liz, thank you for your commentary. >> thank you. >> eric: that does it for us on sunday morning. i'm eric shawn. >> jamie: i'm jamie colby. packed two hours. we'll send you to washington now for much more. shannon bream takes over from here. have a great day. >> eric: take care. shanno♪ and i ♪ will always love you >> shannon: i'm shannon bream in washington on what would be normally a big political day but we start with the passing of whitney houston. he is died yesterday hours before she was to attend a grammy's party. her mentor collide davis was hosting. it's not specific now as to somehow he is died but there were no signs of criminal activity. casey stegall is live at the coroner's office where an autopsy will eventually be

performed. >> it's clear if the autopsy would happen today or first thing tomorrow. the next big step in the investigation to determine the official cause of death and texnology reports. that would shed light whether she was taking illegal drugs, prescription drugs or alcohol they may have contributed to her untimely death. the pop icon dying 3:55 local time before 7:00 eastern yesterday at the beverly hilton hotel where she was staying in the fourth floor room. tmz reporting she was found dead in the bathtub, but we should reiterate cops are not confirming or denying this. this is as the clyde davis pregrammy gathering where whitney houston was supposed to attend happening downstairs at the hotelment some of the

piggest names in the biz reacting to her death on the red carpet last night. listen. >> whitney changed music, you didn't see color. you have didn't see black female artist. you have heard a wonderful voice. that's what it's about. the voice and the music. >> whitney's career soared between the mid-'80s and '90s and in music and film. a public battle with addiction, to heavy drugs and booze. three stints in rehab. at times, a violent relationship and marriage to sing bobby brown. that was showcased on a reality called "being bobby brown" where we got glimpse of the entertainer bizarre and erratic behavior. according to public record she was in trouble for not paying her taxes before. then on the flip side, recent accounts that she was trying to get sober and turn her life around. the bottom line here, a voice that touched millions around the globe.

a voice lost way too soon. shannon? >> shannon: casey stegall live in los angeles. we'll check back with you next hour. thank you. >> yeah. >> shannon: whitney houston music spanned an era, breaking barriers and records along the way. celebrity journalnist joins us from new york to talk about houston's career and flo, thank you for your time today. i know you covered her for decades. let's talk about whitney houston in the beginning and her great successes. >> well, you know, she was discovered right here in new york city. at mchale's nightclub where he is sang with her mother and sweetwater nightclub where he is sang with her mother. from the age of 16. clive davis took her on very, very young. as we heard today he is sang background for jermaine jackson and shakakan. he is had probably one of the most incredible voices that will ever grace the world. >> it's no secret he is struggled in recent years.

did you feel -- i know you had seen her recently. did you feel she was getting back on the right track? what was your impression in recent weeks? >> i understand that she was on the right track. not only did he is executive produce but he is also just finished filming the movie, remake of "sparkle" he is plays sparkle's mother. it comes out in august. she was very, very excited about that. i understand she was getting ready to get back in the studio. and back to what he is does. i don't like to use the term that she was on a comeback. because whitney houston never left. you know as we're saying she was a pop icon. she was always here. you know, this week she was out in hollywood. you know, one day, he is looked magnificent. the other day, he is didn't look her normal self. but it was middle of the night coming from a party. i don't ever think we all look our best coming from parties in the middle of the night. i believe she was back on the right track. >> shannon: well, just an immense talent that is

unmatched when you put the voice up there of the generation. flo anthony, thank you for sharing the insight and coverage of her. >> thank you. >> shannon: mitt romney is back in the win column. slim victory over ron paul in maine but a winnans in. after losses to rick santorum and n three other contests last week now. to super tuesday when more than 400 delegates are at stake. peter doocy is live with the latest on the 2012 race. >> reporter: less than 5600 votes were cast in the main caucuses and only 914 separated first place governor romney from second place congressman paul. maine won't officially award anyone any delegates until their convention in may. but the a.p. has allocated 11 delegates from maine for the win for romney and ten for the runner up paul. that gives romney even greater lead over second-place santorum. romney's current tally is 173.

that is last place among the remaining candidates. it's past time to have outside in the white house. he said -- the president obama campaign sent a different message. paul people think when all is said and done they will be declared the winners because a straw poll in washington county delayed reporting of their vote. but for now, romney is the winner. in maine. and at the cpac and the straw poll. however, this morning, senator rick santorum suggested that romney rigged the race at cp cpac. >> that is standard procedure in all of the straw polls. >> standard procedure, provide free tickets for those who want to come and vote.

there is nothing wrong with that. it's a strategy but we don't think it's a goodous of our resources. >> ahead on the calendar is february 28. contest in arizona, where there will be 29 delegates at stake. michigan where there will be 30 delegates at stake. >> shannon: the roller coaster continues. thank you, peter. romney's win in maine is a rebound after losing three straight to santorum. we are joined now by a panelist to break this down. i'll start with you. and it has ban roller coaster, back and forth. three wins for santorum but a win for now by the numbers we have for romney. what do you make of the fluctuation in the field? >> it's reflection of how voters are feeling. they are not settled on one particular candidate. they like having choices. i think romney has a little bit of a boost now from winning the cpac straw poll and winning maine.

but santorum continues to kind of chip at newt gingrich. you know, he is leading now, ahead of gingrich and tennessee. so i think that santorum now may be making gains in some of the southern states. i also think that ron paul is not going to give up. he is going to keep sticking with it. i don't know what gingrich will do. i think his message needs to be happier. needs to be more affable. he comes off as angry white guy. i just don't think that is resonating with anyone. >> shannon: so is it that the g.o.p. voters have choices and can't make up their mind or is the field in disarray? >> it's closer to disarray. but this is how we got there, watching the fluctuations as you said. here is the thing. they took a look at newt gingrich and rick perry and many others. then they faded. the second time around, so newt takes another lead and then santorum most recently, is leading the national polls. he didn't win the cpac straw poll but he is ahead

nationally significantly. now i am believing something i didn't believe before. that there is a problem with mitt romney. when romney said in front of the cpac crowd, i'm severe conservative, speaking a language no one had heard before. sarah palin with the unendorsement yesterday saying i'm not sure he is a conservative. that is the lesson i'm taking from this. not that he hasn't sealed the deal yet but for where most people thought. but not done yet, no. there is a fundamental problem so much time is spent as moderate or liberal as governor. in his position before forever danieled him. that is what we see now. he has won maine. but that is probably why we see rick santorum ahead again. whether it changes again i see a real problem. >> shannon: i want to turn to another top nick washington -- >> i don't agree on that. >> i'm sure you didn't. i would be stunned if you did. i want to approach another top tic to make sure we get to it. the white house accommodation on friday dealing with the

religious employers they won't directly have to pay for contraceptive coverage but insurance companies have to pick up the slack here. does it sol tv problem? >> no, it doesn't. catholic lawyer and someone who has given birth twice, lets me tell you something. this doesn't get it. they're saying that the additional services are free. shannon, nothing in healthcare is free. all they've done is move the chess pieces around now. they shifted the burden. to help the insurance companies and said it goes to core why americans have problems with obamacare. now they have to offer this and pay for it. maybe not raise the premiums. this does not work in america. it simply does not work. i want to add this debate was not about impeding on women's reproductive rights. if you have the talking point that 98% of women are using contraception, there is no access problem in the united states.

the problem continues. this is the president who is the former constitutional law lecture. he is recroaching on religious freedom in the united states. this is not over. >> shannon: i think you are right about that. but the white house managed this role out a little differently. >> i think it goes without saying. the white house would tell you that part could have been managed differently. something happened since. the original objection is will religious institutions be required to do something. when he was removed there was a problem. it reminds me of what jim demint said in front of cpac and made halftime analogy about the super bowl. coughlin isn't thinking how to work with jean-max belleriv bel. but politics is different. when obama says i'll get in that debate, you are right. he makes a point. at first, the bishop says it looks like a step in the right

direction. then politics took over principle and they still had to division agree with him. even with the accommodated the central objection. that made it something different altogether. there was nothing the president could do to accommodate them. >> when this came about quickly, axelrod looked at the electoral map and said we need ohio, upstate new york. we have to walk it back. that's what they did. >> shannon: i think you are both light this is not over. in fact we have an in-depth debate with both sides of the country later. great to see you both. thank you for coming in. all right. all weekend long we have been talking about the debate over the religious employers and the contraceptives. many leaders in catholic community say they are not pleased with the solution proposed by white house and the best solution would be to remove the mandate completely. we asked you what do you think? we want you to tweet your answers to -- @anhqdc. we love to hear from you. bloody week in syria draws to an end as the government

launches a fresh round of attack on its own people. white house speaks out on the possibility that the u.s. troops will be sent in. more on the developing story next. texas governor rick perry may be out of the race but he is not done speaking out. go to texas to talk to the former presidential candidate. that exclusive interview later in this show. >> i just want home and rearmed and reloaded my mags. i'm going to be fighting on a different front. dad, why are you getting that? is there a prize in there? oh, there's a prize, all right. [ male announcer ] inside every box of cheerios are those great-tting little o's made from carefully selected oats that can help lower cholester. is it a superhero? kinda. ♪ that's good morning, veggie style. hmmm. for half the calories plus veggie nutrition. could've had a v8.

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>> shannon: new amateur video shows chaos in syria. witnesses say there is intense gunfire. syria's president unleashed series of attacks on the town considered a rebel strong hold. should the u.s. intervene in syria or send in military forces? joining to us talk about that and more, fox news contributor judith miller. great to see you. thank you for joining us. >> thank you. >> shannon: they said we feel the financial pressure that we and others putting op syria are doing the work. theory home will end.

is it good enough? >> it's hard to know what to do. the administration are not the only people here who want to do more or do a great deal more to stop the killing, slaughter. almost all the policy options are bad. what we don't want to do and this is the important thing to keep in mind we don't want to toment a civil war -- foment a civil war. conflict between two well-armed sides. we don't want to be the person that the assad government will blame. we want to help foment a transition. getting involved in civil war is not the answer. >> shannon: i want to reference a tape from al-qaeda leader ayman al-zawahiri saying we don't want the syrian people to rely on the west or the arab league to help them. calling on fighters to join muslims there and say the west had something planned for

syrian people they don't want. what is your reaction? >> this is what you expect of al-qaeda. never miss an opportunity to foment whis which i hav mischie. we should not play in their hands. we don't know who the syrian opposition is. we don't know what they want. they are divided. we know what they can do at this point is back people closeest to the syrians in the region. for example, the tushish foreign minister is in this country. you have to work with the turks. because they know who the people are. we have to work with the other neighbors because they are well aware and closer than we are on the ground. they are in a better position

to figure out what the tactics should be. what i'd like to see is a better sense of strategy. i don't know what the administration wants at the end of this. yes, the president said bashar assad has lost legitimacy and must go. who does he want to replace bashar assad? what does the americans want as an end game? i don't think we thought it through. getting involved may feel good that we are doing more to stop slaughter but in the end it may be counter productive. >> shannon: you raise a good point there are questions with any of the situations. similar situations we have seen play out in recent months to the rebels. some call them freedom fighters. this morning senator lieberman said it may be time to send in weapons to that particular group. do you think it's bad policy for us? >> it's very bad policy until you figure out what your strategy is. what you hope to accomplish.

i was in favor of flo-fly zone in libya. but in libya we had a sense in the beginning we thought of who the people were. libya was a smaller country in which a no-fly zone would protect the civilian population. we went to the u.n. we got the arab league involved. we got the neighbors in line. we don't have that with syria. syria is a much messier more complex society in which 30% of the people still support bashar assad. it's very, very hard. what we are trying to do is minimize the killing and the slaughter. i'm not sure that arming both sides and giving the opposition weapons isn't going to result in more slaughter and more misery. a bat idea. >> shannon: always appreciate your insight from the international community. thank you. >> nice to be here. >> shannon: the debate over

who should pay for contraception coverage has come to a head. some religious leaders are not satisfied with the proposed solution. catholic church says they will only accept one solution. must-see interview. rick perry returned to the home state with approval numbers worse than president obama. find out how he plans to win folks over in home state. the exclusive one-on-one with governor rick perry after the break. this is an rc robotic claw.

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>> shannon: whitney houston has died. it's the bottom of the hour and peter doocy has the latest. >> grammy organizers will add a tribute to whitney houston at tonight's award show. jennifer hudson is expected to sing in the tribute.

houston was a six-time grammy award winner and in l.a. for a pregrammy gala last night. houston's ex-husband bobby brown was overcome with emotion at new edition reunion concert he performed at last night. they had a tumultuous marriage. brown said he decided to go on with the concert because of loyalty to the group's fans. romney ekeed out a first place win in maine besting texas congressman ron paul. romney won a straw poll at in the conservative conference cpac. this win in maine ends losing streak of three states that went to rick santorum. president obama will present the 2013 budget but republicans are unhappy with investments in infrastructure relying on the tax increases for the wealthy and corporations. those are the top stories. back to you. >> shannon: peter doocy with the latest. thank you. the government's decision to guarantee women access to

contraceptives is a moral concern for religious groups. not symp pleased with the white house accommodation. the u.s. conference of catholic bishops says the solution is rescind the mandate. we have more. >> the white house scrambling to defend the president compromise and in spite of strong opposition, there is no inclination to back down. >> you are not going to change despite what the bishops say? >> the policy is clear. >> no revision? >> enough said. >> we are finalizing the policy in the final rule bus what the president announced on friday is a balanced approach that meets concerned raised in the access to healthcare and protecting religious libertys. >> the president's compromise allows insurance companies to pay for it, a range of birth control not religious institutions. the catholic bishops don't

like it and they said late friday the policy has needless government intrusion in governance of religious institution. threat of government coercion of the religious people and group to violate the most deeply held convictions. republicans on capitol hill are saying the president's compromise doesn't change anything. >> the fact that the white house thinks this is about contraception is the whole problem. it's about the freedom of religion. in the first amendment. you have can't miss it. >> this is outrageous. the bottom line is you have the federal government saying we'll give you a right and tell you how to exercise the right. >> this is as the opposing camps on capitol hill square off over legislation to outlaw any mandate for healthcare coverage. >> shannon: debate is far from over. thank you. a big 24 hours in politics for mitt romney. two wins and two contests.

first, romney won the conservative action straw poll in washington. rick santorum is suggesting that there may have been some vote manipulation. romney edged out ron paul for narrow victory in the caucuses. congressman paul says he is pleased with the delegates we will gain in what he calls a long primary season. he is the only candidate yet to win a state out right. the next two nominating contests will be held in february 28. super tuesday then is held on march 6. more than 400 delegates are up for grabs that single day. texas governor rick perry has been at his presidential campaign less than a month ago now. back in the home state with the low poll numbers there, the governor has an uphill battle winning back support from the fellow texans. i went to austin to talk exclusively with governor perry about the political future and another possible run for white house. >> i wish the campaign was still going on for me. but you know, it is what it is. and we worked as hard as we

could. it just didn't work out. it became clear to me there was not a path forward more myself. for me to stay in i was convinced would be impettive to conservative alternative to mitt romney, from my perspective. that's what i was about, is i want to see a real conservative in there. that is the reason i support newt and it was the right thing for me. i am comfortable with the way i left. no regrets. >> shannon: entering the presidential race is being on a rocket ship. you came out as a lightning bolt. what is it like to ride that and then get off the ride and come home? >> one of the things i would have done differently, there aren't a lot of things differently i would have done in my life but looking back now, we would have gotten in

race substantially sooner and i would haven't had back surgery the first of july. there are a few things i look back on not positive from the standpoint of how you ideally run a campaign. >> were you in a lot of pain then in the beginning? >> not necessarily a lot of pain. i was fatigued getting over the surgery. i'm a runner. i have run for 20 years. and for ten weeks i had to quick running. for those of you that are runners in world know you just cold turkey quit running, that it has an impact on your ability to sleep and get the rest you need. be prepared for the next day. >> knowing what you know now, would you have prepared for the debatesly? >> yeah. number one if i had known there would be 19 debates, absolutely. shannon, by the end of the

debate i was engaged with, i think i performed fairly well. the if anything ones were less than sterling let's say. >> shannon: why newt? >> when i look at newt and i think about his ability to change washington -- and that is what has to happen. you have to have a clear change agent. whether newt is successful or the other candidates are successful they will be better than obama. be i a factor of substantial number. >> you mention readily john. >> i'll the end war on religion and fight against religious attacks. >> this is language we heard newt gingrich use a lot recently. not only toward president obama but toward mitt romney. do you think it's a fair criticism to make? >> a lot of things you hear the candidates talking about. whether it's ron paul or rick

santorum or mitt romney. they talk about the ideas that we actually brought to the campaign, which is fine. >> shannon: if a republican wins the white house is there a position in the administration you'd be interested or willing to take if you were approached? >> i can't think of it. i would never take it off the table. i have work to do in the state of texas. what goes on here matters nationally. whether it's the text picks in the public schools or how we deliver the transportation infrastructure. the f-1 race, the grand prix for america is coming to texas. in november. we are continually talking to businesses about relocating to the state. huge opportunities in state of texas to impact nationally

what goes on. >> shannon: let's talk about recent polling numbers that show in texas there are some people who didn't feel like it was a great idea that you ran for president. your approval rating below president obama in texas. how do you come home and win back over the people of texas as you govern them? >> i don'tgone by polls. i have been low in the polls before. that doesn't happen to someone who is governor for 11 years in the state. you are up and down in polls for what is going on around you. >> shannon: you mentioned a possible run for white house in 2016. do you feel like you have unfinished business, those to prove on the national stage that said you didn't belong there or in the race? >> people will say what they'll say. this is about america. not the candidates. this is about the people and

what folks believe in. if they don't believe what i believe in, that is their call. this is way premature to talk if i'll run again in 2016. i'll make that decision at an appropriate time. it is an option out there. >> shannon: coming up, hear what his wife has to say. the texas first lady anita perry whether or not he is thinks he should run again for the white house. this is an emotional conversation with them about how hard it was for her to see her husband and children come under attack in the national stage. that is in the next hour. ♪ ♪ ♪ oh, say can you see >> shannon: we have lost a voice of a generation. whitney houston died suddenly at the age of 48. continuing coverage of the legendary singer's rise to stardom of this break. ♪ at the twilight's last gleaming ♪

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>> shannon: whitney houston died at just 48 years old. you saw her fans singing at a vigil last night in los angeles in honor of her legacy. the grammy awards are tonight. organizers scrambling to rework the show. houston won six grammies in her career. >> she was constantly associated with the grammys as a performer and grammy winner. a lot of us work with her on the show and in number of times. a sad day for us. it will be tough to recover from. we go on with the show. >> shannon: jennifer hudson is scheduled to perform a musical tribute to singing legend at tonight's grammys. ♪ ♪

in weeks the supreme court will hear three days worth of arguments on the constitutionality of the president's haste law. if they strike down the mandate, the part requiring every american have individual insurance or pay a penalty, can the rest of the law stand on its own? we're going to debate that today. welcome. >> thank you. >> great to be here. >> i mean there are some who say if congress wanted to be so secure on the issue of severability that the law could stand without the individual mandate they should have written more language in the law. how do you respond? >> what is interesting about the arguments that the reg of the law will fall if the mandate is held to be unconstitutional require basically an admission that the mandate is constitutional.

what i mean by that is conservative justice scalia held that once congress has the power to regulate instance of interstate commerce, here banning the surance companies from dim citnating against insurers based on preexisting conditions it has the power to make any every regulation necessary to make the initial commerce clause regulation effective. here you have the argument by opponents of the law saying that the ban on preexisting conditions won't work without the mandate. if that is true, and the government acknowledges that part of the law would fall, then you made an excellent argument why under the necessary and proper clause the mandate is constitutional. if we want popular provisions like the ban on discrimination based on the preexisting conditions to stay in effect. >> shannon: i want to bring you in here.

the constitutionality of mandate aside. if it goes what is your take on the underpinnings of the rest of the law and whether the framework can stand? >> the question the court has to consider is what would congress have done if they knew it was unconstitutional? would they have gone ahead and passed the law? it's clear from the congressional record and proopponent of the bill they would not. it's the heart of the legislation. if they take out the gut, it will kill it. i have never seen anything without a heart that survives long. congress would have to choose to leave this in and take it out. legislative job. let congress fix it if they want. >> shannon: who do you think is the key justice or justice when it comes to severability. who do the supporters of the law need to win over to win that point in your view? >> the main issue of the day is the constitutionality of the mandate. on those issues you've got the justices like anthony ken dif, the swing vote. and conservative justices like

chief justice roberts who i think will uphold the act. on severability, i think it's great we're having the argument over this. the court is airing all the arguments being thorough. careful in consideration of the important law. the challenge to it by the state. we're ultimately not going to get to the true question of severability, because i think the mandate will be upheld as constitutional. >> shannon: you have clerked at the court and you have a better understanding than most of lus about how it works there, negotiations that goes on and consideration that happens. who are the key players in the decision? >> no matter what happens it will be a close call and maybe a fragmented opinion. i think people are right when they go to justice kennedy as being the keynote. there are a couple of clear votes on either side. you have easy four votes among the liberal members of the court in favor because we have

justices who have shown a positive attitude toward expanding the size of government and scope of government. but it comes to justice kennedy. i'm encouraged because he has a strong record on showing how the federalism principle and limits extend the individual liberty. i hope justice kennedy will follow it through to say the individual liberty is protected having a government that remains limited in power. >> shannon: thank you both for the cordial debate today. we hope to see you soon as we get ready. weeks away from the big argument. thank you both. >> thank you, shannon. >> shannon: wetant to know what you think of the president's new contraception policy for religious employers. we ask you to tweet your answers to us. @anhqdc. @shannonbream. we'll read your responses throughout the hour. we love to hear from you. >> i honestly think we have a good slate of candidates. the four of them with their

individual strength, chris. each i believe is getting stronger. >> shannon: former arkansas governor sarah palin still not endorsing anyone in the g.o.p. primary race but has interesting thoughts on the field. he is shares them exclusively with chris wallace this morning. you will hear more next. my name is robin. i'm a wife, i'm a mom... and chantix worked for me. it's a medication i could take and still smoke, while it built up in my system. [ male announcer ] along with support, chantiis proven to help people quit smoking. it reduthe urge to smoke. some people had changes in behavior, thinking orood, hostility, agitation, depressed mood and suicidal thoughts or actions while taking or after stopping chantix. if you notice any of these, stop taking chantix and call your doctor right away. tell your doctor about any history of depression or other mental health problems, which could get worse while taking chantix. don't take chantix if you've had a serious allergic or skin reactioto it. if you develop these, stop taking chantix and see your doctor right away as some can be life-threatening. if you have a history of heart orlood vessel problems, tell your doctor if you have new or worse symptoms.

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>> shannon: the death of whitney houstons has her fans and friends mourning. she was found dead in the beverly hills hotel on saturday. he is sold more records and received more awards than any other female pop star of the 20th century. catholic bishops remain oppose to president obama's plan to require insurers to provide free birth control even if religious organizations don't pay for it directly. the only solution is get rid of the mandate. rick santorum says the republican presidential race will come down to two men, him and mitt romney. he tells abc "this week" romney is having tunnel figuring out going after a rival who is a "solid conservative." romney won the maine caucus following santorum's tuesday win this three states.

>> i am not convinced and i don't think the majority of the g.o.p. voters are convinced, and that's why romney is in the over that hump. he is still in 30% mark when it comes to approval and primary and caucus wins. he hasn't risen above that yet, bec w convinced. >> shannon: tt was former alaska governor and vice presidential candidate sarah palin in a fox news sunday exclusive. we had a chance to catch up with chris wallace to get governor palin's take on the state of the republican party and what white house chief of staff jack lew had to say about the contraception controversy this week. we started with the white house chief of staff this morning. the white house is in the middle of a controversy and you talked to him about that. >> yeah, they think they have solved it, they hit the tweet spot. we are talking about the healthcare insurance ruling about birth control for catholic institutions. on churches, charities and hospitals. they think that the institutions don't have to provide birth control but

insurance companies do for free solves the problem. protect women's health and religious liberty. the catholic bishops not so much. they issued a tough statement and say they have it as government coercion in institutions and call on congress to change it. the specific controversy isn't over. this has reignited concern of obamacare and the idea of a mandate, that the government is telling individual what is they have to do, private companies what they have to do and religious institution what is they have to do. you'll see the republicans make a big deal of that. >> shannon: weeks away from the supreme court argument on the healthcare law. you talked about the budget which will roll out this week. >> interesting depending on the numbers. i prefer to think it's $3 trillion in the deficit reduction in ten years. another $1 trillion but it was

agreed to as the debt deal in august. in any case. of the $3 trillion, half is in spending cuts. half in tax increases on the wealthy. if that sounds familiar, the fact is that the plan is basically what they offered last september. roundly rejected by the house and the senate. that raises a question is this really a serious plan to govern the country and reduce the deficit in 2012, this year, or a political document, a campaign document to get the president re-elected? >> thinking of campaign and politics. a busy week this week. you had former alaskan governor sarah palin as the next guest. >> the most interesting news he is made, he is gave a big speech. she was the keynote speaker at the cpac. conservative political action conference last -- yesterday in washington. at one point he is said in a vailed way, we need a candidate, nominee who instinctively turns to the

right on the substitutional conservative issues. it's too late to teach them. obvious question, is he is talking about mitt romney? he is indicateed she was talking about mitt romney. she is not persuaded he has the instinctive, instinctual conservative. >> shannon: two fantastic interviews. spicy panel. thank you for the preview. >> you bet. >> shannon: you can see all of chris' exclusive interview with former governor sarah palin in full on fox news sunday after america's news headquarters. #:00 and 6:00 eastern. time to check back in los angeles for the latest development on passing of one of the most celebrated singers, whitney houston. casey stegall is live at the l.a. county's coroner's office. >> shannon, the reaction continues to pour in as the world celebrates and mourns the loss of one of the greatst voices. whitney houston dead at the age of 48. the latest on the investigation as we start a brand new hour of america's news headquarters next.

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>> shannon: that was whitney houston's last performance. the multiuple gramly award winner sold -- go to case with

with the latest on the death investigation from the l.a. county coroner's office. hello, casey. >> reporter: a lot of unanswered questions at this hour like when will the autopsy be performed and what exactly did police find in whitney houston's hotel room yesterday? the only thing the beverly hills p.d. is saying is that there were no signs of criminal intent, no sign of foul play and they had to secure a search warrant before they could start pro he ising the scene and collecting evidence. the call coming in to 911 just before 3:30 low ca col time. first responders attempting cpr but it was too late. the 48-year-old won countless awards during the height of her career in the mid '80s to the mid 1990s, selling more than 55 million records in the united states alone.

houston's death on the eve of the grammy awards arguably one of the biggest nights for the music industry. >> she represents so much to us. her voice like an angel. made great movies and was a world class beauty. had everything. >> we are learning more about her final days that she was spending out here in hollywood. her last public appearance was on thursday night at a club in hollywood where she sang "jesus loves me." amateur video shot inside the venue. some in the crowd say the performance was lack luster and she did not seem with it. these pictures of whitney leaving the club with blood on her leg and scratches on her arm looking disshelfed. on friday night she was

partying with a big group at the hotel bar at the beverly hilton hotel. she was with an entourage and they were being loud and rowdy and boisterous drink iting heavily. she faced a public battle with addiction to hard core drugs and alcohol but it is still too early to tell if that attributed to her death. shannon? >> shannon: casey stegall live in los angeles. thank you, casey. our live team coverage from newark, new jersey at the church where whitney houston's singing career began. >> this is where whitney houston launched her career. she started here at new hope baptist church in 1978 when she was under the direction of her mother a well known gospel singer cissy houston. it seems that whitney houston was surrounded by pop icons for p of her life in a lot of ways. 1960s singer dionne warwick

was her cousin. the god daughter of aretha franklin and clive davis heard her sing at one of her mother's shows. out of all of this, some congregation members that we spoke with say she never foregot where she came from. >> i'm sad as i'm sure we all are. here and her family have one legends of newark starting with the drinkard sisters and her mom cissy houston. i'm here to support them at this time of sorrow. >> reporter: another young woman was shocked by whitney houston's death and said that whitney houston was her "american idol" before there was an american idol. a small make shift memorial set up with cards and flowers and growing as the morning grew on. we heard from pastor joe carter. here is what he had to say. >> the family shared whitney

with the world but whitney was a mother, a daughter, a sister, and that is the focus that we want to keep in front of everyone today to continue to lift the family up and respect this time of grief. >> reporter: jesse jackson is also here at new hope baptist church. he said he is reaching out to the family with a heavy heart. we haven't heard if fume ral arrangements will be in california or new mexico. there is no question she is still a -- or new jersey. she is still a major ledge end across the word and specifically here. even at the city council meetings they start with the star spangled banner, the rendition she performed at super bowl xxv. >> shannon: the best rendition there has ever been. >> thank you so much. >> i agree with you hands down. >> shannon: mitt romney is back in the win column.

a slim victory over ron paul in maine. after losses to rick santorum in three other contests last week now looking forward to super tuesday. peter doocy live in washington with the latest on 2012. hello. >> maine picked mitt and even though the delegates won't be assigned until the convention in may. the new associated press tally puts 11 new delegates in the romney column and gives ten to the runner-up ron paul. romney still a big overall lead with 123 combined delegates. after news of the victory in the pine tree state the former governor of neighboring, massachusetts, said the voters of maine have september a clear message it is past time to send an outsider to the white house, a conservative with a lifetime of experience in the private sector who can uproot, washington's culture of taxing and spending and borrowing and bureaucracy. former alaska governor sarah

palin said the conservative voters have not yet settled on romney because she says they are unsure he will always err on the side of conservativism. >> i'm not convinced and i don't think that the majority of gop and independent voters are convinced and that is why you don't see romney get over that hump. >> reporter: even though he came in third in maine, senator rick santorum said this morning he is already in the final two. >> this is a two person race right now and that is how we are focused on it. if you look at the results from maine we didn't spend any time there. we did much better than we expected. >> reporter: and looking ahead the next contests on the second-to-last day of this month, february 28, arizona and michigan, were a combined 59 delegates are up for are grabs and a few you days later the state of washington and then after that super tuesday. >> shannon: the seesaw you continues. thanks, peter. a lot of momentum change back and forth in the gop primary but it has been several weeks since newt gingrich's only win.

a big win if south carolina. he is making the case he is the true conservative alternative to mitt romney but what will voters think. joining us is newt gingrich's daughter jackie cushman. thanks for joining us today. >> thanks for having me. i appreciate it. >> talk about the last few contests this week. three wins for rick santorum. a win in maine for mitt romney and at win at cpac for romney as well. what is the state of your dad's campaign? where do you go from here? >> we are looking forward to super tuesday. in the most recent contest as peter mentioned the delegates are not currently bound. especially on the santorum wins it gave him a huge push from a p.r. perspective. those are not bound delegates so getting 114 neede 1144 needt the nomination we are still very much in the hunt and looking forward to super tuesday. >> shannon: why do you think voters are so in flux in settling on any candidate?

do you think it will be good for any gop candidate to be battle tested? >> the whole point of the nomination process and the primary process is really to go through and look at all of the different candidates and figure out who really can best articulate the conservative message. we need a clear conservative with a clear choice against president barack obama if we are to win in the fall. i think my father newt gingrich because he not only has balanced the budget four times. he reformed welfare as speaker. cut taxes. cut spending. he actually governed when was speaker with president bill clinton but has had the conservative message for all of my life sometime. talked about the same things for 40 years and can best articulate where we are as conservatives. >> shannon: can you speak to where your father's campaign is financially? there are reports that his biggest backer is now dialing back the millions that he had funneled towards your father. i mean we know it is just a reality of today's campaigns that they need money to keep going. how is your father doing in

that respect? >> you are exactly right. money is needed. we have been endorsed not only by herman cain here in georgia which is great to help with the grass roots and small dough nations but also governor rick perry in texas. texas is a large state with a large number of delegates but he comes with bundlers that have been helpful to us and will continue to help us and again we have georgia. we are raising more and more money every day. i think we are really looking for a candidate and sarah palin is articulate about this at cpac. we need someone on the republican side passionate about the core conservative believes and believes that less government is better and can go and be tough against president obama. my dad did that against president clinton and as a result we had four years of a balanced budget. the only time in my lifetime we had four years of a balanced budget in my lifetime at the federal level. >> shannon: he fashioned

himself as the alternative to mitt romney. a claim that rick santorum is saying that he is the one. how do you differentiate between the two, who is the truer conservative? >> i think senator santorum has a nice record. unfortunately, his last big race in pennsylvania he lost in dull digits so doesn't have a victory there. and i think also if you looked at what he has done in the government. he did health reform welfare. that was under my dad's leadership as speaker. he worked under that at that point. and what we really need now is we need someone who can go to washington, who can face the establishment, face the democrats and can get things accomplished. conservative goals. my father is the only candidate that can do that. >> shannon: all right. jackie cushman, we thank you for your time today. see you out there on the campaign trail. >> thank you very much. >> shannon: new information coming in from syria, the arab league meets today to send a new mission to the country.

it was suspended last month because of the surge in violence there injuries if the mission goes forward it will be with a new leader. the head abruptly resigned today. the white house chief of staff said the regime is close to being toppled in part because of the financial pressure the u.s. and its allies are putting on that country. new developments in the cruise ship disaster off the coast of italy nearly a month after the disaster and several delays for rough seas and bad weather. underwater pumping stations have begun to remove more than 500,000-gallons of fuel from the ship. officials say it will take about 28 days of work to get that done. there have been fears, of course, that fuel would leak from the concordia and contaminate the water around the ship. so far, that has not happened. at least 17 people were killed when the concordia slam inside a reef. 15 people are still missing. there has been a lot of back and forth on the issue of birth control coverage. up next, why folks on both sides of the debate say they

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i called clive davis when i first heard her are and said you have the best singer i have heard in my life. for her to die like this is an unbelievable tragedy. >> we were all praying for her and hoping she would conquer this problem that she had the addiction that she had and get back. >> shannon: hollywood stars and millions of whitney houston's other fans are mourning the death of the singing legend today. we will be remembered at the grammy awards tonight in a actress and singersure and jennifer hudson. she was found dead yesterday. the government's decision to guarantee women access to free contraceptives remains a moral concern for many religious groups. not everyone is pleased with the white house's quote

accommodation. the bishop says the only solution is to rescind the entire mandate. steve centanni with more. >> the white house chief of staff defended the president's compromise today. he appeared on "fox news sunday" with chris wallace. >> we didn't expect to get the universal support of the bishops or all catholics. i think that what we have here is a policy that reflects bringing together of two very important principles in a way that is true to the american tradition and that is what the president is trying to do. >> now, the president's compromise allows insurance companies to pay for and arrange for birth control for women not the religious institutions themselves but the catholic bishops still don't like it. they said in a statement the policy continue involve needless government intrusion and to threaten government

coercion. republicans are saying the compromise really doesn't change anything. >> the fact that the white house thinks this is about contraception is the whole problem. it is about freedom of religion. it is right there in the first amendment. you can't mckinley issues it. >> this is outrageous. the bottom line is that you have the federal government now saying we are going to give you a right and then saying by the way, we are going to tell you how to exercise that right. >> the president and the white house show no signs of backing down even as members of congress consider legislation that would outlaw the kind of birth control coverage mandate. >> shannon: thanks for keeping us updated. joining us is hannah smith, senior counsel to the beckett fund and laura mccrary. thank you for your time today. >> thank you for having me. >> hannah, why isn't the compromise good enough for you? >> the president's announcement on friday has absolutely no legal effect whatsoever. and in fact what the president

did on friday if you look very closely at the legal papers that came out on friday all he did was finalize the very same rule that they put in place in august of 2011 not one word was changed. not one comma was changed. it is exactly the same rule. all we got on friday were two additional promises. one from the administration saying that they would delay enforcement of the rule for a year so that these religious groups could fall in line and the other promise we got from the president was that he would come up with some additional mandate that would shift the costs to insurance companies. that is magical accounting according to our view of things. so really all we got was two promises if any one has been paying attention at all they realize that the president has not fulfilled his previous promises to religious groups and likely not to do so the same. >> shannon: how do you respond to those who have concerns about the cost issue, what legal authority the president has to tell the insurance

companies to include the contraception and whether or not they will pass the added costs along elsewhere? >> first, in america we respect the individual's liberty to make the decisions for themselves and the president's policy which strikes a balance between individual liberty. this cost issue is a nonstarter because the programs contraceptive coverage is a huge benefit to insurers. there is a group that recommends that all insurers provide these things without copay because they estimate it saves 15% in avoiding unwanted unintended pregnancies. >> hannah, your response to that? is it actually saving money down the line? >> well, two points. first of all, this so-called insurance mandate does nothing whatsoever to take away the burden from religious groups. everyone knows the insurance companies are not going to pay for the services for free. it is going to come from some where and premiums are going to rise and religious groups are still going to be paying for the services.

>> shannon, i can't believe -- >> this is not changing the burden at all. >> i can't believe that the implication here is that insurers would just blatantly violate the law and every insurer would not do what the president has asked them to do and has intended clearly stated that he he intends for them to do as a matter of the policy. while hannah is right that they republished the existing policy they announced a promise to change the policy going on forward and to revisit the issue in a rule making next year. and i think that is the point at which we will see all of these issues get hashed out and the details. that is the point at which if the beckett fund has a problem with the rule it can raise the issues. >> who believes this is going to happen before the election. this will not happen before the election. there is no way the president is delegate t is going to be ao figure out the process and get a rule making process established and completed by the election. >> i don't think anybody promised it has to happen before the election. >> he is kicking the can down

the road. >> shannon: if the president didn't win reelection is it your position you worry the entire issue would be moot because maybe a gop president would handle it differently? >> i'm not going to speculate. the president said he will revisit the issue and craft an accommodation for institutions a allow institutions that have an objection to wash their hands of the issue. the insurer will provide the coverage and pay for the coverage and that is a reasonable and fair and workable balance between individual religious liberty allowing individuals to make the decision for themselves and their familys. >> there is no balance there. >> shannon: is there a compromise, hannah, that would satisfy you and satisfy the beckett fund? >> absolutely. it is what religious groups have been asking for. broaden the exemption so that all religious individuals, groups, charitable organizations, hospitals, colleges, universities, all of

them get an exemption from the overbearing mandate. either expand the exemption or get rid of the mandate all together. >> those are the two choices. the president has done neither of those. >> what they want is a taco bell exemption that allows any one with any objection to undermine any exemption. >> i'm sorry but the first amendment says differently and it says that religious groups get to protect their rights. >> shannon: we thank you both for coming in to represent both sides. we know it is far from over. maybe we will have you back for round two. thank you you both. >> thank you so much. >> shannon: texas governor rick perry says he is one cowboy who is not going to ride off into the sunset. i had a chance to sit down with governor perry and his wife. mrs. perry is clear about what she does and doesn't miss about the campaign trail. >> when the one you love is attacked, it is harder for me

when our children were always attacked. we put ourselves out there and expected that. i will tell you it is a little bit of comfort knowing that we are not being attacked right now. as you can see, i'm in a tricky situation here.

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>> shannon: legendary singer whitney houston has died. her body was found in a beverly hills hotel on the eve of the grammies. >> grammy organizers will add a tribute to whitney houston at tonight's award show. jennifer hudson is expected to sing in the tribute. whitney houston was a six time grammy award winner. she was in l.a. for a pregrammy's gala last night. houston's ex-husband bobby brown was overcome with emotion at a new edition reunion concert he performed at last night. they had a tumultuous marriage but brown decided to go on with the concert last night out of loyalty to the group's fans.

mitt romney eeked out a first place win in maine last night. he also won a straw poll at the conservative cpac conference. it ends a losing streak that included three states going to rival rick santorum. and president obama will present his 2013 budget tomorrow. republicans are unhappy with the plans to pursue investments in infrastructure while relying on tax increases for the wealthy and corporations. those are the top stories right now. back to you. >> shannon: peter, thank you for keeping us upta updated. mitt romney may have his mojo back. two wins in one day. first at the strip and then in maine's caucuses. not a lot of delegates at stake in the contest and super tuesday is weeks away. where do things stand in the gop primary? how long will it go on here. with some of the answers one of our favorite gurus, digital politics editor and host of

power play, chris thank you for coming in. >> you bet. >> shannon: we hear some of these folks are bound to vote for certain persons. others won't. how does it work? >> it takes 1,144 of 3300 total delegates at the republican national convention which starts august 27 in tampa, florida, to win the republican nomination. some states award a lot of delegates at once and we saw in florida and south carolina big catches of delegates going to the winners. then we have caucus states. and what happens in the caucus states they don't really award the delegates. what they have are straw polls at the precincts. in maine, 5,000 people spread out at several dozen precinct locations. one even in somebody's house across the state where small numbers of people gather and just have a poll. now, that poll is used by the associated press and other organizations to extrapolate

how many delegates they think they will get in the end but no delegates were awarded in maine last night. no delegates were awarded for any of rick santorum's wins last week. basically what it comes down to is we have an idea about how party activists in the states feel. nothing gets handed out. the real deal doesn't start until the 28th of february. again, doesn't start again until the 28th of february with michigan and arizona and one week after that super tuesday, 500 delegates at stake on super tuesday so things speed up and gets more consequential. >> shannon: do you think what happens on super tuesday could wrap up the race in some ways? all said at some point i'm not leaving until the convention. >> we all say that and everybody says they will keep their new year's resolutions. people say a lot of things. that is true. for right now, newt gingrich for example has a strategy predicated on super tuesday and in the weeks immediately following when there are more southern states that come in

including his native state of georgia that he will get a lot of delegates. if that doesn't work out and come to pass, he can stay in the race but essentially would drop way out of contention and cease to be a factor. national polls show he and rick santorum sort of, well, some show santorum way in the lead but show them dividing the not romney vote as i call it. the conservatives inside the republican party are who would like somebody other than mitt romney. conversely, if rick santorum can't show he has an appeal in the south outside of the northern states where he has done better he could meet the same fate. >> shannon: both gingrich and santorum wanted to phrase this as a two person race, me and mitt romney. for santorum, he won the three nonbinding contests earlier this week which folks say put him back in the national spot light and may be more of a p.r. win and not anything else.

>> p.r. win is a great deal. >> shannon: what does he need to do in the coming weeks to stay alive? >> he needs to demonstrate he has surpassed newt gingrich and by any measure he needs to whether you call it aggregate delegates awarded, percent of the vote, whatever it is on the 28th in michigan and arizona and then and super tuesday he has outclassed newt gingrich and left him behind. if they are still neck and neck, mitt romney certainly wins the nomination if the right stays divided. >> shannon: how happy is the romney camp about the win at cpac. zero delegates but a pr battle. >> huge. it is particularly huge because it comes on the same day as the maine caucuses because of the news of the maine caucuses. romney wins the neighboring state to which he governed. a small turnout of the santoristas could say it is a meaningless victory. but when they feared at cpac them giving him the win is a

big deal for romney and something that he turns into solidifying the republican base as he heads into more consequential elections at the end of the month. >> always a pleasure to pick your brain. thanks for joining us. texas governor rick perry never lost an election. the decision to suspend his presidential campaign was a difficult one for him and his family. in part two of our exclusive from austin, texas first lady anina perry joins us is to talk about the challenges on and off the campaign trail. how tough is it for you to watch the attacks whether from fellow candidates or from the media. how tough as a wife is that? >> it was extremely hard for me to do that. whenever you are attack the one that you love is attacked but it is harder for me when my children were always attacked. we put ourselves out there, we expected that. but i will tell you it is a little bit of comfort knowing that we are not being attacked right now and some of those other candidates are so, you

know -- >> god bless them. >> i shake my head and golly, sorry. >> shannon: do you think before you went into it you had any real idea what the reality of it would be like? >> probably not, not the scope and magnitude of the scope. i don't think we did. i think my faith has definitely gotten stronger and i'm more black and white now not as much grey. in my face, i think it really strengthened me to become more principled. i don't know how people get through this without their faith. >> shannon: you had your family a lot with you on the trail. how did this help having them there? >> we have been dating for married for 45 plus years since we were just young people, we have been around each other and for the last almost 29 years we have been married and having the family and having our son with us campaigning and being as engaged as he was and obviously sidney being there

for a substantial part of the campaign was always very comforting for me. you know, at the end of the day, that is really all you have is your faith and your family. so, on the days that it seems like that is all there is out there supporting you it is really good to have them around. but we had a great time. i mean i take nothing away from this except fond memories. iwas it hard? absolutely. but if we were in the arena. we were fighting for what we believe in. this country is worth fighting for. and that is the reason we were -- got in the race to begin with. and it wasn't -- this wasn't about me. it has always been about the people of this country and so we had a great time. i mean wonderful people that we met and we got to see parts of america that we have never been able to see otherwise.

we got to engage with people. as i shared with you earlier, the most important thing was the ideals that we laid out and talked about whether it was economic ideals or whether it was the 10th amendment and our constitutional requirements those are still being debated and discussed during the campaign. from that perspective it was well worth the engagement. >> shannon: what kind of adjustment was it for you to come home from the trail because we talked about it being a rocket ship that once you hop on it takes off. what was it like to readjust to coming home? >> it took me two weeks to unpack that bag. i just couldn't quite unpack it knowing that i wasn't going to pack again to go to florida. like rick said, we learned so much but every moment was great. in fact, i miss it. i miss being there in the midst of it. >> shannon: and about the primary, we talked about this a little bit. do you think it is a good thing for it to be so raucus at this

point and continue playing out or let's get behind one person and republicans can move forward from there? >> i really think it is hurting our party. i think and i said this before on tv and to you. too many debates is tearing our party apart. with the 24/7 news cycle that little blurb and clip is going to hurt us. i don't want to see any one of those people on the stage, whoever is the nominee we are going to support in the effort to unseat president obama. >> shannon: anything differently if there is another run in the future? >> prepare better. more debate prep. not six weeks. >> shannon: what is one of the biggest misconceptions or myths about your husband that maybe you could set straight for folks? >> i think the debates, once again. he is smart, intelligent, looks towards the future. has great ideas and truly believes in his country and i

don't think that came across. they took the little snippets and you know were not his most flattering moments in time and really emphasized that and that is not the rick perry that i know or that so many other people know. he is great. >> shannon: does he really go pick up milk, bread, eggs, that kind of stuff? >> yeah, but not nearoff. he has allying to do lis a bigr being gone for five or six months. >> shannon: is it something you would le abouting to tackle again? >> absolutely. absolutely. yes. our country is the greatest country in the world and so worth it. for me to be there and have real american heros mike thornton and dan moran, they are fighting for those young people who have fought for us and our children. this was never about us. it is about our children and our children's future. we are not quitting.

we may back up a little bit and refocus and redefine but we are not quitting. we will always fight for our country. >> shannon: we want to thank the governor and mrs. perry for their time. governor perry is the longest serving governor in texas state history. his current term ends in 2015. more than half of texans polled said they didn't want him to run for reelection. he said he is not worried. he has overcome similar problems before. he told us he hasn't decided yet whether he will run in texas or for the white house. a big thanks to their staff as well for all the help. mother, singer and pop music icon whitney houston the woman with unforgettable talent and a voice has died suddenly at the age of 48. we will take a look back at all of her accomplishments, coming up. ice on phillips' caplets. magnesium, right? you bet! phillips' caplets use magnesium. works more naturally than smulant laxatives... for gentle relief of occasional constipation. can i get an autograph? [ female announcer ] live the regular life.

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>> shannon: a big 24 hours in politics for mitt romney. two wins in two contests.

the straw poll you in washington. although rick santorum is suggesting there may have been vote ma nip lakes an manipulat. and romney edged all ron paul in maine. he is pleased with the delegates he will dwayne and what he calls a long primary season. he is the only candidate yet to win a state. the next two nominating contests in arizona and michigan on february 28th. super tuesday will be held march 6, more than 400 delegate is are up for grabs that day. ♪ because the greatest love of all ♪ >> shannon: we look back at the life of super star whitney houston. her music spanned decades and won her countless awards. she died at the age of 48. william la jeunesse takes a look back at her record-breaking career and personal turmoil. ♪ the greatest love of all

>> from the moment whitney houston first broke into song she was obviously bound for greatness. she first performed at age five. solo at age 11 in the local church choir. young whitney grew up steeped in music. her beauty and voice propelled the young gospel girl in the professional spot light. she began modeling in 1980 gracing covers like seven teen and glamour. her premier album 17 single. saving all my love for you how will i know and the greatest love of all. the album sold 13 million copies shattering debut album records worldwide. more record setting to come with the next album, whitney. not only the first album by a female to enter the charts at number one. became the first to score seven consecutive number one hits

surpassing milestones set by the beatles and bee gees. whitney took off time to get her personal life in order. houston took up with bad i would of rhythm and blues barack obama brown and in 1992 brown.uplblew bobby tabloid reports dubbed her a boozing cocaine addict and all night party girl. the couple battled the turmoil and constant rumors of breakup while raising their daughter bobbi kristina. whitney decided to try acting. the first feature "the body guard" banked $400 million wordwide and boasted the most successful soundtrack ever released. she coproduced and costarred in the movie cinderella. the next big screen performance took her back to church "the preacher's wife."

whatever whitney houston touched seemed to turn gold. >> shannon: president obama says he is trying to help home owners refinance at lower rates. we will take a look at how much the new white house plan will really help america's homeowners. that hill without a helmet. i took some steep risks in my teens. i'd never ride without one now. and since my doctor prescribed lipitor, i won't go without it for my high cholesterol. why kid myself? diet and exercise weren't lowering my cholesterol enough. now i'm eating healthier, exercising more, taking lipitor. numbers don't lie. my cholesterol has stayed down. and here's another number you might be interested in. lipitor may be available for as little as $4 a month with the lipitor co-pay card. terms and conditions apply. visit lipitor.com for details. [ female announcer ] lipitor is not for everyone, including people with liver problems and women who are nursing, pregnant, or may become pregnant. you need simple blood tests to check for liver problems. tell your doctor if you are taking other medications or if you have any muscle pain or weakness. this may be a sign of a rare.

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>> shannon: here is a look at some of our top stories. fans and friends mourning the loss of whitney houston. the 48-year-old are was found dead in her beverly hills hotel on saturday. houston sold more records and received more awards than nearly any other fee nai femalp star of the 20th century. catholic bishops remain opposed to president obama's plan to require insurers to provide birth control. the bishops say the only solution is to get rid of the mandate. rick santorum says the republican presidential race will come down to two people, him and mitt romney. he tells abc abouts this week romney is having trouble figuring out how to go after a rival who is a "solid conservative." romney won maine's caucuses following santorum's tuesday wins in colorado, minnesota and missouri,. president obama announced a plan to try to help struggling home owners catch a break he. doug with a look at whether it as good deal for consumers or no deal at all.

>> joe and liza are considering the latest program to aid home owners. it is designed to allow millions more americans to refinance mortgages at a lower rate. >> would drop the monthly principal and interest down $50 a month. >> it is to all home owners current on their mortgage payments even for properties that are worth less than the outstanding balance. >> we know working families across the country are looking to refinance. they may live in condominiums or cooperatives or areas with high foreclosure rates or the fico impaired or depressed values on their property but they are good risk hard working citizens and they would tap into the program immediately. >> reporter: but critics say the plan has deep flaws. it would be paid for by adding a fee to monthly mortgage payments and adding a tax on large banks which republicans have long opposed. >> and the banks as you know are struggling. they are trying to figure out what dodd frank means to them and they are being asked i believe to come up with

ed tollion to 10 billion help suicides the program. >> the bank tax imposed on top of the $25 billion settlement announced thursday that five large banks agreed to pay out. the diamonds believe the program will not only help them save money but prereceive home values in their neighborhood. >> there are several foreclosures n. my neighborhood and they affect the price of my house. we would be better off in the housing market would improve if the government would unwind some of its efforts to get in the middle of the housing market. the market will heal itself and heal itself quicker if they withdraw from interferences. >> because the plan involves the expenditure of more none any it involves the approval of congress. >> shannon: we asked and a whole lot of you you answered. up next, your twitter responses

to our question about the contraception controversy. [ kate ] most women may not be properly absorbing the calcium they take because they don't take it with food. switch to citracal maximum plus d. it's the only calcium supplement that can be taken with or without food. that's why my doctor recommends citracal maximum. it's all about absorption.

>> shannon: new video. a five-year-old girl being pulled from a house flattened by an avalanche. you can see the folks cheering there. a mountain village in southern kosovo. nine other people were killed including the child's father and several relatives. she was found buried under 30 feet of snow. we love hearing from you at home.

you always give us an earful. we have been talking about the controversy over religious employers and their insurance plans and free birth control. what do you think of the president's shift in policy for religious employers. a lot chimed in. ray says the new policy is a distinction without a difference. kyle said it is not like the obama administration is saying all women have to use contraception. jonathan says this accommodation is laughable and helen said i think all employers should allow that mandate. thank you always for sharing. we love to hear from you. that is it for us here in washington. up next, "fox news sunday" and chris wallace's exclusive interview with former alaska governor sarah palin. she talks a lot about the gop field. what she thinks of how they are all doing. also, chris sat down with white house chief of staff jack lew. news there about the president's budget and u.s. policy on syria as the violence there continues. i'm shannon bream. thanks for watching america's news headquarters live from the