for a second term in the senate. here he is complete with a shamrock corsage. we don't see that. we did have pictures of him yesterday. he was wearing a big shamrock corsage and as we know, massachusetts has a large population of people of irish dissent. this is what he said. the irish have been unfairly shut out by our immigration laws. to maintain the close bond between the u.s. and ireland, senator brown is work in a bipartisan way to add the irish e3 program. he says it has everything to do about fairness. >> his democratic opponent, ms. warren, has come out for this as well. it's pandering. this is what you see with immigration. it's a pork barrel kind of policy. and you can be sure that if they

pass this irish bill to give irish special privileges, you'll see one nationality group after another asking for the same thing. where is the concern for the 20 million unemployed americans? this is just poll particulitici. >> it does seem unfair if you look at the numbers. >> the thing is that there are quotas for every nation that are exactly the same. in addition to that, there's unlimited quotas for spouses and minor children. what happens is that because a lot of things have happened in the past because of amnesties of illegal aliens from mexico and other latin american countries, that means you have a huge percentage of the people who come in as spouses and minor children coming in from those

countries. they're not coming in from ireland. in terms of the quotas for workers, ireland gets the same shot as everybody else. >> okay. so final question. this bill is now, what, in the senate? is it close to passing? do you think it will pass? >> we're fearful. senator schumer, democrat from new york seems to think he has 53 democrats lined up to do this. this is democratic party of the working people. i think it would face a lot tougher scrutiny in the house. i think the house is more concerned about the working people, unemployed when it comes to immigration. we'll see. >> yes, we are. we'll keep following it as well. roy beck, thank you so much for joining us this morning. >> thank you. can you imagine what the wife of the soldier accused in the afghan killings is going through? the tidal wave of questions? she has two young kids too. coming up, we're going to talk to a military wife and blogger who has written a heartfelt open

letter to carolyn bales. we'll be back. helps transform dry, thinning skin, by strengthening its moisture barrier, for improved texture and elasticity in 2 weeks. reveal healthy, supple skin. aveeno skin strengthening. you'd use carbon fiber and machined aluminum, to make it more beautiful, and more durable. you'd use edge-to-edge gorilla glass for a stunning display in a more compact form. and you'd choose an intel® core i7™ processor

for maximum processing power. everything that you could ever want in a laptop. introducing the dell xps 13 ultrabook™ everything. and more. ♪ only hertz gives you a carfirmation. hey, this is challenger. i'll be waiting for you in stall 5. it confirms your reservation and the location your car is in, the moment you land. it's just another way you'll be traveling at the speed of hertz.

the lawyer for the u.s. soldier accused of killing 16 afghan civilians says the case

is tough because of the social, legal and political ramifications but one military wife is calling attention to another victim in this story. a victim who may be overlooked. staff sergeant robert bales' wife. her name is carolyn. she's coping with that shocking news about her husband and where to go from her. she's still got two small children to raise and a tough financial situation to deal with. lori is a military wife and blogger. she has written an open letter to carolyn bales. lori joins us now from vancouver, washington. what inspired you to write to carolyn? >> when my husband was deployed, i had an online journal that i kept that helped me keep a connection to the military spouse community and in thinking about what those moments must have been like when she was first figuring out what was happening, i felt that probably she was going to be not a part of the main story and someone

who had been overlooked by some of the rest of the community and that it would have been important for someone to reach out. i didn't know her. i thought the best way to do that would be to think about how i would feel and i wrote an open letter on my blog. >> i want to read part of your letter and here it is. i'm going read it. you say i can't imagine the questions that flooded your brain like a rush of moving water threatening to drown you and offering no relief for a gasp of air. what exactly happened? has he been injured? where is he now? is he safe? when can i talk to him? when can i see him? when can't i see him? am i in trouble? anyone i can call? anything i can say? anything i can't say? how do i know it's true? do i hire an attorney? how much will it cost? where will i get the money? is he getting a military paycheck now? something else, she's at ft. leavenworth with her children for protection. it's hard to imagine what she's

going through. >> i think she's in protection closer to her home up here in washington state. i think she does have some attachment to the military community here. she's getting some calls from some friends so that's good news. the thing i thought of immediately of course is as military spouses we operate very often in an absence of information. something we have to learn to deal with on a regular basis. you know, that was one of the only things i would really relate to was what that was like when i was in those situations operating without information and the amount of questions that i had that i knew didn't have answers or i might not ever know the answers to. >> sergeant bales is accused of such horrible crimes. you know, some people might not be so sympathetic toward his wife. how would you respond to those people? >> you know, carol, i thought about that before i posted that

letter and sort of braced myself for what i thought would probably be quite a few negative comments. i am surprised to have seen exactly the opposite of that. i have received thousands and thousands of visits to my website since i posted that letter and i don't have a single negative comment. what i do have is an outpouring of support military spouse that she's not a participant in any of these acts. she's done her duty to hold up the home front, take care of the kids and she's continuing to do that now as the story unfolds. >> lori, thank you so much for being with us this morning. >> thank you, carol. >> and to helping us understand. thanks so much. this video has gone viral. it sparks heavy criticism of the tsa. you'll hear from a father whose son got hands-on attention from a security screener.

♪ i'm making my money do more. i'm consolidating my assets. i'm not paying hidden fees or high commissions. i'm making the most of my money. and seven-dollar trades are just the start. i'm with scottrade. i'm with scottrade. i'm with scottrade. and i'm loving every minute of it. [ rodger riney ] at scottrade, we give you commission-free etfs, no-fee iras and more. come see why more investors are saying... i'm with scottrade. but what about your wrinkles? neutrogena® rapid wrinkle repair. its retinol formula visibly reduces wrinkles in one week. why wait if you don't have to. neutrogena®.

why wait if you don't have to. we want to protect the house. right. but... home security systems can be really expensive. to save money, we actually just adopted a rescue panther.

i think i'm goin-... shhh! we find that we don't need to sleep that much. there's an easier way to save. geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more. monarch of marketing analysis. with the ability to improve roi through seo all by cob. and you...rent from national. because only national lets you choose any car in the aisle...

and go. you can even take a full-size or above, and still pay the mid-size price. i'm going b-i-g. [ male announcer ] good choice business pro. good choice. go national. go like a pro. opening bell just rang on wall street. stocks ended on a high note yesterday. dow futures are down 77 points this morning. we'll keep an eye on the market throughout the day. we'll keep you posted. a video posted online by an angry father stirring up old emotions about those tsa pat-downs. this youtube video shows a 3-year-old boy in a wheelchair being thoroughly screened by a tsa agent. not accept aabable for another person to put their hands on his

child. >> there's another human being putting their hands on my child. that's not acceptable. if he was putting his hands on my child at mcdonald's or any place else, we would immediately have him arrested and we would call the police. >> did you feel the agent was intrusive or disrespectful? >> i think the whole exercise was intrusive and disrespectful to a human being. especially a 3-year-old human being. >> cnn's lizzie o'leary interviewed the father and is joining outside conversation. the weird thing about this is this incident happened two years ago. why is the father just posting it now? >> i asked him that, carol. what he said was that this had happened. he had forgotten about it and the old emotions were sort of reignited when he was going back and looking through family photos. it is very important to point out that this happened almost two years ago. in large part because the way kids under 12 are screened has changed since then.

in september the tsa put in basically new rules that allow kids another chance through a metal detector or screening pat would see white swabs but there have been a lot of changes to the way kids are screened and we've seen elderly folks. program announced yesterday where folks over 75 can also have some different types of screening because of a lot of objections to the way tsa does screening. >> so this type of screening that we're seeing behind you would not go on today? >> this is a really open question because the child is in a wheelchair and if that case, think about it, a wheelchair is metal and would set off a screening machine. you would still see some pat downs and that's important to note. the overall question of what happens to kids when they go through screening, certainly something that's important to parents but it's been changed

over the course of the past year as the tsa has tried to modify the way it does screening. they call it risk based security. they try to focus on people who are more of a risk. and it also has the added benefit of moving some folks through security faster. >> now that we have all of the information, what does this father -- what does he want to see happen? >> i think he would like to see as he told me less intrusive screening but it's also important to note for fairness that he did not file a complaint. he did not speak to a supervisor after the incident. he did ask to be pulled into a smaller room. he said it was hard to know what was the right thing to do. we also wanted to get our kids and family on a plane to disney world and get the whole thing done with. >> i can understand that too. lizzie o'leary, thank you so much. a battle brewing between texas and the federal government over funding for women's clinics. thousands of women caught in the middle may lose the only health care they can afford.

you're probably muddling through allergies. try zyrtec® for powerful allergy relief. and zyrtec® is different than claritin® because it starts working faster on the first day you take it. zyrtec®. love the air. a second gen intel® core™ i5 or i7 processor. everything. and more. ♪

"dancing with the stars" is getting some big scores from fans. i'm surprised by this because when i watched "dancing with the stars," i didn't even recognize some of the celebrities. >> that's what a lot of people are saying. it's not glitzy and glamorous enough this season but off to a good start. a big night on "dancing with the stars" last night. that's because the judges were handing out record scores for the first night of competition. 26 out of 30 in terms of points for two.

white told "showbiz tonight" that he's happy to be on the show and happy to nail his performance after rehearsing his performance 500 times. that's quite a charm. there are people complaining on the stars saying the season that there isn't enough glamour or controversy coming from the cast. judging from the first night, the actual dancing competition, looks like it will be fierce on the dance floor. i don't if you have your favorites this season. you may want to get into it more, carol. wow. those are big numbers for the first night, right. >> there's video. i was hoping to see it. i forgot it was about dancing and not about the celebrity. let's talk about ashton kutcher. i'm envious. is he shelling out big bucks to take a trip into space? >> you know he is. ashton kutcher only does it big. for $200,000 ashton signed on to become the 500th passenger on richard branson's space program. he announced the news on his

block saying i gave ashton a blog to welcome him. he's as thrilled as we are at the prospect of being among the first to cross the final frontier and back with us and to experience the magic of space for himself. branson's space program hasn't sent anyone into orbit just yet. branson says they're in the final stages of production on his space ship but he promises he'll produce a very safe rocket in part because the billionaire and his family will be among the first passengers on board. it better be safe. >> right. that would be bad. thank you. if you want information on everything breaking in entertainment world, tune into "showbiz tonight" at 11:00 p.m. eastern on hln. a prenup is an agreement for people getting married. why more unmarried couples are getting that prenup. consider the journey of today's athletes: ♪ their training depends on technology. [ beeping, ticks ]

and when their devices are powered by a battery, there are athletes everywhere who trust duracell so whether they're headed for london or the journey has just begun... they rely on copper to go for the gold. duracell. trusted everywhere. beth! hi! looking good. you've lost some weight. thanks. you noticed. these clothes are too big, so i'm donating them. how'd you do it? eating right -- whole grain. [ female announcer ] people who choose more whole grain tend to weigh less than those who don't. multi-grain cheerios -- 5 whole grains, 110 calories. creamy, dreamy peanut butter taste in a tempting new cereal. mmm! [ female announcer ] new multi-grain cheerios peanut butter. but what about your wrinkles. neutrogena® rapid wrinkle repair. it has the fastest retinol formula available.

it's clinically proven to visibly reduce wrinkles in just one week. "why wait if you don't have to." rapid wrinkle repair. neutrogena®. recommended most by dermatologists.

prenups aren't just for married couples anymore. a growing number of unmarried couples are getting them too. really? >> yes. it's definitely a trend that's catching on. if you are not married, what this is really called is a c cohabitation agreement. 40% of divorce lawyers are seeing an increase in number of cohabitation agreements being taken out. it really is similar to a

prenup. what it does is that it spells out legalities. it discusses custody issues, financial obligations, who gets shared property and right to make medical decisions. it's especially useful if a couple is buying a home, raising a family but is not married. here is the reason why you see more of these agreements happen. many states don't have cohabitation laws. having one of these agreements protects you if you break up. it also gives you rights if your boyfriend or girlfriend dies. >> okay. so is it a good idea to get one if you're co-habitating? >> it is if you want to protect your finances, yes. we're seeing more and more of this because the reality is many couples aren't getting married. there is a study showing that the number of adults tying the knot is at a record low. many relationships end in a long drawn out legal battle just like

divorce. what this cohabitation agreement does is make the process easier if that's possible. carol? >> i know. if that's possible. thank you. just ahead, looks like peyton is coming and tebow is going. where could the current qb land? we'll talk about that and more next. people really love snapshot from progressive, but don't just listen to me. listen to these happy progressive customers. i plugged in snapshot, and 30 days later, i was saving big on car insurance. i was worried it would be hard to install. but it's really easy. the better i drive, the more i save. i wish our company had something this cool. yeah. you're not... filming this, are you? aw! camera shy. snapshot from progressive. plug into the savings you deserve

with snapshot from progressive. since ameriprise 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. ♪

together for your future. [ male announcer ] nyquil cold and flu relieves your cough 50% longer than tylenol cold multi-symptom nighttime. [ snoring continues ] [ male announcer ] because snoring sounds better than coughing. [ sizzling ] ♪ [ male announcer ] free hot breakfast. with fresh waffles. real value. from your friends at hampton.

>> i am sure you heard by now john elway may have found the quarterback to take denver to the promised land and it ain't tim tebow. the broncos are close to signing peyton manning and that cause tebow haters to tweet like this. tebow, a fun year. good luck in miami or jacksonville or on the professional bowlers association tour. this tweet. are you laughing yet? >> i'm laughing. that was pretty good. i like the 319. >> if you really boil this down, tim tebow did what he was supposed to. he got the broncos to the playoffs. he did it with class. he didn't complain. he was humble. knew he had to get better. now the broncos like take on peyton manning, a man who may have a glass neck. >> well, you know, that tells you two things. one, john elway never believed

in tebow. he benefited from tebow mania but he never tebowmania but he never believed he was going to be the qb to lead them to the future. you're right, if you're willing to get rid of the guy who won you your divisional championship in exchange for a 35-year-old with a suspect neck, that tells you how highly they think of both peyton manly and now lowly they think of tebow as a quarterback. >> ouch. i guess the problem -- >> it is what it is. >> some teams are supposedly interested in tim tebow. the cleveland browns, one, jacksonville is another one. i can't remember the third one. they're all going to have the same problem denver had with tim tebow. he's going to have these passionate fans and they're going to force the team to do something they might not be ready to do. >> well, i don't think the fans are going to force teams to do something they don't want to do, but i think it will be somewhat of a pr nightmare if tebow isn't winning. any team that's actively pursuing tim tebow, one, is losing, so any good news -- any

news is good news for them. and, two, they don't have a quarterback anyway. and so if you are in jacksonville with a relatively new owner or you're a cleveland browns where you haven't had much of anything to cheer about, why not get a guy who sold more jerseys in the nfl who will bring a lot of press to you, positive and negative, but at least he'll have people interested in your team. you might as well pick him, right? >> i am going to ask you the big question because you're an espn guy, a cnn guy, you know sports. can tebow become a great quarterback? >> it depends on the system that implemented in and whether or not the franchise believes in him. he's not going to grow and benefit from where we see -- saw him last season if the franchise that picks him up work was what he can do, mask what he can't do, and gives him the time and believe in him to continue to develop and grow. in other words, he is still a long-term project, and,

unfortunately in sports, professionally and in the nfl where contracts aren't guaranteed, you don't have a lot of time. so the question boils down to can tebow get up to speed fast enough to earn that respect, or is he just going to kind of be kind of a curiosity in pop culture down the line? >> i don't know. he's a big -- have you ever seen anything like the tebow phenomenon before? i haven't. i haven't seen anything like the love or hate people have for tim tebow. >> it's a great story, it really is, and he really is a good guy. i have met him several times. i have met him at a point where he was at florida when he was winning championships. i talked to him again this past season. he's a really good young man, and he's a young man that anybody would want to attach to their franchise. the problem is the nfl is not about being good or bad. if it was, then the league would look totally different. the problem is about winning and losing. as long as he wins, he'll have a spot, but the way he plays right now, it doesn't guarantee it for

the future. >> yeah, but he made the playoffs. >> he did make the playoffs. >> lz granderson, thank you. we're following lots of developments in the next hour of the cnn "newsroom." let's check in with ted rowlands. >> still no charges against staff sergeant robert bales. we are expecting he'll meet with his attorney again here at ft. leavenworth. coming up at the top of the hour, we'll tell what you he's been telling his attorney about that massacre in afghanistan. 90,000 american troops are still fighting in afghanistan and their commander is in washington today, and he's giving us some hints about what's next for those troops and how this latest incident may affect them. i'm chris lawrence at the pentagon. i'll have that. and i'm david mattingly in atlanta. the justice department is aumpling its own investigation into the killing of trayvon martin. i'll have that story in the next hour. >> thanks to all of you. also beefed up security at synagogues in new york after a deadly shooting in france. we'll tell you why officials in the united states are so concerned.

i want healthy skin for life. [ female announcer ] improve the health of your skin with aveeno daily moisturizing lotion. the natural oatmeal formula improves skin's health in one day, with significant improvement in 2 weeks. i found a moisturizer for life. [ female announcer ] only from aveeno. i get my cancer medications through the mail. now washington, they're looking at shutting down post offices coast to coast. closing plants is not the answer. they want to cut 100,000 jobs. it's gonna cost us more, and the service is gonna be less. we could lose clientele because of increased mailing times. the ripple effect is going to be devastating. congress created the problem. and if our legislators get on the ball, they can make the right decisions.

[ male announcer ] aggressive new styling. a more fuel-efficient turbocharged engine. and a completely redesigned interior. ♪ the new c-class with over 2,000 refinements. it's amazing...inside and out. see your authorized mercedes-benz dealer for exceptional offers through mercedes-benz financial services.

a 10-year-old girl documents her very first ski jump, and now over 600,000 people have watched her brave plunge down the slope. here is more from jeanne moos. >> reporter: this is how ski jumping looks when the big girls do it, but to a little girl, it looks like this. >> i'll be fine. >> have fun. >> i'll do it. >> reporter: her name is zia and

she's a fourth grader in park city, utah. >> here goes something, i guess. >> reporter: but it's not going yet. >> you can do this. i'm gonna, i'm gonna jump. >> you got it. >> whoa, my ski is slipping off. >> reporter: her mom, jennifer terry, posted the helmet dam video on youtube. now she's not up there alone. you can hear an instructor chiming in. >> just remember, never snowplow. >> never snowplows. >> reporter: she's standing atop the 40 meter jump having already mastered the 20. >> just longer, just a bigger 20, that's all. >> yeah. >> a bigger 20. >> even a self-described tom boy is entitled to a last-minute whimper. >> you'll be fine. >> okay. go.

>> reporter: this viral video reminded america's most accomplished female ski jumper -- >> yeah! >> reporter: of herself. you mean you grew up that on very jump. >> yeah, i grew up on that jump and i did that same thing about 20 years ago. yeah, it seemed huge to me then. >> just the suspense at the top freaks you out. that's the only thing. it's so fun. >> reporter: even on the beginner's 40 meter jump that last step -- >> here goes something. >> reporter: -- is a doozy. jeanne moos, cnn. >> 60 seems like nothing now! >> reporter: new york. >> whoo! stories we're watching right now in the "newsroom." the soldier accused of killing afghan civilians is expected to meet with his lawyer again today at ft. leavenworth as they plan their defense. the attorney says staff sergeant robert bales was not drunk the night of the shootings, but he

cannot remember what happened that night. federal prosecutors and the fbi investigating the death of trayvon martin. some people outraged. the watch captain who shot the unarmed 17-year-old is not facing charges. george zimmerman said it was self-defense. and illinois republicans are voting today for a presidential candidate. the latest poll showing mitt romney leading rick santorum by 14%. 54 delegates up for grabs. happening right now on capitol hill though, there is a hearing on how the civilian killings and the koran burnings in afghanistan have affected the u.s. mission there. marine general john allen, who is in charge of american forces in the country, is testifying about the recent developments before the house armed services committee. that's him. he's just about to sit down. we want to bring in our pentagon correspondent, chris lawrence. he'll be monitoring this hearing. what do we expect to hear from the general? >> reporter: well, it's likely that he's going to echo what a lot of top commanders here at the pentagon have been saying,

carol, which is stick to the plan, stay the course. what the military really wants is to get a second good fighting season. they're going to get this one, this spring into this summer, which is when a lot of the heavy fighting takes place in aftion. things slow down in the winter there because of, you know, the poppy harvest, because of the weather, things like that. they want to have a significant amount of troops there for next fighting season to get one more strong fighting season in, but the thing is the surge will be done by this fall. so we're at about 90,000 troops now. we're going to be down to about 67,000, 68,000 by the fall. the key and what general al sentence going to be pushing for is to keep the funding and make the argument to keep the majority of those 67,000, 68,000 for another year. there are many in congress, even some inside the administration as well who would argue a faster

pull down to bring more of those troops home is what's warranted now. >> i know you're going to monitor this conference and hopefully you'll be back within the hour to tell us what was said. chris lawrence live at the pentagon. more now on staff sergeant robert bales. he'll likely meet with his attorney again today at ft. leavenworth, kansas. we're now hearing from bales' wife for the first time. she put out this statement. it says, quote, what has been reported is completely out of character of the man i know and admire. the victims and their families are all in my prayers, as is my husband who i love very much. she and her two children have the added stress of moving out of their home in the tacoma, washington, area. the bales have been having money problems. their house was put up for a short sale just before the shootings. bales' lawyer says his client, by the way, was not drunk the night of the killings, but he cannot remember what happened. >> he has an early memory of that evening, and he has a later memory of that evening, but he

doesn't have memory of in between. >> bales told you he was not drinking that night. >> he said i had a couple sips of something but he didn't even have a full drink. >> but he was not drunk. >> no. >> now, let's go to ted rowlands at ft. leavenworth. i talked with that attorney, mr. brown. he told me the sap thing -- same thing, that his client couldn't remember what happened that night. have you talked to the attorney lately, ted? >> reporter: we've been corresponding over e-mail but he made those comments before meeting with bales yesterday at ft. leavenworth. people look at his military record and look at the crime he's accused of doing, and they just don't add up. it's hard to look at anybody's record and that crime and make it add up, but it just adds to the mystery that now he's saying that he doesn't remember that period of time, some sort of blackout, that he just doesn't recall.

it's adding to the mystery. we do expect bales to continue to discuss this case with his lawyer, team of lawyers here at leavenworth today. still no charges have been formally handed down yet by the military though, carol. >> charges still have not been filed. do we expect them to be filed anytime soon? >> reporter: well, the military does a complete investigation before they formulate the charges, and then -- it's called preferring the charges. that investigation goes to a commander, and then it's up to the commander then to prefer the charges up, and we don't know when they're going to come down. speculation is that they could come down any day or within the week, but we just don't know specifically because they're not telling us, they're not giving us a specific time frame. >> so once bales is finally charges, do you think he'll stay at leavenworth? >> we don't know. that's a good question. whether he'll stay at leavenworth and then go to court proceedings at another facility,

possibly go out to the seattle area where he was based, or will the proceedings take place here or at a different facility. we do know he will be tried in the united states. that, of course, has made a lot of afghanis upset, but his criminal prosecution will take place on u.s. soil. we just don't know where. >> ted rowlands reporting live at ft. leavenworth, kansas. all eyes on illinois today. voters are going to the polls to choose a gop presidential candidate. 54 delegates at stake. no winner take all here. delegates are divvied up proportionally. it's an open primary. our coverage begins with ann burnett outside. at 7:00 p.m. eastern she'll have all the results -- actually that will be followed by the results which will start to trickle in at 8:00 p.m. eastern. busy day for president obama. right now he's meeting with the prime minister of ireland in the oval office. today's meeting is part of the prime minister's annual visit to

washington. at noon the two will have lunch at the capital and tonight the obamas will host a st. patrick's day reception at the white house. michelle obama joined david letterman on "the late show" last night, and she spoke about a recent shopping trip to target. >> that's my target run. i went to target. i thought i was under cover. i have to tell you something about this trip though. >> uh-huh. >> no one knew that was me because a woman actually walked up to me, right? i was in the detergent aisle, and she said, i kid you not, she said, excuse me, i just have to ask you something, and i thought, oh, cover is blown. she said can you reach on that shelf and hand me the detergent. i kid you not. >> mrs. obama's pretty tall. in a more serious moment mrs. obama told letterman about her father, who had multiple sclerosis. she said she learned absolute,

complete, unconditional love from him. people are protesting because a neighbor watch captain who shot an unarmed teenager has not been charged. newly released police tapes are giving us some insight into exactly who the shooter is. 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 or who have or might have prostate cancer,

and women who are, or may become pregnant or are breast feeding should not use androgel. serious side effects include worsening of an enlarged prostate, possible increased risk of prostate cancer, lower sperm count, swelling of ankles, feet, or body, enlarged or painful breasts, problems breathing during sleep, and blood clots in the legs. tell your doctor about your medical conditions and medications, especially insulin, corticosteroids, or medicines to decrease blood clotting. talk to your doctor today about androgel 1.62% so you can use less gel. log on now to androgeloffer.com and you could pay as little as ten dollars a month for androgel 1.62%. what are you waiting for? this is big news. ♪ ( 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. in france today they're remembering three students at a teacher who were gunned down at a jewish school on monday. a moment of silence there. the french president, nicolas sarkozy, joined others for that moment of silence. the kill serer is a suspected sl

killer. the country is on high alert. new york city police have -- are patrolling in areas where there are jewish synagogues there because of that shooting in france. >> reporter: yeah. hi, carol. this is an area and all places of faith and worship are under high alert. there's loads of security around. a few hours ago the french interior minister came out and said they do not know who could be behind this, who the serial killer is, but there was some interesting detail that is came out. the interior minister was quoting a witness that says that he saw the killer on a scooter with a video camera around his neck. so what police and investigators are doing now, carol, is they're going through the internet and scouring it to see if this kind of a person, because they had an alleged video camera around their neck, would be posting something like this out for the public to see. they're also looking for some kind of psychological profile. it's not clear what exactly the

motive with this shooting was, but there are various theories being floated around. he could be a deranged right winger. he could be a knee -- neo na i did or even an ex-soldier. they're saying it's only a question of time until they get him. remember the washington sniper a few years ago. toulouse is in that same kind of fear with people going around just scared. >> are they sure this man is targeting jewish targets because a couple weeks ago i guess a gunman on a motorcycle fired on some soldiers. >> reporter: right. they're not exactly sure, but the link between the two cases and officials and police are saying there is a link is that, first of all, the same gun was used in all instances. it was a .45 caliber pistol that

was used, and also the scooter that the shooter was on was a yamaha scooter and cctv had picked up the number plate in the different occasions. so they are linking it. the cases i'm referring to, ones where north african soldiers were targeted and killed. so there are two minority groups in the country, and police are making a link, and they're determined to get the guy. but everyone is afraid in toulou toulouse. >> we can understand that. the house budget committee chairman will release the house republican blue print in less than 15 minutes. we'll take you live to capitol hill with more details next. ohh dear... i'm not sure exactly what happened here last night. i was out helping people save money on their car insurance. 2 more! you're doing it! aren't they doing great?! hiiiiiii!! come sweat with me!

keep going richard. keep sweating!! geico. fifteen minutes could save you sweat! sweat! fifteen percent or more on car insurance. britta olsen is my patient. i spend long hours with her checking her heart rate, administering her medication, and just making her comfortable. one night britta told me about a tradition in denmark, "when a person dies," she said, "someone must open the window so the soul can depart." i smiled and squeezed her hand. "not tonight, britta. not tonight." [ female announcer ] to nurses everywhere, thank you, from johnson & johnson.

we have some new information for you this morning on the death of trayvon martin. a 16-year-old girl told abc's "good morning america" she was on the phone with trayvon martin the night he died. martin told the girl he was being followed. she then heard someone ask martin what he was doing. after martin responded, she heard his phone drop and the call went dead. the fbi and federal prosecutors are now investigating martin's death. the congressional black caucus

has called for federal action saying sanford, florida, police have shown a blatant disregard for justice, but police stand by their investigation. >> as you can see crowds protested outside a courthouse in florida demanding justice and calling it a case of racial profiling. >> he could so easily have just been any one of us, so i feel like the reason y'all are out here is because y'all are affected the same way i was affected. >> we all should expect better service from our public servants. that's what they're paid to do. >> george zimmerman, the block watch captain, the man who shot martin, hasn't spoken out publicly about that night, but newly released audio tape shows zimmerman had a history of reporting crime to the police. the calls give new insight into who he is, but first here is a look at what we do know about him. >> reporter: neighbors say george zimmerman was hard core when it came to patrolling the

neighborhood. records show he called police 46 times since 2001. some of those calls concern suspicious people roaming the neighborhood after a string of break-ins like the call he made the night he shot trayvon martin. >> this guy looks like he's up to no good or he's on drugs or something. >> reporter: some neighbors in the homeowner's association credit zimmerman's diligence with thwarting several crimes. zimmerman is of hispanic descent, 28 years old and married. in calls to police he often references reports of what his wife saw. >> my wife saw one of kids that did it. >> reporter: and he even once had a brush with the law. accused of physically interfering with a police officer during a friend's arrest. he was later cleared of that charge. there are still questions though, like did zimmerman have a job? the miami herald reports he once owned a pressure washing company, but not much else is known. >> david mattingly joins us now.

david, we have these new 911 tapes, and there are a lot of them. you went through them, you listened to him. what have you found? >> what we're hear something a neighborhood watch captain who is very, if you want to say aggressive, in what he was doing. he was vigilant, he was calling in everything that he saw was suspicious, calling in people he didn't recognize. in fact, we have one of those examples for you. we're going to play one of those tapes right now, and it sounds very familiar when you listen to it. it sounds a lot like the same call he made by trayvon martin. let's listen. >> how can i help you? >> hi. there was a break-in in my neighborhood recently, and two youths that match the description of the people, my wife i.d.'d them and saw them, they're back in the neighborhood. >> what do they look like? are they white, black, or hispanic? >> black males, two black males in their late teens. one is wearing a black whitebeater, black tank top and black shorts and the other one is wearing a black shirt and blue jeans, and they are at the back of the gate of the

neighborhood. if you let the officers know, they typically run away quickly, and i think they head over to the neighborhood, the next neighborhood over, so you may want to send a unit over to calabria cove. >> there he's expressing what sounds like frustration that he calls in people he thinks are sus suspicious, by the time the police get there, the suspects are gone. >> we know he made these dozens of calls to police since 2001. so the course of some years -- >> yes. >> do we know how many of those calls resulted in arrests? >> no, we don't. we do know that the police were very familiar with him. he made a lot of calls to 911 since 2001, 40-something calls. so this is a guy who has been in his neighborhood, who has had his eyes open and hasn't been afraid to call police. now, when we hear from the family, they've listened to the 911 calls of that night when

trayvon martin was killed, and they've listened to it very closely. they firmly believe that was his voice on the tape calling for help. and when it comes to the confrontation that's where this issue about profiling comes in. they believe zimmerman, first of all, should not have gotten out of his car. he was instructed by authorities that night not to do it. and then go and confront trayvon, and his father was speaking to anderson cooper last night and he said this to say. let's listen. >> i think it's a matter of profiling h which i think that's an issue that mr. zimmerman himself considers as someone suspicious, a black kid with a hoodie on, jeans, tennis shoes, but as you said, thousands of people wear that outfit every day. so what was so suspicious about trayvon that zimmerman felt as though he had to confront him?

>> and now it's really going to be interesting to hear what the justice department makes out of this since they're now getting involved in this investigation, but they're already rolling back expectations. they're saying in their statement that they released last night that negligence, recklessness, mistakes, and accidents are not prosecutable under federal civil rights laws. >> and the gun that the block watch captain, zimmerman, was carrying, he was carrying it legally. >> yes. >> you have a right to defend yourself in the state of florida -- >> yes, but that's not something in a neighborhood watch are supposed to be doing and that's not something that the neighbors there when they voted to have hip as the captain, that they knew that he was carrying a gun. they did not know that. >> interesting. i'm sure you'll continue to follow this case. thank you, david mattingly. another note on this story, martin's family is petitioning the district attorney's office to prosecute zimmerman. they have this online petition, and so far more than half a million people have signed that petition on change.org. in just a few minutes, house budget committee chairman paul ryan will hold a news conference on capitol hill. he is releasing the house

republican budget blueprint, and you can expect cuts to be a big part of that plan. our congressional correspondent kate bolduan is on capitol hill with details on that plan. kate, fill us in. >> reporter: hey there, carol. well, i'm in a new location here. we're actually getting ready for a press conference where we'll be hearing from house budget committee chairman paul ryan and some of his colleagues. they will be coming in in the next few minutes. we are waiting for him and waiting for that. we have a copy of the budget they just put out just this morning. obviously there's a lot in it but the headlines here are really that you should be looking for them deeply cutting spending cap. this is domestic discretion yaer spending. this is spending on domestic programs that does not include spending on entitlements, the major drivers of our country's debt. that's a significant number because it's about $20 billion less than the number that democrats and republicans agreed to during that bruising debt ceiling battle over the summer

that threatened to default and even earlier threatened a government shutdown. other big headlines coming from this budget today, it would balance the budget by 2014. it also overhauls the tax code, simplifying it really, and also includes significant changes to medicare and medicaid. those two elements, all of these elements as you probably -- will be no surprise to you, hugely controversial with democrats in terms of the medicare portion of this. paul ryan says he's making these changes and suggesting these changes in order to preserve and save the program but democrats have already been out slamming it as ending the medicare guarantee as americans will know it. of course, saying this is an example in their view of republicans putting more importance on saving tax breaks for wealthy than they are on protecting seniors and the poor. just like last year, last time around when this budget came out, it will definitely be getting a lot of talk for the days, weeks, and months ahead,

but important to know, carol, bottom line, this is more of a political document than anything else. more laying out republican priorities in the year ahead than anything else, and that is because it really is going to go nowhere in the democratic-controlled senate. democrats have already come out to say that it's not going anywhere. senate majority leader harry reid has already said it's not going anywhere. they've already kind of laid their stakes out, again, no surprise to you, but it is an important document that will be getting a lot of attention going forward. >> yes or no, does it include tax increases for anyone? >> reporter: well, importantly, it does not include tax increases -- as democrats say it does not include tax increases on the wealthy, but it does overhaul this tax code which would close tax loopholes, eliminate deductions, simplify the tax code. when you get into the details, there are both sides of the aisle that are going after each other on that issue as well. >> okay. i know you have a lot of reading to do so i will let you go. >> reporter: a lot of reading, exactly. thanks, carol. >> thank you. the first lady spilled some

secrets on david letterman last night. does the president really like congress that much? i'll ask our political buzz panel. choose control. introducing gold choice. the freedom you can only get from hertz to keep the car you reserved or simply choose another. 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. do about medicare and social security... security. that's what matters to me... me? i've been paying in all these years... years washington's been talking at us, but they never really listen... listen...it's not just some line item on a budget; it's what i'll have to live on... i live on branson street, and i have something to say... [ male announcer ] aarp is bringing the conversation on medicare and social security out

from behind closed doors in washington. because you've earned a say. a little bird told me about a band... ♪ an old man shared some fish stories... ♪ oooh, my turn. ♪ she was in paris, but we talked for hours... everyone else buzzed about the band. there's a wireless mind inside all of us. so, where to next?

♪ so, where to next? there's another way litter box dust:e purina tidy cats. tidy cats premium line of litters now works harder on dust. and our improved formulas neutralize odors better than ever in multiple-cat homes. so it's easier to keep your house smelling just the way you want it.

purina tidy cats. keep your home smelling like home. stories we're following in the "newsroom" right now. we've learned the unarmed florida teenager killed by a neighborhood watch captain was on the phone when he was shot. the fbi and federal prosecutors have now joined the investigation into the death of 17-year-old trayvon martin. some people are outraged the shooter hasn't been charged. george zimmerman said it was self-defense. france on high alert after monday's deadly shooting at a jewish school in toulouse. a moment much silence was held this morning for three students and a teacher who were killed by a man on a motorcycle. thorts are lo authorities are looking into whether neo-nazis are behind the shooting. the soldier accused of silling afghan civils is set to meet with his lawyer again at

f ft. leavenworth. his lawyer says he was not drunk the night of the shootings but he cannot remember what happened that. political buzz is your rapid fire look at the best political topics of the day. three questions, 30 seconds on the clock. playing with us today democratic strategist robert zimmerman, jason johnson, professor at hiram college, and the chief political correspondent at politic 365 and republican strategist ron bonjean. welcome to all of you. first question, three words. iraq, iran, afghanistan. is the elections now about more than just, its the economy steward? robert? >> i think you're already starting to see that happen. for example, president obama's approval ratings went down as the price of gasoline went up because of the geopolitical tensions around oil in the middle east and because of the iran crisis. but the republican candidates are not gaining any traction on it as long as they continue to try to defend keeping our troops in iraq and afghanistan and

trying to justify the criminally negligent bush foreign policy. >> ron? >> yeah. i think that foreign policy could likely be part of the 2012 election cycle because we don't know exactly what will happen in iran, whether or not israel will try to do is pre-emptive strike, with the tensions in afghanistan, and these are things president obama is going to have to tackle. now, people are still very concerned about high gasoline prices and high unemployment, and it still is an economic election. >> jason? >> foreign policy is a nonstarter for the republican party for a really simple reason. obama killed osama. that's it. the republicans have only been able to argue i would have killed him faster or killed him with a bigger gun. americans aren't that concerned about foreign policy. i can't imagine it's going to be a real issue. people are still going to be concerned about the economy, gas prices, and whether obama can do something about 8.3% unemployment. >> let's get to the next question and we start that question with some video. this is pastor dennis terry

introducing rick santorum at a weekend event in louisiana. listen. >> if you don't love america, you don't like the way we do things, i have one thing to say, get out! [ cheers and applause ] we don't worship buddha! i said we don't worship buddha, we don't worship mohammed. we don't worship allah. we worship god. we worship god's son jesus christ. >> so santorum was in the audience and he was politely clapping and he did respond to this by saying he believes in freedom of religion but not necessarily what the pastor was saying. so was his response spot on or not? ron? >> well, it's very difficult for santorum because he's playing to the evangelical base but it would be smart to distance

himself from comments like that. it starts to scare voters. even republican primary voters who aren't sure exactly what's going on here, they're not going to be, you know, part of that, part of that. i think it's more important to focus on the economy and focus on what voters care about. not necessarily all this political rhetoric. >> jason? >> look, i don't know how much more narrow the base of rick santorum can become. i mean, he doesn't want women to choose. he called black people lazy in iowa. he told puerto ricans they have to learn how to speak spanish. he's on an anti-porn crusade so he's going to lose the male vote. this guy needs to learn how to not alienate voters. did he back away from the statement fast enough? yeah. but he's going to keep doing this and it's going to make it hard to win this nomination against romney. >> robert? >> these moments are more than just political calculations, they're tests of character. for example, when bill clinton was an underdog running for president, he had what became known as the sister soldier moment when he took on a core

constituency because of hateful and divisive rap music. likewise here, whether it was this moment where rick santorum didn't have the character to speak up or when the republican candidates sat silently when a soldier was booed because he was gay, or their weak response to rush limbaugh, they're failing the character test. that's beyond partnership. >> onto the third question, your buzzer beater, 20 seconds each. here is the question. this is first lady michelle obama on "david letterman" last night. >> married men and women have conversations -- >> we tend to talk. >> that are for no one else in the word but one another. >> that's right, but -- >> hypothetically speaking, at the end of the day has your husband ever come home and said to you, oh, that john boehner, what an idiot? >> it has never happened, never,

never. he is always upbeat, particularly about congress. >> yeah. how can you not be upbeat? >> okay. so here is my question. seriously? jason? >> i don't buy this at all. i always figured that, you know, obama and michelle are kind of like uncle phil and aunt viv from the fresh prince. they come home and talk about all the crazy dysfunctional family of congress. probably about boehner's bad tan and why eric cantor is always sitting by himself in the kaf toria. there's no chance the president of the nights has nice things to say about congress when he comes home. think about that intur view on newt gingrich's interview about what he used to say about hillary clinton -- >> oh. ron? >> when the president comes home, he has a wife and two daughters, so i bet you he has a hard time getting in a word edgewise, but when he does, i'm sure he's taking a couple of advil and complaining about john boehner because he wants to cut

taxes, republicans want to cut spending, and they want to have more energy sol lutiutions like keystone pipeline. so he can see why he has headaches. >> robert? >> i guarantee you they're not reciting talking points when they're sitting tocchegether, b would have to say when it comes to knowing what's going on behind closed doors of married couples, i will leave it to rick santorum and his right wing buddies to figure out. maybe thor toasting john boehner because of how poorly the republican congress is polling. that could be part of it, but realistically i think -- >> you can finish. >> i was buzzed out of that. >> okay. you don't have to. it's okay. robert, ron, jason, thank you so much for playing today. we appreciate it, as always. >> always a pleasure. >> thank you. >> tune in tonight for our coverage of the illinois primary that begins at 7:00 p.m. eastern with erin burnett out front and that's followed by extended

coverage bya c 360. president obama is making a visit to oklahoma and it could be crucial to his re-election campaign. that controversial keystone pipeline that he vetoed? it's coming back to haunt him. we'll be back. ♪ there's another way to minimize litter box odor: purina tidy cats. tidy cats premium line of litters now works harder to help neutralize odors in multiple-cat homes. and our improved formula also helps eliminate dust.

so it's easier than ever to keep your house smelling just the way you want it. purina tidy cats. keep your home smelling like home. [ female announcer ] end the struggle with weak, damaged hair with new aveeno nourish+ strengthen. it nurtures hair back to strong, healthy life. our exclusive active naturals wheat protein formula works with your hair, targeting damage, restoring strength and resilience for up to 90% less breakage in just three washes.

find peace with your hair. [ female announcer ] and discover strong, healthy hair with life. new nourish+ strengthen, from the nourish+ hair care collection. only from aveeno. i was trying to figure out how i could get rid of 99% of the lead i can pick up traveling through your pipes, and then... [ click ] it just clicked. get it? it clicked... like the thing...click... a bit of breaking news to pass along to you boo trayvon martin, the florida teenager who was gunned down by a block watch captain. his father, tracy, will be holding a news conference at

11:15 eastern time. of course, if we're able, we'll carry that live for you. we're not clear what he said, but we suspect it has something to do with the justice department getting involved in this shooting incident in florida. when that press conference happens, we'll bring it to you live. we've also learned this. we've learned that five members of the university of southern mississippi pep band have been punished after yelling at a player during an ncaa tournament game last week. listen. >> rodriguez has already let the ball go. he's a freshman but he's about as cool as they come right now. no facial express whatsoever. >> picking up his second personal foul. >> that was hard to hear but the pep band was chanting, "where's your green card, where's your green card?" we have been following this story. so what is the pushnishment? >> well, the president of southern mississippi promised a quick action and she's delivering today.

she's revoking the scholarships for these five band members. they also are going to be evicted from the band. and they are going to be forced to take a two-hour course of cultural sensitivity. >> wow. i mean, i'm surprised because it seems really harsh for these young students some people might say. wow, they lose their scholarships, lose their place in the pep band, they need counseling. >> well, she did react very quickly, as soon as this video clip hit the internet. that's where it became known that -- well, somebody paid attention to what was being said from the band. she reacted quickly. she issued a statement saying there would be a quick investigation and there was going to be action taken immediately. they came back from their spring break that ended last week. they met with the students. they met with members of the athletic department, and they came up with this conclusion. they also reached out immediately to

-- kansas state player who was about to throw the free throw. he said he heard the kids yell the things at them. he ignored them. he accepted the apologies of the southern mississippi officials and he says he's moved on. >> thank you so much, gustavo, for following this story for us. also an nfl legend seems to be ready to suit up for a brand new team. why it could spell the end to tebowmania. more on that when we come back. my mother froze everything. i was 18 years old before i had my first fresh bun. the invention that i came up with is the hot dog ez bun steamer. steam is the key to a great hot dog. i knew it was going to be a success. the invention was so simple that i knew i needed to protect it. my name is chris schutte and i got my patent, trademark and llc on legalzoom. [ shapiro ] we created legalzoom to help people

start their business and launch their dreams. go to legalzoom today and make your business dream a reality. at legalzoom.com, we put the law on your side. [ female announcer ] end the struggle with weak, damaged hair with new aveeno nourish+ strengthen. it nurtures hair back to strong, healthy life. our exclusive active naturals wheat protein formula works with your hair, targeting damage, restoring strength and resilience for up to 90% less breakage in just three washes. find peace with your hair. [ female announcer ] and discover strong, healthy hair with life. new nourish+ strengthen, from the nourish+ hair care collection. only from aveeno.

the passat is one of nine volkswagen models named a 2012 iihs top safety pick. not that we'd ever brag about it. turn right. come on, nine. turn left. hit the brakes. huh? how'd that get there? [ male announcer ] we can't hide how proud we are to have nine top safety picks like the passat and jetta. so we're celebrating with our "safety in numbers" event. that's the power of german engineering. right now lease the 2012 jetta for $159 a month.

more breaking news to share with you. we've been talking about trayvon martin, that 17-year-old teenager gunned down in a florida neighborhood by the neighborhood watch captain. we told you that his father, tracy, will be holding a news conference at 11:15 eastern today. we also just got this statement. it was released by the florida state attorney general, norm wolfinger. he says i share in the desire of the family and the community to accurately collect and evaluate all facts surrounding the tragic death of trayvon martin. that is why i directed the expeditious review of the investigation which was delivered by the sanford police department one week ago today. i respectfully request that the public remain patient as this process continues forward. translate that for you, that means the state attorney won't be talking to the media anytime soon until he gets all the information from the sanford police department. we also found out in the last hour that trayvon martin on that

night when he was in that neighborhood in the dark, he was on the phone with a 16-year-old girl. sunny hostin is here. she's found out more information about that phone call. fill us in, sunny. >> thank you, carol. i did have the opportunity to speak with one of the martin family attorneys this morning for about 30 minutes. and she indicated to me that, yes, trayvon martin was on the phone with a 16-year-old girl who was a friend. they had traded phone calls with each other throughout most of the day. the last phone call between the two started at about 7:04. at that time trayvon told the girl he was being followed. he was nervous about that. she advised him to run. he told her that he wouldn't run, but that he would begin walking quickly, and he did that. apparently though zimmerman was following him. he turned around according to

this 16-year-old girl and said to zimmerman, why are you following me? zimmerman then allegedly said to him, who are you? what is your name? what are you doing here? the girl then indicates that the next thing that she heard was trayvon martin being pushed to the ground or being pushed somehow or tackled and the phone call dropped. she indicates that the phone call dropped at about 7:16 p.m., and we understand that the police arrived on the scene at about 7:17 p.m. so the last conversation that trayvon martin had was with this friend, a 16-year-old girl. she has given a taped affidavit to his attorney, to the family attorneys. her family is very concerned about her well-being because of the media attention on this case, so we are not releasing her name or any other details, but i have confirmed that this conversation, she says, took place on that terrible night.

>> so sanford police, did they question this young girl? >> my understanding is that they did not question this young girl. one of the martin family attorneys did go to her place in florida and got this interview and a taped affidavit from her. >> so you're a prosecutor. tell me why wouldn't police ask about whether he got any phone calls, check out his cell phone record, talk to this girl? why wouldn't they do that? >> well, you know, this investigation is ongoing. i hate to guess as to why they would not have done this. i will say that in an investigation involving someone's death, that is typically done. phone records are retrieved. all witnesses are interviewed, and it is odd, if that interview did not take place -- let me

also say this, that the family attorney told me that they are awaiting toxicology reports from trayvon martin's autopsy to dispel any notion that he was perhaps on drugs and that zimmerman was allowed to leave the police department in the clothes that he was wearing that night, which means that any evidence that could have been gathered from his clothing is now lost. so that also is something that is somewhat troubling to this family. >> okay. so we had a 911 call from that night, and we heard screaming in the background on that call. did this young girl hear anything like that in the course of her conversation with trayvon martin? >> my understanding is that because the call dropped at about 7:16, she did not say that she heard any screaming, although the family maintains that it is trayvon martin's voice on the tapes that we've all probably heard by now screaming for help and pleading

for help. >> did he seem extraordinarily stressed on that phone call? i'm talking about trayvon martin. did he sound afraid? >> my understanding is that she felt that he was nervous and concerned about someone following him, so much so that she advised him to run. he indicated that he wasn't going to run, but he was going to walk very quickly and try to get away from the person that was pursuing him. and, you know, when he was confronted apparently, he was trying to ask why he was being followed, and he didn't get any answers before the phone dropped, the phone line dropped. >> sunny hostin, i know you will continue to follow this story. thank you so much for bringing us that new information. that news conference from tracy barton coming your way at 11:15

eastern. kyra phillips will have complete coverage for you in the next hour of "newsroom." so to make sure people get every word of the geico savings message i've been practicing how to talk like a true chicagoan. switching to geico could save you hundreds of dollars on car insurance... da bears. haha... you people sure do talk funny. geico®. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. it's real milk full of calcium and vitamin d. and tastes simply delicious. for those of us with lactose intolerance... lactaid® milk. the original 100% lactose-free milk.

president obama is hitting the road over the next two days to visit key battleground states. mr. obama has stops in nevada and new mexico, ohio to defend his record amid soaring prices at the gas pump, but he also plans another visit. this to oklahoma. oklahoma is attracting the most attention because of the controversial keystone pipeline project. our white house correspondent dan lothian is with us. so, dan, it's interesting the timing of this trip to oklahoma. >> reporter: it really is. and, you know, some people see a lot of politics at play here believing that the president going on this trip will give him

a chance to essentially answer critics of his energy policy and, in fact, yesterday during the white house briefing, white house spokesman jay carney was asked several questions about why shouldn't the public see this as more of ap pr stunt? his response was presidents all the time will travel around the country to push their various policies, and what the president will be highlighting is his all of the above energy strategy which is a gcombination of alternative fuels and also pushing for more domestic oil production, carol. >> as you intimated, the gop is already making hay out of this trip. they call it a pr stunt and they call it -- they say it will just illustrate the failure of the obama administration's energy policy. >> reporter: the message has been the president's policy contributes to the high gas prices. in a release from speaker john boehner's office yesterday, there was this quote.

this week's costly dog and pony show isn't likely to fool anyone. the president wants the american people to think his policies have nothing to do with rising gas prices, but the facts tell a different story. of course, the white house pushes back on that kind of rhetoric saying that anyone who is promising that they can deliver on a particular number of the gas prices is misleading the public because it's not about doing something that will change the price of gas in the short term but about being a strategy, a policy, a long-term policy that will fix this problem. >> we'll hear a lot more about this tomorrow and thursday. dan lothian, live at the houwhi house, thank you. an nfl legend seems ready to suit up for a brand new team. how denver became peyton manning's city of choice.

[ dog ] i am a pro baller. 11 years playing the outfield, and i got no plans to retire. [ female announcer ] aging may slow a dog down, but iams helps keep dogs playing year after year with our age-specific nutrition. and now, even for dogs 11 and older with new iams senior plus. it helps boost the immune response to that of an adult dog and helps fight signs of aging. [ dog ] i'll never be a bench-warmer. [ female announcer ] new iams senior plus. see the iams difference or your money back. [ dog ] i am an iams dog for life.

you're probably muddling through allergies. try zyrtec® for powerful allergy relief. and zyrtec® is different than claritin® because it starts working faster

on the first day you take it. zyrtec®. love the air. in today's daily dose of health news, health regulators have given the okay to a generic version of boniva. generic versions of popular drugs usually hit the market after their patents expire and often cost half as much as the original. the national institutes of health say about 40 million americans have osteoporosis or are at a high risk for it and 1 in 5 women over 50 actually have the disease. the big nfl news out today coming out of denver, the bronco's close to signing peyton manning and that's prompting

super bowl talk in the mile high city and some sadness over tim tebow. lindsay jones is the bronco's beat writer at "the denver post." lindsay, welcome. >> hi, thanks for having me. >> we're delighted you're here because it must be an emotional time in denver because of tim tebow. >> yeah, there's a lot of bronco's fans who are really excited about the fact that peyton man something about to be their new starting quarterback but it is a little bittersweet because the ride tim tebow took this fan base on last year was one of the most exciting things that's ever happened in franchise history and certainly the most exciting ride they have been on since their super bowls during the john elway era. so the fact that peyton manning is coming here, it is signaling the end of tim tebow's time in denver, and that is a little bittersweet, but i think more so than anything people are excited about the fact that peyton manning, the biggest free agent in the nfl, is coming here and automatically going to make the broncos a legitimate afc

contender. >> it's all about winning, winning, winning. but let's face it, tim tebow did what they wanted him to. team made the playoffs. did he it humbly. he never xacomplained. he did what he was supposed to. and now we have peyton manning and so let's throw tim tebow to the sidelines. >> it was an interesting situation and kind of a dangerous game the bronco's were playing here when they went all in on the peyton manning sweepstakes. had he gone to tennessee or san francisco or arizona, john elway would have -- he showed all his cards there, and, you know, it would have been really difficult i think to go back in to tim tebow and say, no, we really do want you to be our guy because they went in so hard on peyton manning. really the only decision they have left is that they have to move tim tebow and they're going to start working on that basically as soon as the ink is dry on peyton manning's contract here. >> thank you so much for joining thus morning. that does itor