>> steve: that's right. to put us in the mood for this fat tuesday, mardi gras, they'll stick around in the after the show show. >> eric: happy mardi gras. >> gretchen: log on for the after the show show. have a fap fastic tuesday. fantastic tuesday. bill: it was going to happen eventually. now there is a deal. greece rescued with billions from the brink of disaster. this has been the scene in streets of athens after months of protest and negotiations. greece getting $170 billion bailout that the may save the country from falling into a financial tailspin and taking us with them. good morning, everybody, i'm bill hemmer. hope you had a great holiday weekend. welcome back to "america's newsroom.". welcome to patti ann. >> i'm patti ann browne in for martha maccallum it is a big deal.

bill: greece promises austerity measures including unpopular cuts. stuart varney, good morning to you. in a word will it work? >> for now, no, long term. they're already talking about a third bailout that will be required. there is a report to that effect as of this morning. you see, bill, all of this money has to be repaid. how do you get blood out of a stone? the greek economy virtually collapsed. 8% shrinking. 20% unemployment. they're being called upon to repay a total of what, $300 billion? it is not going to happen. they will need another bailout at some point in the future. bill: what does it mean for us here in the u.s.? does it mean much, stewart? >> no, financially not. we don't want to be like them. we don't want to have our debt situation gets a bad as greece's situation and end up in that situation. it is a warning to us more than anything else.

bill: do you think, i guess your first answer takes care of this. we just saw protests we saw a few weeks ago in athens. they have been violent at times. i don't know if those scenes come back but are the problems for greece over? >> oh no, no. the problems for greece are going to get even worse. as i said the economy there is contracting. it is slippinging by 8% a year. 20% unemployment and rising rapidly. there are more austerity measures still to come. more pension cuts. more benefit cuts. more wage cuts. more firing of government workers. everything is going to contract even more. so how is it possible they could repay all of this money with a rapidly shrining economy? bill: quickly on the u.s. market here, the 401(k) might get a boost today, huh? >> a minor boost for other reasons not much to do with greece. america's profits look really good, we might hit, might hit 13,000 on the dow today. bill: been some time we've been there. thank you, stuart.

rarefied air we call it. see you at 9:15 on fbn. patti ann? patti ann: new fear soaring oil prices could hurt our fragile economy. we're at nine-month high near $105 a barrel. according to aaa, the national average is 3.57 a gallon. compare that to a year ago when you were paying $3.17 on average. needless to say drivers are not happy. >> when they feel like they want to make more money, they up the price. and then they say well, okay we'll give them a break for a week or some then they go down 15 cents. you know, it is just modern day extortion. >> they have been going up and down all week. >> it hurts us. it cripples us. patti ann: we'll have much more on this including the impact on small businesses a little later in the show. bill: everybody is feeling that. there are new fears that crude prices could go even higher a day after iran cut off oil exports to brittain

and france. new reports the islamic republic considering extending its oil embargo to other european countries. tehran upset over a pending european embargo over its nuclear program. head of iran state-owned oil company blaming the rising tensions on european leaders claiming iran has quote, never used oil as a political lever, unquote. >> new reports of forces loyal to the syrian president bombarding the rebel stronghold of homs. [explosion]. patti ann: syrian activists say government troops and tanks killed more than a dozen people there, sparking new fears of a ground attack and all-out civil war. world affairs contributor, dominic di-natale streaming live from beirut, lebanon. how intense is the battle today? >> reporter: we heard there were 250 shells and rockets targeted specifically at a neighborhood. residents in the city saying

that the shells were following falling in dozens of numbers every minute at one point. right now a lull in the fighting but the opposition still managed to rebuff government, tos from moving in. they are masking greater numbers over the weekend, they are expecting, activists were saying all-out massacre. a few dozen fighters are really dug in the neighborhood and holding back at the moment. conditions in the city are getting horrendous. we're hearing dental clinics turned into triage centers and people opening their homes to treat the injured. the scale of the -- [inaudible] situation now totally desperate scenario. of course fighting expected to continue in the coming days with thousands of syrian government troops surrounding the city poised waiting to move in, patti ann. patti ann: the humanitarian crisis there escalating. hundreds of thousands of people suffering. dominic, is there any side of eight getting through to

the syrian people? >> reporter: not intimately but the red cross is desperately trying to negotiate a cease-fire. that needs to happen for the aid to come in from lebanon and turkey and perhaps iraq itself. without safety guaranteed for those bringing aid it is hard to start the eight process. so-called friends of syria, a group of international countries leaning towards a democratic process in syria will get together and hillary clinton will probably be leading that conversation when it takes place. their key priority will be to get the humanitarian aid in. but now no plan now and suffering will continue. patti ann: dominic di-natale streaming live from beirut, thank you. bill: also new, this morning, deadly storms packing hurricane force wind pummeling southern oklahoma. this was the scene. watch and listen.

that storm has taken the life of at least one after a trailer park was hit with scenes up to 70 miles per hour. rescue crewing digging through rubble in a frantic search for survivors there. one man pulled from the wreckage. neighbors say they had just seconds to get to safety. >> the wind started and i started to get in the house. turned around and got in the house. looked outside. there was no time to get to the cellular. hollered at my girlfriend and went straight to the bathroom and sat down in the bathroom while it passed over. come outside, noticed insulation in the trees and stuff. ran down and tried to help my neighbor. bill: that man pulled from the wreckable recovering from the hospital. we'll get report on serve for victims on "america's newsroom" and get you updated there. patti ann: moving north to kansas. strong wind and golf ball sized hail hitting 20 miles outside of wichita.

the storm lasts five minutes but that was enough to cause all of this. downed power lines, vehicles flipped over and glass shattered. >> came so loud and quick in a few minutes. >> heard a big bang and the trailer flipped over. the paneling on the store started to fly off and windows on my car blew out. >> little old lady was crying. we were scared and standing around it and watching everything. it was crazy. >> storm left as quickly as it came. people say the skies cleared and the sun was shining. if you have any wild weather video or pictures we want to see them. head to our website, foxnews.com/ureport. send us your best stuff. stay safe dealing with any severe weather. bill: weird to see that storm in february. what isn't rare this time of year? patti ann: the new normal. bill: 48 degrees in new york in february. more stories coming up. that is what we're starting with this morning. a new avalanche warning

today after three skiers are killed on the slopes. in a moment you will see the airbag that saved a skier's life during that deadly scene. patti ann: south carolina police asking for the public's help in the search for this well-known businessman. he vanished over the weekend. new developments in the mysterious case just ahead. bill: rick santorum surge keeps on rolling. new poll numbers show him a lead over romney and is the lead closing and is santorum here to stay? >> we're talking about a real choice in this election between someone who believes they know what's best for you, someone who believes that government should be the ones deciding everything from what health care policies you should have to what loan you get to what light bulb you turn on. announce] this was how my day began. a little bird told me about a band... ♪ an old man shared some fish stories... ♪

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bill: still on the move, rick santorum is cementing

his status as the leader of the pack. he now has a double-digit lead over mitt romney in the latest gallup nationwide poll among republicans across the country. 36% to romney's 25. check that, 26%. "real clear politics" average of all the polls, santorum ahead by six points, much less there. romney hitting santorum on his record during his time as a senator in congress. >> one of the people i'm running against, senator santorum, goes to washington. calls himself a budget hawk. then after he has been there a while he says he is no longer a budget hawk. well i am a budget hawk. bill: you can expect to hear more of that tomorrow night during the debate in arizona. larry sabato, director of politics at you university of virginia center for politics. welcome to you. >>. >> good morning. bill: you say santorum surged for three reasons? >> yes.

winning helps you. he won the trifecta on february 7th, colorado, missouri and minnesota. when you win like that and get the headlines people jump on the bandwagon. second, there's a positive side to this. the republican base is responding postively to the image of santorum. it is not just what he is saying, is how he is saying it. he is coming across as authentic. the third reason is the negative. there is always a positive and negative in politics the negative reason we've seen from the very beginning a large portion of the republican base for whatever reason does not like mitt romney. they jump to the next candidate whoever that is who presents the anti-romney for them to vote for. bill: he seems to break through when it comes to the character, quality of authenticity. why do they see santorum that way? >> well, look, santorum is very blunt. he is very forthright. he speaks as though he doesn't care about the political consequences. now all politicians care

about the political consequences but he is very direct as candidates go and i think that appeals particularly to the tea party section of the republican party and others. bill: there has been other polls from gallup. they tried to figure out who has the better chance in a head-to-head matchup with president obama. this is with romney and santorum. by the way gingrich and paul were not part of this particular question. romney still with a commanding 54% of support in this area. is that how he reverses the tide? >> well, it's a good argument for him in theory. here's the problem with it practically. the republican base heard that four years ago with john mccain. and they're not as inclined to accept it a second time around. however, i still think it is a powerful argument. i think romney has to use that particularly with donors. he is running threw money like there is no tomorrow. so he needs the support of those big donors. bill: the other thing that

romney had, gallup had these numbers out yesterday. head-to-head matchup, obama is now trailing mitt romney in a national campaign when you put those two men side by side. back to santorum because michigan is the next battlefront week from today. same day arizona holds its primary. ed henry report from washington the super pac supporting santorum they will throw another $600,000 into michigan. right now that race, although santorum had double-digit lead now you see the race coming closer and closer together. some have it in a dead-heat with romney and santorum. how do you see his home state? >> amazingly competitive. bill, romney absolutely has to win michigan. he grew up there. his father was governor there. he won it four years ago. it's going to cause a cataclysm, not just within the romney campaign but the republican party if he didn't win. that is exactly why the santorum people are spending so heavily in michigan. they see an opportunity to

blow this race white open. don't forget about arizona which votes on the same day. romney is just narrowly ahead there. if he is upset in arizona frankly i think the same thing happens. bill: we shall see. larry, tuesday will be interesting. thank you for your time. we'll talk again. >> thanks, bill. bill: larry sabato. university of virginia. patti ann. patti ann: surging gas prices are in braing records and we might only seeing the beginning. why pain at the pump will go way past the gas station. bill: he prayed to see his family again. a subha diver lost at sea getting separated from his group. the one item that helped save his life. >> i laid on my back and watch the stars and used them as course direction and thought of my family. [ male announcer ] in blind taste tests, even ragu users chose prego.

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bill: here is one incredible

rescue caught on camera. two golden retrievers bolting off the side of a cliff falling about 100 feet. firefighters lowered themselves down the side of the cliff bringing the dogs eventually to safety. the owner saying her dogs probably heard the sound of water and then ran. listen. i. >> just let them out because they're very well-mannered. they usually stay right me and bolted right for the cliff and went right off the edge of the cliff. never stopped. they have never been near a cliff. they just stopped. they're so special and people love to come, they're just so gentle. as all golden retrievers are. bill: they are great dogs. lilly and marci doing just fine today. they are lucky. patti ann: the lengths we'll go to rescue dogs. bill: bring them on home. patti ann: exactly. gas prices breaking records for february and becoming a key campaign hot potato much as in the last presidential

election in 2008 when gas prices also spiked. take a look, the bottom line showing where things stood back in 2008. the top line? where they are right now. we are already above the price we saw four years ago. it is not only hitting drivers but small businesses as well. mike tobin right now is live in chicago with that angle for us. hi, mike. >> reporter: hi, how are you? if you look at the big board behind me, we're just about $3.80 for a gallon of regular. big cities tend to get it pretty bad, new york, l.a., chicago. hawaii and alaska because of transportation those guys are already paying over $4 a gallon. what you notice as you look behind me here, only one person at the pump, take my word for it they have been filling up all day long. the experts are saying there is price people will endure until their driving habits change. >> we see the tippingpoint, a lot of the time, a lot of the folks we talk to, $5 a gallon is the new tippingpoint. that is a scary thought. if folks are willing to pay

$5 demand will not drop and thus prices will not drop until we hit the magical barrier. >> reporter: when you see the price of crude oil peak as it did yesterday over $105 a barrel, it takes about a week until that cost shift end up here at the pump. patti ann: and, mike, as we mentioned small businesses take it especially hard. >> reporter: you know any business linked to transportation, which kind of is all of them, is going to have a hard time but we were looking at the food service industry. you regularly priced food service industry, restaurants don't have the ability to shift that cost onto the consumer. we were looking at bona beef in chicago. costs them everything to get the bread and meat into the restaurant. their catering business, that has direct impact because they have to drive the product out to the customers. still there is only so much people will pay for an italian beef. that particular business has to look at tightening its own belt. >> there certainly only so much people are looking to

spend on certain items. so we do everything we can. we try to be as efficient as possible when we look at distribution of product to our stores or even catering delivery. >> reporter: as a small family-owned business, something they don't like to talk about but something they have to keep as option on the table is the prospect of layoffs. patti ann? patti ann: mike tobin live in chicago. thank you. bill: it will be with us for a while. get used to it. >> oh, yeah. bill: new show of force from iran. warships dock in syria. what a combination that could be. is that a direct message to us here in the u.s.? patti ann: south korea finishing up its military drills. meanwhile threats from the north at a crucial time for negotiations over its nuclear program. [speaking in native tongue] so who ordered the cereal that can help lower olesterol

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the moisture is aimed directly at the pacific northwest. bringing storm into the seattle area and parts of oregon and snow moving as far as inland as parts of the rockies, across parts of idaho into northern montana. we're looking at a lot of moisture out here and a lot of precipitation. those avalanche warnings are for parts of the cascades and olympics. the reason for the avalanche warning is not just the storm system we have impacting the area right now but also the storm that hit out there friday and saturday bringing two to three feet of snow out there. we'll look at additional one to two feet along the higher elevations. because it is a relatively warm system the snow we do see will be along the peaks generally above 7,000 feet. you will look at rain on top of snow we already got last friday and saturday. that will help weaken the snow pack. some of that snow will be melting. you're looking big-time issues out here with avalanche concerns. anyone traveling in the

backcountry please be careful. if things weren't bad enough we're looking wind warnings through parts of montana and wyoming with wind gusts 60 miles an hour, bill. bill: thank you, maria. we mentioned three skiers killed over the weekend. one skier in that group survived. she survived because she was wearing a backpack on her back that can fill up like an airbag. similar to the dashboard of your car. she inflated the airbag and literally floated down the mountain and floated to safety. it saved her life. coming up in the next hour in "america's newsroom", you will meet the man who invented this backpack being used all over the world. he is the ceo of the company and has a story to tell. stay tuned for that next hour here on our program. 9:30 here in new york. patti ann? patti ann: now to the rising tensions in the middle east. two iranian warships that docked in syria have now reportedly left the mediterranean. it is not clear whether the

ships unloaded cargo in syria which is iran's key ally in the region but iran's defense minister leaves little to the imagination why the ships were there. he tells state media the ships were quote, a clear message against the united states possible adventurism. joining us kt mcfarland, fox news national security analyst. thanks for being with us. >> pleasure. patti ann: we quoted iran's defend minister saying it is a clear message. we have a comment from a islamic revolutionary guard commander. let's hear what he had to say. >> translator: as the enemy threatens us we want to show our power, we, islamic iran are the guards of the security of the region and even the strait of hormuz and the responsibility for compromising the security of the region lies with aggressive countries that sail around the region. patti ann: kt what is iran up to here? >> they want two things. one they want to control the region from the persian gulf to the mediterranean. from iran to iraq to syria. that is why they have the warships in syria.

the second thing they want is to have nuclear weapons. they told the world, you mess with either of those two ambitions we'll shut off the world's oil supply and we'll take the world to war. we'll threaten the world's economic recovery. patti ann: iran already halted sales to brittain and france earlier in the week. >> right. patti ann: now they're setting conditions for oil exports to other european countries. what impact is that having? >> what they have is the threat of shutting off oil to brittain and the french that is not such a big threat. they don't get their oil from iran but what iran is saying we know you, the west, united states, europeans, the brits, you're trying to impose a blockade around our oil sales using your banking system. if you do that, and we have until july 1st to start imposing those, we haven't seen done it yet. we only talked about doing it. iranians are firing a shot across the bow if you do that, if you impose the sanctions, if you try to

shut down our oil exports we'll block the strait of hormuz. we'll do a number of things to basically stop the free flow of oil through the world. they want to control the world's oil choke point which they will do if they reach from the persian gulf all the way to the mediterranean because that's where the oil comes from. patti ann: back to iran and syria. it is not clear as we mentioned whether or not cargo was unloaded. >> right. patti ann: what is your take on that? was it just symbolic? >> it is second time they have done it. they hadn't done it for 30 years before that. part of it is symbolic. part of it to show they have easy in and out access. they can off load anything they want. part of it was to send a signal to the west, if you're thinking of getting involved in syria like libya hands off, syria is ours. interesting thing to play, that is also the same port the iranians were in. that is also the port the russians use. you really have this access -- axis of evil almost between syria, iran and russia all aligned

against the west. patti ann: analysts have been saying for a while this is a proxy war. is it becoming more overt than that? >> we're already at war with iran. it is a covert war. a war of assassinations and sanctions and sabotage. the question is will it bubble up and he over into an actual hot war? for example, if israel attacks iran if iran blocks the straight hormuz, if the united states gets drawn into a conflict. patti ann: what should the u.s. approach be at this point? >> hear is the problem, patti ann. there are two crummy options and we've had those for decades. bomb iran to stop the nuclear program but that ignites a regional war. there is a possible third option but it is a hail mary pass. it is a long shot, to use these sanctions not the one that is a decade ago but ones of today which would crash the iranian economy so the iranian people two back out in the streets like they did in 2009 and do what the moroccans and tunisians have

done which is to topple their own government. patti ann: if that didn't happen, critics of this approach say all we're succeeding in doing angering their government. they're not the ones suffering under the sanctions. it is just escalating it? >> they're right to a certain extent. at the end of the day unless you're prepared to have nuclear iran and nuclear middle east and next war in the middle east, and 3,000 years there is next war in the middle east if you're prepared to have the war go nuclear or want to have a regional war in the middle east which nobody wants i think the only option is this tightening sanctions even if iran gets angry because this regime, the closer it gets to getting its hands on a nuclear weapons the more difficult and harder it is going to hang on this em. they will not go to any negotiating table and negotiate away those nuclear weapons. patti ann: the alliance between syria and iran, it's been in place for a long time now. >> yes. patti ann: but they are definitely collaborating in a lot of ways now in terms

of trying to get around the sanctions and bartering with each other. how troubling is the relationship between iran and syria? >> iran will not let syria go without a fight. any talk we'll going to intervene militarily in syria, we'll help people being slaughtered we'll aid the syrian free army, no you can't get away with it the way we did in libya. syria will step up to the plate. russia will step up. none of these countries want to see syria of detach from the axis of evil they have got going. patti ann: israel watching all of this with interest. >> absolutely with the time and clock running out. patti ann: kt mcfarland. thanks for joining us. >> thank you. bill: big issue. keep an eye on that. wall street, we're going to 13,000 today or are we not? we're up 28 points. we're what, 22 points away from dow 13,000. been a while since we've been there. we'll keep an eye on it. a deal with grease

temporarily anyway as stuart varney said at the top of our hour this morning. the problems are not over in greece not by a longshot. there is room today to think they have gotten some of the waters smoothed out. there are new fears this morning about the fate of a top business executive. he has vanished and in broad daylight no less. an investigation does not have any clear answers at moment. that is coming up. patti ann? patti ann: newt gingrich connects chevy volt and your gun rack. how white house policies have come front and center in the race nor the nomination. one chance to hunt down the right insurance at the right price. the "name your price" tool, only from progressive. ready, aim, save!

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bill: there was an investigation underway in kabul, afghanistan, after the improper disposal of islamic religious material. this happened at a u.s. base there the nato commander saying it was not intentional and is offering a public apology.

some of that material, including the koran, were burned. the books have been used by detainees at the base there north of kabul. about 2,000 angry afghans protesting outside the base after hearing of that news. 20 minutes now before the hour. patti ann: developing right now in "america's newsroom", french police holding dominique strauss-kahn in connection with a prostitution case. dsk resigned as head of the internationalal monetary fund last year after being accused sexual assault in new york city. those charges were later dropped. firefighters battling a major brush fire near miami. they say it grew rapidly because of the weather. >> we had aer zoo is are of days with a lot of wind. up and down on humidity. up and down on the temperatures. we certainly have dry conditions out here. coupled with the wind and a spark, see how it can happen and how fast it can build. patti ann: that fire destroyed 350 acrers in a

couple of hours. it is fat tuesday in new orleans. this is last day of mardi gras hours before lent the period of fasting before easter. bill: one day of the year we can play this song. listen to it for two hours, right? patti ann: exactly. ♪ . bill: nicely done. fat tuesday. tomorrow is ash wednesday. so --. patti ann: party now. bill: party now and straighten up later. a new rallying cry for republican presidential hopeful newt gingrich. he is hitting president obama hard on three key issues with one single line. here it is. >> the president has said, you know you ought to buy smaller cars. now, let me start with a simple premise that most oklahomans will understand, you can not put a gun rack in a volt. [laughter] bill: gas, guns and energy, a winning combination. andrea tanteros columnist with "the daily news.".

bob beckel former democratic campaign manager. both are co-hosts of "the five." what is going on with you two this morning? >> i'm trying to remember last two mardi grases when i was drinking. i can't even remember them. bill: that would make a heck of a blog. >> it would. if i could remember it would be great. bill: andrea, what do you think, how strong is that metaphor? chevy volt, gun racks. >> it is a pretty good metaphor. the symbol of the obama administration is the volt, symbol of their failed energy plan. we love our big muscle cars. i think you could probably get a gun rack on there. i googled it, some guy in middle america had it on his car. bill: did you see a picture? >> it does exist. it is a strange looking. so maybe the gingrich analogy is working because it just doesn't look right. bill: bob what do you think of what he said? >> first of all gingrich did

not mention the fact you could hook up a trailer hitch and pull a howitzer for all the people that like guns in oklahoma. number one. it is number two, good metaphor for small cars and gas prices rest of it. i still think in the long term obama wins on the energy efficient cars, particularly now with gas prices be where they are. bill: really. >> how does he win? sales for green energy cars are abysmal. >> people may like muscle cars but don't like the muscle money goes into doing them at these gas prices. >> they don't like the green cars either. bill: dick morris says the administration lost the issue on gas prices when they said no to keystone, andrea. >> that is ridiculous. >> i think so too. look the president he likes to talk about alternative energy. he likes to talk about doing all these things to make us less reliant on foreign oil. but he is not doing them. it is all lip service. he has been in office for a number of years now. why now? why hasn't he taken these

steps to make us less dependent on foreign oil? the keystone pipeline was front and center, bill. was a perfect example. unions supported it and he rebuked offer. he has to answer for that. bill: why is that such a ridiculous notion? >> it is ridiculous notion for following reasons. if you had the keystone pipeline been approved which it will eventually. bill: before the election? >> maybe. bill: before gas prices go to five bucks. >> doesn't matter. there would not be a penny difference in the price of gas today if the keystone pipeline was being built because 10 years before it gives you gasoline. number one. number two. this is all about what is going on in the middle east. and iran and syria and cutting off oil to europe by the iranians, that is what is driving these prices up. united states can --. bill: this side argues that you have to a policy that is ready made. >> see. what is their policy? that is the problem. they don't have a policy. >> pursue natural gas. president talked about it a year ago. did nothing on it.

natural gas act could be passed in the house and senate could sign it into law and he won't touch it yet he talks about it all the time. >> i think natural gas is the perfect energy answer and we've got plenty of it and if i were the obama administration i would try to figure out a way to get natural gas into fast stations because you can run cars on natural gas with minimum amount of conversion. bill: not you in to convert at moment to make that effective. some of the cities you see like new york they're running on natural gas. it is not in widespread production at least now to do anything about the issue that is on the table. >> my point, part of a bigger energy plan that he hasn't said anything on. bill: agreed. that was my point as well. what bob contend is that this is the first funny thing newt gingrich has said since the campaign began? hang on, bob. andrea, does he need more humor? lines like these are getting attention. we're playing it and talking about it. >> bob, where have you been during all the republican debates. think newt gingrich in his own way, yes sometimes comes

across as sarcastic in his own way he has had some real zingers at the debates. he is very, very funny. a sense of humor that you use often times that a lot of people don't find funny. i do. >> i appreciate that. and i will say this, i think for newt it is a great idea at the debates newt's the guy who never had unspoken thought in his life. >> just like you, bobby. >> just like me. i have a reason i have no filter. that goes back to long history of abuse. the point here is that gingrich it is a funny line. gingrich could use something like now. only weigh is getting on television. he is out of money and falling deeper and deeper into debt. now he doesn't have a debate. bill: there is debate tomorrow night a another person getting on television a lot for rick santorum for what he says people agree with and those disagrowth with him. andrea you say santorum has to watch his tone. what do you mean by that? >> he i was getting a little

angry on the stump. passion is good thing for gop primary season. he doesn't want to come across as too angry. rick santorum does not do angry well. he is authentic. you had larry sabato on earlier saying exact same thing. he resonates with voters he doesn't come across with voters as phony. he has to be very careful. if he gets nomination doesn't want to be angry candidate. bill: point tape. we'll see how he takes to that. beckel predicted two years ago santorum is the man. >> that is true. on tape on "hannity" show. i said he was dark horse candidate to watch. he thought he would do well with value voters. by the way angry is key word for base of republican party. they're angry with obama. i'm not so sure that is why he is striking cords. i agree in the general election it is not a good place to be. bill: we'll check the tape. see you on bourbon street. >> there you go. no more. bill: andrea, a the 5:00 as

well. go to foxnews.com, click on the b.j. a tab and send me your question. third source twitter@bill hemmer because you asked. bya. fire it up. you want to talk about gas prices or keystone or the chevy volt or gun rack. you pick it online. patti ann: about the gas prices is there anything the president can do? eric bolling will have the word on that. bill: alone drifting in the open sea a scuba diver is lost. the simple device he had that made the difference between life and death. >> i was swimming like this, with that sticking up. praise the lord i'm back. i did a lot of praying out there. wake up!

that's good morning, veggie style. hmmm. for half the calories plus veggie nutrition. could've had a v8.

bill: a harrowing ordeal off the coast of hawaii. a scuba diver lost at sea in

shark infested waters for 12 hours. adding to the ordeal, his emergency transmitter was kaput. it failed. forcing him to deploy his 10-foot long buoy as strong currents carried him away. here is how he explained it. >> it was pretty far. i was swimming like this with that sticking up. i could see individual people. i could see cars and tents and just like i could taste it. and it was just kind of heart breaking to realize, oh, man, not again. laid on my back and watched the stars and used them as a course direction and thought of my family. >> hardest part waiting not knowing where he was and that he wasn't suffering. there are sharks out there. there are all kind of things t was miracle, definitely. a miracle. bill: wow, no thank you. dark waters at night for 12 hours, forget it. coast guard finding him in nighttime waters after spotting a beam off the flashlight. without that buoy that story may not have a happy ending. lucky man.

well-equipped. patti ann: police are investigating the mysterious disappearance of a top business executive in south carolina. 61-year-old tom sponseller has not been seen since saturday and police say they can't rule out foul play. jonathan serrie is following the story from atlanta. hi, jonathan. what exactly is suspicious about this man's disappearance? >> reporter: patti ann, say it was highly unusual for tom sponseller not to answer his phone. this lobbyist was highly plugged in but he has not been heard from since midday saturday. it was around noon he was last seen in his office near the state capitol in downtown columbia, south carolina. his car was still parked outside the building but no sign whatever of the missing executive. tom sponseller is president and ceo of the south carolina hospitality association, the lobbying and trade group posted on its website, quote, members and staff are deeply concerned for tom sponseller's whereabouts, patti ann. patti ann: so what specifically are the efforts

right now to find him? >> reporter: well, police have been canvasing neighboring businesses, businesses near the missing man's office to see if there is any security cameras that may have captured video what may or may not have happened. family members have created a help find tom sponseller page on facebook. the 61-year-old is balding wit gray white hair. he is 6'1", 160 pound with hazel eyes and usually wears glasses. police are asking anyone with information is call midland crimestoppers. 1-888-crime sc. they're checking cell phone and atm and credit card records but so far no sign of the missing man what sorry, patti ann. patti ann: jonathan serrie, live from atlanta. thank you. bill: feel for his family. these hours are precious. with none of the republican candidates breaking away from the pack,

brokered convention is starting to make it on the trail. what does that mean? new poll shows what republican voters want regarding this issue. surprising. patti ann: a governor unveils a new budget with major tax cuts despite dealing with a major deficit. could the plan work or could it send the state into bankruptcy? [ male announcer ] this is the age of knowing what you're made of. why let erectile dysfunction get in your way? talk to your doctor about viagra. ask if your heart is healthy enough for sex. do not take viagra if you take nitrates for chest pain; it may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. side effects include headache, flushing, upset stomach, and abnormal vision. to avoid long-term injury, seek immediate medical help for an erection lasting more than four hours. stop taking viagra and call your doctor right away if you experience a sudden decrease or loss in vision or hearing. this is the age of taking action. viagra. talk to your doctor.

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bill: 10:00 here in new york city. breaking news this morning iran threatening to extend its oil embargo to many more countries if certain conditions are not met, causing all of us to pay more at the pump today with no end in site. iran cut -lg saleting sales to great britain and france and all of europe could soon follow. welcome back here as we roll

on. i'm bill hemmer. martha has some time with her family. how you doing patti ann. patti ann: i'm great. glad to be here. what does it all mean for, gas prices jumping dramatically overnight and that is putting the squeeze on people. >> if i don't absolutely have to stop i'm going to do my search around the town and look for the lows. >> there is no reason for the especially with the surplus we have and the resources that are available. i think the government needs to start looking at alternative resources a little harder. bill: aaa has the national average at 3.57 a gallon. it's well over 4 bucks in california. eric bolling cohosts the 5 on fnc. what is iran doing today? >> reporter: shaking the cage a little bit. they are saying not only are we talking about or lifting our shipments to france and the u.k. we may extend it to the other european union nations.

basically what they are saying is we're going to take our oil off the market. it's a global economy, it's a commodity. it will affect us here, end of story. people say we don't get any of that oil any way. no way, you can replace it with other oil, it will have an upward affect on prices. bill: you argue that the president could do three things immediately to bring gas prices down, make your case. >> reporter: immediately, bill. some of them late bit longer: let me start with the first one. approve the keystone pipeline right now. it may take six months to a yore to get the oil flowing down here, that will increase 700,000 barrels per day, that will help quite a bit. that's if we want to use someone else's oil. you combine that with lifting the moratorium on offshore oil drilling on the east coast, the west coast of the u.s. and most importantly up in the alaskan north slope, up through there, if you lift the moratoriums that

are if place prices will come down. that may be a one to three year proposition. don't listen when they say five years it's not. the epa can lift the blending requirement on gasolines. right now there are somewhere around 30 boutique blends. there is a winter blend, a summer blend, an east coast blend, a california blend, problem below a northern california blend. if you lift that you could have ever refinery working at the same goal of producing gasoline for our need. i used to be a gasoline importer. we get gasoline from the virgin islands. venezuela, south america. it comes in in a form we can use, then it has to go through another refining process and they are adding additives so we meet epa requirements. bill: i get it. on your point -- i know under the bush administration the permits were more widespread on

the east and west coast and in mexico. under obama that changed. isn't that argued every time the issue comes up? why does it never change then? >> reporter: it's the epa, the environments lobbyist very strong. they say don't mess with the epa. we need to take some of the regulation out of it. the american economy will lose $150 billion per year for every dollar oil price and goods lean prices go up. under obama gas prices have gone up 1.70. $270billion of spending ability that is sucked right out of the american economy and frankly shipped overseas, that is no good. bill: thank you, eric bolling. patti ann: rick santorum comparing this latest jump in gas prices to what was happening before the last election as he takes aim at president obama from the campaign trail in ohio. >> there is a head wind ahead of

it right now and it's called energy prices. the same thing that happened in 2008 that led us in to this recession in the first place. it's coming back, why? because this president is doing everything he can to hurt energy production in this country, to drive up the cost of energy. there are -- if you look at alaska, mexico and venezuela, between those three countries in the next five years, five to ten years we're going to lose between 4 and 5 billion barrels a day coming into this country. patti ann: newt gingrich also weighing in this morning. he claims the president actually wants gas prices to be even higher to reach the european level, which is 9 or $10 a gallon. bill: some pe perspective how it's affecting people around the country. 27 states pay 2.50 a gallon or more. at the moment hawaii pays the most, 4.26 per gallon. wyoming $3.05.

a 25% jump in gas prices if sustained over an entire year would end up costing the economy about $35 billion. five minutes after the hour. patti ann: rick santorum still leads mitt romney in nation-wide polls and that has some questioning whether any of the candidates will win enough delegates to glynn much the g.o.p. nomination before this summer's convention in tampa. a new gallop usa poll says 66% of republicans say they want to avoid that kind of scenario. shannon bream is live in washington. what is the feeling within the g.o.p. about whether or not a so-called brokered or contested convention could be a reality here. >> reporter: it all depends on who you ask. let's start with karl rove. here is what he had to say about the possibility on fox news sunday. >> i think it's about as remote as life on pluto, you know. it could happen, sure, you could

make up all kinds of scenarios, but in all likelihood what happens in the dynamic of a primary is once somebody starts to win they keep on winning. >> reporter: there are plenty of others, some of the top republican leaders on capitol hill who believe there is a very strong possibility that the g.o.p. could go into the convention in august without a settled nominee. i'm told there is a lot of activity on that front, not sure exactly how that is going to translate. there are those that believe a brokered or contested convention is a real possibility this time around. patti ann: karl rove's comments aside there is a question floating around, could someone who is not currently a candidate wind up being the g.o.p. nominee? >> reporter: that is a great question. here of some of the names that come up over and over again. you've heard them many times. jeb bush, and current governors, chris christie and mitch daniels. those names have come up. none of them have indicated they have any interest in running for president, quite the opposite. political analysts and law makers are publicly talking about how bad it would be for the party to a band done the

four men currently in the race if they are still in the hunt by august and take a gamble on someone who wasn't even willing to run in the first place. you may remember thad ma connor was in the nomination race himself for a while. he says it would be an insult to those who stayed in the race to the end and would reward someone who, quote, lacked the courage to run and who sat on the sidelines until the convention. it would send the wrong message to american voters who voted in the primary, saying we don't trust your judgment, how can you judge the same voters to trust you in the general election. patti ann: reporting live for us, shannon bream, thank you. bill: extreme weather this morning. a deadly blast of weather tearing across the plains. have you seen this? that storm produced gusts about 70 miles an hour in some places. wild thunderstorms ripping across oklahoma. at least one person is dead,

another seriously injured. here is what this man saw. >> rescue crews got here, located a mobile home that had obviously been overturned, and some damages to some other residents in the area. they immediately -- the fire department got on scene and officers -- law enforcement officers on scene started a search and rescue. they located the gentleman pretty quickly, got him removed, and taken to valley view hospital. i'm unsure about his condition at this time. bill: we were told throughout the night into the morning hours when the sun came up that that search and rescue would continue. you look at these clouds, and they are ominous. patti ann: it's incredible, yeah, and one person is dead so very sad story. bill: nothing is normal this winter, that is for sure. when you get the storms that are like tornado-force or hurricane-force winds out there in oklahoma it's strange. we will never forget the weather pattern rolling across this

country this winter. you have daffodils and tulips poking out of the ground. patti ann: mine of four inches high. bill: those plants have to be very confused. patti ann: hope they are hardy. the weather is very confusing. war games in south korea prompting a warning from north korea. is it a good idea for the u.s. to take part in military drills if week? bill: some f u.n. ky sounds. shocking testimony against gabe watson. he is the man accused of killing his wife on their honeymoon. what friend of tina watson said that gabe did at his wife's funeral that apparently did not look very good for the defense. patti ann: the survivor of a massive avalanche this weekend is crediting a certain airbag for saving her life.

we'll talk to the man behind that airbag. you don't want to miss that. ahh, one. two. three. one. two. and, three. [ male announcer ] with the bankamericard cash rewards credit card, earn more cash back for the things you buy most. 1% cash back everywhere, every time. 2% cash back on groceries. 3% back on gas. automatically. no hoops to jump through. it's as easy as one. -two. -three. [ male announcer ] the bankamericard cash rewards card. apply online or at a bank of america near you.

bill: 30 members of a violent drug cartel escaping during a deadly riot at a prison in mexico. relatives of the victims clashing with prison workers after the riot which killed 44 inmates. authorities now saying that the gang planned the massacre and escaped during all the chaos. they say all the victims were members of a rival drug cartel. patti ann: military drills in south korea sparked warnings of retaliation from north korea, this just days before talks with the north about their nuclear weapons program. south korea's drills only lasted a few hours, but more are scheduled to begin this week. next time joint with american forces. christian whiten is a special

envoy for north korean human rights under president bush. thanks for joining us. >> great to be here. patti ann: these were two hours of live fire drills near the border of north korea the north did threaten action. after they didn't do anything. again, more drills coming up in concert with the u.s. do you expect north korea to act and what form might that take? >> i wouldn't expect any concrete action. you never know with north korea, it's very unpredictable to an extent. whenever the u.s. has military exercises near north corey east specially if we drill with our alleys, the south korean you can always expect language out of the north koreans. if you look at where the things are with the cycle of negotiations which is unpredictable, its is an indication that there is not going to be a major blow up in north korea like what happened in 2010, frankly. patti ann: speaking of those negotiations of course there are talks in beijing between north

korea and the u.s. coming up this thursday. it's their third meeting since last july, but that was before kim jong-il died. washington has a couple of goals, they want to persuade north korea to suspend operations at its oo uranium enrichment plant, and they want north korea to return to the six nation talks. what do you expect. >> i would expect nothing. we have done this two times before with president clinton and george w. bush. this is the same regime even though they've had a change in leaders from kim jong-il to kim jong un it's the exact same regime. a very predictable cycle. they miss behave, they scare us and our allies. they'll throw out belacose language, and say the same thing over and over again and never deliver the goods. we ought to know this.

the north koreans sold us their nuclear arsenal in 2007, and we never got the goods. patti ann: glen davies is the one that would be involved in the negotiation th-s week. this week. the u.s. has offered aid and said it would suspend some of its sanctions if north korea stopped enriching it's uranium. have these sanctions, carrots and sticks had any effect? >> unfortunately this is the standard operating procedure for restarting talks with north korea now. it was part of the mid 90's effort in the clinton administration, certainly part of the six-party talks and in the end those led by condie rice, which is giving food for aid. who could be opposed to giving food for aid. all that food aid gets diverted to the military, the regime elite or sold on the black

market. we talked to refugees who said they never saw any of this existence. they always think they have a mechanism of getting aid to people in need but it's plain out a peacement to getting north korea back to the negotiating table, a repeat of what has been done in the previous two administrations. patti ann: thank you very much for joining us. >> thank you. bill: the u.s. supreme court in washington d.c. that court will once again confront the issue of race in university admissions, this after a case was brought boy a white student denied admission to the university of texas. that court saying that it will return to the issue of affirmative action in higher education for the first time since 2003. that case set to be argued in the fall. we are going to check in with shannon bream a bit later and get you more on this. it is breaking right now out of the supreme court. 17 past the hour. chris christie wants to lower taxes in one of the most heavily taxed states in the country.

can he do it? what other republican governors are trying to do the same? is yours one of them? we have that for you. patti ann: with no clear favorite in sight, could the republican party end up wheeling and dealing for their presidential nominee? what would voters think about that and the possibility of a new candidate? >> reporter: republican >> republicans are not afraid to duke it out. and we are not going to let a machine tell us who our candidate is going to be. [ male announcer ] we know you don't wait until the end of the quarter to think about your money... ♪ that right now, you want to know where you are, and where you'd like to be. we know you'd like to see the same information your advisor does so you can get a deeper understanding of what's going on with your portfolio. we know all this because we asked you, and what we heard helped us create pnc wealth insight, a smarter way to work with your pnc advisor,

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patti ann: 21 minutes past the hour. pakistan is now asking interpoll to arrest expresident musharaf for the death of benezir bhutto.

mardi gras sel celebrations are in full swing all over over the world. they lead up to lent. bill: enjoy the remaining 24 hours you have. chris christie set to unveil his annual budget today. in that budget he plans to reduce income tax rates by 10% across the board. that is expected to be phased in over three years starting in 2013. that would cost the state 150 million in the upcoming budget and 1.3 billion by 2016. some analysts wonder whether or not this could put the entire budget at risk or whether or not chris christie is onto something. charles payne a fox news

business anchor and a regular on varney & company. how are you doing. >> i'm doing great. bill: what does he want to do. >> even 10% we talk about everything being quote unquote fair and even. an even 10% cut across the board on income. which is a little different than his payroll we got from the federal government. i think it is a brilliant idea. the notion that we can keep more of the money we earn and put it back into the economy the way we want to put it back into the economy to me that is the kind of stimulus we need. bill: you think that is a big stimulus for the economy, whoever you are. >> absolutely. if you listen to the narrative, particularly out of washington, it's been that somehow food stamps and welfare have a positive multiplier, that somehow an extra 20 bucks a week into a household via the payroll tax cuts ace good thin. but what about thousands of dollars coming back into people's pockets? by the way this is money they've earned. this is the operative word here,

this is money that you have gone out for and worked hard for and sweated for and you get to keep more of it. bill: it probably makes you feel better. i live in jersey. can he win on this first of all? >> i think he can. he has enough time to prove that it works. there are two debates here. the income even equality, fair debate. some people are saying if you make a million bucks in jersey this means you might get up to $25,000. where someone who makes 30 grand is only going to see 35 bucks. it's that fair. it correlates directly with what someone is paying. that part of the argument you'll hear for a longtime. bill: i got you. >> here is the thing to really consider from 2004 to $200,870,000,000,000 left new jersey. these are residents worth $70 billion left the state. small businesses and residents, because the taxes are too high. it does not work. bill: that is not fighting, that is flight. you're out of there. >> that's right, it's flight 101.

bill: we found some other governors, nebraska, the governor is proposing income cuts over three years and end the state's inheritance tax. neighboring key hailey, cutting income tax rates. kansas, similar, a pager overhaul of the state's tax policies, most of these republican governors, is this something that is catching on? >> absolutely. if you look right now in most of these right to work states, republican governors, low taxes versus the contrary, you know, forced union businesses, high taxes, the other states, california, new york, new jersey, gigantic deficits, huge unemployment levels. people are leaving the state. between california and new jersey and new york like 3 million people bolted those states over a ten-year period. it's just right there, the proof is there. bill: the question though, is this a trend? >> absolutely. bill: is this going to happen

now in various states that are trying to get their economic house in order. >> you'll see it in states led by republicans, and then i think as the evidence proves itself over the next couple of years, the next big election cycle you'll probably see even more democrats say okay, okay come to some sort of compromise, which their principles, the core principles of redistribution of wealth to help out the poor in the way that they think is best and also the fact of the matter is that this absolute will he works. we can go to a state like texas and see that it works or a state like north dakota and see that it works. as more and more states do it and prove to be successful. these states will get a lot of business, they are going to do very well. including new jersey. bill: good luck in new jersey. >> i might have a few extra bucks, weather watcher out. bill: thank you charles,. patti ann: another crucial vote is just around the corner. now rick santorum's super pack is pouring money into one state. we'll tell you who is behind the big money and where it's going, and also if it's working. bill: also, he's already accused of killing his wife on their scuba trip.

it happened on their honeymoon. now gabe watson is accused of doing something taste les less at his wife's funeral. >> we are looking forward to our system of justice, okay, the system of justice we have in the united states of america, to work the way it's supposed to, and to find gabe innocent of any wrongdoing. copd makes it hard to breathe, so i wasn't playing much of a role in my own life, but with advair, i'm breathing better so now i can take the lead on a science adventure. advair is clinically proven to help significantly improve lung function. unlike most copd medications, advair contains both an anti-inflammatory and a long-acting bronchodilator, workintogether to help improve ur lung function all day. advair won't replace fast-acting inhalersor sudden symptoms and should not be used more than twice a day people with copd taking advair may have

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bill: 10:30 on the east coast and rick santorum is getting big help funding his fight to win in mitt romney's native state of michigan. a prosantorum super power, it's called a red, white and blue fund. it says it's pouring another $600,000 in ads for that state. that doubles what it's already spent in michigan. the primary is a week from today. the latest "real clear politics" showing he leads. the president getting his own super pack moving. wendell goler checks in on that from the north lawn of the white house. good morning. what does this money raised look like, wendell? >> reporter: it looks like republicans raising much more in terms of super pack, the president raising much more in terms of the campaign. the president decided to support priorities usa which is the super pack supporting him after he saw last month it had raised

$17 million -- i'm sorry, the super packs supporting mitt romney and newt gingrich had raised $17 million and the one supporting him just 59,000. remember the president had called super pack money a threat to democracy itself. mr. obama is leading all republicans in terms of campaign fundraising, nearly $29 million last month, which is pretty close to all the republican campaigns put together. it is shaping up as a battle of mr. obama's campaign versus republican super packs in terms of spending, but remember the president hasn't really begun spending yet while the republicans are draining their accounts fighting each other, as witness to that rick santorum's decision to double down on his spending in michigan. bill. bill: the obama campaign is starting to take aim at the republican opponents and not just romney. what's happening? >> reporter: just today the president's campaign released a memo on romney and santorum spending proposals that said cutting the budget deficit through cuts alone would mean

cutting discretionary spending pretty much in half. politically a nonstarter they believe. campaign policy director said, quote, they have both proposed irresponsible and reckless tax plans that would drive up the deficit while trillions of dollars while their claims to balance the budget through budget kits is extremely unrealistic. it seems the president's 2013 plan would hike the budget even more than that but the white house believes it would do so without slowing the economic recovery and they believe the tax hikes on upper income earners are more fair. bill. bill: thank you, wendell goler from the north lawn. patti ann: shocking testimony against a man accused of murdering his wife on their honeymoon. gabe watson showed pictures of his dead wife at her funeral, while showing her in front of a caution, drowning sign.

this is from a friend of tina watson. prosecutors say gabe turned off her oxygen, intentionally drowning her. thank you for joining us today. this was day six of the trial. tina's best friend and maid of honor amanda phillips says alternate the funeral gabe was showing a photograph next to tao*epb a a sign says, caution, drowning. is that relevant. >> i think it's very relevant. it shows a blatant disregard for who his wife is. you have intent, motive and opportunity. with regard to the motivation the prosecution is establishing that there is this insurance policy that he certainly wanted to collect on. with respect to an opportunity when you're in the bottom of the ocean in a distance country and a distant land where you can easily conceal your malice and bad will i think that provides the perfect opportunity.

if you look now at intent i think it's clear. why? this is a scuba dive instructor, a rescue diver, that is her husband who allowed her to drown. he could have easily when he grabbed her in the bear hug taken off her weights and let her sky to the surface. he makes a conscious decision to go in the opposite direction to get help. let's be real. she would be dead by the time any help arrived. i think the prosecution is continuing to build the case and hammer away and ultimately i think she could be successful. patti ann: this was on their honeymoon in australia back in 2003. gabe was certified as a rescue driver. he says that her mask came up somehow, she was panicking, in her panic she knocked off his mask. by the time he recovered she had sung too deep. what about that photo that we just showed of him posing while she is apparently dying behind him and another driver is rushing to her aid?

doesn't that contradict that story? >> well, i don't know that he was posing, if you're talking about the photo where she is lying at the bottom -- patti ann: that is not him posing in the photo i should clarify, sorry. >> no, it was some other driver that took that. this guy had a certification as a rescue driver. it wasn't worth the paper it was written on. he was certified in a rock quari, a flooded rock quari in alabama. four years before they took the dive in australia. any zoned drive season ed driver if you haven't dove within six months they will make you go through a reorientation. these people didn't go through a reorientation. what is really outrage is is this is this woman's first open water dive, and it's a one-foot dive. that is a deep dive. nobody, absolutely no one without experience should have been on that dive. >> what does that tell you? >> she should have been glued to a dive master.

where was the dive master? they were just somewhere out at sea, but this guy -- this guy had no experience himself. he panicked. call him chicken of the sea american style but he panicked. >> i would like to call him something else and that is a murderer. the reason he took her for this dive is because she was a novice and he had a skill. that would provide the perfect opportunity to do exactly what he did, which is to turn off her oxygen, turn it back on, why would he have her in a bear hug and simply release her? there were a number of steps and efforts he could made. after that occurred what did he do? did he make any efforts to assist in her resuscitation? he did not. then he tells inconsistent stories. and then of course his maximum is knocked off in a struggle. it's interesting how he found the time and opportunity to put his mask onto sometime awa swim away from her asee posed to putting it back on and render

assistance. ultimately he is guilty of murder, the jury can reasonably conclude that and they should. patti ann: they mentioned motive being the $130,000 insurance policy. he was only married for eleven days. they are on their moneye honeymoon. he married this woman that he didn't love so he could murder her for the money? >> i think that is really a stretch. the insurance policy is a red herring. the insurance policy named her father as the beneficiary, not him, so he had nothing to gain, zippo to gain by her death. >> if that's the case -- >> stop, stop, i'm not finished. >> sorry. >> thank you. they could have mutually taken out insurance policies, but they didn't. i think that this guy really didn't know what he was doing, he panicked. if his regular hraeurt i regulator is knocked out of his mouth -- >> just need to clarify though, he attempted to collect on that

policy e. filed suit to get that money. if it was in someone else's name it was news to him. fact he did not collect is a result of his lawyer saying zip it, anything you say can be used against you. guilty. patti ann: we have to leave it there. bill: a lot of things for jurors to consider. how do republican voters feel about a drawn out nomination? they are a lot cooler with the idea than most think. no candidate, no problem. former white house president obama secretary dana perino is here to analyze that. also this professional snowboarder caught in a massive avalanche lives to tell about it. she says an airbag saved her life. and now a skier says the airbag saved her too. meet the man who invented this lifesaver in a minute. hey, did you ever finish last month's invoices? sadly, no. oh. but i did pick up your dry cleaning and had your shoes shined. well, i made you a reservation at the sushi place around the corner. well, in that case, i better get bk to these invoices...

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patti ann: house minority leader nancy pelosi calling for kinder gentler politics. the bushes invited her to the

president's library for a talk. she used the opportunity to compliment the 43rd president. saying his name and his presidency are synonymous with civility. bill: you may not be surprised to find out that republican voters want a nominee before the republican convention. latest polling numbers out of gallop 66% of republicans ask if one of the four candidates to clear the field before the end of august. you got that? saying an old-styled brokered convention would be bad for the party. here is mitch daniels, governor of indiana. >> if this became a brokered convention in tampa would you be interested in stepl stepping into the breach. >> i really would not be interested. if we get to that point i would be interested in finding someone who could present a real, credible winning alternative to where the nation is going right now. but i still think it's very unlikely.

these thins have a way of resolving themselves, and i think this one will too before we get to the convention. bill: dana perino cohost of the 5, former white house press secretary during the george w. bush administration. good morning to you. i think we like to talk about this. >> reporter: it would be great television. bill: also in that survey, most republicans are happy to see this roller coaster campaign continue. 57% say they are cool witness, anwith it and it's not hurting the party. >> reporter: i think it will be fine. traditionally the primary doesn't resolve itself until the late-meijer lee june time tpraoeupl any way. bill: at the minimum april. >> reporter: that is normal for people. that makes sense. they think competition makes for a better candidate. there comes a point when they start thinking, okay, when are we going to stop fighting amongst one another and start fighting against the incumbent president who is very powerful who we are going to try to both? and i think that is what is giving some people pause. that's why you see the majority

of people saying, we don't really know what that would be for. another interesting thing is a lot of people are saying, why should all of these early states get to choose who the republican nominee is? that system is bother so many bother some to people. they have less control because it's the delegates who vote. you can go out on the street and ask people who is your congressman. a lot of people don't know p-l who their congressman is. do you think they have any idea who their republican delegate is. bill: i know they are tied in strong loyalty to the man they have supported for the past year. >> reporter: right, i think some people are worried about too much chaos going into august without a firm understanding of who the nominee it is going to be, because i think they are concerned that you've seen all of that ground and all of that time to president obama running against generic republican, whoever it's going to be, while he gets to tell the nation why he should be given a second

term. bill: the contrary argument could be made here, and that is the republicans are taking all the oxygen out of the room. all we are doing is talking about romney and santorum and to a lesser degree gingrich and ron paul. and you can argue that it didn't hurt the democrats in 2008. >> reporter: that's right. the reason why we're covering it is that's where the news is being made. it's fine to cover a race, we certainly have one on our hands right now. i think mitt romney has been considered the inevitable, and the looser, the inevitable and the looser, and now people are saying could he win this contest in michigan and super tuesday, which is coming up march 6th, less than two weeks ago. maybe he does, then again maybe he doesn't. some of the polls show that rick santorum is doing well. think about this. a entrepreneur just gave to ron paul's super back $6.2 million. that's a lot of dough if you have a shoestring budget.

bill: i want you to listen to a little clip. this is an analogy of what he's drawing of what was happening in europe in in th the 40s and 50s and now. >> it's not as clear a challenge. obviously world war ii was pretty obvious. at some point they knew. but remember the greatest generation for a year and a half sat on the sidelines while europe was under darkness. it's going to be harder for this generation to figure this out. there is no cataclasmic event. it's going to be hard. you understand it, you're here, you wouldn't be here if you don't get it. but what about the rest of america? bill: a direct appeal, a call to arms, smart pitch? >> reporter: i think it needs some more explanation, and probably nodes a little bit of a better camera shot. like if that's really what he's going to go for and that's what he's going to use to draw the

contrast for his vision of where we're going in america and where president obama would take us i think he could use a little polish. they say the big trouble with rick santorum is that he's a sour pus, and they don't usually get elected presidents. rick santorum can be quite engaging and positive, and if i were advising him i might say, show some more of that side. i would say that of all the candidates, though, including the democratic one. bill: we will see at least on the republican side a little more tomorrow night. >> reporter: but i'm so sunshi sunshiney. bill: yes you are. see you at 5:00. patti ann: "happening now" is coming up at the top of the hour. jenna lee joins us. what are you working on jenna. jenna: we are watching this increasingly situation with iran. it's not helping the increasing price of oil and gas as we know. we'll explain what it all means to you, your security and

wallet. our guest at the top of the hour will tell you where to find the cheapest gas prices in your neighborhood. that is going to be a plus. karl rove is here to talk about santorum a little more, just like dana and bill were discussing and dr. manny is here, patti ann, he's going to let us know if we should really, really truly cut out the diet soda this time. we'll see. i bet he recommends the red wine, but the diet soda i'm not so sure about. he's going to join us as well. patti ann: i need my diet soda, i've got to tell you. i'll be list toning that. great show coming up, thanks, jenna lee. witnessing a lifesaving device in action, the survivor of an avalanche this weekend says she owes her life to a sophisticated tool for back country skiers. we are going to talk to the man behind the avalanche airbag. he'll tell us how it works coming up. bill: lifesaver in a big way. being a manly man can come with a heft thee price i the tell you. what the million mustache march

is demanding from your government.

patti ann: a survivor of that avalanche near a ski resort in washington state credits an airbag for saving her life. the airbag is designed to keep the person on top of the slide. as you can see in this demo it is quick to deploy, it's highly visible, so that the victim can be easily spotted. joining us now is steve wagner, the ceo of the company that makes this life-saving device, abs avalanche rescue devices. thank you for joining us. >> no problem at all. patti ann: you've been at this

since 1985 but the airbag has evolved a lot in that time. >> that's correct. the airbag was first introduced at the largest outdoor industry show in europe in 1985 by the inventer peter ashouer. patti ann: this professional skier who survived the avalanche just this weekend says she believes that her partial burial rather than full burial and her survival was on account of the inflation of my abs avalanche airbag. she is a believe, and you say others who have been caught in avalanches while equipped with this device have also felt the same way. >> that's correct. there are many testimonials on the web. in fact the statistics completed up to 2010, which are third party independent statistics and have been kept since 1991 have survivors of -- 97% survival rate, 262 people have actually survived an avalanche after

pulling the abs airbag. patti ann: you have to wear it though in a backpack. you're wearing one right now. can you show us how that works? and is it cumbersome if you're doing downhill skiing? >> not at all. it's a backpack system. very similar to what anybody would wear for a regular backpack. incorporated in hit is a balloon system that inflates and increases your own all volume that helps keep you on top of the snow. it adds 3.5-pound to the average-weight of a backpack. patti ann: it's a twin backpack system, there are two of them on either side. >> that's correct. the industry standards is 150 liters in one single airbag. abs moved away from that in 1996 to move to sue air backs and a pyrotechnic handle, we don't rely on cables and we use nitrogen gas for deploying the bag. patti ann: we are looking at video supplied by your company. are these test avalanches? >> we've done a lot of test

dummies. there's also been so many real life incidents that we don't rely on them as much any more. the tests that were done originally were done by the swiss avalanche institute, and they in conjunction with our company. since then there's been many such tests done all over the world by ourselves and by other companies. the incidents themselves are real life incidents and when live and death is involved obviously the end result is pretty dramatic. patti ann: it certainly worked in this case. steve wagner the ceo of abc avalanche rescue devices, thank you for joining us live from seattle today. >> no problem, pat tee. bill: the snowboarder said it saved her life. somebody gave it to her for christmas. mitt romney and rick santorum want to be the man for republicans. who has the best shot of beating obama in the general election? brand-new polling numbers that karl rove will break down in minutes. sweetie i think you need a little extra fiber in your diet.

carol. fiber makes me sad. oh common. and how can you talk to me about fiber

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bill: make way for the