florida finale. the immigration balt takes center stage at the last gop debate before next tuesday's primary. >> is he still the most anti-immigrant candidate in. >> i think of the four of us, yes. >> my father was born in mexico, my wife's father in wales. that's repulsive. not a big deal says president obama of his finger pointing encounter with arizona's governor. and censoring tweet. be careful who you tweet for. new twitter technology raises be careful who you tweet for. new twitter technology raises freedom of speech concerns. captioning funded by cbs this the cbs morning news for friday, january 27, 2012. good morning everybody. thanks for joining us. i'm betty nguyen. this morning it looks like the

florida primary is a race that is going down to the wire. with the vote five days away, the latest polls indicate a two-man contest. a new poll of likely republican primary voters finds a tie between mitt romney and newt gingrich. and last night's debate, romney and gingrich engaged in heating edge changes for immigration, banking and tacks. susan mcginnis joins us with the latest on that. good morning, susan. >> good morning, betty. this was the 19th republican debate of the season and the last one before tuesday's primary. now, with florida so large, so diverse and much more representative of the nation compared with the other contests so far, all the candidates were well aware of what's at stake. >> i think you should apologize for it. >> mitt romney launched his assault right from the start. >> simply unexcuse believe. >> blasting newt gingrich for calling him the most anti-i'm

grant candidate on stage. >> my father was born in mexico, my wife's father in wales. they came to this country. the idea that i'm anti-immigrant is repulsive. don't use a term like that. >> gingrich wouldn't let up. accusing romney of investing in the same mortgage firms that helped trigger the housing crisis. >> we discovered to our shock governor romney owns shares of both fannie mae and freddie mac. >> have you checked your own investments? you also have investments in mutual funds that also invest in fannie mae and freddie mac. >> right. >> the candidates have a lot riding on florida. the winner of tuesday's primary takes all 50 of the state's delegates giving that person a big boost. >> the bigger issue here is, these two gentlemen who are out distracting from the most important issues we have by paying petty personal politics. >> rick santorum urged the frontrunners to focus on the issues. but the bickering continued when it came to gingrich's idea of setting up a permanent base on the moon. >> if i had a business executive come to me to spend a few hundred billion dollars to put a

colony on the moon, i'd say you're fired. >> you don't have to be cheap everywhere. you can actually have priorities to get things done. >> i don't think we should go to the moon. we should maybe send politicians up there. >> the jabs are expected to continue through the weekend as the candidate make their final push to win over voters. rick santorum and ron paul also put in strong performances last night and betty, there was one moment of levy at this, ron paul was asked to release his medical records. he said yes and then challenged the competitors to the 25-mile bike race. >> i heard there were no takers. susan mcginnis in yak sonville. thank you. president obama wraps up his campaign swing today with stops in michigan and maryland. the focus of the president is energy and jobs. but it is his brief meeting on the airport tarmac in phoenix that is drawing a lot of attention. randall pinkston reports. >> an energized president obama showed off hi natural gas

refueling station in las vegas. >> hello, nevada. >> funding from his stimulus package helped build this environmentally friendly ups center. the president is visiting this key battleground state to underscore the need for more clean energy jobs. he wants to start drilling again for oil in the u.s. now that more oversight is in place after the bp disaster. >> today i'm announcing that my administration will soon open up around 38 million acres in the gulf of mexico for additional exploration and development which could result in a lot more production of domestic energy. >> but the president's trip is being overshadowed. after a tense encounter with the republican governor of arizona. governor jan brewer was photographed wednesday pointing her finger at president obama when he arrived in phoenix. brewer gave the president a letter requesting a meeting. he responded that in her book the governor misrepresented a previous meeting. >> i respect the office of the president but i'm not going to

change my story about what took place in the white house. >> the conversation on the tarmac apparently didn't go much better. the governor says she was in the middle of a sentence when the president walked away. randall pinkston, cbs news, the white house. if the president is re-elected, it looks like he'll need to find a new secretary of state. speaking at the state department yesterday, hillary clinton says she is ready for some rest. >> i think after 20 years and it will be 20 years of being on the high wire of american politics and all of the challenges that come with that, it would be probably a good idea to just find out how tired i am. >> clinton has been the first lady, served in the senate, run for president and now head the state department. north carolina's first female governor is calling it quits after one term. democrat beverly perdue fears a fight with state republicans over education would become too

political. she also faces a campaign finance investigation and sagging poll numbers. democrats consider north carolina critical to president obama's reelection. republicans were quick to criticize the pentagon's plan for cutting military spending. the five hp year plan was unveiled yesterday as part of a budget cutting deal made with congress. the army would shrink by 80,000 soldiers, marines by 20,000. the pentagon would ask for $525 billion for the 2013 budget. that's $6 billion less than this year. >> the military will be smaller and leaner. but it will be agile, flexible, deployable and technologically advanced. it will be a cutting-edge force. defense secretary leon panetta says there will be a shift toward more special operation's unit like the navy

seals and improvements in cyber defense. it was an elite team of navy seals that rescued two hostages, including an american from somali pirates. jessica buchanan and paul hagen thinks terd were arrested on wednesday. they've been flown for medical treatment. buchanan's family is meeting her there. the state department is demanding that egypt release six americans that it's preventing from leaving the country. the group includes the son of transportation secretary ray lahood and others who work for u.s. organizations promoting democracy. the travel ban is tied to political events that led to the overthrow of hosni mubarak. the generals who now lead egypt accused foreigners of being behind the anti-government protests. so if you tweet, you will be interested in this story. twitter can now censor messages on a country by country basis. the new technology is raising free speech concerns. here's how it works.

the tweeting containing material that breaks a law in one country can be taken down there. but seen elsewhere. twitter will post a notice whenever a tweet is removed. coming up on the morning news, the government is owed billions in back taxes by its own employees. plus, a disaster caught on tape. people are seen fleeing a massive building collapse. this is the "cbs morning news." this is the "cbs morning news." okay, team! after age 40, we can start losing muscle -- 8% every 10 years. wow. wow.

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a local election because of poor english may appeal the ruling. a county judge says alejandra cabrera isn't qualified to run for city council on a town on the mexican border because she can't speak, read or write english well enough. her lawyers says the law sets no minimal standard for english proficiency. on money watch, tax deadbeats in the white house? snack maker hostess could be headed for trouble with unions. ashley morrison has that and more. good morning. >> good morning to you, betty. in overseas trading, tokyo's nikkei slipped a fraction following losses for video game nintendo. the hang seng gained nearly half a percent. in early trading. the dow jones reached above the highest close since the 2008 financial crisis. weak reports on housing and economic growth sent stocks lower to finish the i day. the dow is down 22 points and

the nasdaq lost 13. today attorney general eric holder unveils new details about a fraud fighting unit. the task force will focus on investigating bad mortgage deals which were a key trigger of the financial meltdown. president obama announced the unit's formation during his state of the union address. in his tuesday night speech, the president also called on all americans to pay their fair share. a new report from the irs shows tens of thousands of federal government employees owe more than $3 billion in back taxes. the study found that 36 members of president obama's executive office are on the hook for more than $800,000 and nearly 700 employees of congress owe uncle sam a total of more than $10 million. more trouble for twinkie maker hostess. the bankrupt baker is asking a judge to reduce commitments to union workers. cutting its obligation to its workforce is the only way it can

emerge from bankruptcy it says. speaking of diet busting foods, taco bell is getting into the breakfast business. on thursday, the fast food chain launched a breakfast menu at 800 restaurants in 14 western states. now, if all goes well, taco bell will start serving breakfast at all of its locations by 2014. betty, can you say breakfast burrito. >> i can't wait. i'm starving today. >> sounds good this morning. >> bring it on. absolutely. ashley morrison in new york. nasa released a new portrait of planet earth. this sharp image is actually a composite of several pictures taken earlier this month. it is the first of a new generation of spacecraft designed to study many facets of our ever-changing planet. boy, that's a beautiful shot. straight ahead, your friday morning weather and in sports, the celtics drive to a stunning comeback against the magic in

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new york and much of new england. rain and snow will move from the plains into the great lakes region. rain and thunderstorms continues in the southeast especially along the coast. the southwest will be mostly pleasant. but this weekend, southern california faces santa ana winds gusting to 70 miles per hour. in sports, a home come of sorts for the detroit tigers new $214 million slugger. prince fielder, donned his new tiger uniform at a news conference yesterday and recalled being at old tiger stadium in the 1990s when his father, cecil played there. >> just looking forward to coming back where i grew up at. it's going to be -- like i've said, the fans are really excited. i'm just glad that they remembered me. i get to come back and play in front of the fancy kind of grew up with. >> and fielder brings a big bat to the motor city. over the last six seasons, he's averaged 38 home runs and 108 rbi's. now, to the nba.

in a big comeback win for the boston celtic. at one point, orlando led by 27. in the third period, paul pierce hit a three-pointer on his way to 24 for the night. in the fourth, he sank a jumper to cut the magic lead to four. the celtics win. the memphis grizzlies rudy gay hit to mid court from the first quarter. but the clippers took charge. blake griffin had a reverse slam-dunk in the second period on his way to 20 points for the night. that was impressive the clippers win 98-91. when we return, defending paterno. thousands gather at a memorial on the penn state campus, one speaker says the former football coach got a raw deal. went all out for the decorations, huh? yeah, but i'm so slow taking them down after all the fatty holiday food. but that's normal, right? it doesn't have to be. activia helps with occasional irregularity when eaten 3 times a day. you'll love your new normal.

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mostly cloudy and 6 in atlanta. detroit will see a little bit of sunshine. 43. denver, morning snow, 40. seattle 40 degrees. federal investigators are trying to find out who shipped a load of cocaine to u.n. headquarters right here in new york and why. the package was from mexico and it was delivered by dhl earlier this month. suspicious mail room workers had it x-rayed. so inside what they found were 14 hollowed out books containing more than 35 pounds of cocaine. in other news, a former marine has pleaded guilty in a series of shootings of military sights in washington including the pentagon. 24-year-old yonathan melaku has agreed to serve a 25-year prison sentence for the 2010 shootings. no one was ever hurt. yesterday, prosecutors released a video showing melaku firing shots at the national museum of

the marine corps as he drove by shouting god is great in arabic. formal sentencing will be in april. in state college, pennsylvania, a final tribute to beloved penn state football coach, joe paterno. students and alumni joined the paterno family at a campus memorial service. manuel gallegos was there. >> joe paterno's widow received a warm welcome from thousands who gathered to remember the penn state legend. paterno made students feel like they were part of something great. >> he did it with honor and integrity. never had a ill word. >> former players say he taught them how to compete with honor and integrity. >> he was building a proud program for the school, the state and the hundreds of young men he watched over for a half century. >> paterno's death came less than three months after his sudden firing by the university over the child sex abuse scandal. some of the bitterness over how

he was treated was evident at the memorial. >> nike chairman phil knight who called paterno his hero said what many were feeling. >> there's a villain in this tragedy. it lies in that investigation. not in joe paterno's response to it. [ applause ] >> paterno's son jay revealed what many wanted to hear. >> joe paterno left this world with a clear conscience. he told me he wanted to use his remaining time on earth to see penn state continue to thrive. he never spoke ill and never wanted anyone to feel badly for him. >> comforting words for paterno's family and his community. manuel gallegos, cbs news, state college, pennsylvania. and michael jackson cemented his musical legacy long ago, but this morning it is officially set in concrete. jackson's three children did the honors yesterday pressing the king of pop's famous sequin glove an his dancing shoes into

wet cement at grauman's chinese theater in hollywood. this is the "cbs morning news."

as we mentioned earlier, president obama was in the battleground state of nevada thursday. it has been hit hardest by the economic downturn. it has the highest unemployment rate, 12.6%, and the highest foreclosure rate as anthony mason reports. much of it can be blamed for its gamble on a single industry. >> the sign says fabulous las vegas. but it's not fabulous these days. sin city's economy was built on gaming and tourism. but in the recession, that hand was a bust. you want to talk about a company town. this is a company state. >> he should know. as ceo of mgm resort, he runs a dozen resort casinos in vegas with 50,000 workers, mgm is the largest employer in nevada and

its biggest source of tax revenue. >> we alone, one company, represents about 12% of the entire state budget. >> while tourism and gaming revenue are rising again, the state's largest casino still lost $4 billion last year. >> there are plenty of casualties along the strip. that's the half-built skeleton of the echelon. a planned five-hotel mega resort. but construction was stopped when the recession hit and has never resumed. >> up the strip, the bankrupt fon tan blue is also unfinished. the sahara closed doors last may. even mgm's massive city center, the largest privately-funded construction project in u.s. history nearlily didn't make it. >> we need to diversify our economy. >> for entrepreneurs, the city hasn't made it easy. >> if it wasn't a high-rise building orca sin owe, no one

wanted to talk to you. >> mendenhall is executive vice president of switch, a high tech hub for data storage. its clients include the government, banks and fortune 500 companies. >> you're actually expanding in. >> we are. it will be one of the largest construction projects in the state of nevada. we're going to create over 3,000 construction jobs and hundreds of technical and operation jobs as we continue to grow. >> nevada now points to switch as the model of the kind of business it wants to attract. >> is it getting better? >> it is. i think what's happened is the mind-set of the people within the state changed dramatically. >> at mgm, jim thinks a full recovery is still two years away. after laying off 8,000 workers in the recession, mgm is investing in the vegas hotels this year. >> we are we are utterly confident and putting our money where our mouth is. >> in sin city, they like their odds again. >> unbelievable. >> anthony mason, cbs news.

las vegas. quite a view. coming up after your local news on "cbs this morning," analysis of last night's republican debate, we'll get live reports from florida. plus more on the american freed this week after a daring u.s. rescue in somalia. details on her reintegration after three month of imprisonment. that's the "cbs morning news" for this friday. thanks for watching everyone. i'm betty nguyen. thanks for watching everyone. i'm betty nguyen. have a great day. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com