♪ oh i got a love that keeps me breathing ♪ >> this is the black keys, "lonely boy." mark hill, columbia university, abby livingston, daughter of jon huntston and ryan lizzo, washington correspondent for "the new yorker." it's friday. >> friday! >> lots of things to talk about, our starting point is the killing of 17-year-old trayvon martin, sparking a national movement now. just look at the number of rallies that have taken place or scheduled to take place across the country. this is not a florida story, this is an american story. crowds gathered in los angeles, charlotte, north carolina. the biggest rally taking place last night in sanford, florida. let's look at these image, a mass of people gathering not far from where trayvon martin was shot dead from george zimmerman february 26th, the gathering taking place hours after

sanford's police chief temporarily stepped aside but did not step down. the governor of florida has assigned a new special prosecutor to this case as trayvon's parents again call for zimmerman's arrest. >> i stand before you today not knowing how i'm walking right now, because my heart hurt for my son. trayvon is my son. trayvon is your son. >> just like to thank every one of you all for just showing us the love, the support, signing the petitions, and making sure that george zimmerman pay for what he did to your son. >> richard land is the president of the southern baptist conventions ethics and religious liberties commission. thank you for joining us this morning. >> you bet, glad to be with you. >> let me ask you your reaction to what is now really a movement surrounding trayvon martin.

>> first of all, you can't help as a parent to have your heart go out to those parents who lost their son under such tragic circumstances. i think that we need to be very careful, however, that we don't have a rush to judgment. i am shocked frankly to find in a thank mr. zimmerman still has his firearm and not in any way, shape or form not put under probationary status. if a police uses his firearm in the course of duty as a matter of course is relead of his duties and put on desk duty and an investigation as to whether he used that in legitimate purposes. none of that has been done. i find that shocking. at the same time, racism is, to call someone a racist is about the worst thing you can call somebody in our society, and rightly so. and so we don't want to throw that term around flippantally.

i think it's good the justice department is involved, the state government is involved and we need to encourage the authorities to do a thorough investigation, and make certain that justice is done, because of course, we sadly in this country have a history where in the past, oftentimes when the victims were black, there was not justice. >> right, and that's what you're seeing from the streets quite frankly, you're seeing people who say yes, we should not rush to judgment. we should have investigations, but we've waited before, and we've been disappointed. >> yes. >> i want to quote mark pinsky from cnn's belief blog. he said "few, if any white clergy have spoken up to demand that the killing be fully investigated, none can be seen standing by the african-american preachers calling for justice or marching with martin's family members." why hasn't this crossed racial lines do you think in terms of white clergy?

>> i'm not sure it hasn't crossed racial lines in terms of outrage, that there hasn't been a more swift investigation and the fact that mr. zimmerman still is at large with his weapon, and with no restrictions. but at the same time, we do have people in our society who scream racism at the drop of a hat and i know that -- >> can you give me an example? do you see that happening here? >> no. there are people in our society, i'll leave you and the audience to decide for themselves who they are, who claim racism whenever there's a problem. for instance, let's take the o.j. simpson case. there's a divide in this country about whether racism is involved. i think when the o.j. simpson verdict came down, people were shocked. white people were shocked that black people were celebrating, because they didn't see racism in the o.j. simpson case at all, whereas african-americans, because of often a very

different experience with police authorities than whites have, they were ready to believe that there was racism involved. so i think that you're going to find that the white clergy are going to want to make certain that justice is done, but they don't want to rush to judgment and use that racist term without real justification, because there is racism in our society, and when we scream racism at the drop of a hat, it cheapens the term, and makes it more difficult to deal with racism when there really is racism. >> dr. land, question though, can you at least see the racial dimension of this? this say young, black boy -- >> oh, of course, of course. of course, there's no question. but look, whenever something like this happens, the ghosts of the past rise up and they haunt us, because our past in this country is tragic, and it's sad, and there's no question that i've talked to many audiences about this, white and black, and

i try to get white people to understand, when i see a policeman, or i see someone in uniformed authority, i'm comforted, because i've never had a bad experience with a police officer. i don't know any african-american personally who has not either had a bad experience with a police officer, or has a close friend or relative who has had a bad experience with a police officer. and so because of the past historical experience, there's a fundamentally different immediate reaction. >> dr. land, ryan with "the new yorker." do you think this case has reached a level now that some of the leaders, perhaps president obama or even some of the republicans running for president should step in and address it, or would that just sort of muddy the uissue? >> well i think you have to be careful. the president had a bad experience with stepping in too quickly to speak out about an

issue in cambridge, massachusetts, a few years ago. >> yeah, that's what i was thinking of. >> we have the governor of florida involved now. we have the attorney general of florida involved now. we have the justice department of the united states involved now. i think we need to just be very clear that we trust the system to work, and the system is going to bring justice for all involved. >> i think we're going to be talking about this for days and weeks to come. dr. richard land, thank you for joining us this morning, president of the southern baptist convention, the ethics and religious liberty committee. thank you, sir. coming up live next hour, south florida congressman fredricka wilson will join the same discussion. she is slamming authorities for their what she says is their inaction on this. now let's head to deb feyerick for other headlines making news. >> good morning, christine, good morning, everyone. the army staff sergeant accused in the massacre of afghan civilians will be formally be charged today, robert bales

faces 17 counts of murder, six counts of attempted murder and assault. if convicted bales could face the death penalty. the major hurdle is that the african victims were buried quickly in keeping with islamic tradition. as a result the prosecution does not have forensic evidence from occupancies in the case. we're learning before joining the military bales engaged in securities fraud while working as a financial adviser. according to financial records, bales failed to pay $1.5 million judgment for defrauding an elderly client in a stock scheme. and an overnight explosion rocks a silicon plant in portland, oregon. two workers were to the hospital with minor injuries, inside a chemical reactor doing maintenance when the explosion happened. the fire department says a stream of oxygen hit the reactor and caused the blast. new this morning, the writing was on the wall. u.s. officials confirmed the alleged gunman in the shooting that killed a rabbi and three jewish children in france was on

the no fly list here in the u.s. senior u.s. officials say 23-year-old mohammed merah was listed as a potential terrorist. he's accused in two other deadly attacks. new government rules will allow u.s. intelligence agencies to keep tabs on americans who have no ties to terrorism. the new guidelines say agencies can store information on americans for up to five years. old rules said agencies had to throw out the information on americans who had no ties to terrorism. privacy advocates called the change "disturbing" but the obama administration says privacy and civil liberty safeguards are in place. in case you're wondering, this is why they call it march madness. number one seed michigan state goes down to number four seed louisville. the cardinals knocked off the spartans last night, 57-44 in the west regional, that sends louisville to the elite eight. syracuse, ohio state and florida

also moved on to the elite eight last night. four more games tonight. and for fans of "the hunger games" the wait is over. huge groups of fans turned out for midnight shows at theaters across the country and have been tweeting their reviews ever since. "the hunger games" is the first adaptation of the wildly popular book trilogy by suzanne collins. it's expected to break box office records by the end of the weekend. a lot of people talking about it, christine. it's a great series. >> are your girls talking about it? >> they are, they're crazy, want to go see it. >> my sister is only 12 years old but talking about it for weeks. she speaks for so many. >> it's got some dark undertones and violence, too, so we'll talk later in the program about what age is appropriate and should your mom and dad to go with you or see it first. ahead on "starting point" a shocker for rick santorum.

does he really think a second obama term would be better than mitt romney? plus whitney houston's cause of death revealed, how cocaine played a role in her drowning. and get real, a school writes a letter asking students to wear african-american attire, i'm not kidding, you got to hear this one. we'll leave with you a track from abby and mark's playlist, beyonce. you're watching "starting point." ♪ 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®.

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♪ beautiful voice of whitney houston "queen of the night." we know more about the last minutes of her life. she used cocaine until the very end. new detail its on whitney houston's death, the los angeles county coroner's office says she drowned accidentally and that drugs and heart disease played a role. >> we believe that something happened that caused her to go

down, and we know that when she slipped under the water, she was still alive. we have evidence of drowning, so there was water in the lungs, so that substantiates that finding. >> houston's sister-in-law, patricia houston says, "we are saddened to learn of the action to kohl results although we are glad to now have closure." joining us is george kobilinsky, clinical psychologist why from georgetown university. >> pleasure to join you. >> what do you think were the last moments and what happened? >> sure, i think cocaine as a recreational drug is dangerous, a central nervous system stimulant and in fact it has a direct effect on the heart. it can cause tachycardia, and

cause arrhythmia, the rhythm of the heartbeat is off and cause a vasoconstriction, the coronary blood vessels and oxygen is not allowed to come to the heart. if you've got hardening of the arteries or atherosclerosis. >> which she did. >> that means the lumen, the opening of the blood vessels is narrow. take that and vaso spasm, you have' got a myocardinal infarc, a heart attack. >> do you think she passed out from a cardiac event and slipped under the water? >> the most likely scenario, she became unconscious, unable to pick herself up out of the water. my hunch is if somebody were there, they probably could have lifted her up and resuscitated her, but i think that's exactly what happened. >> dr. kobilinsky i want to ask about they ruled she had drowned but then you read she had so much in her system, cocaine, xanax. >> benadryl, flexeril.

>> how can they not rule this a drug overdose? >> actually i think it was a cocaine drug overdose. these are the dru, the other dr can be toxic but it's the levels, quantities significant here. drugs get metabolized by the liver and the body converts them to breakdown products and the levels of these drugs were apparently so low as to not be able to explain the death. they weren't even considered to be contributory. now what killed her is the cocaine. both chronic abuse and an acute dose of cocaine, and she presumably took this cocaine fairly soon, in other words, early -- >> close to when she died. >> close to when she died, exactly. >> the idea she was completely sober at that point in life, people saying she's been clean for months? >> well she was a chronic abuser, there's no question in my mind. she may have appeared sober but

you know -- >> there's the baseline of sober. when she died people said she was sober n a good place. maybe she had a little champagne every now and now. there's hollywood sober and there's sober. this is a woman who struggled her adult life with substance abuse. >> exactly. you don't always detect when somebody is abusing drugs. >> atherosclerosis, years of cocaine abuse, how could that hurt your arteries? >> there's experimental levels with animals and cocaine chronic abusers they develop atherosclerosis. there are lots of other factors, age, genetics, diet, exercise. there are things people can do to prevent the buildup of plaque. >> could without using cocaine could that arteriosclerosis have caused her death in. >> by and in and of itself not.

there was adequate per fusiofus. >> the autopsy results indicated approximately 60% narrowing of the artery, so the finding of atherosclerotic heart disease skugz an event complicated by the cocaine use. >> the research of the cardiac event and it's interesting, because the arteriosclerosis white people are more likely to be diagnosed from it but african-americans more likely to die from it, brought on by risk factors, high blood pressure and obesity, which weren't in her case but also genetic. >> it's familial. cholesterol and other fatty substances get deposited in the inner linings of blood vessels and these things get hard. some of these blood vessels literally are hard. they don't expand. and so if you do anything that

will contradict these blood vessels further, it's a good possibility you're going to develop a heart attack. >> what about this long list of drugs that was in her system? is there anything we know about the interaction of xanax and flexeril? benadryl? is there anything that rings -- >> flexeril is a muscle relaxant, a prescribed medication as xanax is, used for panic and anti-anxiety. >> would that have contributed to the effects of the cocaine or is that simply separate? >> i think not. i think not. they're separate, they're prescribed medications. >> a lot of times people who are abusers there's no line between this is a prescription and this is illegal. it's one big global world of different substances. >> that's true. >> and some of those are prescriptions, doesn't mean they're any less dangerous taken all together. >> absolutely. physicians will prescribe these drugs. if you have access to marijuana and cocaine that's a whole added story on top of everything else.

>> lawrence kobilinsky thank you so much. >> thank you. >> nice to see you today. >> pleasure. up next a teacher asking students to wear african-american attire for black history month. ryan's play list, "i might." it's a good one. [ male announcer ] this is genco services -- mcallen, texas. in here, heavy rental equipment in the middle of nowhere,

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♪

full disclosure, will 92% of my playlist is u2. soledad has a diverse playlist, that was mine, u2 in 1985, 19 8. you can see our entire playlist on our website cnn.com/starti cnn.com/startingpoint. an elementary school under fire, a letter said "we are encouraging students to dress in african-american attire. if you do not have this, students could wear animal print clothing or shirts with animals native to africa, zebras, giraffes, lion, elephants, et cetera." the western union elementary school in north carolina saying while it was well intended it was poorly worded, yes and yes. >> what is african-american attire. i get the alternative, zebras and lions. >> what do zebras and lions have

to do with african-american people. >> the africa part. >> it's the zoo history month. >> it's bizarre. what are people thinking? >> how do you take back a comment like that? how are you supposed to explain it? >> i'm going to get in trouble for saying this but i have some sympathy for whoever the poor bureaucrat at the school wrote this letter and trying probably, the intention was good. they wanted to celebrate black history day and just did it in the most insensitive way possible, but i have trouble jumping on people, you know, who are trying to do the right thing but just didn't get it right. >> you're so nice. >> i don't mind jumping. >> i had the same reaction. i know she probably didn't mean this at all. >> you mean the poor principal or teacher. i don't know. >> you just cringe reading it and you think oh, god, this person is going to be instantly famous -- >> especially now i brought this up earlier with the trayvon martin case, does this make it more helpful to bring up cases like this and right after she wrote that she's probably thinking oh no, this is the

worst time this could happen. it's all over the news, this issue. >> exactly. maybe it could be a teachable moment. we now have a conversation about it, right? >> what i want to know is the racial makeup of the school. what is the race of this person? >> in this county. >> we don't know. >> it's waxau, north carolina, i'll go out on a limb saying it's predom innocently white school, just knowing the area. >> a well-ended but poorly executed that's what the agreement is. >> that's fair. ahead on "starting point" a former rutgers student convicted of a hate crime speaking out. he says he does not hate gay people. we'll hear firsthand from dharun ravi. plus president obama says ch china is not playing fair. and a cure for baldness, the promising new findings out this morning that none of the guests

here need to be concerned about. from my playlist the killers "mr. bright side." be back in a moment. ♪ water, we take our showers with it. we make our coffee with it. but we rarely tap its true potential and just let it be itself. flowing freely into clean lakes, clear streams and along more fresh water coast line than any other state in the country. come realize water's true potential. dive in-to the waters of pure michigan. your trip begins at michigan.org.

[ male announcer ] it was the kind of weekend that your friends are always going to remember... [ cellphone ringing ] and your neighbors... [ ringing continues ] ...would rather forget. [ ringing continues ] ♪

♪ yes, if that doesn't wake you up you shouldn't go to work today, stay home. christopher farley's play list the white stripes "fell in love with a girl." "the hunger games" whether it's a good call to take kids like abby's little sister to it. >> i'm loving this playlist. everyone has great choices. a syrian military chopper apparently caught firing on people. look closely at your screen, the black object in the sky is a

syrian military helicopter and see those bright light flickers coming from it? it's a little bit difficult to see, it's firing allegedly at anti-government protesters on the ground. some of the protesters are reportedly defectors from the syrian army. if you look closely you can see return fire. the u.n. security council called for an end to the bloodshed. in italy two months after it slammed iraq and fell on its side divers discovered the bodies of five more people in the recognize of the "costa concordia." the cruise ship sank in january. two people are still missing. speaking on camera since his conviction for spying on and intimidating his gay roommate, dharun ravi says he didn't bully tyler clementi and doesn't hate gay people. >> do you hate gay people? >> i don't hate gay people. >> do you fear gay people? >> no. >> do you want to not be around gay people? >> it doesn't matter to me at

all. >> ravi says what he learned during the trial convinces him he didn't cause clementi to take his life. ravi will be sentenced in may. he faces up to ten years in prison. a reporter in arkansas has a gun pulled on her while covering a story about a local man's death. >> we just wanted to find out what was going on, that's a all. >> everybody's lying, my best friend -- get your camera away from me, dog. >> reporter: you can't touch the cameraman. >> you really -- >> reporter: okay. >> we're leaving. we're leaving. >> after the man pulled the gun, wreg's april thompson and her cameraman sought cover in their news truck. no one was hurt and the man fled from the scene. cnn affiliate wreg reports the man has since turned himself in. and in your a.m. house call a new study suggests a blood test could help predict heart attacks. u.s. researchers found the blood cells from heart attack patients

are abnormally large and oddly shaped, sometimes appearing with multiple nuclei. they say that could make them reliable indicators that a heart attack is coming. the ability to diagnosis an oncoming heart attack is considered to be the holy grail of cardiovascular medicine. new information this morning that could lead to a cure for male baldness. scientists say they've opinion inpointed a protein that triggers hair loss. that research to lead to a cream to treat baldness. guys without hair have to grow patience. the cream will likely not be on the market for several years. a lot of facebook users angry over the sight's latest revision to privacy policies. facebook has taken out the word "privacy" all together and now calls them data use policies. thousands are complaining abou the changes especially a passage that reads "when you or others who can see your content and information use an application,

your content and information is shared with the application." many users say they're disturbed by the idea that apps installed by your friends can access in your information. so the plot thickens. you have to be careful what you're putting on there and who you let access to. >> i'm surprised anyone is surprised when your privacy is at risk on any kind of app or place where it can be seen around the world. >> the second you go on the computer you have to have the understanding that it's accessible by somebody. >> you're right. deb feyerick thanks. >> of course. news of an economic slowdown in china dragging the markets down. we're keeping an a what it means for your money and 14k but the bigger fight over solar energy. president obama talking about taking on china. >> china wasn't playing fair when it came to solar power so we took the first step towards leveling the playing field, because my attitude is when the playing field is level, then

american workers and american businesses are always going to win. >> the administration slaps tariffs on chinese made solar panels trying to keep u.s. products more competitive. gordan chang is a columnist for forbes.com and author of the book "the levels of china." is this election year stuff we're starting to get tougher on china, tariffs on solar panels and the u.s. going to the wto to complain about rare earth minerals that china has a monopoly on. is there a change in the u.s. of how we're treating china? >> of course there is the election year rhetoric but china's been in the world trade organization for ten years and there's a perception the trade practices haven't gotten better. in the last couple of years it's become more predatory. it's not just in the united states we have elections but europe and the developing world. there's a new consensus something has to be done because

china is moving in the wrong directions. >> bloomberg says "hey, china! stop stealing our stuff!" it lays out the technology stolen over and over again from very big american corporations and the nsa said this is the largest transfer of wealth in history what's happening in terms of information from the u.s. and corporate espionage from the u.s. being stolen by china, and you look at things like subsidies and 50-year and 100-year plans in china to try to dominate. >> right. >> is it a foregone conclusion that the 19th century belonged to the uk, the 20th century belonged to the u.s., 21st century belongs to china? >> i actually don't think so. you look at the chinese economy right now, it grew at 9.2% last year. now it's in low single digits. the march -- >> we're at 2% by the way, 2% in this country, they're slowing down in china but still doing much better than we are. >> we have a stable economy though and they are sudden

decelerati deceleration. the march orders show a deterioration even from the january and february period which wasn't too good. so right now you've got an economy that's faltering. the communist party is splintering, the authority in the central government is eroding. >> most americans aren't watching this. you lived in china, your dad was the ambassador of china. there are amazing changes happening within the politburo, within the communist party structure. does it favor democracy in china or the status quo? >> no, what is happening i think the communist party leaders, they're starting this intensified fight amongst themselves. whenever that happens, china always falls back. this is the cultural revolution that premier wen jaibao warned of last week and the military reminds them they're subordinate to the communist party. this is not a good sign of what's going on. >> i spent the last year in

beijing and we can't forget we are well ahead of china when it comes to income per capita. we outspend them 5:1 on defense but they have some real challenges ahead. i wanted to ask you what you think the biggest challenge is, is it the lack of freedom, the lack of free speech they have, is it the environment? what do you think will be the biggest challenge to them when it comes to their economy moving forward? >> the biggest challenge to the economy is that all of those factors that created growth over 35 years either no longer exists or are disappearing fast and you have this at the same time that the chinese people really want to have rights. there is this rights consciousness, and the communist party has been intransigent in preventing -- you know the chinese people from expressing themselves. >> it's huge right now, but they're having a hard time getting their voice out. they get blocked. >> they're trying hard to identify who the bloggers are and make sure they can shut them down. >> and they can do it. you talked to the administration and foreign policy advisers in the obama white house and they

point to their china policy as one of their great successes. do you see that? how would you judge it, compared to other presidents? >> president obama's pivot to asia is really a move in the right direction. he started out with an initially conciliatory policy and had to adjust because countries in the region along china's periphery demanded the united states show a little bit of leadership because they're concerned about china's new foreign policy arc which is quite hostile in some cases, more than just assertive. >> is this more talk? the chinese love to act assertive and love to play that role but is this a lot more talk than them actually acting on it in. >> well they have acted on it. they have moved to restrict american vessels in the south china sea and international waters. they've intruded on the waters of south korea, japan. just last night there was this report about helicopter intrusions into indian air space. so this is not a good story, and this is happening throughout the region, and it's not just those countries. it's others as well. >> there's on so many levels it's on so many levels, i think

clinton clinton said that we're all in the same row boat and have to row in the same direction. china is the largest foreign holder of american debt so there's a financial tie that really cannot be broken. gordon will talk about it later when we have you back "the coming of the collapse of china" is the book. ahead rick santorum with the ultimate glow for republicans implying america would be better off with president obama than mitt romney. >> we might as well stay with what we have instead of taking a risk of what may be the etch-a-sketch candidate for the future. >> oh, there's that etch-a-sketch again. we'll tell what you mitt romney is saying about that. and "the hunger games" in theaters today with a lot of dooms day themes. is this a kids movie? you're watching "starting point." uncover stronger, younger looking skin. [ female announcer ] new aveeno skin strengthening body cream

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rick santorum has an etch-a-sketch, ron paul showed an etch-a-sketch at a campaign event, although when ron paul brought his out, he said, hey, look at my new ipad 3. >> jimmy kimmel. just one of many late night comedians who jumped all over mitt romney for his etch-a-sketch remark and rick santorum is taking it further with a surprising statement telling voters in louisiana to vote for barack obama.

>> you win by giving people a choice. you win by giving people the opportunity to see a different vision for our country, not someone who is just going to be a little different than the person in there. if they're going to be a little different we might as well stay with what we have instead of taking the risk of what may be the etch-a-sketch candidate for the future. >> let's leave the etch-a-sketch thing aside. >> i wonder if sales have gone up for etch-a-sketch. >> they have plenty of free pr. vote for the democrat. >> he's really -- >> if you don't vote for me. is that what he's saying? >> absolutely he's saying obama is better than romney. he's saying what we have is better than someone who has no core. i think this for republican voters, this may cross a line. >> this has got to be romney's worst nightmare. >> he crossed a line a few weeks ago in michigan with the

robocalls. >> republican voters do not see mitt romney as a worst alternative than obama and frankly if you look at romney and santorum on the issues, there's not that much that divides them. a lot of conservatives say look, we don't love everything about romney, we don't like his health care and a few other things but this may go too far saying obama, the person that is frankly deeply, deeply disliked on the right is better than romney. >> you look at the exit poll from the primaries, it's electability. in the end over and over people want electability so santorum is going against what a lot of people have been telling pollsters. in the end they want somebody who they can elect. >> romney voters want electability. the santorum voters want strong moral character and someone who sticks to his principles. >> someone ideologically pure. the idea romney will say anything to be elected. i suspect that's true. >> listen to what newt gingrich had to say about this issue. >> there is no doubt in my mind that if the choice is governor romney or barack obama, we would

have no choice. i mean barack obama's re-election will be a disaster for the united states, and we have an obligation. >> okay, so stephen colbert has the countdown clock to loving mitt romney. when is your party going to love mitt romney, abby? >> what is so sad it shows how divided the party is. it's so harmful if romney is the eventual romney, going to make it difficult for him to form that narrative to bring that party together and the longer this goes on the harder it will be. >> or does it bring closer to mitt romney because they look at rick santorum and say look we want to beat the president. that's what we want to do. >> he has that base that loves what he says, just because he's like that. they're not going anywhere. >> there is a whole sector of ideological pureisms, not just the tea party folk not comfortable with mitt romney for many reasons and nt rick santorum going kamikaze, making robo calls telling democrats to vote in the election to mess things up, and you have him

basically saying vote owe ba marx that's disastrous stuff. it will make people stay home. it will make a bunch of the party stay home. >> i disagree. i think this republican party is, just because it's divided does not mean it's deeply divided. just because it's closely divided doesn't mean the issues they're divided about are very deep and i think once the general election comes around and romney secures that nomination, the right will rally around him because of the intense dislike of president obama. abby may be the exception. >> no one is going to love romney. it's going to be an arranged marriage is what i like to call it. they have to make it work but to answer your question i don't think anyone's going to end up loving him at the end of the day. >> so the stephen colbert countdown to loving mitt romney clock continues. surveillance video catches gas thieves in the act. and feel the hunger, "the funger games" expected to break box office records this weekend. young people lining up to see this film. is this really a movie for

adults? should it be a movie for adults? you're watching "starting point."

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>> welcome. welcome. the time has come to select one courageous young man and woman for the honor of representing district 12 in the 74th annual hunger games. >> could it be bigger than "twilight" or "harry potter"? it's about teens fighting to the death to get food to survive. thousands lined up for the midnight release last night. you saw the movie with your son. 9 year old and 10 year old. is it going to break records? >> i think it will break some records. it will challenge the "twilight" franchise films this weekend at the box office in terms of total

it gets. it sold out 2,500 screens around the country and analysts think it will be big. this is the film that draws not only women to watch it because of a love story but because of action it drew in men and you have to drag men kicking and screaming to see the "twilight" films. >> there are kids killing kids in this movie. >> there are kids killing kids in this movie. >> how graphically is it depicted? >> not as graphic as it might be. executives can say tastefully done as tastefully as killing other kids can be. >> so many people are excited to see it. they feel there's a bigger message here and not just a movie about kids killing kids. i want to take a clip from the trailer. these kids are from different districts selected to fight each other to the death. listen. >> they're not going to pick you.

>> primrows everdeen. >> prim! i volunteer! i volunteer as tribute. >> she steps in to save her sister. later in the film, she's got to kill other kids to survive. >> i think when you say it like that -- it is a movie that's a statement against violence. it's entertainment about violence. it's a means of social control. there are some messages to talk about in this movie. >> to me there's income and equality. a rich district and poor district. it's about survival. it's about post-armageddon and what helped people devolve into the worst kind of things. >> my sister mentioned those things. i think at 12 years old she's talking about these types of situations. i think there's more positive out of this book than maybe the graphic stuff that you're going to see in the movie. >> i walked away with the love story. i read the book for research. but i thought the love story was

compelling. i was going to ask you when you saw it, is that what you got? >> did he notice the love story? >> i like the love story and futuristic aspect of the book. i like the theme about violence as a means of social control. my son saw all of those things in it. he presented me with the book. he said if i read this, can i see the movie? deal. that's the way it works. >> i think you should see it with your sister. >> i think i'll take it. >> there were some kids in the audience when i saw it. advance screening when i saw it. last night a reporter from journal was there and did report seeing kids in the audience. a lot of kids will say some parents will be shocked out of their shoes. what did i bring my kid to? you do need to exercise your kid these kind of themes. if they can read the book, they can understand the movie. >> the parallel with gladiator

is interesting to me. you talked about violence as a means of social control. all of these things have played out throughout history. >> when i saw the movie, i thought of the classic story of "the lottery" where it's a violent tale. we all probably read it as kids. this is really the lottery but much bigger and brighter and really orientated toward the 21st century. >> they hit the lottery. they're going to make a lot of money. the people who are the actors, amazing acting in it i'm told. they are going to be famous if you haven't heard of them yet. ahead on "starting point," why is japan ordering a development of missiles fast. we'll talk to florida lawmaker who says she's tired of burying young black boys. you're watching "starting point." jojohnhn, , jijillll.....m.mr. whwhatat's's i it t lilikeke d e fufusisionon h hybybri?

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demanding justice for trayvon martin. thousands marching across the country. she abused cocaine until the very end. whitney houston's autopsy reveals her final moments. a ban on hugging. a middle school that's telling kids to stop showing the love. it's friday, march 23rd. give somebody a hug. "starting point" begins right now. >> "what i love about your love." soledad o'brien is off today. we have abby huntsman and ryan lizza. the calls for justice growing louder this morning after the killing of 17-year-old trayvon martin by george zimmerman.

the strong emotions which has gone national spawning rallies from los angeles to st. louis to charlotte, north carolina, all coming home last night to sanford, florida. take a look at the pictures. thousands gathered not far from where on the 26th of february, trayvon returning with a bag of candy and iced tea was shot dead. sanford's police chief temporarily stepped aside but did not step down. the attorney for trayvon's family addressed the crowd with some inspirational remarks. >> you don't know what you're doing tonight. you just don't know what this means. it is a movement. it is a movement. it is the trayvon martin movement for justice and it won't stop until justice is done. >> democratic congresswoman

fredricka wilson from florida joins us now. welcome to the program, first. so your thoughts after attending that last night and what was happening there and how people are feeling this morning? >> it was simply tremendous. good morning. it was overwhelming. thousands of people. i hear estimates as high as 35,000. i stood on the stage and looked out into the audience. i could not even see the end of where the audience stopped. everything was peaceful. some people were crying. they were holding each other's hands. they were holding up signs. it was wonderful. simply tremendous. >> it's become a movement. this is not florida story. this is not a sanford story. this is something across the country people are talking about with their kids and neighbors and colleagues at work. i think when you look at it -- we've shown a map of the rallies, it's something that's

spreading. i know this weekend will be another big weekend for people joining together to talk about this. last hour we spoke with dr. richard land, president of the southern baptist convention. this is what he said to us. >> the white clergy are going to want to make certain that justice is done but they don't want to rush to justice and use the racist term without real justification because there is racism in our society and when we scream racism at the drop of a hat, it cheapens the term and makes it more difficult to deal with racism when there really is racis racism. >> so many people looking at this situation saying, you know, race played a role here. this young man was wearing a hoodie and he was a 17-year-old black young man. what do you think about richard land's comments? >> i have so much experience in this area. i have a mentoring program that's 20 years old for black boys run by men and this happens

over and over and over again. it's racial profiling. this isn't something that someone is pulling out of a hat. it happens all the time. it is happening as we speak. racial profiling happens in our nation, in our state of florida. trayvon was from miami, florida. it happens every day. we're not trying to make it racial. it is racial. >> one of the things you talked about was the amount of energy that was in the crowd and all of the people around the country galvanized around this issue. where does that energy go if justice isn't served and somehow zimmerman isn't charged or convicted or arrested. what do you think the national response is going to be? >> well, i am afraid to even think. i don't want to think back to the '60s when people burned down cities. as we move around and we talk with people who are participating in rallies, we've got to prepare them as they move through this process as to what

the outcome might be. there is no way i can see a grand jury not indicting this man. however, it's my understanding the grand jury is all white. i think that needs to be changed first of all. it should be a jury of his peers. someone that looks like him or his family members, his mother or father. i think that the energy -- we'll have to find a way to transform this energy in making this a better country for little black boys. we have to all become mentors. >> the naacp is in florida collecting stories from the community right now. the police chief yesterday gave a speech and said he would step aside. listen to him. >> it is apparent that my involvement in this matter is overshadowing the process. therefore, i have come to the decision that i must temporarily remove myself from the position as police chief for the city of

sanford. >> is there palpable friction between the black community and authorities in florida in sanford now? >> that's an insult for him to say that he's temporarily removing himself. he needs to be fired. he needs to be removed. that's a temporary situation. he's still being paid. he probably still is a part of the investigation. he needs to be terminated. and those people in authority who refuse to terminate him, perhaps they need to be terminated. that's the only way justice is going to be served. >> representative wilson, ryan lizza with "the new yorker." can i ask you a question about president obama in this case? we haven't heard from president obama on this. we had an issue with an african-american professor and a white police officer. he brought the people to the white house. one of the promises of president obama during his campaign was

about unity. it seems like a moment where he could step in and have something important to say. would you like him to do that? >> let me say this to you. i just finished a case in miami-dade county where nine black men were shot dead by nine police officers in nine months. and the justice department came to miami to investigate it. it took them about six months. i never seen the justice department respond so quickly and i've been doing this most of my life with black boys being killed across the state of florida. and the president is speaking through his department of justice. they were on board less than three weeks after trayvon's death. the president is speaking very loudly and very clearly in this instance. >> you mention that you have a mentoring program. i want to bring something up. this weekend cory dade put out

an editorial that tells a profound angle to this story. this is what he said. i'm a black man. this is one of the realities that i have lived. my parents prepared me for it. they also gave me the talk. for other boys coming of age, parents may have a talk. lecture about sex, drugs, alcohol or internet porn. the right for black boys is rigorous. we're drilled on a set of rules about the color of our skin. are there two different talks happening across america? talks with black sons like trayvon and talks with white sons who will face a different reality? >> there has to be. we have to prepare these boys for reality and what they're going to face. in our program, we teach the boys how to react to law enforcement and that gentleman was playing like he was law enforcement. the first thing we tell them is to freeze.

never run from the police. always make sure that they can see your hands. speak clearly. ask questions if you have to. and try to call attention to what's happening to you so you're not alone. >> we have to teach young boys this. that we have to teach this is hard breaking. >> that's the sad part. to some extent there aren't two different talks going on. you don't have to have the talk with young white teens about those things because their race won't be a barrier to police brutality or getting a job or other things. you have to talk to all kids. there's a different kind of conversation when it comes to black boys because their bodies are seen as a site worthy of lethal force and unlawful arrest and these things. that's the point. even if the police aren't racist in their mind and even if the criminal justice system in this instance wasn't committing some conspiracy to arrest black boys, the points are the assumptions we have about black men no society play into our minds when we decide to test his body for drugs and alcohol and not the

shooter and let the shooter go. all these things happen when there's a black body on the ground opposed to someone else. >> whole idea of two conversations happening across america -- last thought, congresswoman? >> that's because there's this tension between black boys and law enforcement. it's a tension that's been there for generations and it's not a perceived tension. it's a real tension. and i have a son who is 30 years old. as soon as he got a driver's license, i gave him a cell phone because i knew he was going to need it because he was going to be profiled and he was. even now he tells me when he's riding in a car and a police officer is riding behind him, he's nervous because he doesn't know what he's going to do. he knows that he's a victim. that's the life of black america for black boys. >> congresswoman, thank you from

florida. deborah feyerick has other headlines for us this morning. the army staff sergeant accused in massacre of afghan civilians will be charged today. he faces 17 counts of murder along with six counts of attempted murder and assault. if convicted, bales could face the death penalty. major hurdle facing military prosecutors is afghan victims were buried quickly in keeping with islamic tradition and as a result the prosecution lacks forensic evidence in terms of the autopsy in the case. meantime, we're learning that before joining the military, bales engaged in securities fraud while working as a financial adviser. bales failed to pay a $1.5 million judgment for defrauding an elderly client in a stock scheme. japan's defense minister says he's ordering his military to prepare a missile defense system now that north korea is planning a rocket powered satellite launch next month. south korea considers the plan

launch an attempt to disarm a nuclear armed missile and u.s. warns it could jeopardize a food aid agreement reached in early march. with gas prices rising, president obama is defending his energy policy and focusing on a hot button political issue. the keystone pipeline. he's refused to fast track the entire project that would bring more oil down from canada but he's backing a part of the pipeline from oklahoma to texas. the president says the southern leg of the keystone pipeline is a priority. newt gingrich passing on that plan. >> today the president announced he was going to open up half of the keystone pipeline. the pipeline to nowhere. >> gingrich made $2.50 a gallon gas the center of his campaign. minding your business, gas prices inching higher. the national average now $3.89 a gallon for unleaded. the price of gas has increased

for 14 days in a row now jumping more than 18% so far this year. as prices go up, we're hearing more about gas thieves. one near sacramento, california. look at this. caught on tape stealing thousands of dollars worth of fuel. check out the surveillance tape. police say the thieves used a bread truck with a hole beneath it and drove it over the underground tanks and pumped it into a 1,000 gallon tank in the back of the van. one of the suspects was arrested and the other got away. remember the signs in school hugs are better than drugs but one school bans both now. a middle school principal in new jersey says hugging is no longer allowed in reaction to excessive hugging in the halls. the superintendent says despite the rule, students who will hug will not be suspended. one parent had an emotional reaction saying it's stupid. another saying that's how we

grew up. with affection. you hug. you kiss. so any way, at least they don't risk being kicked out of school but they have to sort of make sure they know where their hands are at all times. >> my kids are -- one is in kindergarten. let them hug. by middle school, maybe they shouldn't be touching each so much. >> hugging friends is one thing. strangers is a different thing. >> i have a feeling that there is something behind hugging. something else behind the hugging. thanks. ahead on "starting point," whitney houston's autopsy revealed cocaine played a role but it wasn't the only drug in her system. we'll have details of that autopsy report next. bank of america unveiling a new rental program to help borrowers in danger of foreclosure. instead of kicking you out of the house they shouldn't have given you in the first place, they'll have you pay to live in the house -- whatever. is it really helping homeowners? this is bob marly "i turn the

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♪ >> i thought this was from your playlist but it's whitney houston. we're back at "starting point." taking a look now at what happened in the last moments of whitney houston's life. she used cocaine until the end. new details this morning. coroner's office said she drown accidentally and that drugs and heart disease played a role. >> we believe something happened that caused her to go down and we know that when she slipped under the water she was still alive. we have evidence of drowning.

there was water in the lungs so that substantiates that finding. >> houston's sister-in-law says we're sad to learn of the toxicology results although we are glad to now have closures. so many said she was in a good place and she was sober. having champagne but sober. she was still struggling with cocaine. >> a lot of people did think whitney houston was on the mend. she was in rehab as early as may of 2011. excited about making the film "sparkle" and making new music and hoped that cocaine wouldn't be the cause of her death. i was in l.a. so it wasn't a huge shocker a few days before she died and for the grammys and people were talking about how whitney was out of it describing her behavior as erratic and

possibly on something and unfortunately it appears that something was possibly cocaine. >> some people were telling you -- what people were telling you in behavior of whitney houston the days before she died makes this autopsy report no surprise. >> exactly. >> there's this also on here cocaine, marijuana, xanax, benadryl, flexeril. friends around here said she was sober notwithstanding the reports that she had erratic behavior. there was hollywood sober, whitney sober and sober to the rest of us. this woman always struggled with her addiction. >> she really did. she struggled with her addiction for at least 20 years especially within the pt ten years she's been in and out of rehab. we've seen it when she went on oprah and had that huge oprah moment where she was very candid about her drug use. this woman struggled with her sobriety. as early as october they were trying to get whitney back into

rehab but she wanted to do it on her own. >> i have a question about this tmz report saying that an individual removed all traces of cocaine before authorities got to the room and they even say took off sheets of the bed. is this a nonstory or is this something that could play out in days to come? >> this leads to speculation and lots of rumors. i'm sure the investigation continues. the coroner's office have said that they don't know -- they haven't released any information about cocaine actually being in her room. >> that's right. if you are still investigating this, do you investigate the drug dealers and find out where she got the illegal drugs? >> the person apparently that gave her the cocaine was the one who hid it before authorities got there. >> whitney houston, she's whitney houston. she's a huge pop star. had a lot of yes people around her. this is one of her dealings. >> thank you very much. ahead on "starting point," new fallout for the u.s. marine who criticized president obama on

facebook. why he could now be in serious trouble with the military and remember those controversial ads from rebound ebok? more on that. show us how much you spent last year and we'll give you 2 miles for every dollar spent on your travel reward card. up to 100,000 miles! hawaii, here we come. claim your miles at capitalone.com today! what's in your wallet? can you play games on that? not on the runway. no. i'm giving you the silent treatment. so you're calling to tell me you're giving me the silent treatment? ummm, yeah. jen, this is like the eighth time you've called... no, it's fine, my family has free unlimited mobile-to-any-mobile minutes -- i can call all i want. i don't think you understand how the silent treatment works.

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disciplinary action for the marine that criticized president obama on facebook. he founded the armed forces tea party and wrote on the group's page he wouldn't obey the president's orders and in other post obama is the domestic enemy our oath speaks about. stein says the military's reaction is an infringement on his freedom of speech. this reebok ad has caused controversy. cheat on your girlfriend and not your workout. the company was criticized online. they are dumping that campaign. a website dedicated to exposing cheaters around the world to great pleasure in spreading the ad across the web. >> i like the ad. it's clever. maybe it's in poor taste to somebody but it's a fun ad. >> you can't take it too seriously. you just can't. >> 2012 cnn heros campaign starting right now. do you know someone making a big difference in the life of

others? anderson cooper shows us how to get the word out. >> tonight we gather to honor the best that humanity has to offer. >> if you join us, we'll be unstoppable. >> cnn heroes is looking for every day people who are changing the world. how do we finds these extraordinary people? with your help. you can nominate someone right now at cnnheroes.com. maybe your hero is defending the planet by protecting the environment. >> people really care. i'm one of them. >> helping people overcome obstacles. >> there will be no man left behind as long as we are this nation. >> finding a unique approach to solving a problem. whatever their cause, nominating a cnn hero is easy. go to cnnheroes.com and click nominate. we ask for basic information about you and your nominee. tell us what makes your hero extraordinary. how are they changing lives for the better? it's really important to write

from your heart because it's your words that will make your hero's story stand out. a couple of tips. please don't nominate yourself. it's against the rules. it's not necessary to nominate someone over and over. we read each and every nomination. really, we do. be selective. those honored as cnn heroes are dedicating their lives to serving others. after you told us about your hero, click submit. it's that easy and that worthwhile. nominate someone deserving today. >> thank you so much for this incredible honor. this has been the greatest night of my life. >> ahead on "starting point," rick santorum supporting president obama? >> instead of taking a risk of what may be the etch-a-sketch candidate for the future. >> did he really mean that? his campaign joins us live to respond. extreme road rage begins with a parking lot brawl, ends up with a woman getting run down

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♪ >> total consensus on the panel. we all like the song. can't get enough of adele. adele never gets old. >> i'm going to put this on my workout playlist. i'm putting this on there. i don't cheat on the workout. >> nothing like a song about a bad breakup to get you going. we're going to talk to alice in just a bit about santorum's comments that voters should pick president obama for a second term over mitt romney. let's get to deborah feyerick for news headlines. >> u.s. officials confirm the alleged gunman in the shooting that killed a rabbi and three jewish children in france was on

the no-fly list here in the u.s. 23-year-old mohammad merah was listed as a terrorist. he's accused in two other deadly attacks. mississippi's attorney general once again asking the state supreme court to overturn 200 pardons issued by former governor haley barbour. he's arguing the case needs to be reopened because the private personal rights of the victims were violated by the pardons. attorney general jim hood insisting that's a violation of mississippi's crime victims bill of rights. overnight explosion rocks a silicon plant in portland, oregon. two workers were inside a chemical reactor doing maintenance when the explosion happened. the fire department says a stream of oxygen hit the reactor causing that blast. extreme road rage caught on camera. two women throw down in a parking lot in california.

a pedestrian reaches into a fan and punches a driver repeatedly. the driver gets revenge running the pedestrian down in her van pinning her against the wall. the pedestrian was treated for nonlife threatening injuries. the driver was arrested. a woman arrested for allegedly attacking kim kardashian. reality star was attack, hit with a white powdery substance. authorities say it was cooking flour. witnesses say they heard a woman saying something about fur before she tossed the stuff. kardashian did not press charges. she said like i told my makeup artist, i wanted more powder. >> what a way to start a friday. thanks, deb. mitt romney's opponents haven't put down their toys for a second straight day. the etch-a-sketch is back. the must have prop. you remember right here on this show one of romney's advisers said when it comes to the fall

campaign, everything changes. it's almost like an etch-a-sketch. yesterday santorum who is hoping to make up ground in the delegate count with a win tomorrow in louisiana suggested if he's not the nominee, the u.s. should stick with president obama. >> we might as well stay with what we have instead of taking a risk of what may be the etch-a-sketch candidate for the future. >> alice stewart is the national press secretary santorum 2012 presidential campaign. does he really believe that voters should choose obama over mitt romney if that's the choice? >> thank you for having me on to talk about this. what he was referring to in the context of a statement was that he's worried that voters will have that feeling. what we need in order for the gop to win, we need to have a choice. we need a clear vision different from what we currently have. with mitt romney, it's the same vision and not the right direction for this country. he was worried that voters would have that feeling. what we have with mitt romney is a mirror image of barack obama.

both believe in government takeover of health care, wall street bailout. we need a candidate as nominee for the republican party that's a contrast to what we currently have and that's what rick santorum is. he wants to first and foremost as we don't celebrate the second anniversary of obama care, we need to have a candidate who will vow to repeal and replace obama care. we can't honestly take mitt romney's word that he's going to repeal and replace it when he's the one that wrote the model, the prototype in romney care. >> certainly this morning that comment on the campaign trail getting a lot of traction. senator santorum would say the choice is obama over mitt romney and this is what mitt romney had to say. his political director gave this statement. as senator santorum continues to drag out this already expensive negative campaign, it is clear that he's becoming the most valuable player on president obama's team. and then newt gingrich also reacting in baton rouge last night. let's listen to what newt gingrich had to say.

>> there is no doubt in my mind that if the choice is governor romney or barack obama, we would have no choice. barack obama's re-election will be a disaster for the united states and we have an obligation -- >> reince priebus has also talked about beating barack obama as the goal of the party. it would seem your candidate's position is counter to the unity of the gop. >> rick has made it clear once a nominee is chosen he'll stand behind the nominee and do everything we can to replace barack obama. that's what the beauty of the primary process is. it's to have candidates out there with differing messages and also different points of view on key issues. rick is out there to show the contrast. he's out there to show that he's the only consistent conservative in this race in terms of the key issues that people are concerned with. >> during the primary season he thinks the choice is obama over romney if that's your choice but

when it's the general election, he will say romney. >> as i said, rick has made it clear that once the come knee is chosen, he'll stand behind it. we're confident as the delegate math continues that rick will be the nominee. a clear path to victory in this case. romney is outspending us in areas 21-1. he's been running for president for more than six years and he's up against the ropes. he has not energized the base. that's why rick santorum is doing so well and his message is resonating with people. >> that's true but he has twice the delegates right now. when you look at the delegate math under the best possible scenario for senator santorum, he could be a spoiler. he could be a spoiler for mitt romney but the strategy has been to rally conservatives for senator santorum and that seems to be turning a little bit. romney has been snagging conservatives lately. yesterday jim demint, this is what he said. he's considered a tea party king

maker. i'm not only comfortable with romney but i'm excited about the possibility of him being our nominee. so the conservative strategy, do you still think that you're going to be able to consolidate more delegates and be that spoiler? >> well, who's to say newt gingrich isn't the spoiler? we're appealing to conservatives and tea party leaders to rally behind the true consistent conservative in this race and that is rick santorum. we need to show the stark contrast between the only candidate in this race that can debate the issue and show the contrast with barack obama and that's rick. he's the only one that hasn't been a father, grandfather for obama care. he has not supported any of the bailouts. he's not supported cap and trade. he's fought vigorously against big government spending as a member of the gang of seven in d.c. he's fought vigorously against big government spending. he is the one that can show the true contrast against barack obama as opposed to mitt romney who is a mirror image of the

president. >> alice stewart, thank you for dropping by. have a great weekend. thanks, alice. >> have a great day. >> do you think conservative strategy is still working? >> i was envisioning an ad from the democratic side. they don't have to do work. all they have to do is replay comments made by republicans from the party. i think that's harmful. i know you probably disagree with that but i do think it will be harmful. >> compared to 2008 when the long democratic primary in the end it did seem like it strengthened barack obama as a candidate. not sure we can say that about mitt romney in this long primary. not sure we can say this process has strengthened mitt romney. >> not toint where hilla the po hillary would say i would support obama over the opponent. >> that was the worst spin i've seen in a long time to explain that. she essentially said everything rick santorum said right now will be different in the general election. you asked a great question.

she was saying he has an etch-a-sketch. >> republican voters right now don't want to see a different game in primaries than in the general. they want to beat the president. they want to beat the president. >> santorum has every right to stay in this race. my view is layout a calendar. 50 states plus the territories vote. why shouldn't he be allowed to stay in until the end and see what the delegate count is at the end. >> he's come this far. >> it's not about being allowed to. it's about what's good strategy for your party. >> he represents -- >> you're right. it's great conversation. >> ralph nader on the right. >> ahead on "starting point," bank of america coming up with a plan for homeowners in distress. they take your house and then you pay and you stay. really? you're watching "starting point." [ artis brown ] america is facing some tough challenges right now.

two of the most important are energy security and economic growth. north america actually has one of the largest oil reserves in the world. a large part of that is oil sands. this resource has the ability to create hundreds of thousands of jobs. at our kearl project in canada, we'll be able to produce these oil sands with the same emissions as many other oils and that's a huge breakthrough. that's good for our country's energy security and our economy.

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helping you do what you do... even better. ♪ 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.

bank of america is getting into the landlord business. homeowners in risk of foreclosure can hand over the deed to their house and sign leases to rent the house back to the bank at market rate. the program is being tested in arizona, nevada and new york. what i like to say about banks and especially in the mortgage business, they don't do anything that's not good for them first of all. some of these states they have such a backlog of foreclosure activity this is a way for banks to keep getting money out of homes that many people will stop paying their bills. they could be just a dead empty property for some of these people. >> here in new york, it would take decades to get people out -- >> it takes a court to actually rule on foreclosures in some states. there is crazy backlog. >> the first thought might be this is a good idea because people can save their homes. this is about big banks making more money. what we should have developed is not plan to get people in their

homes but to develop plan to stop people from getting foreclosed. that's a plan we can develop and i would like to see energy put there instead of turning mortgages into rent a center. >> the question is whether homeowners can afford the new rent. it's a promising program. a national scandal that we never figured out the foreclosure crisis in this country that is dragging down the economy. >> it would have been nice if we could have got people paying something to banks a long time ago before they got foreclosed on. inactivity for years consumer advocates and homeowner advocates have been saying we've got to keep people in their houses. people were kicked out long ago and won't benefit from a program like this. >> it seems like a little bit too little too late. this is a pilot program. >> why didn't we see this three years ago? >> we haven't seen it from the banks and we haven't seen it from our government.

we haven't seen it from the obama administration. every housing plan they put out was not ambitious enough to solve the problem. >> there will be guidelines interesting with this big mortgage servicing settlement that they had. from now on you are supposed to have one point of contact when you call a bank. what i hear from people as they go through foreclosure process, they call the bank and another part of bank. they are sending in bills but mortgage was sold to someone else. it's a complete mess. that's going to be illegal for that to be a mess from now on. you have to have a person you can call at the bank. >> it needs to be illegal. there needs to be a long-term plan toward regulating these banks. at the end of the day, that's what caused all this. it's not a mystery what caused this. it's predatory lending. deregulation of banks. we need our hands back on the wheel to fix the problem so stuff like this doesn't become a band-aid. >> first slopping lending into lending they couldn't afford and now sloppy foreclosures and now they try a pilot program that we're skeptical of. you can rent your own house.

>> it's a great house not far from where you are now. it's awful. >> all right. ahead on "starting point," newt gingrich says an open convention would be exciting. calls it hogs heaven. doesn't that go against the call for uniting this party? from ryan's playlist "comfort me." ♪

looking ahead to the louisiana primary on saturday, newt gingrich needs a win. so far he's won only two states. one of them his home state. he stands firm on not dropping out of the race. >> i'm staying in the race because i believe we ought to have a conservative who is serious who has had national achievements who doesn't write his policy on an etch-a-sketch and zigzag back and forth wildly. >> joining me now, a supporter of gingrich for president. good morning, sir. >> good morning. >> so how is he going to do in

louisiana? polls have him third behind santorum and romney. >> i think if people stop and think about the performance of both romney with romney care and this etch-a-sketch issue, and then santorum who says that he would recommend people vote for obama before romney, i think that they have inflicted so many wounds on themselves, they will understand that the most important thing is a record of performance. newt has that when we was speaker he cut taxes and spending and eliminated programs and brought in welfare reform and left a balanced budget and he's got the record of performance and not just talk. >> with all that in mind, what happens if he loses louisiana? >> well, frankly he has been dragging in the polls but campaigning there all week long. i think people in louisiana will understand that frankly he's the

only guy that can go toe to toe with president obama in the debate. other guys have made mistakes. i'm not like santorum. if romney ends up with a nomination, i'm for romney. >> that's my question for the gop. what does that -- it's been a long, hard battle in the primary season. do you think that damages party unity? >> i won't try to be a bad spinner. the fact is that there is one unifying factor. that is president obama. every republican and most independents want obama out of the white house and that's the unifying factor. we will come together. >> i want to talk about nooewt third place with 135 delegates. it's tough to mount a comeback as a front runner. piers morgan asked how he would feel about an open convention. i'll use the word giddy to describe it. listen. >> that would be the most exciting 60 days of civic participation in the age of

facebook and youtube. you would be in hogs heaven. every night would be exciting. convention would be the most exciting convention in modern times and whoever became the nominee would have the highest attendance and viewership in history for their acceptance speech and we would have come pressed the obama attack machine to 60 days. >> do you agree with your friend newt gingrich that an open convention would be exciting and good for the party? >> you guys on cnn and all of the other media would have a lot to talk about and you would talk about republicans. you would not be talking about obama. yeah, i think it would be possible. we've done it before in other eras. we've never done it in an environment of internet and television and radio, talk shows and so forth. i don't think it would be devastating. i think it could be very positive. it could be an explosion. on the other hand, again, there is a unifying desire to get rid of the incumbent in the white house and to turn this country

around and newt turned the country around when he was speaker of the house against the wishes of bill clinton, the most popular democratic president of modern times. >> i want to know what you have to say about people that have said gingrich is open about his feelings about romney and weak nominee and can't debate against president obama, why doesn't he get behind santorum and create this united front with conserve backing? that would be more threatening to obama than the situation right now. >> i think you'll have to ask newt why he does what he does. i'll simply say that i think newt is the best campaigner and the best debater. he has been on top twice and he's come up and i think he can come up a third time. he's like rocky balboa and everready bunny. knock him out and he comes back. a good vote out of louisiana tomorrow is necessary to turn it around for newt. otherwise, i guess we'll see

some changes but if newt does well, i think he could be back. >> all right. congressman bob livingston, thank you for joining us. have a wonderful weekend. >> thank you. you too. >> the end point with our panel is next. [ tom ] we invented the turbine business right here in schenectady. without the stuff that we make here, you wouldn't be able to walk in your house and flip on your lights. [ brad ] at ge we build turbines that power the world. they go into power plants which take some form of energy, harness it, and turn it into more efficient electricity. [ ron ] when i was a kid i wanted to work with my hands, that was my thing. i really enjoy building turbines. it's nice to know that what you're building

is gonna do something for the world. when people think of ge, they typically don't think about beer. a lot of people may not realize that the power needed to keep their budweiser cold and even to make their beer comes from turbines made right here. wait, so you guys make the beer? no, we make the power that makes the beer. so without you there'd be no bud? that's right. well, we like you. [ laughter ] ♪

>> time now for the end point. we'll start with marc. >> rick santorum needs to go home. he's done me a huge favor. i love for him to stay. if i were a republican, i would be irritated. he's bringing down the party. spreading an awful message. on top of that, he's destroying the party and keeping barack obama's chances alive. >> follow up that enthusiasm. >> there's been a theme today. there'see