>> jeff: tonight strong words from santorum. >> some phony theology. >> jeff: front-runner criticized president obama, prenatal testing and public education. chip reid has the campaign 2012 update. wargames, rising tensions as iran cuts off oil shipments to britain and france. elizabeth palmer reports. >> on-line evidence, erin moriarty shows us how tweets and e-mails could convict a college student charged with spy on a roommate who later took his own life. and the reel seals, looking at an elite military unit starring in a new hollywood action film.

>> this is the captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news." >> jeff: good evening, everyone, i'm jeff glor. during the long months he trailed far back in the republican field, rick santorum was largely overlooked but not any more. as the new front run never recent polls, his every word is getting extra scrutiny and what he said this weekend is no exception. chip reid begins our coverage in washington, chip, good evening. >> well, good evening, jeff. rick santorum has deeply conservative views on many social issues and this weekend he demonstrated that he means it when he says he won't tone down his views for political purposes. on "face the nation" today republican presidential front-runner rick santorum condemned president obama's health care reform law for requiring free prenatal test, for pregnant women. >> a lot of prenatal tests are done to identify deformities in utero and the customary procedure is to encourage abortion. >> reporter: he was

especially critical of amniocentesis, a test that identifies genetic disorders. >> amniocentesis basically are used for the purposes of identifying children who are disabled and most cases end up as a result w abortion. >> reporter: santorum a deeply religious catholic who has seven children said his views on prenatal testing are rooted in his own experience with his daughter isabella, only 10% of children with her genetic disorder survive past the first year. she is now three and a half. >> i have a child who has trisome 18, almost 100% of these children are encouraged to be aborted so i know what i'm talking about here. >> reporter: santorum also attempted to clarify remarks he made yesterday in ohio about the president's policies on global warming and drilling for oil. >> about some phoney ideal, some phony theology, oh, not a theology based on the bible. >> reporter: santorum now insist was not talking about

the president's religious beliefs but was criticizing radical environmentalists who he says believe that man is here to serve the earth. >> i accept the fact that the president's a christian. i just said that when you have a worldview that elevates the earth above man and says that, you know, we can't take those resources because we're going to harm the earth by things that, frankly, are just not scientifically proven. >> reporter: further cementing his status as the leading social conservative in the race, santorum who home-schools his children also called for dramatically curtailing the role of government in education. >> i'm saying that local communities and parents should be the ones who are in control of public education, certainly not the federal government. >> reporter: the views santorum expressed today show why he is so popular with evangelical christians and tea party supporters. but many establishment republicans are worried that if he becomes the nominee,

he will be abandoned by republican moderates and independent voters in november. >> jeff: chip reid, thank you. a little perspective on the gop race we turn to our political director john dickerson, good evening to you. we should mention that none of these comments from rick santorum are inconsistent, he said them before but they are getting alot of attention now. what does that attention do to his campaign. >> reporter: it is showing both why he has support among evangelical supporters but highlighting his political challenge. he is praised for advocating for social issues that don't get discussed much. but his political challenge is to gather voters who care about a wider variety of issues, job creation, taxes, national security. his position on those issues might get obscured when he is fighting the good fight on these social issues. this is also an issue for the general election. independent voters who determine elections can be put off by candidates who seem too highly ideaological. >> jeff: john, how does the mitt romney campaign feel about rick santorum as a front runner? >> reporter: they don't like him as a front-runner but

are happy to have him if he is going to be one defined as sort of the social issues candidate. the romney campaign can then argue that he appeals only to a narrow part of the party. and then in the general election santorum will turn off key women voters many of whom are swing votesers with his perception on conception and prenatal scening, and attack him as a washington insider, the point is to diminish santorum's standing with voters who may not know that much about him and keep him bogged down. that limits his ability to talk about jobs and other issues, and then romney can present himself as the only candidate talking about fixing the economy. >> jeff: our political director john dickerson as we close in on the critical michigan primary, john, thank you. >> thanks, jeff. >> jeff: also in campaign 2012 rising gasoline prices are getting the attention of both the republican challengers and the white house. gas is now the costliest it's ever been this time of year. an average of 3.56 per gallon, up 40 cents in a year. wit johnson explains what

that means during a presidential election year. >> reporter: amid rising gas prices, republican presidential hopefuls have a new line of attack. >> this president is anti-american energy. >> reporter: today newt gingrich was quick to point out the price for a gallon of gas is now $1.64 higher than the day president obama took office. >> so what i can guarantee su the obama program is higher prices, more dependency in the middle east, more vulnerability to saudi arabia and iraq and iran, exactly the wrong direction. >> reporter: at a tea party event yesterday, rick santorum hammered the president for blocking the keystone pipeline, slated to bring crude from canadian oil sands to the u.s. gulf coast. >> all sorts of opportunities for us to be more energy independent. and what does he say, no, candace, you build the pipeline to the west coast and send that oil to china. >> reporter: republicans hope to exploit a potential weakness to president obama's re-election. at a time when his approval has seen a bump, now at 50%,

up 7 points in three months. >> our economy is getting stronger. the recovery is accelerating. america is coming back. >> reporter: america's economy grew in the fourth quarter by 2.8%, the latest jobs numbers better than expected, and last week's extension of the payroll tax cut are fueling stock market. but continued threats from iran to disrupt international oil trade are helping to push gas prices even higher. and may undercut economic growth, something the white house admits is a top concern. >> the president is keenly aware of the impact of higher gas prices have on families trying to make ends meet. >> reporter: some industry analysts say rising gas prices actually mean the economy is getting better. demand goes up when people have more money to spend. but that argument is a tough sell to voters. and republicans know it wit johnson, cbs news, washington. >> jeff: part of the reason for rising gas prices is rising tension with iran.

tehran today cut off oil shipments to britain and france, a response to the tough sanctions against a ran over its nuclear program. here's elizabeth palmer. >> reporter: iran's revolutionary guard started wargames this season in the country. they're meant to send a message to the world that iran is ready for as its foreign minister put it, any worst-case scenario. in other words, an attack by israel. but in an interview broadcast today the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff general martin dempsey said that the u.s. is against a military strike. >> we think that it's not prudent at this point to decide to attack iran. i means that's been our counsel to our allies, the israelis, well-known, well-documented. >> reporter: last week iran's president said, again, that iran's nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only. few western politicians

believe that. but for the moment they argue that bombing iran's many nuclear installation was only slow the program. britain's foreign secretary william hague supports, instead, further tough diplomacy. >> i think israel like everybody else in the world should be giving a real chance to the approach we've adopted. a very serious economic sanction and diplomatic pressure, and the readiness to negotiate. >> reporter: sanctions lead by the united states are starting to bite. businesses in iran have a hard time getting international financing. and the price of food and essential goods is rising fast. the price of meat say tehran shoppers has doubled in three months. iran is also wrestling with restrictions to its oil sales, restrictions brought about by sanctions. tonight there are signs the pressure may just may be working. even as the wargames got under way, iran's leaders offered to reopen

negotiations on their nuclear program. and to meet in tehran with inspectors from the international atomic energy agency tomorrow and tuesday. elizabeth palmer, cbs news, london. >> jeff: there was fresh violence in syria this weakened where activists continue their demonstrations against its assad regime. 20 were reported killed today. the regime also suffered casualties. gunmen ambushed and killed a state judge. and a senior prosecutor. egypt he recalled its ambassador to syria, becoming the 9th arab nation to cut diplomatic ties. in washington state there was an avalanche today at a ski resort at stevens pass, about 90 miles east of seattle it killed at least three people. eight people were initially reported missing but were later accounted for. the avalanche occurred in an out of bounds area. >> later, the feature film that stars reel navy seals. a college student on trial for his own on-line words.

and did america's biggest police department go over the line while keeping a watch on muslim students? those stories when the "cbs evening news" continues. use campbell's cream of chicken soup to make easy enchiladas, cheesy chicken & rice, and other chicken dishes that are oh...so...whoa. campbell's. it's amazing what soup can do.

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>> jeff: undercover police work was behind the arrest of at caused capitol hill bomber last week. it is an important tool to keep nation safe. but now some are questioning the reach of undercover work. specifically the new york city police officers watching muslim students not only at colleges in new york city but in others some distance away. northern new york state, pennsylvania and connecticut. tony guida reports. >> reporter: the challenge for the nypd is to make sure this never happens again. right after 9/11 the department hired a top cia official to create a counterterrorism intelligence division. detectives were stationed in canada, western europe, the mideast and the far east. at home muslim students were targeted as potential

terrorists. >> it's quite surprising to feel that we are considered suspicious individuals. >> reporter: jawad rasul is a student at city university, four years ago he and a group of young muslims took a camping trip in upstate new york. they recently learned one of the campers was an undercover cop. >> it reminded me of those days of kgb. this is secret police right here. >> reporter: the department will not reveal what lead it to put an undercover on a muslim camping trip. but in a statement the department argues some of the post dangerous western al qaeda linked or inspired terrorists since 9/11 were radicallized and or recruited at muslim student associations. police commissioner ray kelly says the department strictly obeys the constitution. >> we live in the most let i believe us environment anywhere. -- so we have to be cognizant of what we do. we have to check. we have to make certain that what we are doing is within constitutional bounds, and that's precisely what we're

doing. >> reporter: the documents in this case contain names of the students being watched and the undercover cops doing the watching. a strong indication they were leaked by someone high in the intelligence department of the nypd. suggesting serious doubts about the monitoring program. tony guida, cbs news, new york. >> jeff: in a private ceremony not far from where she grew up whitny houston was laid to rest today. family and close friends were the only moneyers allowed at the graveside in fairview cemetery in westfield, new jersey. the 48-year-old singer was buried in exto her father. >> we'll be right back. right there -- reminds you why you fell in love with her in the first place. and why you still feel the same. but your erectile dysfunction -- that could be a question of blood flow. cialis for daily use helps you be ready anytime the moment's right. you can be more confident in your ability to be ready. and the same cialis is the only daily ed tablet approved to treat ed and symptoms of bph, like needing to go frequently or urgently. tell your doctor about all your medical conditions

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guaranteed, or your money back. ♪ >> jeff: jury selection is under way in the trial of dharun ravi, a rutger university freshman accused of bullying his roommate tyler clementi who committed suicide in september of 2010. erin moriarty of 48 hours mystery has been following this case. she joins us now, erin, good evening. >> reporter: thanks, jeff. clementi's death blame an international symbol of the consequences of bullying and homophobia. the trial of the young man accused of bullying him is unique because much of the

evidence that will be used against him was found on-line in social media. 19-year-old dharun ravi faces 15 counts of invasion of privacy, evidence of witness tampering and bias intimidation. a hate crime which could land him in prison for ten years. ravi's trial is likely to renew the debate between those who see his actions as simply a prank gone too far and those who see him as a vicious bully. like so many teenagers dharun ravi communicated incessantly on-line. and every tweet, text, instant message and e-mail he wrote remains in cyberspace. prosecutors were able to retrieve them. and are now likely to use his own words against him to prove that he harassed tyler clementi because he believed his roommate was gay. according to court records made public, even before he met clementi, ravi chatted on-line to a friend [bleep] my life, he's gay.

later ravi twice focused his computer camera at clementi's bed. when clementi had a man in the room. the second time posting on the social media site twitter, it's happening again. and urging his friends to watch a live video feed. two days after clementi discovered that he had been spied on by ravi, he took a train to new york city. at 8:42 p.m. that evening, he left this message on facebook. jumping off the george washington bridge. sorry. clementi's body was discovered in the hudson river a week later. the tragic outcome puts dharun ravi's actions in a harsher light. law professor mar, poirier. >> when you talk to people on the street or you go on the web, it's still often perceived as ravi did something that caused clementi to kill himself. >> reporter: how unusual is this amount of digital evidence. >> i think it's unusual that so much of the evidence is going to turn on tweets and

facebook. >> reporter: ravi's defense is also expected to rely on the digital record, using clementi's own on-line postings to show that he did not feel intimidated. doesn't seem so bad, laugh out loud, he chatted to a friend. after he realized he had been spied on. shortly after clementi posted his good-bye on facebook dharun ravi sent him a text that read in part, i've known you were gay and i have no problem with it. i don't want your freshman year to be ruined because of a petty misunderstanding. tyler clementi most likely never got a chance to read it. sadly, these were two young men who shared a room for three weeks and did more of their talking to other people on computers than they did to each other. they barely spoke at all. >> jeff: it is very, very sad. i think one thing that is so interesting about this case, we've seen social media used in other cases before, but it's really the center piece of the evidence here. >> reporter: and what's really worrisome is that prosecutors are now using this kind of evidence to

actually increase the number of charges that are brought. in this case, dharun ravi was first charged with just invasion of privacy. and then they added on when they looked at his tweets and his texts and his e-mails they added on bias intimidation which is a hate crime which is also a crime, a charge that covers a much heavier sentence. >> jeff: erin moriarty of 48 hours mystery, thank you for being here. still ahead, a new movie starring navy seals, does it reveal too much? that story is next. i'm a marathon runner, in absolute perfect physical condition

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>> jeff: finally tonight a movie opening this friday is not your typical action film, instead of big budget actors, it features in part real navy seals. as ben tracy tells us t is thrilling but not everyone is thrilled about the increased exposure our special forces are getting. >> three, two, one. >> reporter: it looks like just another full throttle action movie. yet this film about a navy seal team rescuing a kidnapped cia officer -- >> move to extract. >> reporter: is about as real as hollywood gets.

although fictional, "act of valor" is based on real seal missions and tactics and includes actual navy seal. >> every one of them when approached about being a part of it said no. and that in my mind made them the absolute right guys to be a part of the platoon that is feature you are-- features in the film. >> reporter: in a surprising depar ture the defense department encouraged the seals to participate. normally navy seals don't even admit to being part of one of the military's most highly specialized forces. >> the united states launched a targeted operation against that compound in abadabad pakistan. >> reporter: when navy seal team 6 killed bin laden, the military would not even acknowledge the team's existence yet the film appears to be a recruiting video. >> this film does allow us to explain in a very visual way what being a seal means. i think this is a very valuable first look at what we do and how we do it. >> all boots are on the ground. >> reporter: but some in the military community worry the government is giving up the seal's biggest weapon.

the secrecy of its tactics. >> splashing all of this all over the media and i flat don't understand that. >> reporter: earlier this month retired lieutenant general james vaught criticized the government about being too forthcoming about seal missions. >> are you going to fly in and shoot down every helicopter and kill every one of your seals. >> reporter: yet the filmmakers say their movie is a tribute to courage and honor, something they feel should not be kept secret. ben tracy, cbs news, los angeles. >> jeff: that is the "cbs evening news" tonight. later on cbs, "60 minutes." i'm jeff glor, cbs news in new york. scott pelley will be here tomorrow. good night. captioning sponsored by cbs captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org

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