i think it's time where our country needs to come together. we're all americans. we need to rise above politics. rise above racial differences and say we're all in this together. >> ryan? >> i shouldn't do this as a journalist but i want to endorse the newt gingrich strategy of making the republican convention the most interesting thing to happen in 50 years. it would be epic to go into that open convention. >> i love it when you do things you shouldn't do. nice to see you guys. "cnn newsroom" with carol costello begins now. >> good morning, christine. good morning to all of you. i'm carol costello. stories we're watching right now in the "newsroom." afghanistan massacre suspect army staff sergeant robert bales is going to be charged in a matter of hours. there are new questions this morning about those charges and why some are saying the numbers just don't add up. closure and questions. the whitney houston toxicology report. >> cause her to go down and we

know that when she slipped under the water she was still alive. >> new details and new reaction coming out this morning. it's being called a temporary resignation but trayvon martin's family calls it absolutely nothing. sanford florida police chief bill lee stepping aside saying he's a distraction. this morning new efforts by the state to calm the outrage. the obama contraception mandate at college. one school is threatened to shut down if it's forced to comply and they're taking the white house to court. moving into overdrive this morning. mitt romney looking like he can't shake the erase controversy. rick santorum now drawing himself into the story. did he really say obama should get another term? hungry for the "hunger games"? >> make sure they remember you. >> i keep wishing i could show them a way they don't own me if i'm going to die.

>> the blockbuster busting presale records. if you're going tonight, we have the top five things you have to know before you step foot into that theater. but we begin this morning with a case of sergeant robert bales. the army staff sergeant accused of a mass killing in afghanistan. we'll hear charges against him sometime today. bales faces 17 counts of murder. 16 afghans were killed. prosecutors plan to explain that discrepancy. bales also faces six counts of assault and attempted murder. his attorney tells cnn that prosecutors have no murder scene and no forensics. bales is being held at ft. leavenworth, texas. cnn's ted rowlands is there. bales accused of killing 16 people. why are there 17 murder counts? >> reporter: we don't know, carol. according to a senior u.s. official, there are 17 murder charges against him. we're expecting to get the official charges from the united states government at some point

today. that's also when bales' attorney john henry browne expects to get official charges. what will happen is possibly another person wounded in this tragedy may have died over the past few days. it just hasn't been reported out of afghanistan. that would be conventional wisdom as to why 17 over 16. >> i'm also wondering bales' attorney saying there isn't much of a case here. something that's hard to believe actually. >> reporter: well, yeah. he was out this morning talking about it. we talked to him here at ft. leavenworth after he was discussing the case with his client over a two-day period. take a listen to what he's talking about. he's looking at it from an attorney's point of view saying this case could have some issues. take a listen to what he says. >> i don't know about the evidence in this case. i don't know that the government is going to prove much. there's no forensic evidence. there's no confessions. i don't know. i'm not saying that we're not

taking responsibility for this in the right way at the right time. right now, you know, i am interested in what the evidence is. >> there's no confession after the surrender? >> no. >> reporter: basically, carol, john henry browne saying witness wills be tough to corral. will they be able to identify bales and the bodies are gone because they were buried without an autopsy within a day. he's looking at it from that point. if you look big picture, you have 17 people that were murdered in the middle of the night, innocent people, nine children, and nobody is saying robert bales is the wrong guy. you have to take what he's saying obviously with grain of salt. >> understand. ted rowlands reporting live from ft. leavenworth, kansas. anger, frustration and sadness. a range of reaction for family and friends of whitney houston after the release of her autopsy

report. coroner says houston drown in the bathtub after using cocaine and also found in her system, marijuana, xanax, muscle relax ant flexeril and benadryl. kareen wynter is in los angeles for us this morning. any reaction from family and friends yet? >> reporter: what's interesting is that the reaction has been rather muted from family and friends alike. you would expect this big news to have just exploded on twitter but we have heard from some celebs like latoya jackson, echoing the same thing, rest in peace, whitney houston. we also received a statement from patricia houston, whitney houston's sister-in-law and former manager. let me read that to you. we're saddened to learn of the toxicology results but we're glad to now have closure.

you mentioned those two contributing factors. heart disease and cocaine. how does that play a role into the accidental drowning? we posed that question to coroner's yesterday. this is how they broke it down. it appears that whitney houston had a bad heart. drug use over time made things worse. unclear if she had a heart attack. there was a cardiac event that took place and caused her to go unconscious and go under water and combination of several factors there. cocaine, her health, her heart not in great shape and that caused her to drown in a foot of water. very sad ending to a woman who had so much promise and such a huge legacy and this unfortunately will be a part of it. >> there was cocaine found in her system. was there any cocaine found in houston's hotel room? >> reporter: that's where the focus now shifts, carol, to beverly hills police.

they're not commenting right now on whether there was evidence like cocaine found in the room. they are not actually releasing anything to media for another couple of weeks now that they have the coroner's report because that's when the detailed toxicology report will have everything regarding the doctor's findings here and autopsy and drug levels. they want to make sure they have that first before they comment to the media. there are so many questions. was there cocaine in the room. who supplied it to whitney houston and we're hoping to have some answers to that in a couple weeks when beverly hills police release more information on that. >> kareen wynter live in los angeles for us. the parents of trayvon martin want justice for their dead son. what they're getting is a temporary leave of absence from the sanford, florida, police chief. bill lee led the initial investigation into martin's death at the hands of a neighborhood watch captain, george zimmerman. >> while i stand by the sanford police department, its personnel and the investigation that was conducted in regards to the

trayvon martin case, it is apparent that my involvement in this matter is overshadowing the process. >> there's also a new prosecutor in the case. angela cory is taking over florida's probe of martin's killing. the previous prosecutor says he hopes the mood will preserve the integrity of the investigation. also expected today, a meeting to discuss the trayvon martin case at the white house. attorney general eric holder, black ministers and others will meet with senior administration officials. president obama is not expected to attend. in the meantime, the anger over the case continues to mushroom. al sharpton led a rally at a church in sanford. his message was simply arrest zimmerman now. george howell was at the rally last night. the police chief stepped down. he stepped down temporarily. is that appeasing critics somewhat? >> reporter: that news, carol, came as a big surprise to the thousands of people who attended this rally in the park here in

sanford. a big surprise but many people say it's not enough. they want to see the police chief either resign all-together or be fired. the wording in his plan to step down was he temporarily removed himself from office. people here say that's not enough. we also know before the rally trayvon martin's family members, they got to meet with members of the department of justice and overall theme of that meeting i'm told was to be patient. to be patient as this investigation continues. but throughout the rally we also learned that governor rick santorum appointed that new special prosecutor you mentioned who will now look into this case. she explained how she plans to investigate this case. take a listen. >> it requires a thorough investigation. extensive interviews of every witness and extensive review of all physical evidence and then a determination as to how we apply florida's law to the facts of any case. we don't worry about backlash

from cases. what we worry about is seeking the truth. that's our mission. that's the united states supreme court defined mission for prosecutors is to seek the truth. >> reporter: the other side of this story is george zimmerman. at this point we have not heard anything from george zimmerman. again, he's essentially gone into hiding since the shooting claiming it was self-defense. many in the community believe it was murder. i also learned through the city manager that if police need to get in contact with him, they are able to. they know exactly where to reach him, carol. >> all right. george howell reporting live for us from sanford, florida. the court battle over barack obama's sweeping health care reforms is on. the supreme court will spend three days hearing arguments over the law. on one side the president and on the other a handful of private groups and states that want the whole thing shut down. they say it's unkconstitutional

because of the clause that requires them to get all health care. it's also the second anniversary of the president's broad health care reforms today and mitt romney, who is in a dogfight for the republican nomination, wrote an op-ed in "usa today" slamming the reform saying he would repeal the whole thing root and branch. he also says it's "an unfolding disaster for the american economy." he wants each state to be allowed to pursue its own version of health care reform. you can catch that op-ed in "usa today." all next week special challenges to the health care coverage law before the u.s. supreme court here on "cnn newsroom" we'll look at individual mandates, attacks? the special reports start monday here on cnn. tomorrow's louisiana primary could answer key questions in the gop race. joe johns is in louisiana where

romney is speaking in the next hour. hi, joe. >> reporter: hey, carol. a lot of polling out there suggesting that rick santorum is actually running very strong in the state of louisiana. some of the polling even suggesting santorum has a double digit lead in this state. the good news, if any, for mitt romney is that if you look at it very closely, when the delegates are assigned over the weekend, they are going to have to have about 46 delegates to start out with. only 20 of those are actually going to be assigned as a result of the primary on saturday. the rest assigned in june. so we're not talking about a lot of delegates here right now. that of course is the big issue, carol. >> a lot of people talking about what rick santorum said. did he really suggest that president obama would be better than mitt romney as president? >> reporter: yeah, i think so.

probably the best thing for us to do is just look at the sound bite and take away what you will. let's listen and talk about it. >> 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 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 a risk of what may be the etch-a-sketch candidate for the future. >> he had that etch-a-sketch, didn't he? >> reporter: it does sound like he suggested that. for some republicans, of course, that's the kind of talk that -- if you look at exit polling again and again from a number of primary states, it suggests the most important thing for conservative and republican vote certificates finding someone who they believe can beat barack obama. for rick santorum to say that, of course, a problem. and i also have to point out, i think, that mitt romney put out

a statement right after we aired that last night on cnn. he put out a statement essentially condemning santorum for what he said. the problem with that, of course, is that in order to raise the issue, you have to disseminate the message that santorum was bringing. there's some republicans saying, look, these guys need to act a little bit more presidential on both sides and there's the other question of course about rick santorum sort of preparing himself to bow out gracefully if he can't win this race and showing simply no signs of doing that right now. >> joe johns live for us in louisiana. thanks, joe. the candidates set their sights on the presidential tickets, millions of americans are focused on getting a ticket to the "hunger games." did you like that segue? movie goers are lining up to catch the first showings.

advance sales for the debut weekend are through the roof. the online site says it is selling ten tickets per second. the "hunger games" is based on the bestselling trilogy. >> it's a great cast and it looks like it's going to be a really good movie. from the reviews it looked like everything is -- they followed the book for once. >> i was on my tippy toes the whole time watching the movie. >> the editor of the "hunger games" book will join us live in 30 minutes explaining why the series is so popular and exactly why the author, suzanne collins, is staying out of the spotlight. florida's stand your ground law offers george zimmerman a legal defense that some find offensive. we'll talk to the representative who co-sponsored the law and ask him if it needs to be changed after the killing of trayvon martin. 200 people pardoned by the mississippi governor as he leaves office. i'll tell you why the state attorney general is trying to

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before the killing of trayvon martin, many people had never heard of stand your ground laws. florida is not the only state with in law. 21 states have some form of it. in short the law expands a citizen's right to use deadly force if he reasonably believes its necessary to defend himself. since it was passed in 2005, justifiable homicide have nearly tripled in florida. florida's governor wants a task

force to examine the law. >> hello, carol. thank you. >> i'm really looking forward to this discussion because we really want to know what this law is about and what exactly it says. i just want to tell you what critics are asking. a boy is dead and your law may help the killer escape justice. is that fair? >> that's not what this law is about. there are a lot of misconceptions about how to apply this law. there's nothing in this statute -- this is self-protection statute. nothing authorizes anybody to pursue and confront another individual on the street and instigate any kind of altercation. that's the problem. i don't think law enforcement is applying this correctly to be

honest. >> you don't feel the law needs to be changed at all or reviewed even? >> i never have a problem with reviewing things. i do feel good about the statute because since 2005, we've actually seen a serious decrease in the amount of violent crime and i would like to think we were a part of good policy helping that to happen. as kwfar as statistics you are quoting, people defending themselves are not prosecuted for defending themselves from harm if someone was trying to enter their home, their car or attacking them some place they had to be like a parking garage or a park. >> the tampa paper did a study on this law. 138 people have invoked the law for self-defense. 19 of these people were charged, weren't they? >> yes. i think that's the idea is that this law helps you sort it out. if you were strictly defending yourself from a violent attack,

then we're going to stand with you. what we've learned is that if you empower people to stop bad things from happening, they will and they did. and it's unfortunate in this case that all of the signals were there. we see a awry. i'm grateful that we'll have this grand jury and grateful for this special prosecutor because it indicates to the community and family that something is going to happen and what was happening was nothing. never was this lou intended to allow people to pursue, confront and instigate incidents against other people. >> some say because you force police to read someone's state of mind, what is reasonably believes? what does that mean? it's because of that phrase within the law that maybe police could not charge george zimmerman with any crime. >> well, as the legislature

processed this information, what it came down to was realizing that a victim of a violent attack only have seconds to respond to whether they want to be a victim or not. if they try to escape, this he may get shot in the back or attacked. we've helped a lot of people avoid being maimed, harmed, raped or murdered. if we empower people to stop those bad things, they do stop them. we can monday morning quarterback did you flee or when were they armed or bigger than you, that's fine for us as we sit back and analyze. realize that law abiding citizen who is a victim of a violent attack, they only have moments. >> in your mind, george zimmerman, should he be charged with a crime? >> i don't like to speculate. i think it's the grand jury's responsibility to sort all this out. quite frankly anyone who steps

out in a pursuit in confrontation mode with a firearm, they're not covered. that's not a self-protection act. you've initiated something. there's a lot of different indicators that have risen in this situation. i don't think what's going on in sanford is about two men on a street. >> police across the country don't like this law saying it makes it more difficult for them. >> it's because they don't understand it. we're not an -- >> isn't that a problem that the police don't understand the law? they're the people that should easily understand the law so they can apply it when they think about placing someone under arrest. >> that's a good thing that could come out of this very tragic situation. that's a clarification of how this law is to be applied. again, i think there may be some other legislation that the task force could look at. maybe we do need some direction into law enforcement as to how to understand the application of this law. maybe we need to give direction to crime watch.

really all they need is a telephone. they are to be the eyes and ears of the community and call law enforcement to alert them to come and investigate. when you have someone carrying firearm on a crime watch mission and then actually ignoring the dispatcher's guidance that we don't need you to do that, then i think that's a very different situation, and i think it's been misapplied. >> representative baxley, thank you for joining us this morning. we appreciate it. >> thank you. homeowners facing foreclosure might have another option where they don't have to move. one lender is willing to let them stay in their homes as renters. more on that coming up later. 200 pardons by the mississippi governor as he leaves office including mudd murderers. ♪

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a slew of controversial pardons by former mississippi governor haley barbour could still be overturned. the state's attorney general is now going to the mississippi high court for a second time. he wants some 200 pardons including those of murderers

tossed because they violate the state's constitution. cnn producer rich phillips is here. remind people first what these pardons were all about and why this is still going on. >> this is something that took place back in january as a lot of people remember. it involved several murderers. just over 200 other people who were pardoned in the waning days of haley barbour's administration. as a lot of people probably remember, the mississippi supreme court heard the case. they ruled against it. he has another motion. he says crime victim bill of rights has been violated and will take another shot at it. he filed a motion yesterday. we're going to show you right now just a quote from that motion where he said that among the rights guaranteed to victims is private personal right of each victim of the crimes to

notice of the impending pardon. each victim also has a right to submit a written or recorded statement. that didn't happen. he says victims' rights were violated and he'll take another shot at it. we have to see if the supreme court of mississippi will hear the case. they decide that. victims must be happy about this. >> to say the least. they thought it was dead and buried and they were upset certainly. a lot of old wounds are wide open now. i spoke to randy walker yesterday. one of the victims. one thing he said is i'm so happy that jim hood is not ready to roll over and die yet. they are living to fight another day and we'll have to see what the mississippi supreme court has to say. >> thank you so much for filling us in. we appreciate it. killer of trayvon martin has been painted as a vigilante but his neighbors describe a

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opening bell rang minutes ago. the dow down just a few points after the open. the soldier accused in massacre of 16 afghan civilians will be charged today. the attorney for staff sergeant robert bales says they have no murder scene or forensics. the final report on whitney houston's death is due out in two weeks but the preliminary autopsy shows the singer drown in her hotel bathroom. it lists cocaine and heart disease and contributing factors in her death. civil rights leader al sharpton led a rally at a church in sanford demanding the arrest of george zimmerman. florida's governor appointed a new state's attorney to investigate the case. zimmerman is the invisible

character in this case. family and neighbors have leapt to his defense but he has been silent. still, the public record offers hints of who he is. sunny hostin from "in session" joins us from new york with more. what have you found out? >> we found out, kacarol, there are legal findings involving george zimmerman. he was arrested in 2005 it appears, july 16th, and he was arrested for resisting arrest and assaulting a police officer. he entered into a pretrial diversion program and pled guilty and his record was expunged because of that pretrial diversion program. we also now know there was some domestic violence allegations against him by a former girlfriend and fiance. he also the next day after that filing filed a domestic violence charge against her as well. and so we're learning a bit more

about george zimmerman. he had some brushes with the law and i think what's so interesting about that, carol, is because apparently the police department told trayvon martin's family that george zimmerman came back squeaky clean and that was one of the considerations in not charging george zimmerman but we're learning there have been some scrapes with the law. this is really quite a revelation not only for us that are following this case but certainly also for trayvon martin's family. >> we know he's been attending a community college, right? i don't know exactly what he's studying. maybe you know the answer to that question. a lot of us wonder what he did for a living. >> that's right. we do know that he was at a two-year college getting an associates degree in general studies. prior to that he was also there getting some other training, vocational training.

many people report he had this long standing desire to become a police officer. to be involved with law enforcement. he was in fact enrolled in a program learning about law enforcement. he's no longer enrolled at that community college, carol. the community college issued a statement saying they have removed him from their program in protection of the student body as well as george zimmerman. he's no longer enrolled at that school. >> with all that you have told me and you're a former prosecutor, does it surprise you that he wasn't charged in the martin case? >> you know, it does surprise me actually because it seems to me having been a former prosecutor that this investigation has been unusual. we are learning that the police department allowed george zimmerman to leave the police

department with the clothes that he had on. we also learn that no blood tests or drug and alcohol test was performed on george zimmerman. a lot of things typically done during the investigation of a shooting death in my view just haven't been done. the police also indicated they were prohibited by law from arresting george zimmerman. that doesn't sound accurate to me because the police make the ultimate decision as to whether or not there's probable cause to arrest after an investigation. the fact that it's been almost a month and george zimmerman has not been arrested has not been charged and in my view given the evidence that is coming forward, i find it highly unusual. >> sunny hostin, thank you so much. >> thank you. finally, an answer to a mystery that's been keeping people in wisconsin awake at night. scientists think they now know where those booms are coming from. let the games begin. >> i just keep wishing i could

think of a way to show them they don't own me. >> the bestselling book the "hunger games" hits the big screen and millions line up to see it. we'll talk to the book's editor coming your way next. [ sizzling ] ♪ [ male announcer ] free hot breakfast. with fresh waffles. real value. from your friends at hampton. our machines help identify early stages of cancer and it's something that we're extremely proud of. you see someone who is saved because of this technology, you know that the things that you do in your life, matter. if i did have an opportunity to meet a cancer survivor, i'm sure i could take something positive away from that. [ jocelyn ] my name is jocelyn, and i'm a cancer survivor. [ mimi ] i had cancer. i have no evidence of disease now. [ erica ] i would love to meet the people that made the machines. i had such an amazing group of doctors and nurses,

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a new craze is sweeping the nation this weekend. thousands of people are waiting in long lines no matter the weather to catch the debut of "the hunger games." the film was a huge sensation with advance tickets selling at a rate of ten per second. here's a sneak peek. >> make them remember you. >> i just keep wishing i could think of a way to show them they don't own me.

if i'm going to die, i want to still be me. >> i just can't afford to think like that. >> the movie is based on a book and you would think the author of that book, suzanne collins, would bask in the spotlight this debut weekend but she's lying low. you can see her on youtube a couple years ago she talked about why it was difficult to write parts of the book. listen. >> the book has so many dark passages that are emotionally difficult to write so when you are done, you feel satisfied that you finished them but they're not in and of themselves particularly fun things to write. >> joining us from new york, the editor of "the hunger games." welcome, david. >> hi. >> first of all, let's talk about the craziness surrounding the movie. you edit this hugely successful book. now it's a movie. take us -- tickets selling at ten per second. did you ever imagine?

>> from the get-go when the book came in, everyone was so excited about it. it's been amazing to see excitement spread and spread and spread but to see this and to hear ten tickets a second is extraordinary. >> is it the marketing or is the book really that good? >> i think the book is really that good. it's something that people have really latched onto and it's been again from the very beginning just a huge word of mouth success. the word of mouth is now spreading to the movie. >> you would think the author of that book, suzanne collins, would be in the spotlight basking in glory but she's nowhere to be found. where is she? >> she's at home. like many authors she's a private person. what's most important is words and books get out there. she doesn't need to get out there. she's letting the books and movie speak for themselves. >> we have a youtube clip about

how she got the idea for the movies. >> the first inspiration came from a greek myth. when i was a child i was a fanatic about greek methology. this was one of my favorite myths. >> tell me a little bit about her. she looks like an ordinary person who wrote a hugely popular book and has a blockbuster movie to her credit. >> she grew up as an army brat. she wrote a hugely successful series for younger readers and wanted a challenge and decided to write this trilogy. >> it is a hard edged movie. not many parents realize what exactly the movie is about and that it involves children killing. explain to us if you can in a nutshell, what the movie is

about so that parents know what their kids want to watch. >> it is about a girl forced into the hunger games where 24 kids must fight to the death basically with only one survivor as a way of sort of keeping society in check. the government does this to keep districts and government in check. she has to fight to survive. the violence is a critique of violence. it's not meant to entertain. it's not meant for you to go rah about. it's meant to find it deplorable. that's what "the hunger games" are about. >> is it suitable for kids under 10 or 12? >> we've always said the books are for 12 and up and that's the audience. certainly there are kids who are younger who are more mature but i think really 12 and up is the right age. the movie is pg-13 so movie that age and up is the right age. >> thank you for joining us. we appreciate it.

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louisiana college is suing the obama administration over controversial health care provision that requires insurance coverage for contraception. the president is so opposed total rule he may shut the school down rather than comply. >> it's as much murder as if i

took a gun and shot someone right there. if president obama chooses to force the government to take over our religion in this institution, and to force us to cause murder to happen, we will no longer exist. we will not do it. he'll have to walk up here and board up the doors of this college before we will participate in murder. we will not do it. >> reaction from students is mixed. >> pretty insulting. you just don't say that kind of thing if you're a man, and you say that, you have the entire women's community pretty much against you. >> he's not thinking about his students, he's thinking about his personal beliefs, and as the dean of students, that is his responsibility to take care of his students ma. >> our school is built on those

beliefs, that is not outside the realm of possibility. >> i would probably agree with that with this particular incident, it's a drastic overstep of the government boundaries appeared what is defined in the constitution as their role. all next week we'll have coverage of the challenges to the health care reform law before the u.s. supreme court right here on cnn newsroom, the mandate is it a tax or fine? our special report starts monday on cnn. 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.

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the first number one seed has fallen in the ncaa tournament. jeff is in bracket lounge at cnn center with all the highlights and low-lights if you were for that team, hey, jeff. >> i'm in the bracket lounge after dark the lounge gets really cool. but yeah, i'm in front of the big board. let's look at what happened in the west regional last night michigan state, tough for the spartans to get through what i thought would be the toughest regional in the tournament, west was a beast, against louisville they found it very tough going. cardinals suffocated spartans. louisville coach rick patino is 10-0 all time in sweet 16 games.

57-44 the final. louisville and patino face florida in the west final i'll explain why it's so great in a second. because it will be a battle of the teacher and pupil. florida beat marquette, kenny boynton four-point play, he was great. gators and their coach billy donovan win 68-58. 25 years ago donovan was the star at providence for rick patino's first final four team. now donovan going against patino. the east regional syracuse, trying to live up to the seed, taking on wisconsin out of the big ten. orange coach jim boeheim said it was one of the most exciting games. orangemen need him. this put the orange up front. badgers hitting three-pointers all night but came up just short.

a great game, came down to the final second. orange win 64-63. for jim boeheim 890. buckeyes beat cincinnati. ohio state my pick out of the regional i'm doing well in the east. sulinger 23 points. buckeyes are back in the final since 2007, that is when they made it to the national championship game but lost. what about tonight? four more big games to finish off elite eight, who will be battling tonight. xavier takes on baylor. indiana taking on kentucky. they battled earlier, came down to a buzzer beater, indiana giving kentucky one of two losses. north carolina and kansas are the favorites. you never know we could see a cinderella out of the midwest.

great night of hoops last night. >> thank you so much. i'm glad ohio state is still in it too i think -- if they win it all then i can say my bracket will have been a success. >> that is what it's all about. forget about the early rounds. doesn't matter. >> i like your style. thank you, jeff. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com president obama will make an announcement about the world bank. the whitney houston toxicology report. >> 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. >> new details and new reaction coming out this morning. mitt romney is giving his side of the story on the second

anniversary of president obama's signing his health care bill in law. he writes an extensive op-ed and how it differs from the president. hungry for "the hunger games"? >> make sure they remember you. >> the blockbuster pre sale records if you're going tonight we have the top five things you need to know before you step foot in that theater. we are awaiting remarks from president obama expected to nominate jim kim to head the world bank. dan lothian is live, tell us why the world bank is important and what we know about the new head. >> reporter: dealing with the world poverty situation, that is critical now because we have seen what happened in the global

economy. the white house confirming the resident of dartmouth college, been there since 2009, also a physician and anthropologist, and before that, has done some work at the world health organization, specifically dealing with hiv aids. i think what is interesting about the nomination is that it was not a name that was on the public radar, the names that had been tossed around, susan rice, senator john kerry, one of the president's former advisors, lawrence summers, hillary clinton's name had been on the list, at least people were talking about even though the state department had knocked that down. so it will be interesting to listen to what the president has to say about this nomination and what he believes makes him the perfect fit for the job. >> to clarify what the world bank is, a financial institution

makes loans to countries and its goal is to combat poverty. i had heard earlier that there was some thought that this post would not be going to an american citizen. >> that's right, i think the reason for that, at least those watching this closely have been speculating there was more competition this time because the administration had waited so long, the deadline was 6:00 today, and while a lot of names have been kicked around, no one had been nominated, so a lot of other countries had been putting forth people who could give the u.s. competition. since the world bank was formed, an american has been leading that post because the u.s. has the biggest voting share. and so i think that's why there was so much talk about could this be the time now that perhaps someone else, other than an american, head the bank, despite the fact this came late, this nomination came light, i think everyone still believes

this person will be a shoe machine in for the post. >> dan, thank you. president obama scheduled to speak at any minute. whe does start speaking, we'll go live. >> the trayvon martin case is coming to the white house today. eric holder will meet with ministers and officials. president obama is not expected to attend. the meetings were planned long before the case exploded nationally. the case centers on sanford, florida with martin's death at the hands of george zimmerman on february 26th. minutes ago, high school students in miami walked out of class in protest. sanford was the site of a rally yesterday with protesters demanding zimmerman's arrest. since then we have seen demonstrations in city after city with marchs taking up the cry "i am trayvon martin" to new york to los angeles. >> bill lee insists his

department followed proper procedure in their investigation. >> while i stand by the sanford police department, personnel and the investigation that was conducted in regard to the trayvon martin case. my involvement is overshadowing the process. >> lee did not answer when reporters asked what he meant by "temporary". >> lee isn't the only official leaving the investigation. the governor appointed a new state's attorney to lead the probe into martin's death. george howell joins us from sanford, tell us more about that. >> reporter: well, angela corey will take over from norm wolfinger whose district includes the city of sanford. this is interesting, she will take a very specific approach at looking at this case, looking at the investigation and she could make a decision on it, take a listen how she plans to look at the case. >> it requires a thorough

investigation, extensive interviews of every witness and extensive review of all physical evidence and then a determination how we apply florida law to the facts of any case. we don't worry about backlash from cases. what we worry about is seeking the truth. that is our mission, that is the united states supreme court defined mission for prosecutors is to seek the truth. >> carol, you mentioned the police chief stepping aside, his wording to temporarily remove himself from office, a lot of people at this rally, there were thousands here, many of whom i spoke to, say they are not satisfied with that, they would rather see him resign altogether or be fired from that post. >> george howell reporting live. two years ago president obama signed his health care bill into law and the fight over that law is just beginning. the u.s. supreme court is getting ready to hear arguments whether parts of the law are

constitutional. and today, republican presidential candidate mitt romney wrote an op-ed in "usa today" why the health care bill he signed as governor of massachusetts in 2006 is different. critics have compared the two. we have team coverage starting with kate baldwin on capitol hill. hi, kate. >> reporter: hey, carol. today is the two year anniversary of the sweeping healthcare overhaul, it is 2700 pages and more than 450 provisions. it affects every american and that's why -- back to you. president obama is approaching the podium, going to release officially the name of the new president of the world bank. good morning, everybody. in february, the current president of the world bank announced he would be stepping down at the end of his term in june. he has been a strong and

effective leader for five years, when he told me about his plans, i began to search for someone to fill his shoes. now, depiet tspite the name the bank is more than just a bank. one of the most powerful tools to reduce poverty and raise standard of living on some of the poorest countries on the planet. in a world that is growing smaller every day that is a critical mission not just for those struggling but for all of us. when we reduce hunger in the world or help a farmer recover from a flood, or a drought, it strengthens the entire world economy. when we put an end to preventible disease, all of us are safer because of it. when an entrepreneur can start a new business creates jobs in their country but opens up new markets for our country. ultimately when a nation goes from poverty to prosperity, it makes the world stronger and more secure for everybody. that is why the world bank is so

important. and that is why the leader of the world bank should have a deep understanding of both the role the development plays in the world, and the importance of creating conditions where assistance is no longer needed. i believe that nobody is more qualified to carry out that mission than dr. jim kim. it's time for a development professional to lead the world's largest development agency. that is why today after a careful and thorough search, i'm nominating dr. jim kim to be the next president of the world bank. jim has spent more than two decades working to improve conditions in developing countries around the world. as a physician and anthropologist he cofounded partners in health and led a world health organization campaign to treat three million patients with hiv aids. i've made hiv aids and the fight against that dreaded disease and the promotion of public health a cornerstone of my development

agenda, building on the outstanding work done by president bush. we pursue these efforts around the globe because it's the right thing to do and because healthy populations enable growth and prosperity and i'm pleased that jim brings this particular experience with him to his new job. jim is also the chair of the department of global health and social medicine at harvard medical school, earned a macarthur fellowship and served as the president of dartmouth college. after immigrating to this country from korea at age five, he became the president of his high school class, quarterback the of the football team, point guard of the basketball team, he's a five handicap in golf. i'm a little resentful about the last item but he does it all. jim has truly global experience. he's worked from asia to africa, to the americas from capitols to small villages.

the fact that anyone can make it as far as he as long as they are willing to work hard and look out for others. and as experiences makes him ideally suited to forge partnerships. i could not be more pleased than to nominate jim for this job. i can speak for secretary clinton and geithner, we are looking forward to working with him. and i also want to take a minute to thank bob zellek for his hard work. he made the back more transparent, helped shore up progress made in places like afghanistan, raidsed billions of dollars to help some of the poorest communities. jim is the right person to carry on that legacy and i know his unique set of skills and years of experience will serve him well. so i'm grateful to him for his willingness to serve, i do not think that the world bank could have a better leader. thank you. >> mr. president, thank you.

>> mr. president may i ask you about the current case in florida, linigering race im, stand your ground law and the justice, can you comment on the trayvon martin case? >> well, i'm the head of the executive branch and the attorney general reports to me so i've got to be careful about my statements to make sure we're not impairing any investigation taking place right now. but obviously, this is a tragedy. i can only imagine these parents are going through. and when i think about this boy i think about my own kids. and i think every parent in

america should be able to understand why it's imperative we investigate every aspect of this and everybody pulls together, federal, state and local, to figure out exactly how this tragedy happened. so i'm glad that not only is the justice department looking into it, i understand that the governor of state of florida formed a task force to investigate what is taking place. i think all of us have to do soul searching to figure out how does something like this happen and that means we examine the laws and the context for what happened. as well as the specifics of the incident. my main message to the parents of trayvon martin. if i had a son he would look like trayvon.

and i think they are right to expect that all of us as americans are going to take this with the seriousness it deserves and we'll get to the bottom of what happened. thank you. president obama talking about his nomination to head the world bank, but also talked about the trayvon martin case. something we haven't heard at length from president obama. let's go to dan lothian to parse what the president said. he was being careful with his words. >> reporter: the president pointed out this is a case being investigated he needed to be very careful as he weighed into this publicly for the first time. at the briefing over the last week here at the white house we have been asking whether or not the president had said anything about this case, what his feelings were, and the white house was very careful to sort of give broad statements about

how this was a tragedy and now the president is saying it's a tragedy when he thinks of the boy he thinks of his own daughters. certainly this adds more weight to a story that has captivated the nation. i think the president pointing out that if he had a son he would look like this young boy. so the president obama during the nomination for the world bank, making a stand at least publicly for the first time on this very couldn't ser sal case. >> i did think it was interesting, dan, he only allowed that one question, he answered it and then left. it was a if he didn't want any more questions about that and wouldn't take the chance one would come his way. >> that's right. he was prepared to answer this, they had made up their mind the president would weigh into this and so was certainly ready for this question. the president did not want to

get in the middle of this, many times we shout questions about various events other than what he is in the rose garden for, the east room or any other appearance and he will smile and turn and walk away. so this was clearly something that was thought out, perhaps well-scripted, the president expecting this question was the only one he wanted to answer. >> i talked to roland martin earlier why the president hasn't come out and said something strongly in regard to the trayvon martin case. some members in the black community want him to but others say don't come out and say anything strong because it's a win-lose proposition for the resident -- the president. >> i think the president will stay away from more local or regional issues. you saw what happened when he weighed in on the cambridge police situation, the blow back that came from that at first he

said that was not something that he wanted to weigh in and then made bold comments on it so that is in the back of their minds, whenever the president is asked or this white house is asked to weigh in on that these kind of stories and situations. this is one that has been growing steadily over the last couple weeks, certainly in the last week with the justice department now getting involved and the president deciding he should get involved it in as well, at least in making a statement but being careful as to what he said. >> dan lothian reporting live, thank you. mitt romney is giving his side of the story, details of the op-ed he wrote, explaining how his plan differs from the president's. restore strengthls whes for up to 90% less breakage in three washes. for strong, healthy hair with life, new aveeno nourish+ strengthen.

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before the president's big announcement we were talking about what republicans called obamacare. it was two years ago that president obama signed that sweeping health care bill into law. it heads to the u.s. supreme court come monday, kate baldwin is in washington with a preview of what is still such a passionate issue in the united states and i know that is an under statement. >> reporter: it is an under state, a controversial piece of legislation, a controversial law makes the battle sure to be historic. not only because people are passionate on both sides but this is a law that impacts every american and because of that, it is really impossible to overstate the stakes in this upcoming supreme court battle.

march 23rd, 2010. president obama signs in law the signature achievement of his presidency. the affordable care act. the landmark and controversial health care overhaul. >> after all the votes have been tallied, health insurance reform becomes law in the united states of america. >> kill the bill, kill the bill. >> within hours, states across the country filed lawsuits challenging the law. >> it's about liberty, not just health care. >> led by florida, 26 states argued the central provision is unconstitutional. the so-called individual mandate. it requires almost every american to purchase health insurance by 2014 or pay a penalty. the commerce clause does not give congress the power to force individuals to purchase a commercial product like health insurance they may not need or want. paul clement is arguing on behalf of the states before the

supreme court. >> these issues are really central to whether the federal government can really regulate anything it wants to. >> the government defends the sweeping reforms, arguing medical care is not a choice. that every american will need health care at some point in their lives. they also say that tens of millions of uninsured americans are costing everyone else more. $43 billion in uncompensated. >> there is no right to free load off a neighbor when you choose not to choose health insurance. >> the stakes grow larger with the supreme court taking the case months before an election. >> if i'm president we're getting rid of obamacare and returning to freedom. >> the election year blockbuster turned the spotlight on the justices themselves. as with the bush versus gore case in 2000, will the justices be criticized for letting politics creep in the courtroom? >> the health care cases have

huge political overtones, obviously, i think the justices will put them to the side. the legal stakes are so high that i don't think they will pay attention that much if at all to the fact that it is occurring in election cycle. they have to get the case right. >> now again, carol, this starts up monday and what we're talking about is in terms of the oral arguments we will be hearing next week is rare, they will be arguing four separate issues in this having to do with this law, for six hours over a span of three days. this very rarely happens and shows how historic and important the case is that the justices will give it this much time. a lot of speculation which way the justices will go, what the final count will be, where will the split be, but really all speculation until the justices rule even after these marathon public sessions, we will likely not hear a ruling from the justices for three months,

somewhere around june. >> agony, isn't it? >> give them time they have a lot to consider they are complex issues. >> that is definitely true. kate bolduan, thank you. the health care bill is a big issue in 2012 in the race for the primary. candidates have been hammering mitt romney claiming the proposal he signed as governor was the basis of what they call obamacare. >> who has supported in fact the stepchild of obamacare? the person in massachusetts who built the largest government-run health care system in the united states. someone who would simply give that issue away in the fall. >> it's impossible to be the author of romneycare and plan to debate obama over obamacare. it's impossible. >> but mitt romney is fighting back. let's head back to washington and check in with paul

steinhouser. big op-ed. >> fighting back on the signing of the federal law. let's look at this. april 12th, 2006, boston, massachusetts, there he is, then massachusetts governor mitt romney signing the health care law. you saw a second ago that was ted kennedy behind him, a champion of health care, bipartisan bill. you played the sound of the two rivals for the gop nomination blasting him. he's a flawed candidate because of the signing. romney defending himself. here what is he says about the plan in the op-ed. >> when i was governor of massachusetts we instituted a plan that got our citizens insured without raising taxes and a government take over. the genesis of federalism that encourages experimentation with each state pursuing what works best for them. the disregard of core aspect of u.s. tradition is one of the most egregious failings. he talked about what he would do

about health care. the reforms i proposed could not be more different from barack obama's entail no new taxes, no massive diversions from medicare, no tax discrimination, decrease government spending and gift states responsibility for dealing with the uninsured. candidate romney right now this hour in louisiana ahead of tomorrow's primary has a speech and that speech is all on health care, that is his message as he tries to pivot to the general election as the nominee he hopes to be against president obama. something he's doing the other candidates perhaps are not. he has an idea to replace the so-called obamacare with something else he says that will bring the health care costs down in this country. >> exactly, that is his whole argument, what he did in massachusetts can work in some aspects, doesn't want to replace what he did for the federal leave, every state should do their own thing.

that is his defense of what he did, that he did what was right for his state but not allstates that is his argument what the president did two years ago. >> paul steinhouser, thanks. stay with cnn for coverage of the louisiana primary. we'll have results live on saturday night. this is $100,000. we asked total strangers to watch it for us. thank you so much, i appreciate it, i'll be right back. they didn't take a dime. how much in fees does your bank take to watch your money ? if your bank takes more money than a stranger, you need an ally. ally bank. no nonsense. just people sense.

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checking our top stories, president obama spoke moments ago about the trayvon martin case, he said the united states has soul searching to do after the killing of that florida teenager by a neighborhood watch captain. >> but obviously, this is a tragedy. i can only imagine what these parents are going through. and when i think about this boy i think about my own kids. protesters plan to march on the florida capital to pressure the state to arrest martin's killer. afghanistan massacre suspect sergeant robert bales will be charged in a matter of hours. he faces 17 counts of murder, 16 afghans reportedly were killed,

prosecutors plan to explain that discrepancy. the l.a. county coroner says cocaine and heart disease contributed to the death of whitney houston. she accidentally drowned in her hotel bathtub. tests found other drugs including marijuana. political buzz, your rapid fire look at best topics of the day. three questions, 30 seconds on the clock. playing with us cnn contributor maria cardona, chris moody and chris metzler on the right. welcome to all of you. >> thanks, carol. >> president obama has spoken out on florida stand your ground law, here is a bit of what he had to say minutes ago. listen. >> but obviously, this is a tragedy. i can only imagine what these parents are going through. and when i think about this boy

i think about my own kids. >> he talked very little about the law and a lot about how this case concerns him because it may concern his own children at some point. did the president do the right thing by speaking out on this, chris moody? >> i think there is a recognition missteps were taken by the local police, the local police chief resigning, whether or not it should go to the federal level i think we should allow the state government to take a look at this and do their due diligence in investigating this. but rest assured if justice is not taken here, there is going to be an outcry and you will see barack obama speaking out about this again. the justice department is already probing this as a possible civil rights violation case. so i think what you'll end up seeing is a mixed effort in the case between the federal government and state government. >> chris metzler? >> absolutely, as a former prosecutor, let me say a couple

things here. the federal government is already probing the case so that is going on but here's the problem. the problem is really relative to the state. this whole decision that he could not be arrested because he asserted self-defense is simply legally incorrect, number one. number two, the state investigation is seriously flawed because it allowed him to essentially leave without arresting him, without taking any evidence whatsoever. so i think it has to be both a state an federal prosecution. >> maria? >> i do think he did the right thing. this tragedy otherwise everybody's minds, i think hearing what the president had to say was important and clearly the white house was ready for this and wanted him to weigh in. it is a tragedy, but look, let's take race out of it. i think this is an issue of law enforcement and it's a federal case because the justice department is looking into it. this stand your ground law is something that needs to be looked into.

there was a guy zimmerman was 100 pounds heavier than trayvon and so i think that is the issue it's law enforcement really. >> second question, karl rove in the wall street journal criticized "the road we've traveled" and laid out the talking points for the republicans heading in to november. it goes back to jimmy carter to compare obama inheriting a bad economy. jimmy carter, really? maria? >> i think this smacks of karl rove being either really nervous that the "road we traveled" will remind people of the major challenges this president had facing him when he took office and all the accomplishments, i think in his desperate attempt to knock it down, betrays the nervousness going in the general election when this president has fought for middle class family, workers, veterans, children, while fat lawed gop candidates are looking out for the billionaires, millionaires and

the richest 1%. >> chris metzler ? >> karl rove is right. if we look at jimmy carter economy, he's correct. reagan inherited a worse economy, keep in mind what was going on relative to jimmy carter. the issue of oil, you had the issue of inflation, all of those kind of things, so i think what rove is saying that in fact there was a horrible economy, yes, he inherited that but it was worse. going back to jimmy carter, well democrats didn't like -- i'm sorry, democrats did not think reagan would beat carter and guess what, we won. >> chris moody? >> all of the republican candidates on the campaign trail compared barack obama to jimmy carter. they have been doing it for months now i don't think this is anything new, we will see this continued. whether or not reagan inherited a worse economy than obama is something economists can debate.

reagan inherited a bad economy and won 49 states in 1984, we will see a close race in 2012, i think republicans will point to that. >> buzzer beater, 20 seconds each, the etch-a-sketch story, won't die. sales of the toy jumped 1500% since mitt romney's campaign guy made the gaffe. why does the story have legs, chris metzler? >> here's the thing it's usually your opponent who defines you as a flip-flopper and someone wearing flip-flops doing the etch-a-sketch dance. in this case it was romney's person who has done that. as a result of that, given us, republicans i don't like him anyway, this reminds me it's not safe to put my toe in the water.

>> chris moody? >> look, the etch-a-sketch is to mitt romney what the flip-flop sandals are were to john kerry in 2004. cane bet you $100 we will see people with etch-a-sketches at the campaign rally, this is not going away. it was unfortunate for the campaign to hand them this ammunition, hand it straight to the democrats, you have to note the reset button line is something romney has been talking about for weeks, but having the product of the etch-a-sketch handed something over to the democrats, they have to deal with. >> maria? >> that his own advisor put forth the most beautiful metaphor that works for romney, because he's a flip-flopper, because he couldn't stand on any principle or core, this is being etched in the memory of voters and it won't easily be erased.

>> thank you for plagying. >> coming up later in the newsroom, more on what killed whitney houston. she used cocaine before she could lamsed in the bathtub, where did it come from? we'll see if we can answer that question for you next.

anger, frustration and sadness, a range of reaction from family and friends of whitney houston after the release of the autopsy report of course. the coroner said she drowned in the bathtub after using cocaine. karyn winter is outside coroner office, any new information? >> well, we do know that the cause of death listed as accidental drowning with a couple contributing factors, heart disease and cocaine was found in houston's system at the time of her death. also other drugs found that weren't contributing factors, marijuana, zanax, benadryl,

flexoril. a cardiac event caused houston to become unconscious, go under a foot of water in the bathtub, unclear if she had a heart attack, the coroner said cocaine would trigger something like that. the family spoke out saying we are saddened to learn of the tox i jol gee results but we're glad to now have closure. this is far from over. the spotlight is on the beverly hills police department, in part because coroners say that houston consumed, took cocaine before her death, so you can imagine, carol, the questions remain where did she get it from, was there evidence of that in her hotel room, we're waiting to hear that from beverly hills police. >> are they looking to make an arrest? >> what is interesting and this is early on in the investigation, they said no foul play, nothing criminal here. that was earlier on. they're not saying anything to

the media until they get the detailed toxicology report. it will spell out the level of drugs in her system, they have not commented on that, the only drugs they say they found in houston's hotel room were prescription meds. xanax, nothing out of the ordinary, we're hoping they will fill in the blanks, still a lot of mystery, not exactly case closed. >> kareen wynter live in los angeles. an answer for people in wisconsin. scientists think they know where booms are coming from.

making her mark today a woman reached the very top, seven times. carol didn't start climbing until she turned 50. she finished her goal to climb the highest mountain on each of the seven continents. 65 now and rejects doing things she calls age appropriate. >> i feel the most whole and at peace and at my strongest when i'm in the mountains. it's my spiritual home. >> she is not done yet, either. her next planned climb is in august. could pinterest become the next facebook? 17 million users have joined the site. not open to everyone yet, we'll tell you about the latest craze, after a break. ♪

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then the removal cream. effective together with less irritation and as gentle as a feather. new olay hair removal duo. the trayvon martin case continues to mushroom. this is a high school outside miami. coral glades high school. students are walking out of class in protest of the trayvon martin class, chanting "i am

trayvon martin" many people want an arrest made in the case of george zimmerman. this is the fourth high school today that has seen some sort of walk-out. yesterday, there were walk-outs at miami schools and around the state of florida and other states across the country. more on the trayvon martin case in the next hour of cnn newsroom. in today's daily dose, researchers are calling a new cholesterol fighting drug a game changer. the first trials of the drug proved it to be safe and effective in blocking a protein that hurts the liver's ability to filter bad cholesterol. the drug could be more effective than widely prescribed statins. we will be right back.

add a new name to social media sites. myspace, everybody is on facebook, more people may be tweeting, but there is not much substance in tweets or there could be but not so much. now comes along pinterest. the fastest growing website ever. featured in the latest issue of "fortune" magazine. the author is here. >> good morning. >> i'm on the site right now, and basically sort of like a bulletin board, people send in pictures and recipes, new fashions, they post pictures and people comment on them, is that all there is to it? that's pretty much it.

a very simple tool but super useful. so think about it like an ideas board. maybe before the internet you would rip out pages from a magazine and pin them on the board if you were planning for your wedding, maybe would you see a table cloth you liked. this lets you do it digitally. >> i'm looking there is a recipe for creamy dill sauce and way to cook garlic herb shrimp. i would go here and get a great recipe for dinner, right? >> i think that is exactly right. even more you might be likely to be on some other website and see a recipe you want to remember later, and you can just pin it and go back later when you're ready use the recipe and you'll find it there. there haven't bente been tons ot tools, you lose things you want to keep, that is why people love

pinterest. >> one of the guys said i don't get it. i don't get it. they put a picture of a dress on and people come men on the dress. >> obviously he's not looking at his own pinterest. he could save things he likes, i don't know a boy thing he would like. i do think this is super gendered service, just is, and i think it maps to the way that women organize information and also the way that women shop. we like to browse, we like to look at a lot of different things and it's a very social thing we do. we like to compare notes. for me on pinterest, i have a spring shopping, purses. i have probably 20 purses on there. now my sisters can go on and click the ones they like and recommend which ones i should buy. that is part of shopping for me. my brother won't be in shopping that much.

>> the fastest growing site, what is fastest growing? >> it has 17 million users. which if you compare it to facebook, has a seventh of the world population on it right now, that might seem small, you have to stop and think this site has grown by 50% every month since it began. so just from this month from last month to this month you've seen a gain of eight million users. if it continues that trajectory, you can imagine everyone will be on it. >> jesse hemphill thanks for introducing us. >> thanks for having me. we'll take a quick break we will be right back. this at&t 4g network is fast.

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