that is it for "the five." see you, everybody. >> kimberly:♪ go, tebow ♪ go, mik tebow ♪ >> gregg: a fox news alert. brand-new information on tragedy in sea. emergency teams in italy on a frantic search for 40 missing people after a luxury cruise ship runs aground. an estimated 126 americans. hello, i'm gregg jarrett. >> heather: i'm had heather childers. welcome to a brand-new hour. over 4,200 people on board that doomed ship. so far three bodies recovered from the sea. >> gregg: right now defense are combing the submerged decks. they are looking for anybody who still may be trapped below.

accident happened off the west coast of italy sending water pouring in through a big gash in the hull. survivors describing a chaotic situation. >> 200 people were caught on the railing and fell and everybody was screaming. >> one of crew members, you need to stay on. that is when mark was saying, we don't need to stay on because it was sinking so fast. >> where we were standing was underwater. >> gregg burke is streaming live from rome. >> reporter: that's right. what a dramatic scene last night. hundreds of people jumping into the water. it's fortunate the ship was that close to the island, what is already a disaster that could have been so much terrible. they are talking about dozens of people not accounted for. we understand the ship's commander is being held. he hasn't been charged but he is being held by authorities here.

now, everyone thinks titanic in these situations. from some of the scenes you can see that was probably right. a reef ripped right open the bottom of the ship right through the hull. the ship was taking on lots of water and very quickly, officials tried to tell them in the beginning, the passengers, it was just an electrical problem but it was clear pretty shortly afterwards it was much more than that. this ship is monstrous, more than ten stories high, two and a half-foot football fields long. more than 4,000 people, it's the costa. passengers many of them german and french tourists, biggest number were italians, they are furious about the rescue operation saying it was basically a disaster, unorganized, lots of problem

getting people off that ship. with a number like that, the shipping company is saying there will be problems but the people are furious and going to have lots of lawsuits on their hands after this. finally, 4,229 people altogether more than a hundred americans. good news the americans mentioned the embassy as of few hours ago, no american had been reported as seriously injured. however, they also said that not every american they believe to be aboard has been accounted for. >> gregg: gregg burke, streaming live from that area near the scene. we'll keep it right here on fox news and we'll check with you for the latest on the developing story. >> heather: and go to our website and get additional information at foxnews.com. another fox news alert. tensions already running sky high in the strait of hormuz, a

strategic passage way for 20% of the world's oil. new video just released showing iranian speed boats harassing two u.s. navy vessels. apparently chasing them. coming within a few hundred yards before backing off. we're told the incidents they happened earlier this month. provocative action coming after iran conducted high profile war games there. now, the islamic republic threatening to shut down the critical oil route in retaliation for new sanctions by the west. we will have much more on the rising tensions with iran and what the u.s. should do. that is a little later in the hour. republican presidential candidates heating things up in the deep south with one week to go before the south carolina primary, all six gop candidates

really busy there and with unemployment numbers there so high, analysts say it will have the most telling outcome yet. john roberts is live in myrtle beach, sections with more. >> reporter: good afternoon. shaping up a big battle for fiscal conservatives or social conservatives in the state of south carolina. on that front, rick santorum got a big boost today from social conservatives. evangelical leaders in texas decided they would rally around him as the best candidate to go against president obama in the november election. it's very important because this is the same group you might remember that could not reach a consensus back in 2008. it was a real kick in the eetdz to rick perry who is from texas. perry spokesman says after the announcement, rick perry is most successful tea party conservative in the race for the white house. he taken that message to the

voters of south carolina and his confident they will make the right decision. and flap to newt gingrich also. gingrich decided to drop the attacks against romney on the bain capital front skom pairing and contrasting his record to that of romney from jobs to taxes to abortion, even guns. by contrast, governor romney said he was comfortable with massachusetts gun control law and increased taxes by 400% on guns. that is pretty definitive of who is the conservative. >> and romney trying to make a play with a new web advertisement touting high profile support for change of heart on abortion that romney should be applauded for it but at that evangelical meeting in texas, romney wanted much of a

factor and conservative leaders plan to hit the ground, not as a collective group but individually at least in south carolina trying to influence the race here hoping to propel rick santorum to a strong second if not a first place finish. >> heather: very interesting development out in texas. we'll see how it impacts there in south carolina. thank you very much. we have a live report from myrtle beach. >> gregg: new questions over whether the republican presidential race in south carolina could be taking a very ugly turn. gop leaders warning the candidates if they don't stop attacking one another they could risk handing the entire election over to the democrats. governor of south carolina, mark sabford, good to see you. i would like to begin with the pro super pac that have been running the ads portraying

romney when he ran bain capital. is it taking a toll on mitt romney there? >> yes, but i think it's taken a greater toll on newt gingrich. there has been considerable acts who had been a gingrich supporter but shifted over to romney based the attacks on capitalism noovy reason you see gingrich has backed away from personally making the attacks. super packs, he and perry seem to be taking a step back from the vulture capitalism charge. >> tell our viewers, two seconds satellite delay. there will be a bit of a gap here. i want to pursue something you said about these pro gingrich super pac ads. "new york times" examined the corporate documents of romney's time at bain.

they said, the ads are riddled with inaccuracies and omissions. fact checker gave it four pinocchios. last week, gingrich said these ads are fair game. well it should be changed or withdrawn. you say there is a backlash, yet against gingrich. but aren't we seeing gingrich's numbers go up in the latest polls that came out today and yesterday? >> make no mistake. negative advertising works. i've been a candidate in congress for governor. i've seen it. it hurts. it does have an effect but what i would say the expectations in terms of romney's numbers coming into south carolina were not real from the beginning. he had a 20-point spread or wasn't quite 20 points and that

was bound to diminish. south carolina is more conservative state perhaps iowa or new hampshire. so for that reason there was going to be a winning. he was going to accrue to the likes of perry, santorum, gingrich, i think there is real race for second. things will tighten and i don't think it's solely due to vulture capitalism or super pac messages. >> gregg: is this being perceived among republican operatives, it's an assault on free markets and capitalism which is contrary to the beliefs of the republican party? >> yeah, again, there is no mystery to the party. when you talk to people in the field like this guy that i talked to minutes earlier, they say, look, you are going to have

winners and losers in free market system. to attack one guy for some things may have gone wrong with investments doesn't make sense. i think romney has a whole host of vulnerable bills. whether guns or health care, vulnerabilities that are real vulnerabilities in state of conservatives in south carolina. i think those things could be exploited. i think it's a mistake to go the bain capital routine. again, there has been a natural tightening of the field based on the numbers we saw in the polls initially. >> gregg: steve moss says democrats are loving it. republican national committee leaders who met on thursday are saying stop bashing one another. governor, is that advice if s not heeded and this continues

but on to florida, do you think, if we can call them self-inflicted attacks will simply help re-elect president obama and diminish republican chances come november? >> no, i don't think so at all. i don't what different immunizations you've had in the course of childhood. but they injected you with the bad stuff and it inoculated you against the bad stuff doing bad things to you. these turn people off to the realities of politics. but i would see them in reverse. it's getting things out there that inevitability that are going to come out. i would also say this, for many of the candidates, i suspect south carolina is the last stop on the train ride. the field will begin to narrow

after south carolina but couple states out from that narrowing taking place. at that point i think you begin to see much more positive message. given how tight the race is here in south carolina and given the fact this is last stop for many folks, i would suspect again the sharp elbows to come out. >> gregg: governor, thank you for being with us. we appreciate it. keep it right here. tune in tonight for huckabee forum 2. he lead a discussion among five of the front-runners, he'll be joined by governor tim scott. that is 8:00 p.m. eastern time. >> heather: obama administration winning a big victory in a shutdown with the gun industry. they require gun dealers in border states to report customers that buy several high powered rifles.

they challenged the rule in court but a federal judge is dismissing the lawsuit. julie banderas is live with more. >> julie: the u.s. of bureau firearms or atf ordered more than 8,000 gun dealers in several states to report the sale of two or more semi-automatic rifles to the same person within five business days in an effort to curb violence along the mexican border. gun industry protested saying the new rules will have no fact on cross border violence. but burdening retailers with extra costs. they filed suit and now a u.s. federal judge in washington, d.c. has thrown that suit out. mexican officials have complained bitterly about guns coming across the border and have asked the government to the help tens of thousands of mexicans who have died in the drug wars since 2006 when the government decided to take on the cartels.

the decision as the atf has come under tight scrutiny as a botched gun operation called fast and furious. it's meant to track guns being smuggled into mexico but resulted of thousands of weapons falling in the hands of drug cartels. two of those guns were found at the scene of a murdered agent in mexico. dominos keep falling. head of u.s. attorney criminal division in arizona, patrick cunningham is resigning. that is coming today. he supervised prosecutions related to fast and furious operations. >> heather: julie banderas, thank you. >> gregg: new developments an ethnic studies program in tucson arizona, sparking a major controversy going from the classroom to a courtroom. a judge gets the final word. >> heather: plus brand-new reaction, a man sparking outrage

a convicted rapist and killer now free. after being pardoned by haley barbour. >> the five guys, one of them sentenced to life in prison after killing his wife while she held the newborn son, another guy killed the principal the school. another guy was sentenced to life in prison after he fatally shot his wife in the back in 2001 and another for conspire spi si and armed robbery. but are you convinced that these guys aren't dangerous?

>> heather: a quick check of the headlines for you. the season's first big snowstorm crawling across the upper midwest and northeast blanketing the region and bone chilling temperatures. new hampshire soon be the first stated to change the tide on same-sex marriage. they are expected to vote on a proposal to appeal the gay marriage law. and interior secretary ordering

an national park service has report to fix the marble at the memorial. >> haley barbour is speaking out following the controversial decision to pardon more than 200 prisoners and among them, convicted murder murderers and rapists including these four men. barbour says he is comfortable with that decision. doug schoen is following it -- doug mckelway. >> his decision has met with outrage, among the ranks were four murderers and other violent offenders. they included charles hooker in 1992 was sentenced to life in prison for killing the principal of a mississippi high school. he was a teacher. joseph osman imprisoned in 1993 for murder, conspiracy and armed robbery in the death of a store clerk.

anthony mccray who murdered his wife by shooting her in the back. david gateland who shot and killed his estranged wife as she held the baby's son. he turned the gun on a friend who survived. here he is to talk about these pardons. >> i think they ought, governor himself have to look and me and family in the eye, but there wasn't any of that. that is the coward's way out. >> reporter: in an exclusive interview, governor barbour explained to brett baier for the reasoning. during part of the prison terms and wonder had been on the staff at governor's mansion. >> these men have redeemed. have come back hard working to prepare themselves to go out into the world. i have no question in my life. my grandchildren over the governor's mansion. we trust them to play with and be looked out for by these

people. if i trust my grandchildren, that makes a pretty plain statement, doesn't it? >> reporter: he said he understood and hurt that they caused the victims and families. 90% of the pardons were determined by the parole board and not by him. >> gregg: doug mckelway, thanks very much. >> heather: tensions with iran going higher and higher, new accusations from the supreme leader pointing the finger at c.i.a. for the killing of a nuclear scientist. >> gregg: luxury cruise in the mediterranean turning into a nightmare after the ship runs aground. we're going to hear from survivors of that terrifying ordeal. >> we realized was happening and all of our stuff is on it. we are off of it.

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>> heather: fox news alert. rescue crews searching for a survivors off the coast of italy on a cruise ship. we know more than 4,000 people were aboard when the ship came aground. it ripped a 140-foot gash in the hull and overturned. 40 people are still missing. three bodies have been found. american survivors, they described the chaos as they crawled through the debris trying to escape the sinking vessel. >> they were coming back to get us. at that point the boat started sinking more and more, we made the decision we had to get off. it's a good thing we did. because the part that is underwater is where we were standing. >> did you think you were going

to die? >> we were concerned. >> there were people that were very worried, at the first, people were pushing to get on the life raft. >> heather: all of this happened on the coast of tuscany. they say the crew members failed to give evacuation instructions, joining us on the phone is one of passengers that was on board that ship. he is from argentina. he was traveling with his dad and two others at the time. are you there? >> yeah, i'm here. thank goodness you are safe. what about your other family members, the other people that you were traveling, how are they? >> we are okay right now. we lost everything. >> heather: take us back and tell us what happened

immediately. what was the first sign that possibly something was going wrong? >> well we were having dinner. it was at 9:30 and boats were near the deck where we were having dinner. so the ship starting going down fast. everything was going down, boom, boom like that. people running everywhere. the alarm went on and we started running. >> heather: so the ship itself was tilting to the side and things started falling. then you started hearing alarms going off? >> ship was pulling to the left. we went to the right. we got there and ship started going to right so we started falling into the water. this there were only five or six meters near the water.

you could fall down. i saw people falling down heading their head, bloody and people getting panic attacks. it was a nightmare. >> heather: were there any type of instructions going on? were there anyone in authority telling you where to go and what to do coming over the speakers on the ship? >> no information. no explanation, nothing. it was just -- the people and normal people from dinner that work there, but it was impossible. no instruction at all. >> you ate dinner and 9:30 it was dark out. what about life vests or any type of safety vessel to get in to?

>> the last minute the ship it wasn't under control. we needed to survive. the ship is under control because we saw the water, people were screaming. they were falling down and getting hit in the head. it's an utter disgrace. it was nightmare. >> heather: how did you eventually get off the ship? i understand you are with the family. other people on board in rome. how did you get off the ship? >> we were eating dinner so we run to the boat. when we were there, i never left the family. we were altogether. that was the first thing we did,

we helped each other. we got in the boat. we opened the boat. we get in. we managed to get the people in and pushed off. it was all about the people. >> heather: so the passengers were helping themselves. i have to wrap up, but what do now about the missing people. we understand there are 40 people missing. three bodies who have been located so far. have you heard anything from the ship about that? >> yeah. in the moment we went down, when we were on the coast. i hear a policeman on the radio telling we found six bodies. so i'm surprised. people died already. it was incredible. i couldn't believe it. it was more than 4,000 people,

more than a hundred people for sure lost. >> heather: we are glad that you and your family members are safe. we will continue to follow this story and you said police officer said at least six bodies. we heard three so far. thank you very much for your insight and we are glad you are safe. >>er welcome and thanks. >> gregg: you know, 9:30 at night, it was fortunate for some people having dinner for people closest to access to get out of the sinking ship, but you do worry about people that retired early, lower decks. >> heather: it sounds like it was every man for himself. not a whole lot of information and whole lot of chaos. >> gregg: all right. iran raising the stakes by stirring up all kinds of trouble these days, escalating tensions

in the strait of hormuz, a crucial water way. you can see it on the map. about one fifth of the world's oil flows through each and every day. take a look at this, newly released videotape. iranian speed boats taunting two u.s. navy vessels patrolling in the area. there is a lot more. now iranian's supreme leader is blaming the u.s. for the assassination of a nuclear scientist and threatening revenge now. he was killed on the way to work. motorcyclist reporting attaching a magnetic bomb blowing it up. how should the u.s. respond with the growing pressure to iran? here is steven yates, mr. yates, good to see you. by using iranian speed boats to harass these two navy vessels, are iranians deliberately trying

to provoke a confrontation here? >> i think it's clear that iran is provoking and testing the united states. as you know, we do have areas around the world where we conduct operations where some hostile countries will challenge the position of our vessels. they do have some ability to respond anything from courteous hand gestures to fire hoses to other more aggressive means to establish our right to navigate freely on the high seas. but this is clearly at minimum a signal. >> gregg: united states used a secret channel of communications to warn iran that closing the straits would cross a red line provoking an american response. what would that response be? what would happen if the iranians tried to close the strait of hormuz? >> that is an important question. i think it's important to contemplate what do the yierns

believe would happen. the signals we have, iranians believe what we would do. we are pulling back troops and we don't have a strong response to critical problems in the region. obviously if we were take serious the need to respond we need to have the will to take rick. a lot of signals we're sending is opposite of weakness and withdrawal. >> gregg: are you saying they view this administration as not having the resolve to actually do anything if they attempt this? >> i think to be fair, the u.s. policy over the last two administrations has fallen far short of containing and rolling back the nature of the threat we face with iran. clearly with the military disposition in the region, when you start to withdraw enormous numbers of troops and i don't have a policy to deal with them politically and otherwise in the broader region, iran is

significant power it is testing the limits and trying to change the balance of power in the region. i think that is serious issue for the current administration and future ones to face. >> gregg: steven yates, thank you for taking the time. we have breaking news to deal with. away catch up with you very soon. >> heather: president obama jumping on the bandwagon criticizing mitt romney for time spent in the private sector. is this the best strategy? we'll talk about it. ave tough p, do you want fast relief? try bayer advanced aspirin. it has microparticles so it enters the bloodstream fast and rushes relief to the site of your tough pain. it's proven to relieve pain twice as fast as before. bayer advanced aspirin. ♪ you and me and the big old tree ♪ ♪ side by side, e, two, three ♪ ♪ counthe birds in the big o tree ♪

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>> heather: welcome back. president obama is joining in the series of attacks on against mitt romney blasting the gop front-runner for his time in the private sector. now what they say this could become a running theme leading up to the general election.

it has, of course, the past several days but is the strategy a wise strategy? let's bring in our power panel, k.t. mcfarland andrea, co-host of the five jehmu greene and fox news contributor. first of all thank you for coming in on this saturday. so how do we feel about this. good strategy or bad strategy to be talking about economy if you are president obama specifically? >> we have these debates every generation, whether we have the debates the one you want, a socialist country where you are safe and secure, free market capitalist society. we did it with reagan and margaret thatcher. the problem with obama the socialist tends to win and free market capitalist if the

economy? trouble. >> and economy is in trouble, andrea. >> i think democrats are going to take a page out of 1994 playbook when kennedy ran in massachusetts. the same ads they cut then, they pulled those employees fired from bain capital and did interviews so they are going really nasty and negative and tie mitt romney to wall street even though he has nothing to do with wall street. he went in the business with his money unlike this president that goes into business with solyndra. that is what romney needs to do is show the sharp contrasts. president obama where the government is involved in every decision. >> heather: i would imagine you would disagree. >> go in like hollywood script writing. of course, president obama is

going after governor romney and whoever the republican nominee will be on the economy. we are still not where we should be with job growth. clearly 22 months of private sector job growth, two million jobs created in the last few years, some private sector companies but the reality is mitt romney has stepped into it. when me puts out a claim that he created 100,000 jobs, that no fact checking organization can back up and his own campaign can't back up, he should have been honest with voters. you know what, i was in the business of making money for my investors. don't try to pretend that he created jobs when really it was a corporate raider. he destroyed companies and destroyed lives. >> we're all familiar with pizza hut. how can you use the president's

lands. >> these are brands that families can connect with. >> trickle down effect in the economies where they are based, as well. >> i think romney is a person that any sort of attack on him is an attack on free ewt price. the ego of this man, are you kidding me? no, it is an attack on them. >> in the interests of shrinking them to the smallest size possible. when you hear warren buffett he is against venture capitalists they shrink companies and make it impossible for them to grow. >> heather: in south carolina where all the candidates are right now, 9.9% unemployment rate. that matters. it matters for those people. >> exactly. >> heather: okay, we'll be back.

harsh words from the mayor of philadelphia. you have to hear about this. why is he so angry at his own citizens. >> if you want to act like an idiot you want to be a [ bleep ] we will track down the dog like you are and catch you and subject to every possible penalty the law allows. [ male announcer ] you love the taste of 2% milk.

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>> heather: welcome back. controversial comments from the leader of a major city. the mayor of philadelphia blasting the gunman that shot three teenagers. michael nutter lashing out the victims and their parents. >> they should be in bed or getting ready for bed, not out in a car. the least you can do is know where the hell your kids are. >> heather: absolutely. here is our panel. not the first problem that they've had. >> philadelphia has had flash mobs, they put curfews on that. i met him when he first took office and he is talking about responsibility. parents you are in charge. you know where you are.

i got five kids. you want to know where they are because if you are parenting. >> heather: seven teenagers, they got in a car to go fight some other kids. three other teenagers. they arrived at the home of the teenagers and the stepfather was in the driveway with the gun and fired shots into the car killing three of these teenagers who were 14 years old. 10:30 on tuesday night. that's what happened. >> i think it's great he is giving tough love. you rarely hear it these days. >> especially from a politician? >> exactly. corey booker in newark has stepped up to the responsibility message. something that barack obama mentioned in his inaugural address, but you do see other mayors around the country stepping up. it's a powerful message. it's one we should all embrace and applaud.

>> it's the message that president obama has delivered on multiple occasions. it upset many people, you are only focusing on that and not some of the underlying institutional situations. you think mayor nutter is fantastic. i think when he first came to office he was thinking of the same think thing. i don't think it's a political transition. some of the politicians have seen the success of chris christie and connect with constituents when you don't talk in political speak and you speak straight and direct to constituents. at the end of the day, it's not a controversy to tell parents to take care of their kids. also, you have to look at gun control laws to allow the father to have an automatic weapon. he did go into that issue as well. he is speaking truth to not just

the powers that be and the institutions that has impact as mayor but constituents. whether you are democrat or republican or independent, take personal responsibility. especially if you are parent. know where your kids are. >> good example. >> heather: a school banner ordered taken down. it was hanging on school for half a century but a judge has sided with atheist teenager who called the banner offensive. the prayer that was written, the only part is the beginning and end there. our heavenly father and it basically tells everybody be kind to each other. it was written by a student back in 1963. now it's being taken down. >> every dollar bill split in

half because it says in god we trust. this country was founded on freedom of religion. first amendment gives you the right to have free expression of religion and it's not illegal. >> and god is mentioned in every single state counties institution. k.t. is right. it's on our bills and on our money. we are a christian country. separation of church and state is being misrepresented. it was designed not to have situation in england. >> and bekind. >> i think some folks that we are a christian country even though the majority of americans are christians, there are muslims, there are jewish people. there are many different faiths and denominations. you have to look at the young

woman who brought the suit. she was a junior at the high school. i had many signs at my school being kind but none of them said dear god or ended with amen. maybe they took out the dear god and left all the other positive messages there is a bit of compromise. >> we'll see what happens. i think it should remain for sure. >> heather: what do you. >> gregg: freedom from and freedom of religion and there lays distinction. >> the search is on for the survivors o-coast of italy, chaos and confusion after a cruise ship runs aground reminding many passengers of the titanic. a live report coming up. my den. i love kiwis. i've always had that issue with the seeds getting under my denture. super poligrip free -- it creates a seal of the dentures in my mouth. even well-fitting dentures let in food particles.

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>> gregg: hello, glad you are with us, i'm gregg jarrett. >> heather: i'm heather childers, welcome to a brand new hour. topping the news, horror at sea. a luxury cruise liner runs aground, several people killed. dozens more missing. and now, prosecutors are holding the ship's captain, a live report from the italy is moments away. >> gregg: new reaction to the death of a top nuclear scientist in iran, what a republican presidential candidate is saying about the american response, plus who the iranians are now

blaming. >> heather: big news connected to the fast and furious scandal that armed dangerous criminals in mexico. who is now out at the u.s. attorneys office. >> gregg: one week from today, south carolina republicans will be choosing their nominee for president. it is the first primary in the south, in one of the most conservative states in the nation, and, here's where the candidates are today. making their case to voters across the palmetto state. now, the economy might drive this primary, rather than social issues, people don't have jobs there. unemployment is nearly 10%, in south carolina, well above the national rate of 8.5%. john roberts is live in myrtle beach with more. hi, john. >> reporter: good afternoon, to you. and some south carolina counties, unemployment tops 12,

14%, but, social conservatives are going to be playing a big role in the election next saturday and remember, gregg, who happened in iowa, 2-3 weeks ago when the family leader came out and endorsed rick santorum and he suddenly went on a rocket ride in the polls. listen to this: a conclave of evangelicals and conservative leaders, 150 of them in texas today came out and said they are going to rally around rick santorum and think he's the candidate best positioned to beat barack obama in november and on that topic in a special huckabee forum that airs tonight at 8:00, he was asked as a conservative how would he win over independents and moderates he'd need to beat barack obama. he pointed to his experience in pen of winning four election in heavily democratic districts. >> really the only person in the race that has that kind of track record of being able to win the states that are necessary, pennsylvania, ohio, missouri, michigan, indiana, the

industrial states, and i put policies together that do that. >> reporter: mitt romney is also making a play for social conservatives today, putting out a new web ad on his campaign web site, touting very high profile support for his conversion on abortion from a pro-abortion stance to a pro-life stance and at the same forum, mitt romney was asked how he'd protect freedom of religion. here's what he said: >> i'll stand up for the ability of americans to worship god as they choose and not proceed down the path which is to secular rise america. we ought to have manger scenes at christmas time and menorahs representing other faiths. >> now, while he may be making a play for social conservatives there are not a lot of them in south carolina who believe he's the true conservative candidate here. but if they want to push rick santorum from where he is now in the polls, running third, neck and neck with ron paul or fourth in some polls, to a position

that he had in iowa, he's going to need a surge of iowa proportions and greater. gregg? >> gregg: getting more and more interesting. from myrtle beach, john roberts, that, very much. has she and ke >> heather: keep it here, for more of huckabee forum 2, he leads a discussion and will be joined by tim scott, huckabee forum 2, tonight on fox news channel at 8:00 p.m. eastern. >> gregg: be sure and tune in monday for the battle of the beach. fox news "wall street journal" and the south carolina republican party present the candidates debating at the myrtle beach convention center. that is monday, 9:00 p.m. eastern time, hosted by bret baier and, by the way, send any questions you might have for the candidates, to bret's twitter handle. @bret bair. >> martha: the captain of a

sinking cruise ship held for questioning. this is amateur video of the disaster at sea. the ship going down in the dark, late friday. off the coast of italy with thousands of passengers on board, over 100 of them americans. a dive team suspending the search for about 40 people who are still missing, so far, three confirmed dead. the vessel reportedly hitting a reef. forcing passengers and crew to abandon ship. listen to the horror as the liner was going down. >> kathy! kathy! steve! i'm not even... i can't realize this is actually happening now. all of our stuff is on it but we are off of it. and, there are still people on there. >> heather: greg burke streaming live for us from rome.

greg? >> reporter: if there is good news it's the number you mentioned, 40 people unaccounted for, a few hours ago they talked about 69 missing, and they've changed the terminology, too from missing to unaccounted for with the hopes that they will be able to locate these people on the island or the mainland, lots of confusion. obviously when you have more than 4,000 people on a ship. the ship is huge, not only the number of people on it but physically, to put a hole in it, it really has to ram a major reef and that is exactly what happened. passengers said initially they just felt sort of a scraping sound and heard a scraping sound and felt that that was happening and the ship kept moving but it wasn't long after until it really took on a lot of water and the concordia hit a reef and started tilting very quickly. now, there was panic last night, when the ship did start taking on so much water. the commander tried to take it closer to the island and he

actually made it very, very close. there was a lot of confusion at that point, though and many of the people seeing the land so close jumped in, passengers were mostly italian, and also french, and german tourists, many and also, as you said, more than 100 americans, they are furious about the whole operation, as they were getting off, saying it was poorly organized, a lot of trouble getting those light boats going and that is why so many of them did end up in the water. and, pretty rough time and a rough night. and finally, heather, there is a black box in situations like this. just as there is on a plane. and, obviously, they will be looking at that closely. this is the route the ship line takes every week and they should know it very well and there will be a big question about exactly how close they were to the shore, and, why they were that close, putting themselves in danger. heather?

>> heather: the ship's captain is answering those questions as we speak. thank you very much, greg burke streaming live for us from rome. >> gregg: a bomb blast tearing through a procession of shiite pilgrims in iraq, killing dozens and threatening to escalate sectarian tensions following the withdrawal of american troops. rena nine nan has the story. >> it took place in basra, and is expected to be followed by more attacks, weeks after u.s. troops withdrew from the country. 53 shiite worshipers were killed and 130 wounded, it took place as pilgrims marched towards the shiite shrine. there were 180 men and women, he said and we saw ambulance s evacuating them, god and his prophet cannot accept this attack. it's not clear if it was a suicide bomber or a roadside bomb, it is frequently used by

al qaeda's affiliate and hundreds showed up to the morgue to collect the bodies of relatives. it happened on the last day of the shiite festival which marks the end of mourning after the death of a revereded shiite mig g -- figure. this is one in a string of attacks that took place over the past month, including a suicide bombing which killed 44 people. the country's shiite prime minister maliki, issued an arrest warrant and, it could jeopardize a power sharing agreement among sunni, shiite and kurds. gregg? >> gregg: rena, thanks. >> heather: this republican candidate, rick santorum wading into the politics of iran and the nuclear program and south carolina, he said the u.s. has no business condemning the bombing death of an iranian nuclear scientist. he says it doesn't reflect a

hard line and the u.s. should, quote keep its mouth shut and iran blames america. thousands attended the scientist's funeral yesterday. the government news agency claiming there is evidence the cia helped the assassins. and, two people on a motorcycle attached a magnetic bomb to the scientist's car and the u.s. denied any role in the assassination. >> gregg: thousands of tunisians marching in peaceful try up, one year since they launched the arab spring, celebrating an greeting the day with optimism, and many expressing worries over high unemployment and transforming their country. the country's former leader, was forced out of power and fled to saudi arabia a year ago, today and now an activist is president after the country held historic reelections.

>> heather: former governor haley barbour defending his controversial decision to pardon more than 200 current and former convicts and the pardons were made during his final days in office and included clemency for four convicted murderers. doug mcelway is live in washington with more on that. hi, doug. >> reporter: hi, heather. outrage over these pardons resonated across mississippi, among the 200 criminals pardoned by the governor, charles hooker, who killed the principal of a mississippi high school where he was a teacher, and, also joseph osmond, imprisoned for the murder and robbery of a store clerk and anthony la craig who killed his wife by shooting her in the back and a man who shot and killed his estranged wife and also shot a friend, randy walker who survived the bullet wound to the head and recently spoke about the pardon. >> i think it ought to be the governor himself ought to look me and the families in the eye and say, hey i'll let this guy go but there wasn't any of that. that is a coward's way out, if

you ask me. >> reporter: he explained why he did it in an exclusive interview last night with bret baier. >> this is eight years worth of pardons, my first four years i did what mississippi governs traditionally do, the mansion is staffed by inmates from the state penitentiary and almost all are murderers because experts say they are the least likely to commit a crime if their crime was a crime of passion. so, the department of corrections sends us who works there, i don't pick them. >> reporter: he said that he respected and understood how many are hurt by this decision. one he believes is based in christianity. >> most mississippi christians -- most in mississippi are christians or profess to be and we believe in forgiveness and second chances and in the case of these inmates at the state penitentiary that is what all of this is about. four murders, and they've all said they were guilty, they have

served on average 20 years in the penitentiary. you know, these are not guys that got a slap on the wrist. >> reporter: he added the majority of those granted clemency have been out of prison for years and 90% of the decisions were based on the recommendations of the parole board. heather? >> heather: all right, doug mcelway reporting live for us from washington. thank you very much. and, gregg, a little later judge jeanine pirro will join us and she'll have some comments on the pardons. >> gregg: controversial. a school board ending a controversial mexican-american history program after the state threatened to pull the plug on millions of dollars in funding. casey steegel is following that in los angeles. what is controversial about the program? >> reporter: gregg, we were down there in tucson last weekend, last saturday, and reported on this, top education officials in that state say the program violated the state law, because the curriculum, the lesson plan

and the textbooks were never approved by the school board, in fact the superintendent of public instruction says erroneous facts were being taught and kids were told things like members of law enforcement oppressed latinos and an administrative judge agreed with the department of education's findings and said the program promoted and i'm quoting here, activism against white people. >> i want to be careful on my choice of words about inflammatory things. but when you interpret things in a racial context like that you are creating offensive ethnic solidarity in a really inappropriate way and you are inflaming passions that can be toxic in society and can lead to inappropriate outcomes. >> reporter: the state threatened to pull millions of dollars in funding to the entire district if the problem was not fixed and this week in response,

to the controversial issue the school board voted 4-1 to discontinue these classes. >> gregg: what is the reaction to this? >> reporter: well it is pretty intense, as you can imagine. tensions flared at the school board meeting, and, this week, a number of students, in fact more than 100 marched out of class and to the school district's headquarters, holding signs in protest, and those who support the mexican-american studies program say that it is an important part of education, because it teaches solidarity within the chicano community and the aclu may get involved to appeal the decision and a federal lawsuit has been filed. >> you are an autonomous board and can appeal this racist, ignorant decision that was made by the state. do the right thing. stand up for something, the way i was taught, if i don't stand for something i'm going to fall for anything, that is what you

should have to do. what you need to do. >> reporter: the district is now working on creating classes that combine core curriculum with some ethnic studies lessons while all of this continues to play out now, in court. gregg? >> gregg: somehow i knew it would end up in court. all right, casey steegel, thank very much. heather? >> heather: in developments in the fast and furious case, remember that? we have learned of a top-level resignation in the gun running scheme between the u.s. and mexico. that has been linked to the death of a border agent. >> gregg: independent voters, why it could come down to the very important group and a potential match-up between president obama and mitt romney. if he gets the nomination. a fair and balanced debate for you, next.

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>> heather: welcome back from america's election headquarters, it appears independent voters aren't fans of mitt romney or president obama and would say neither candidate appeals to the white middle class and that is

the biggest block of independent voters. for example, president obama only attracted 43% of the white working class vote in 2008. meanwhile, a public policy poll shows mitt romney dropping just a little in south carolina, ron paul surging, and, analysts say that that is the independent voter weighing in. let's talk to our political panel, christopher hahn who worked with chuck schumer and is a fox news contributor and, president of new frontier strategy and was executive director of the governor's association. thanks for joining us. >> great to be here. >> heather: let's start with the public policy poll, released friday, ron paul surging, mitt romney sliding, just a little bit. but, here's the thing, a total of 17% of the voters surveyed identified themselves as independent voters. so, compare that to the number

in new hampshire, where a high number of independent or unaffiliated voters launched ron paul into a second place finish there. so, will these independent voters, 17%, make a huge difference in south carolina? christopher? >> i think south carolina is a closed primary and you will not see as many independents voting in that, people who identify themselves as independents voting in that primary and i don't know there is enough room for paul to make up. that said the south carolina voter is far more conservative than the new hampshire voter and i don't think they trust mitt romney. the guy changes his position more than the navy, and is all over the map on so many things, to conservative voters, how can they trust is and for that matter it is clear to see why independents don't trust him. he has no conviction at all on any of the issues he stands on. >> heather: what do you think? >> i think chris is right. it is a close primary and independents cannot vote in

south carolina unlike new hampshire and so i make the brisk point it is tough to really gauge independent voter sentiment in a head-to-head between barack obama and the republican candidates because republican candidates now are primarily talking to republican primary voters and is tough to get a fell measure of the vote. but look at this last tuesday at new hampshire, it is constructive, mitt romney, 33% of his vote, self-identified as very conservative. 37%, identified as moderate to liberal. and 48% somewhat conservative. so you have mitt romney winning across the spectrum with all kinds of elements of the sprup par -- republican party and here's the cherry on top, 1808 democrats wrote his name in on the primary ballot, and the point is there, "the independent"s who know him best like him and prove that without any fail, last tuesday. >> heather: i want to get you to comment more on what you brought

up in terms of the conservative vote and what happens specifically in texas, where you have the conclave of, you know, christian leaders, who came together and voted, they said, santorum is their guy. they didn't do this in 2008. so what impact do you think that will have? >> well, listen, they clearly don't like mitt romney and the problem they have is that of all the presidential contenders, save ron paul, mitt romney is the only one who is actually running a traditional presidential campaign where he has operations set up in all the key states through super tuesday and beyond and is the only one to go the distance with a real campaign and may back santorum but unless they get their money behind him and fast, and, their organization and fast, they are not going to be able to stop mitt romney. so, one place they might have a chance to do it is south carolina. but, santorum is not looking like he's gaining a lot of traction there. so, it is very, very difficult for anybody but mitt romney, right now to be the republican nominee. >> heather: do you agree?

>> i do. i think mitt romney is essentially done with no -- done what no recent candidate has done, he has won the first two contests and won 7 to 9 percentage points in south carolina and has healthy resources on the air and on the ground and there is a debate on monday but the analysis is spot on. looking to the general election the independent voter, president obama is deeply under water with independents because of obamacare and spending and growth of government and the -- in the ten states that are really going to decide the election, head-to-head, mitt romney versus obama, if you look at them, mitt romney would crush him. >> heather: and, here's the thing -- >> campaign -- >> heather: before you jump in, 40% of voters identify themselves politically as independents in 2011, according to a "gallup poll," released a couple days ago, the highest number reported in the poll yet and the previous high for independents, 39% in 1995 and

2007 and democrats won both presidential races, in the following year, so, does that automatically mean advantage to obama or will independents be the president's you could say electoral achilles heel? >> he's right when he says independents care about health care and other things and the problem is, that mitt romney doesn't make any real contrast to president obama and if the economy keeps improving as it has been doing the last couple months and mitt romney is the nominee with no real governing contract and all the bain baggage he brings to the table when we're upset about wall street and excesses of people in banking and high finance, i don't see how he breaks through with independents when you have obama... >> is just basically -- >> his record and their records are essentially the same. >> that is not factually accurate. you have a governor who balanced budgets in states and cut taxes and he said on his first day he takes office will issue an executive order to stop the

implementation of obamacare and you can do -- >> he created it, so -- >> you can do all the semantics about that but people get on the debate stage in the fall and say i'll repeal obamacare, that is a forward looking statement and if we fight the ashes of the past, americans don't care about that. >> heather: and we have 13 million without a job, 9.9% unemployment in south carolina where they are campaigning, right now and we'll see what happens. thank you both -- >> south carolina is in play. it is en plin play in november. >> heather: it's in play for people without a job right now. in play for them. >> absolutely, we're talking about the national election in november and, mitt romney created 3,000 jobs as governor of massachusetts and, his bain capital experiences are not all pretty and he'll have a lot of explaining to do and i don't think conservatives -- conservatives are not excited about him, you see that by what is happening in texas now and, phil i know -- >> heather: we have to go.

thank you all, so much. yes. for another day, we'll continue this. >> barack obama is not excited for him. >> very excited for him. >> heather: they can't say good-bye. >> gregg: they can continue their discussion, divers and search teams suspending the work for the night after a terrifying cruise ship accident off the coast of italy. look at those pictures, the very latest on this developing story, coming up, next. >> heather: a homeless teen and her family, homeless no more. this is a great story. thanks to officials in one new york town, why her story moved them to help her out. stay tuned for this. >> they could barely compose themselves enough to speak. [ male announcer ] capri sun has 25% less sugar

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>> gregg: welcome back, bottom of the hour, time now for top of the news. vacation turns to terror on board' cruise ship off the coast of italy. three people are dead, dozens more unaccounted for, after the ship apparently hit a reef and keeled over, and the captain is held for questioning. >> heather: a truck full of fireworks blew up in a highway tunnel in central china. hitting the side of the tunnel causing the load to spill. plenty of damage but no one was seriously hurt. >> gregg: and the president of taiwan winning a very close battle for his re-election against a populist opponent by calling for expanded ties with china. >> heather: new developments in the botched fast and furious operation. the controversial government plan to track guns smuggled into mexico. fox news has learned the chief process in the operation, patrick cunningham is resigning. you will recall how that operation went horribly wrong with thousands of guns making

their way to mexican drug cartels. two guns were recovered at the murder scene of american border patrol age brian terry and now a federal judge upholds the government's plan to track buyers of multiple weapons. julie bandaras is here with more. hi, julie. >> a u.s. federal judge handed the obama administration a victory, throwing out a lawsuit against new federal rules requiring gun dealers in four states, bordering mexico, to report the sale of multi-semi-automatic rifles. in an effort to curb border violence the u.s. bureau of alcohol, tobacco, firearms an explosives ordered 8,000 gun dealers in texas, arizona, new mexico and california to report the sale of two or more semi-automatic rifles to the same person within five business days. the decision came that's atf has been under scrutiny in recent months after fast and furious meant to track guns being smuggled into mexico, instead resulted in thousands of weapons

falling into the hands of drug cartels. two of those guns, as you said, were found at the murder scene of u.s. border patrol agent brian terry, killed 13 months ago, during a shootout in arizona, near the border. mexican officials, meanwhile, have complained bitterly about guns, illegally coming from the united states. and, repeatedly asked the u.s. government to stem the flow of weapons, tens of thousands of mexicans have died in the drug wars, since 2006 when the government there decided to take on the cartels. the national rifle association plans to oppose the judge's ruling and they say they'll essentially file an appeal saying no rules will have an impasse on the cartels, but, rather, burden law abiding retailers. back to you. >> heather: julie bandaras, live in the newsroom for us, thank you. >> gregg: no word yet to swerve commentator pat buchanan will return to the air at msnbc, he was yanked in october around the time of the publication of his

book" suicide of a superpower" and includes chapter titles like the end of white america and the death of christian america. at the time the network's president, phil griffin said he didn't think the content of the book should be part of the dialogue at msnbc and, buchanan spoke out this week, saying he's the victim of the hard left among others. joining us now, is author and journalist, liz trata, a fox news contributor. and, liz, does he have a point? is he victimized by the left, pressuring msnbc? >> of course he's being victimized. when phil griffin, the head of msnbc, put out the statement on buchanan, he used that liberal buzz word, appropriate, not appropriate for national dialogue. and, when has he put himself in charge of being the arbiter of

freedom of speech in the book is jam-packed with facts, facts, and some opinions, but he has been mercilessly asailed by the sexual lobby, by very left wing, hard left people who were charging him, groups who say he is a racist. and colorofchange.org, founded by van george, in the obama administration still it got too hot for him and he had to be fired and you have come to the point, at a media channel you cannot express your own opinions, the other side has won, don't you think? >> gregg: first of all, ideas with which we disagree or even hate should not be banned but should be refuted. however, liz, would agree the first amendment doesn't apply to a private for-profit corporation and only the government is

prohibited from restricting free speech. >> i know better than to get into a discussion with a lawyer such as yourself but let's look, at what i think is the essence of the book. a quote from the buchanan book and it reads thusly: today, freedom takes a back seat to equality. one nation, under god, indivisible, has become an antique concept in an age that celebrates diversity and multiculturalism, our inter absolutely and cultural... reject the god our parents believed in and the moral code they live by and i don't quarrel with that and i'm sure many who don't and those who do, pat buchanan, three times presidential candidate, author of one best-seller after another, swerve commeconservati commentator, liked by just about everybody. it is absurd. >> gregg: i've read passages as well as he laments the browning of america, quote by 2020,

deaths among white americans will exceed birth and mass immigration is altering forever the face of america. i mean, you can clearly see it might offend some people as... >> no, i think -- they can't be offended. those are facts. and, he's talking mainly, by the way in that chapter, about the northern flight of mexicans and these are illegals. and, you know, we're at the point, where you just open it up and have california be mexico? which, by the way is something that leaders of the activist immigration groups, hispanic groups called for openly. gregg: let me ask you, i wonder if there is a conspicuous double standard, at msnbc, full disclosure i used to work there and here's why i asked this. al sharpton's rhetoric and past deeds have clearly on many occasions been called racist yet, msnbc gives him his own

show. buchanan and a fellow by the name of don imus, utter or write things that are condemned as racist, and they either are fired completely in the case of imus or the case of buchanan, taken off the air. is there a double standard? does msnbc make its decisions through the prism of race? >> i don't think there is a double standard in the classical sense because msnbc is close to being a communist channel. this is just outrageous. little by little, by little. they have moved all they support so far left and no one will touch al sharpton for making an anti-white comment. it will not happen. >> gregg: my question is if an african-american says something that is arguably racist, he doesn't get fired, he gets his own show. >> of course not. it is encouraged. >> gregg: all right. and i wouldn't say that all of their talent has moved to the

left. i cite chris janson, right down the middle. thanks for your commentary. good to see you. >> thank you, gregg. >> heather: special guest for a homeless new york teenager. yesterday, samantha and her family they were offered a rent subsidized home. after officials on long island heard the girl's story. you see, she's a national intel science competition semifinalist, one of 61 students who had a chance at the top prize of $100,000. listen to the gratitude of the 17-year-old. >> this is just the most amazing thing you could ask for, i know we're all in tears here, like, we can barely compose ourselves enough to speak. we can go to -- we had to leave everything behind at the old place, and so this is, to have everything given to us, just, you know, this is completely amazing. thank you, everyone.

>> heather: she wants to be a marine biologist and the family moved into a shelter on january 1st after they were evicted because the parents and nursing assistant, cab driver couldn't work after a car accident. and now she and her brother and sister all have a home to live in. >> gregg: good news. outrage over mass pardons in mississippi. including four murderers and one robber freed by former governor haley barbour, the victims' families, speaking out, why they say he handled it all wrong. >> i think the governor himself ought to look me and the family in the eye and say, hey, i'm going to let this guy go. but there wasn't any of that. that is the coward's way out. what's withou?

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governor's mansion yesterday on "special report." >> the reason they work at the mansion is the experts in corrections say that people who commit a crime of passion or murder as a crime of passion they're least likely to ever commit another crime and are the best people in a situation like this. >> gregg: judge jeanine pirro joins us, the host of "justice with judge jeannine." goods to see you. he says they are crimes of passion, does it make them any less dangerous. >> hogwash. these are crimes of passion and we let them out, five of these guys, apparently trustees in the governor's mansion are convicted of murder with life sentences, one shot his wife in the back and one shot his wife while she was holding a baby and another guy was involved in a robbery, gregg, who after the store clerk was shot, shoots him in the

head, two more times, to make sure that he can't identify the robber. and what you have here is a governor who is using these pardons as -- in a way to basically create his own criminal justice system and what is happening now, is because he's letting these guys loose you now have a judge who put a stay on the release of 21 of them and five of them, murderers who have been released are now in question in terms of whether they have to serve their term. >> gregg: part of the legal challenge is that the governor in granting clemency and pardons and so forth, more than 200 people, altogether, failed to notify many of the families. is that a legal problem for him? nights not a legal problem, it's certainly a moral problem and he gets on and says the reason we're letting him go, they asked forgiveness and can be rehabilitated and by the way, they didn't ask for forgiveness from the victims' families. the guy on my show tonight, shot

in the head did not get any apology and at the end of the day, the legal challenge has to do with his not publishing this stuff, pursuant to the mississippi constitution, 30 days prior to the release and the crimes are outrageous, the way they were released were outrageous, 200 without explanation, and, the last minute, basically in the dark of night, why was the public not privy and the families not notified, why there is no paulson nati explanation and why is it last minute. >> gregg: he said a lot of these guys are already out and i'm cleaning up the record so they could get jobs but as to the individuals a judge ordered held pending a hearing what will happen? >> the judge is going to look at the constitution and say, pursuant to the statute there has to be publication for 30 days. that these guys are going to be released, and, reason why. the governor didn't do it and it

doesn't matter if you say, i really intended to do it but they didn't publish when i thought they would. >> gregg: do they go back to jail, don't pass go, or do they stay there or go to jail 30 days, pending the notice requirement satisfaction. >> no, because the governor doesn't have the authority. so, they do not go back -- >> gregg: only the new governor. >> the new governor sure knows from what happened with this governor, that you don't release these people and, by the way, battered women in that state have to feel that their rights have been denied. 8 men who murdered their wives, shot them in the back, beat them with branches, strangled them, you know, have been released. are you saying that women have been battered, really don't matter? these are crimes of passion. that is ridiculous. >> gregg: aren't most murders crimes of passion and very few are for profit. >> few are for profit and most are crimes of passion but we aren't talking about guys who found their wives in bed and shot them, one guy stalked her and one guy drove 9 hours and i

know domestic violence, that ends up in a murder is not a one-time thing. a question of the next victim. >> gregg: tonight catch her show, right after mike huckabee's two hour forum with the g.o.p. candidates and we'll be right back. ♪ ...there are no sick days. ♪ vicks dayquil. defeats 5 cold & flu symptoms. [ snoring ] [ indistinct talking on tv ] [ snoring ] [ male announcer ] vicks nyquil cold and flu. the nighttime sniffling, sneezing, coughing, aching, fever, best sleep you ever got with a cold...medicine. ♪ gives you a 50 percent annual bonus. so you earn 50 percent more cash. if you're not satisfied with 50% more cash, send it back! i'll be right here, waiting for it. who wouldn't want more cash? [ insects chirping ] i'll take it.

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>> gregg: exactly one week before south carolina voters head to the polls, the first in the south primary, looking at the latest real clear politics polling average, in the palmetto state, g.o.p. front-runner mitt romney, 26%, followed by newt gingrich, with ties for third and 5th place. >> heather: brand new polling numbers from rasmussen reports, placing mitt romney at 28%, newt gingrich 21%, rick santorum, who was in second place a week ago, falling back to third, and tied now with ron paul, showing the fluid state at play. here now, scott rasmussen of rasmussenreports.com and author of "the people's money." thanks for joining us. >> great to be with you. those numbers show -- mitt romney's numbers are steady like they have been in iowa and new hampshire, everything else is a judgment bell, rick santorum is down 8, newt gingrich up 3, ron paul up 5. should point out it is before santorum got and in dormant from the evangelicals leaders in texas today and i don't know if that will change it but

consistently voters are looking for, if it will not be mitt romney, who do we want as the conservative challenger? >> gregg: how certain are those likely voters of their vote? >> not terribly, 52% say they know who they'll vote for and 41%, say they are not, similar numbers to the earlier contest and that is why we see the late surges, four years ago, south carolina people were drifting away from the lower tier candidates to choose between huckabee an john mccain and iowa and new hampshire, people drifted to rick santorum in iowa and paul and huntsman in new hampshire. same thing, likely to happen here. whoever looks like this best challenger will probably surge near the end. >> heather: scott, quickly, who is locked in? >> not surprisingly, 63% of ron paul's voters are on top and he has the most solid support and it might surprise some people, though, mitt romney, close, 61% of his voters say they will not change their minds. >> gregg: we ran out of time. it is our fault, i apologize.

we'll make it up to you and it is always great to see you, scott rasmussen at rasmussen reports. that will do it for us, rick folbaum taking over at the top of the hour. >> gregg: have a great day. r the 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. phillips'. [ female announcer ] live the regular life. whee wheeeeeeeeeeeee! wheeeeeeeeeeee! whee whee wheeeeeeeeeeee-he-he-heeeeee! whee whee wheeeeeeeeeeee! pure adrenaline.

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