people have been voting all day. polls close at 9:00 p.m. eastern time. we begin our coverage with john yang. he's in a detroit suburb of troy, michigan. what are folks saying there? >> reporter: analysts say the only way to describe it is a toss up today. the polls in the closing hours suggest the momentum may have gone back to rick santorum. here in oakland county in troy, michigan where romney won big in 2008, the people we've been talking to are disagreeing about who they are voting for, but they agree on the goal and that's to find the best candidate to beat president obama this fall. >> for mitt romney, i feel he's the best qualified. i think he has a good chance of beating obama. >> i think rick santorum has the best chance for us being a down to earth guy that can take care

of the republican people, and carry the tea party and carry the independent. >> reporter: analysts say which ever candidate wins will probably be by a whisker and we won't know for a long time. it may take a while to count the votes and figure out who won tonight, tamron. >> thank you very much. now to the candidates, and what they are saying about each other. r mitt romney is rattled over genuinely furious over robo calls sent out by rick santorum advising democrats to vote. >> the hardest thing about predicting what's going to happen today is whether senator santorum's effort to call democrat households and tell them to come out and vote against mitt romney is going to be a successful or not. i need republicans to get out and vote and say no to the dirty tricks of a desperate campaign.

>> you mean he runs a robo call of my voice from four years ago saying good things about him, that's not a low moment. it's interesting that he criticize me for attracting democrats because one of the things that governor romney says he can't attract democrats. guess what, we'll wait and see. >> let's bring in our "news nation" panel. thank you so much for joinening us. michael, i'll start off with you because you have the fancier suit today. >> the pocket square worked. >> listen, talk to me about this line of attacks. the robo calls and the back of forth. what do you make of this? mitt romney used the words dirty and desperate. >> i think it's all about defining expectations. i think what you're hearing today is sort of the base being

laid by governor romney, so that tonight at 11:00 eastern time, he's got the line and the excuse he can turn to if all of a sudden santorum up ends him in the state where his father was the governor and where he was born. the line you will hear is, we would have won but for senator santorum's robo calls that brought out democrats and not republicans to select their nominee. he's trying to redefine your expectation. >> bill, earlier today chris spoke with michigan's gop chairman and asked him about the notion that they could be saboteurs and help out rick santorum in the race. >> republicans, we have our values. they're going to be working hard to turn the vote out for their perspective candidate throughout the congressional districts. i don't want to think anyone needs to be concerned about the democra democrats influencing the

result. >> is this all about nothing? is this just the romney team laying out a possible excuse if he's beaten tonight? >> i think rick santorum has given the romney campaign an excuse if they lose, at least if it's close. i got another one just half an hour ago. >> what did it say? >> basically, it's really disingeneral youous because it sounds like they are from the obama reelect campaign. it's talking about we democrats got to get out there and vote in the republican primary to send a vote to mitt romney. you have to wait until the end of the robo call to hear the identifying tab that says this is paid for by the rick santorum for president committee. there's two different voices. one is a woman, one is man.

two different calls. obviously, very hypocrite cal because rick santorum has the same position on the auto bailout as mitt romney. it is a dirty trick. the question is will it backfire on rick santorum or is it happening too late to have any impact on the race. >> ann, if it doesn't have an impact in michigan, we know we have super tuesday coming up and politico writes the article, political knife fight. they go onto say even romney victories in michigan and arizona have little chance of forcing his aggrieved opponents out of race. there's no prospect of romney being shunted aside by his foes. former mississippi governor, mentioned this is taking away from the candidates being able to talk about obama policies. some people say that's not really what they want to talk about because it's to the point, even the auto bailout, mitt romney knows in a general

election he'll get beat up pretty bad in michigan just over that decision alone. >> well, that's right. there's a lot of interesting stuff going on in what you just said. for one thing, republicans said at the beginning of this race that if it went on for a long time, that would be good thing. remember in 2008, barack obama and hillary clinton were duking it out for months. it allowed them to talk about whab they didn't like on the other side. i'm not sure we're seeing that same dynamic i think there's evidence tha perhaps he's not being strengthened and the party is not being strengthened by this fighting because they are not talking about obama. they are beating each other up. back to the question about the robo polling. it's not often that democrats come out and vote strategically.

>> let me bring you back in, michael, romney also said today that he thinks in the general election, all of what's gone on during the primaries will be a thing of the past. that the economy and creating jobs will be the foundation of the election and that should be true. i believe it will be true but that's happening right now from these gaffes that he's made for some his inability to relate to the 99%, if that's the lingo you want to use, and the direction he would like to see the country in creating jobs. you saw those people pickets outside of ford field when he was inside saying if it were up to mitt romney, they would not have paycheck coming in to feed their families. that is a job conversation. that is an economic conversation. >> i think the republican party is harmed by the continuation of this fight. in 2008, senator clinton and senator obama, were not that far apart.

in this race, i think there is a division between governor romney and senator santorum. santorum is dragging romney further and further to the right. the longer this campaign goes on, the more difficult it's going to be for one or the other to tack back toward the center. they are causing themselves great harm with independents right now, with talk of contraception and whether the president is a snob. why? because he wants people to have education. i guess i'm a snob because i have four kids and i want them to go to college. >> well, you do wear a pocket square. i'm just giving michael grief. let's talk about the people that decide tonight who they want to vote for or have decided today. mitt romney went in earlier with a bit of more momentum and those who might today have changed their minds one way or the other. how does that shake out from what you've been able to report?

>> we don't have early voting like a lolot of states. we have absentee voting. >> that's what i meant. >> today it's going to come down to last minute deciders. if you haven't decided that you're voting for mitt romney, you're probably not going to make that decision today. he's almost running like he's the incumbent. he is the front-runner. he is the moderate candidate, and everybody's been running at him from the right and santorum is the last big challenger. i think there's a feeling that late deciders may break santorum's way and that is the reason a lot of people think santorum has chance to steal this. >> ann, is there a counter argument? when we look at the absentee voters, that's when romney had his mojo, but if you look at the

last 48 hours, even the last week, the heat has been on rick santorum. you have people who are voting today in michigan who may very well have that image of him saying that it's snobbery if you want an education or the contraception debate when they go to cast their ballot. >> you know what, in a republican primary, those may be arguments, those comments that rick santorum made might work in his favor. in a general election, it might be troublesome. i think saying the president is elitist may be a winning argument. we've seen evidence of that in the past. it remains to be seen whether rick santorum really did hurt himself. you're right. mitt romney came into this race down by a lot of points. we think when we first came into michigan and it seems like he's

recovered some. he had a very good debate. i think that's one of the reasons why nobody is here, going out on a limb predicting what will happen tonight. >> anybody willing to go out on a limb to say who will pull this out tonight? >> i think it's going to be a toss up. i'm not going to make a prediction. maybe santorum has a slight edge. >> that's not going out on a limb. i'm going to letout off the hook with that one. michael, i'll see you tomorrow. thank you. >> thank you. >> keep it on msnbc tonight for live prime time coverage of super tuesday. president obama says he welcomes news of the start of construction on that controversial keystone pipeline that will go from oklahoma to texas. john boehner said this. >> the president says he's for

all of the above energy plan. has anyone seen it? i've not seen it. the fact is, the president blocked the keystone pipeline. plus, with or without you, israel says i want won't warn the u.s. if it decides to launch a strike against iran. if that happens, where does that leave the united states in the obama administration? join our conversation on twitter. you can find my page. it's at tamron hall. tion. only hertz gives you a carfirmation. hey. this is challenger. i'll be waiting for you in stall 5. it confirms your reservation and the location your car is in, the moment you land. it's just another way you'll be traveling at the speed of hertz. uhh! [ alyson ] just keep walking... ♪ oh, come on! ♪ ugh, again! [ sniffs ] that's what i'm talkin' about. [ female announcer ] new head & shoulders green apple,

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welcome back. the associated press reports that israeli officials will not warn the u.s. if israel launches an attack against aye raniran'sr

facility. they will keep the u.s. in the dark for the likelihood that the u.s. will be responsible for failing to stop israel potential's attack. this comes before a planned white visit. it's being billed as a make or break meeting. let me start here with you. obviously, a lot of people saw this report last night, see it today, and wonder why have this information being sourced out now and the timing before the meeting. >> we have to appreciate there's a complex political game that's going on here. it's almost a political war game. it's war of words as opposed to a shooting war so far. i think the israelis allowed this to be leak because the obama administration is presenting the next two weeks as an opportunity to get control and position itself as the safe broker, as the one who wants to

moderate a dip hediplomatic solution. this is something that israel would reserve the right to do any way. there was an announcement. >> this is not a huge revelation this was part of the conversation. >> general, obviously, if this were to take place, the natural conclusion is what situation does that put the obama administration in our military. what's your take here? >> as jim says, i think this is really an attempt by the israelis to enhance their security by bluffing iran. i don't think it makes such sense with their very limited conventional air power to go after the iranians. 72 sites. they got seven aircrafts only that can do air to air refueling. i think they worsen the situation. they lend themselves to massive

m missle attack. we'll end up in probable iranian reaction. this isn't a good situation. this is probably not a good time to imploy military power by the i israelis or the u.s. >> part of this information that was released is that israel sees this as an opportunity to give the u.s. cover in they are not telling the us about the attack so we wouldn't be responsible for having the information. >> it's a very fine line. there's no way the united states could not be dragged into hostilities. the prospect for a regional war is very high. it would be very hard for the united states to stay out of that if something like that happens. it all comes back to i think this is still political

maneuvering because within the israeli government there's great doubt whether there's capability do execute the strikes in any way that would be effective. >> if what is accurate, it sounds like the military reality trumps all of what we are hearing on the table, this verbal warfare, for lack of a better description. >> i hope so. they see their national existence at stake ten years out. it's not beyond reason to imagine that he will say we have to roll the dice, get the u.s. engaged. it doesn't make much sense, i don't think, but it's a very understandable argument by the israelis. >> thank you. we'll be talking with you both on this as we move ahead to the

meeting. developing news in the ohio meeting. the student accused of hoping fire in that deadly attack will make his first appearance in court. that's happening in just over an hour. we'll have the latest from ohio. right now virginia state senate is debating that controversial bill that would require women to get an ult ultrasound before having an abortion. a vote expected on that today. first, here is the money minute. here is a look at the market. wanna know the difference between a trader and an elite trader? it's this... the etrade pro platform. fast. beautiful. totally customizable. finds top performing stocks -- in three clicks. quickly scans the market for new trading ideas. it can even match options strategies to your goals and lets you see the potential risk and reward. and, it also comes with a dedicated elite service team. got it? get it. good.

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to die. the family of the alleged gunman said this is something they could have never predicted. one of his classmates identified the high school sophomore as a loaner. >> he was just honestly really quiet. you could tell he had a very sad look if his eyes all the time. he usually just kept to himself. >> kevin tibbles is live in chardon, ohio. i want to talk about the latest information. the hospital confirming only about an hour ago, maybe less than in fact, three students have died as a result of their injuries. >> reporter: that's true. the death toll is standing at three. obviously, this town population of only 5,000 people is reeling not only from the shock of this but the horror of the fact that the death toll has risen today by two young people.

both students at a nearby vocational school. they were at the high school to catch the bus to go on. this is the bus that the young man who will be appearing in court who is accused of shooting them, he also attended the same vocational school with them. the family's lawyer, the lawyer of the young man, says he actually never been in trouble with the law before. >> by all accounts on t.j. is a very fairly quiet and good kid. his grades are pretty impressive. he pretty much sticks to himself but does have some friends, and he's never been in trouble. never been in trouble over anything that we know about. >> reporter: now, while the lawyer says he's never been in trouble, it's becoming very clear that t.j. came from a

troubled family. his parents have been divorced. his living in his grand parents. there were restraining orders against his father and some kids suggested he had troubles at home with his father and also a brother. what is not known is what his motive may have been yesterday in going into that school and opening fire. as you just mentioned, the death toll stands at three. >> thank you very much. again, the judge is allowing cameras in that courtroom. they are allowed to shoot from shoulder down as i understand it. thank you. blizzard warnings are in effect as a major winter storm barrels toward the midwest and then on to the northeast. it's almost spring. more than a foot of snow is expected in some places. in today's "news nation gut check," a lot of you already telling me your thoughts. who do you think has a better chance of defeating president obama this november.

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here is what the "news nation" is following right now. >> it's interesting that to see that the president now, he was initially for the keystone pipeline, then he was against it, and now we're told he's for a portion of it. >> the politics of the pipeline. republicans on the attack as president obama welcomes news of the start of construction on that controversial keystone pipeline. we'll take a looks at the politics and what the president said. ready for a comeback. bob carey rethinking his decision about not jumping into

the nebraska senate race. bracing for a blizzard. it could be the worst of the season. it's set to hit the midwest and travel on to the northeast. passengers on board a disabled cruise ship may not be able to get off that ship for another 40 hours. first, we begin this half hour with the other primary today. that being arizona with the focus on whether rmitt romney might lose in michigan. arizona believe they have been abandoned by romney and the other republican candidates. joining me is phoenix political consulta consultant. thanks for your time. >> thanks for having me. >> let's talk about what's happening in arizona. there are reports that people quoted as saying they believe mitt romney and the other candidates have forgotten about your state and it is a key battleground state. >> i think what happened is mitt romney did such an excellent job over the last two or three years

that he's enjoying a double digit lead. i think we're going to look back two months from now and realize that the presidential debate we had in mesa, arizona was a game dha changing event. it really stunted rick santorum's momentum and propelled romney to, what i think, he will take both arizona and michigan today. i think within a month we'll see mitt romney emerge as the gop nominee. i think that's kind of arizona's contribution to this kind of to topsy turvy. >> have you endorsed mitt romney? >> not at all. >> i think the debate was a good debate but to say it was a game changing debate, i find that an interesting comment. you might be standing on an

island alone. you want to give me some clarification on why it was a game changing debate. >> i think leading up to that debate rick santorum has a lot of momentum all across the country. he was leading in national polls. it was the first time he moved to that center seat in a debate format. he was defensive. he wasn't used to that being in the spotlight. i think while mitt romney had a solid debate, not spectacular, but i think we've seen the repercussions of that debate splinter out akrcross the count. i think we will look back and see the 20th debate was a big deal for this crazy gop primary across the united states. >> i find that interesting because the top issues in your state, foreclosure rate just incredible, immigration and you have people say those two things were largely ignored by not just

rick santorum who was caught up in his whole social issues and mitt romney was focused on his home state because he's in trouble there. i marvel at your passion for him in that debate. >> i wouldn't say it's passion for him. i'm totally objective in this. when i look at these four candidates it's kind of like going to a 7th grade dance and the pretty popular girls were left with the rest of the crowd. i say he had a solid debate. i think we're going to see if he can pull off both these victories. it's going to be tough in michigan. it's neck and neck between romney and rick santorum. >> what about this notion he's getting help in arizona from the mormon support in that state and that's why he has this comfortable lead there.

>> sure, it's a basig help. when you look at our arizona house speaker, our secretary of state are mormon politicians. it's a big deal and will help him win by double digits here in arizona. >> thank you very much. we'll see what happens. as far as we're concerned, arizona is not forgotten. thank you. the highly partisan battle over the keystone pipeline rages on with the gop linking president's rejection to higher gas prices. the owner of that controversial pipeline announced it will resubmit a proposal to run its pipeline from canada to the gulf coast. transcanada will proceed with a shorter, less controversial route. the white house says it supports that new plan, but today republicans pounced. >> we've got a handful of

environmental groups, radical environmental groups who stood in the way of having a national energy policy, all of these years. it's just about time tham we have a national energy policy and do something the american people want us to do. enough of this. >> okay. joining me now, mark, is that how you leave a room when you're upset? ha, i'm done with this. >> did the president give the republicans an opening by saying i welcome this shorter version. he didn't say we still don't need to explore what would happen if this pipeline stretches the length it was originally proposed. >> i'm not sure the white house gave republicans anymore opening than they already have. this is pretty tough politics for the white house and pretty good politics for republicans. you end up having environmentalists which are against the project. you have unions for it.

splitting two big democratic constituent groups. you're trying to see republicans raise it time and time again no matter the context. it is important, as you just laid out, what the white house said is the pipeline from oklahoma to texas the that's not crossing a border. it has to doed with the pipeline going from canada to nebraska. that's where it's problematic. when congressional republicans through that payroll tax cut legislation, we need an answer now, the white house said all right. our mind is made up. we can't do this now. what you're seeing is transcanada trying to have a new permit that doesn't raise some environmental concerns through nebraska. >> 66% aware of keystone pipeline believe it should be

approved. 11% say they don't know. with the argument that's coming from the white house and the administration, was always that resubmit and this is a to be continued issue. it was never a complete slam of the door. when you hear some of the sound coming from the republicans today, it was as if there was a major reversal. maybe they were appealing to the 11% that don't know the facts of this story. >> they are trying to make this into a political headache for the white house. any time the white house is budging one way or the other, they're going to be seizing on it. this thing is not a done deal at all. in a presidential election, 2012, deep down the white house wanted to be able to make a decision like this where the politics weren't involved, which is why they delayed it to 2013. the payroll tax cut legislation forced the white house hand

temporarily to make an earlier decision than they wanted. >> with the gas price conversation continuing, even though we seen a bit of improvement over the last 24 hours, that will filter in to the energy policy and eventually someone will not be happy. thank you. >> thanks. a legislative fight in virginia on mandated ultrasound exams. right now the virginia senate is debating a bill that would require ultrasound exams for all women seek abortion. they are discussing this right now. a vote expected a little later today. a stranded italian cruise sthip carrying more than 1,000 passengers and crew is being toted by a french vessel. it lost power monday after fire in the generator room. they are stuck in a region where somali pirates are known to

attack ships. this video shows a scary moment at the daytona 500. the collision caused the massive fire ball. it delayed the race for more than two hours. the driver of the truck walked away from that without injuries. after the race resumed, driver matt picked up his second title. up to a foot of snow is expected across the midwest today. near blizzard like conditions are possible. the storm system could dump snow along the east coast and parts of upstate new york, even pennsylvania tomorrow. carl parker keeping an eye on it for all of us. i can't tell you how many people say we had such a mild winter, i know something is going to come before spring. is that the something we have been waiting for?

>> for some people it's going to be. it's going to be along in northern tier of the country. a powerful low will be lifting up over the next 24 hours. we're already seeing some moisture coming in. bit of snow and a mix in the southern part of the state of minnesota. this is the model forecast. that's the mix that we will see. there's going to be a good bit of rain to the south. this low comes out, the surface low will be very, very strong. a blizzard will set up in north and south dakota and central minnesota. we'll see some pretty heavy snow in the central and northern part of the state. more than on the north and west side and six to ten in fargo. we'll see the snow move into new york and new england. a reminder we're not quite into spring yet. back to you.

coming up, megan mccain is talk about how the immigration debate is influencing some voters in arizona. here are some things we thought you should know. bob carey may be having a change of heart when it comes to running for the seat being vacated. he is reconsidering his initial decision not to run next year. he's got until thursday to file. i'm happy to introduce a son of detroit, a friend, a guy who makes great music and introduces me by dvd everywhere i go. kid rock. >> kid rock rocked it out for mitt romney on the campaign trial in michigan last night. he performed "born free". the song romney made his campaign anthem.

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president obama fired uptaking not so subtle jabs at both republican nominees. that and a lot more. back to tamron. federal legislation that would provide a path to legal residency to children who were brought to this country illeg illegally is on the mind of voters. the bill continues to hit roadblocks in washington. now supporters in arizona are alling on the republican presidential candidates to stop opposing the measure. megan mccain has this report. >> reporter: she came from the united states from mexico as a child, illegal he. she became part of the american way of life growing up in a mostly white neighborhood, volunteering at her church and earning high marks at school. >> i'm not a criminal. i did not decide to come here. i've decided to make be best out

of it. >> reporter: for her, the best of it, would be a road to u.s. citizenship, and an opportunity to receive state tuition funding as she attends arizona state university. >> i know i was born in mexico, but i feel i can relate more to the american values. >> reporter: the dream act, legislation that would provide citizenship for her and an estimated 825,000 undocumented students has stalled in congress. opponents to the dream act see it as rewarding illegal behavior and harming u.s. citizens who would not be eligible for the same financial benefits. >> you really do have to look at the basic fairness. we don't talk about the impact this would have on u.s. citizen students the, on potential overcrowding. during a time of scarce resources, squars funding wp. >> reporter: republican candidates have vowed opposition. >> i would veto the dream act. >> we need to give law

enforcement the opportunity to do what they're doing in arizona. >> we do not give instate credit to people who come here illeg illegally. >> you see democrats who have a pro-immigrant legislation and then you have obama who have supported dream act. at the same time they are not taking the step and not being leaders for it. i wouldn't vote for any of them. >> reporter: of course, she can't vote. will this issue motivate millions of other young people who can vote? >> it's really mobilizing the youth at the grass roots level. the more opposition there is to these groups of individuals. >> i'm asking for an opportunity to be given so i can work even harder. >> reporter: in this election, voters say that the issue of the economy has the greatest impact on how they vote.

fears about religious liberties are driving many to the poll. >> i think it's important that we don't think there will be certain demographics that will vote one way or the other. >> reporter: candidates will have to walk a fine line. >> megan mccain is with me now. 825,000 students in arizona az loan could be impacted by this. >> if the dream act passes. >> we were speaking with a republican strategist says that some feel that immigration, maybe even the dream act has been issues largely ignored because the republicans candidates have focused so much on michigan today. >> i agree. i think democrats and republicans have not done anything to really pull this issue forward. the state of arizona is 30% hispanic. that number is only going to

grow and it's something we have to start paying more conscience taent to. >> they're not behind the ball. thank you so much. it's your first time on. >> thank you. up next, it's today's "news nation gut check." who do you believe has a better chance of defeating president obama in michigan this november? we know the auto bailout is part of the conversation. a lot of things at play. the list goes on and on. romney or santorum. we'll let you weigh in. some people are said neither. you can join the "news nation," facebook. that's our facebook page, facebook.com/newsnation. i look at her, and i just want to give her everything. yeah, you -- you know, everything can cost upwards of...[ whistles ] i did not want to think about that. relax, relax, relax. look at me, look at me. three words, dad -- e-trade financial consultants. so i can just go talk to 'em? just walk right in and talk to 'em. dude, those guys are pros. they'll hook you up with a solid plan.

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time now for the "news nation gut check." stakes are high in michigan. polls show santorum could up sate romney in the state where he was born. his dad was the governor and where he won four years ago in

the primary. santorum claims he's the conservative alternative to mitt romney. michigan is key to president obama's re-election chances. today, he addressed the united auto workers convention in washington taking two swipes at romney's 2008 ad, including this. >> the other option was to do absolutely nothing, and let these companies fail. you will recall there were some politicians who said we should do that. some even said we should let detroit go bankrupt. >> romney and santorum opposed the auto industry bailout. what does your gut tell you? who do you think that a better chance of defeating president obama in michigan? go to facebook.com/newsnation.

that does it for this edition of "news nation." he's one of the service members president invited to the white house dinner honoring iraq vets. that's tomorrow night. thomas roberts is in for martin bash bashir. he's up next.

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