was a losing issue. they essentially said, okay, it no longer has to be paid for. that gave the green light to work on the other issues, which is extending unemployment and the medicare doc fix. republicans felt as speaker boehner told his conference last night, republicans got about 70% to 80% of what they wanted. those reforms bring unemployment benefits down from 99 weeks to 66 weeks to 79 weeks, depending on how many unemployed live in the state. but overall, this is a sign that at least early on, congress seems to have been working with both sides that way in a fight to the bitter end saying, look, it would be a p.r. disaster. in this case, it would hurt the republicans more. but cooler heads prevailed. they'll get it done before the february 29th deadline. this is the last real fight you'll see in congress until about september. >> one and done. >> reporter: yeah. and they got the stock act done last week.

two weeks in a row, congress seems to be working. stop the presses, unbelievable. >> it's going to take me a moment. i'm going to recover here. thank you, luke. mitt romney has to be worried because rick santorum isn't just gaining, he's now leading. three out of four new national polls show rick santorum pulling ahead of mitt romney. the fourth is a statistical dead heat. >> two months ago i said, don't pay attention to the polls. now that we're doing well in the polls, i'm not going to say, hey, everybody look at the polls. >> politico's megi has beenerman joins us. santorum is touting his ability to win over conservatives. he won evangelicals and the tea party and people who describe themselves as conservatives. he wins republicans who thinks

it's important that he relate to the middle class. he's the one republican who knows what it is to be a blue-collar guy. is that enough? >> it's interesting for two reasons. you look at where the next battleground is. in michigan. the other thing we've seen in the primary season this year that's been interesting is there's been a direct relationship between income level and support for mitt romney in the republican race. as you've gotten higher on the income scale, his support has risen. between making between $30,000 and $75,000, he's really struggled. >> there's a lot more of those than there are the super rich people. >> rick santorum's been counting on the idea that his blue-collar message is going to translate well in michigan. last night, he set the expectations low for himself. he said, we can finish a strong second there. that raises the expectations for mitt romney. this is not a position where romney's people thought they would be right now. >> who did?

did we? >> it means that there is an opening in michigan that they have not completely walled off where rick santorum can try to run it up. >> we know what we've seen romney do in the past. he's broken out the negative ads, worked against newt gingrich. but you have to see santorum's ad now fighting back. >> mitt romney's negative attack machine is back on full throttle. this time, romney's firing his mud at rick santorum. and in the end, mitt romney's ugly attacks are going to backfire. >> wow, steve. what do you think? >> it's interesting because there's a basic difference between santorum and, say, newt gingrich or rick perry or any of the others who have been the main challenger for romney. santorum actually knows what he's doing. newt gingrich got hit over and over with ads like that in florida. did you ever see a response ad from newt gingrich like this? when mitt romney came after newt gingrich in the debates, did gingrich ever turn to him and fire back with anything that meant anything to anybody?

rick santorum has basic competency in terms of responding in debates and in responding to attack ads. is competence all it takes in the republican primary to beat mitt romney? >> i want to bring in the man behind that ad. john is a top strategist for rick santorum's campaign. good morning. >> good morning. thank you for having me this morning. >> fess up. who got the idea for mitt romney with the machine gun? >> i'll tell you exactly where the idea came from. last week on tuesday, romney put out a press release when things were going bad for him in colorado, minnesota and missouri. the press release basically said, i'm still going to be the nominee and the reason is i have more resources or what he was really saying is, i have more money than anybody else. and specifically for attack ads. i started to think about, there's something deeply offensive to people that we have what is considered the front-runner for the nomination of the republican party running

on the platform of, i have more money than you do. and so -- >> money does talk, as you know. and romney's got a lot of it. his superpac's got it. they're going to run of negative ads. i want to play the latest one. >> how did rick santorum actually vote? santorum voted to raise the debt limit five times and for billions in wasteful projects including the bridge to no wrchlt in a single session, santorum co-sponsored 51 bills to increase spending and zero to cut spending. santorum even voted to raise his own pay and joined hillary clinton to let convicted felons vote. >> can he beat you on sheer volume? >> that's his plan. if this race does come down to who can run the most negative ads and the largest volume and beat people into submission with those negative ads, we can stop the primaries now, we have our nominee. it's mitt romney.

but the problem that romney has is there's an enthusiasm gap for him is because people disagree with him on his message and his issue. romneycare which became obamacare. what's interesting to me is rick santorum is spending a fraction of what mitt romney has, yet he's at least tied for the lead right now, which means that i believe we have the better messenger and the better message. >> even if everyone agrees with all that, take a look at this number. the romney campaign has made electability a big issue. 55% think mitt romney has the best chance to beat barack obama. just 18% think it's rick santorum. what about that? >> but if you look at the new national polls by ras mousrasmu and others, they said rick

santorum is going better against barack obama than romney. and on national polls, rick santorum is now doing better against obama. what's happening is, romney "i'm the most viable candidate" has been shattered. >> john, thank you so much for being with us. we appreciate it. >> thank you for having me. >> what do you make of his analysis? >> i think he's about right. the reason that ad they did is so effective, they being the santorum campaign, is because it speaks to the fact that mitt romney doesn't actually have a message. his message has been being negative against his opponents. voters want to hear a message. they want to connect. that's not what they're getting with mitt romney. my colleagues did a story today about how mitt romney is doing in michigan. there was a line saying that boston, mitt romney's campaign, still considers rick santorum just to be a vessel for a lot of this sort of populist segment.

that populist segment is the base. to dismiss it as a vessel is a real problem. >> in the past, everyone's said, oh, negative ads, so bad, we hate negative ads and yet every bit of research shows that negative ads in past campaigns works. but if the volume ramps up so much that you seem to be really playing on an unlevel field and you're beating down on the guy, could negative ads actually turn into a negative for mitt romney? >> yeah. i think the key variable there is how do sort of the elite opinion shapers in the republican party react to all of this? i think of what happened to newt gingrich with all the negative attack ads in florida and everything that romney was saying. a lot of people were willing to echo those segmentiments and we willing to say the same things. a lot of the other opinion shapers sat on their hands. they didn't like newt gingrich, so they let romney do what he had to do. is that going to change now?

is santorum less offensive to these people and more electable in their eyes than newt gingrich and will they now speak up and say, mitt romney, cut it out? the other thing is i look at the first ad from romney, think about the ammunition he had to use against newt gingrich. >> yeah. >> they're going for obscure, random stuff against santorum. you can always come up with something for a negative ad. >> i want to show you something i observed as i'm reading the papers. two headlines, two major papers. in "the washington post," can rick santorum become more than not romney. and "l.a. times," romney's challenge, be more than the anti-obama. maggie, is this about still the lesser of two evils or three evils or four evils? do you think there's this discontent? it's not about liking these candidates. it's more about disliking the other guy. >> yes, i do think, certainly in the general primary. in the general election it will be framed a little differently.

but in the primary, that's exactly what we're seeing. since voters seem to be more excited about coming out to vote against someone than for someone, this is something that has to be of concern to romney's folks. >> thanks so much, maggie and steve. good to see both of you. the investigation into whitney houston's death may be taking a new turn. police are focusing on the prescription pill bottles found in houston's hotel room. and the doctors who described them, a live report is just three minutes away. and the obama administration mulling a possible 80% cut to the u.s. nuclear weapons force. clearly a major move in the direction of disarmament. president obama pledged to pursue the elimination of nukes back in 2009. ♪

oh! [ baby crying ] ♪ what started as a whisper ♪ every day, millions of people choose to do the right thing. ♪ slowly turned to a scream ♪ there's an insurance company that does that, too. liberty mutual insurance. responsibility. what's your policy? ♪ amen, omen ah, welcome to hotels.com. i get it...guys weekend. yeah! if you're looking for a place to get together, you came to the right place. because here at hotels.com, we're only about hotels. yeah!

yeah! noooo. yeah! finding you the perfect place is all we do. welcome to hotels.com [ female announcer ] nature valley granola bars, rich dark chocolate, toasted oats. perfect combinations of nature's delicious ingredients, from nature valley. ♪ nature valley granola bars, nature at its most delicious.

the probe into whitney

houston's death has taken a turn. "the los angeles times" reporting that investigators are now tracing the prescription drugs found in the singer's hotel room back to the doctors who prescribed them to her and to the pharmacies that filled the prescriptions. nbc's kristen dahlgren joins me live from los angeles. police say there wasn't an unusual amount of pills in that room or bottles in that room. but what else do we know? >> reporter: yeah, good morning, chris. police have been really firm in pointing out this is not a criminal investigation. the coroner has confirmed to nbc that there were, quote, not many pill bottles, not an unusual amount of drugs in the room. so it's pretty standard practice for them as part of an investigation, a death investigation, to try to figure out just how many pills the person may have taken. it looks like that's what they're doing now. there's the possibility that they could subpoena the doctors as well as the pharmacies where whitney houston got those pills from. they'll be counting the number

of pills that were found in her room, looking at the date of the prescriptions, trying to figure out if she was taking them in the manner that they were prescribed and just how many she may have taken on the night she died. that, as they wait for the toxicology reports which will give them the definitive word on exactly what was in her system. they've given us a date of six to eight weeks to get those results back. it doesn't really take that long to get the tox results back. but that's sort of the target date so they can complete their investigation. >> a lot of people were surprised maybe to hear or read earlier this morning that it could take a while for them to figure out the whole prescription thing. and i don't know if we know the answer to this. i'm not sure that the investigators have said. but a lot of times, especially with celebrities because they want to keep things private, pills that she may have been taking, prescription pills, might not have been in her own name, right? sometimes they'll have assistants or whoever, a doctor will actually write that prescription to someone else.

>> reporter: yeah, we saw that for example in the anna nicole smith case. and in that case, there were charges against a doctor who prescribed her those medications. and so that's something that they will be looking at. they have a database in california that they can look through to see what doctors, what pharmacies were filling what prescriptions. but it does make it a little difficult. i think that's why they're giving us that six to eight weeks because this is an investigation that could take a while. but for the amount of pills they're telling us were found in the room, pill bottles that were found in the room, we're not talking about a michael jackson type case where there were just loads and loads of prescription medications found. it looks like they're dealing with a smaller amount in this case. >> and let's talk about what's happening back here on this coast. what are the details we know about the private funeral that's planned for saturday in new jersey? >> reporter: exactly. originally we heard that there was going to be this public memorial to whitney houston, perhaps held at the prudential center in newark. her family's decided to hold a

much smaller funeral service. it's going to be invitation only at the new hope baptist church where whitney houston sang in the choir as a teen. her mother was the choir director there. the church has special meaning. we're told there's going to be a eulogy by marvin winans. bobby brown is denying reports that he is being kept out of the funeral planning, out of the funeral and also being kept away from his daughter. he says that's not true. while there's no public memorial, the governor of new jersey is planning on an executive order to have the flags flown at half staff there. but right now, it looks like a private invitation-only cerem y ceremony. about 1,500 people can fit in that church. the pews expecteding to filled. >> that's it right now, just one shot? >> reporter: the networks are working with the family trying to see what the arrangements

will be. but right now, we're told one pool camera will be in that church for people to be able to see what's happening inside. >> kristen, thank you so much. while whitney houston's family makes plan for the funeral, around the world, fans have been snatching up houston's albums and singles by the thousands. in the first 24 hours after her death, more than 100,000 albums and nearly 900,000 individual songs were purchased. sales alone this reach could reach $10 million. who's the "your business" entrepreneur of the week. ashley christensen became famous as a chef. instead of opening one restaurant, she opened three. beasley's chicken and honey, chuck's burgers and fox liquor bar.

she saves money on resources by sharing the same kitchen. [ male announcer ] this is lois. the day starts with arthritis pain... a load of new listings... and two pills. after a morning of walk-ups, it's back to more pain, back to more pills. the evening showings bring more pain and more pills. sealing the deal... when, hang on... her doctor recommended aleve. it can relieve pain all day with fewer pills than tylenol. this is lois... who chose two aleve and fewer pills for a day free of pain. [ female announcer ] try aleve d for strong all day sinus and headache relief.

crisp, clear, untouched. that's why there's brita, to make the water we drink, taste a little more, perfect. reduce lead and other impurities with the advanced filtration system of brita.

-three. -one. two. three. one. -two. -three. -one. -two. -three. [ male announcer ] with the bankamericard cash rewards credit card, earn 1% cash back everywhere, every time. 2% back on groceries. and 3% back on gas. automatically. no hoops to jump through. -it's as easy as...1. -two. -three. [ male announcer ] 1, 2, 3 percent cash back for the things you buy most. the bankamericard cash rewards card. apply online or at a bank of america near you. house speaker john boehner on capitol hill talking about the payroll tax cut. let's listen in. >> the extension of unemployment is under a reform program and is paid for and the so-called doc's

is paid for as well. >> [ inaudible question ]. >> i expect if the agreement comes together, like i expect it will, the house should vote this week. >> [ inaudible question ]. >> i think they're trying to work out all the details. there's an agreement in principle. but there are a lot of details that are yet to be worked out. i'm hopeful that that will be wrapped up today. thanks. >> let's look at what else is happening in politics now. big day on capitol hill, as a matter of fact. right now, we're watching four live hearings, all of them deal with president obama's 2013 budget. defense secretary leon panetta, treasury secretary tim geithner, kathle kathleen sebelicybilsebelius and all facing questions. michele bachmann won't bash the rest of the remaining gop field.

>> my decision's already made. i'm on board with whoever the nominee will be because i'm all in for defeating barack obama. >> and newt gingrich is comparing the race to a ride at disney. >> i think this is going to go a long time. i told somebody the other day. this is like the ncaa final four with no elimination. it just seems like -- you remember one week ago, i was clearly in second place. santorum was in fourth place. last tuesday, he had a good day. now he's competitive with romney. i'm in fourth place. this has been like riding space mountain at disney. we've had this up-and-down, roller-coaster effect. >> and cameras were rolling as the obamas left the white house and went out to dinner in alexandria, virginia. contemporary american cuisine. >> let me start with a quick public service announcement for all the gentlemen out there.

today is valentine's day. do not forget. i speak from experience here. it is important that you remember this and go big. that's my advice. >> i think those two guys behind him look a little uncomfortable. he tweeted later in the day, happy valentine's day, signed b.o. february is black history month and on this date in 1960, 13 historically black college staged sit-ins at southern states two weeks after four students started a protest in greensboro, north carolina. despite beatings and arrests, the protests spread rapidly across the south, becoming a movement that affected more than 55 cities in 13 states. in one product. new tone rehab 2-in-1 foundation. covers spots, lines... and wrinkles. and helps improve skin tone over time. new tone rehab from easy... breezy... beautiful... covergirl! covergirl!

♪ they hatin' ♪ patrolling and tryin' to catch me ridin' dirty ♪ ♪ tryin' to catch me ridin' dirty ♪ ♪ tryin' to catch me ridin' dirty ♪ ♪ tryin' to catch me ridin' dirty ♪ [ mom ] hi, there. why do we always have to take your mom's car? [ male announcer ] the security of a tiguan, one of nine volkswagen models named a 2012 iihs top safety pick. ♪ tryin' to catch me ridin' dirty ♪

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. they'll -- wa-- wa-- wait a minute. bobby? bobby! what are you doing, man? i'm speed dating! [ male announcer ] get investing advice for your family at e-trade. let's take ta a check of other stories right now. bashar assad has roerdordered a

referendum on a new constitution. at the same time, syrian forces are making another deadly assault on the city of homs. activists say seven people were killed, 20 others injured in yesterday's bombing. there's a fire burnlinging out of control at a fuel plant near homs. disturbing story out of honduras this morning. a massive prison fire and more than 350 lives have been claimed. the blaze began late last night. some of the inmates died in their cells but others assumed dead may actually have escaped from the prison altogether. the house that josh powell blew up earlier this month killing him and his two young sons was anything but a loving home. authorities now say they think the house was actually staged to look like a happy home with pictures of the family for when child protective services visited. josh powell was the only person of interest in his wife susan's disappearance. a utah woman has been sentenced to 15 years in prison

for poisoning an elderly man's peach smoothie with antifreeze. he'd opened her home to the woman and her daughter. she allegedly stole $10,000 from him and made herself the beneficiary of his life insurance policies. it wasn't until the suspect's ex-boyfriend alerted police she was bragging about the poisoning that she was arrested. the maker of the best-selling cancer drug is warning the public about counterfeit vials of the product being distributed in the u.s. they don't contain the key ingredient which is used to treat cancers of the colon, lung, kidney and brain. the real drug contains a six-digit lot number with no letters. there is no hotter sports star in america as the moment than the new york knicks' jeremy lin. a buzzer-beater. i went to check out the knicks.

i have one word for fans, scalpers. there were no tickets. president obama, known to play a little hoops himself, leaves for milwaukee. later today, we'll tour a master lock factory and talk about the economy. things are looking up for the commander in chief. his approval rating hit 50% in a new poll. it also finds that more people think the economy is improving. those two things are probably tied together. ted johnson is "variety" magazine's political editor. karen hunter is an msnbc contributor and pulitzer prize-winning journalist. you see the president's numbers are going up. but you also have to look at europe and you know what's happening there. >> it's a mess. >> it's a mess. is the president potentially just sort of one bad economic turn away from being back where he was three months ago or is he in much better shape than that? >> he's in much better shape.

and as long as the republicans have nothing better to offer us, he's going to always be in a good position. they have not given us anything than a bunch of crap that they're throwing at one another. they're in detroit right now talking about how bad detroit is. guess what? the auto industry is rescued. detroit's numbers are looking better. that state, michigan is doing better than it's done in a long time. they cannot change the narrative of what's really happening in this country, no matter how badly they try to lie. >> there is also this feeling -- we've heard it from a couple of republicans just today, ted, that once they settle on somebody to take on barack obama that eventually the republicans will coalesce and their money will coalesce. money has been a question for president barack obama. he's headed out west to l.a. tonight to fund-raise. as these things start to look better, is it going to be a situation where you think celebrities and other people with a lot of cash out there are going to open their wallets? there was some concern about that.

>> yeah, i think it's just going to build on itself, especially once they have a person to actually run against. what you've seen, you had samuel l. jackson a couple of weeks ago express his disappointment in barack obama. you've had matt damon express his disappointment. but i think it all leads to the question of, what is the alternative? and i think that once that it is mitt romney or rick santorum, you'll see people start to open their wallets. you'll see stars start to turn out on the campaign trail -- >> are you suggesting it almost doesn't matter whether it's mitt or -- given the alternative and given any kind of liberal leanings that these donors may have, neither mitt romney nor rick santorum is going to be an acceptable alternative? but will they still write the big check? >> that is actually a big question. and i think a good sign was just last week when a big media mogul

out here in los angeles, he's been somewhat lukewarm for obama. he's indicated he's ready to write some of the big checks for the super pacs. that's probably a signal that even people who have been somewhat skeptical of obama may be willing to actually step forward. >> doesn't the president already have a warchest that doubles what anyone on the republican side already has? >> he certainly does. but i think there's a lot of worry out here among donors that, is it going to be enough? they've seen mitt romney's super pacs really go after some of the republican candidates. and it doesn't take a big leap to think, well, they certainly are going to go after barack obama once we get into the general election. >> ted and karen, stay with me. i also want to talk about the president today, talking about this tentative payroll tax cut extension deal. yesterday he stepped up the pressure on congress. he was surrounded by people. there's the pictures.

who responded to the white house campaign, what does $40 mean to you? that's how much the average person will keep each paycheck if the tax cut is extended. ri richard louie lui looked into t. >> we've been looking at the budget to see where it might fall out. five key voter groups may benefit from what this budget lays out. the first young people, education spending in this budget would jump 2.5%. stafford loan rates freeze at 3.4% instead of doubling this summer. and $10,000 student tax credits would be permanent, all helping graduates facing a tough job market. >> part of what my budget reflects is making investments in job creation, making sure that we're still investing in basic research that creates the new industries, making sure we're investing in infrastructure. >> transportation funding would

increase 50% reaching almost half a trillion dollars. politico calling this, kissing the unions. $26 million would go to enforcing trade rules that foreign countries are not following. now, the third beneficiary, the middle class. the alternative minimum tax which increasingly hurts average americans would be gone in the budget. bush tax cuts stay for the middle class while dividend rates could go as high as 39% for upper class groups. now to swing states. there are sweeteners there starting with manufacturing tax breaks. $6 billion in aids to communities hit by job losses. also benefits for clean factories. that, of course, one of the concerns in energy saving. the occupy movement energy, big bank taxes double and a nod to the populist movement. oil and gas would lose $40 billion in subsidies. and the buffett rule would hit. earn over $1 million and pay taxes of 30%. the president says these moves

helped save $4 trillion. >> the president's claiming that this is a $4 trillion deficit reduction package. he's increasing spending by $1.5 trillion and increasing taxes by $1.9 trillion for a measly $400 billion of deficit reduction over a ten-year period. >> critics call the budget unpassable. admitting the president wins even if he loses. >> thank you so much, richard. let's talk about a couple of those things that richard just touched on, karen. the conventional wisdom was mitt romney was going to be the toughest opponent for barack obama and the white house geared up to run against mitt romney. but if you're looking at things like the middle class and thinking about things like manufacturing, there is an argument to be made that a rick santorum appeals to those groups more than a mitt romney. >> here's the problem. rick santorum is focusing on things like birth control and abortion while the president is focusing on -- >> not in michigan. he's backed off on that stuff

there. >> because he had to. in a general election, when you look at who's behind -- i'm struck by that. who's bend the president? it looks like america. when you look at santorum and mitt romney and ron paul and newt gingrich, who's behind them when they're giving their speeches? some of them look like americans but there's not a lot of diversifity there. when the president talks, he's talking to the average american person about what's going on in their lives. he's trying to help them get out of their situation. i don't hear a lot of that coming from the republicans. >> the other thing about the budget and everybody knows it's dead on arrival. but the thing about the budget is, if you really want to see what the plan is, you're looking at a big division between what barack obama is proposing and paul ryan and the republican candidates are proposing. so it's just -- it's hard for me to fathom how anybody who is a strong liberal, somebody who's often donated to liberal causes, is not going to do that out in l.a. how many of those folks do you

think were waiting for the president to essentially say, okay, we have to level the playing field, if you want to write a check to the super pacs, go ahead? >> well, i think the people who already were raising money, people like jeffrey katzenburg, raising monies for priority usa, they are relieved the president has essentially given the green light. i think there's a sense that now it's okay to donate to the super pac. there will be some -- not coordination, but people from the white house will be able to be out here and woo donors. that's been one of the problems is that people out here, the donors and the bundlers have not really thought s this a good way to spend my money? that will instill a bigger sense of confidence in them that they can write these big checks and actually be spent wisely. >> seems like we have amnesia. we forget this president is a

really good campaigner -- >> i was just noticing that piece of tape we played when he's just working the rope line, he looks so comfortable. >> just ask the clintons. this man knows how to run a campaign. we're talking about money here. but this man knows how to run a campaign. i'm not worried about him. >> one of the things he's been doing is going and talking to a lot of the anchors at the local tv stations. he talked to the folks in charlotte yesterday. here's what he had to say in a question about those super pacs. >> we're not going to just unilaterally disarm. we're not just going to let a whole bunch of folks who are not only self-interested but aren't always disclosing what their contributions are to be able to simply purchase an election. >> i was struck by something you said, ted, that even though the president has a lot more money than his opponents, they feel like they might need a lot more. you've got to wonder at this point how much is too much, is the answer, there is no such thing? >> it certainly feels like that right now.

i do think that once we head into the general election, if some of these sums just get completely out of control, if we deal with his kind of media saturation, constant election ads, it could become somewhat of an issue. and especially if obama goes up against someone like rick santorum who may have this perception that he's kind of the underdog. and he may make actually a big issue out of it. the fact that he's going against this big well-financed competitor. >> he's done that with mitt romney, for sure. ted johnson, karen hunter, thank you. we've talked about this before, but i don't remember, karen. do you drive or take public inspection? i don't have a car. >> do i have to say this on -- no, i drive everywhere. >> don't kill the messenger on this one. there is growing concern that $5 a gallon gas is on the horizon. >> i drive a hybrid. >> good for you. pump prices now average $3.52 a

gallon nationwide. chicago is paying some of the highest prices in the nation. that's where we find nbc's john yang here with what's moving your money. john, good morning. a lot of frustrated drivers there when they put that credit card in. >> reporter: that's right, chris. gas prices are going up. we're used to gas going up come springtime, as the summer driving season approaches. but this year, the increase is coming earlier and steeper than in years past. as you say, the past month, 13 cents increase from the gallon of regular unleaded. $3.52, the national average. higher in the big cities. $3.99 here in chicago. no matter where you are, americans are feeling a big pain at the pump. >> it trickles down. you have less money for everything else. >> it hurts. tough economy right now.

>> might be time to invest in a bicycle. >> reporter: what's behind all this? industry analysts and experts say it's a combination of thing -- rising tensions in the middle east, big refineries on the east coast shutting down, going out of business and increased demand for gas in india and china. and they also say that there is no end in sight. the prices are only going to keep going up. let's take a look at what gasbuddy.com forecasts. they say a national average of $3.95 by memorial day, even higher in big cities. in atlanta, $4.60. $4.70 in los angeles. and here in chicago, $4.95. the highest forecast price in the continental united states. and fasten your seat belt. analysts are saying, some forecasters are saying that a high by the summer of $5 a gallon is not out of the question. chris? >> unbelievable. making me feel better all the

time about taking the subway and the bus. thank you so much. just days after winning six grammys, singer adele is hinting that she might just take a four to five-year break from work to be with her boyfriend. the singer told "vogue," quote, if i'm constantly working, my relationships fail. it is, of course, the songs inspired by her break-ups that fueled her amazing success. [ male announcer ] if you believe the mayan calendar, on december 21st, polar shifts will reverse the earth's gravitational pull and hurtle us all into space, which would render retirement planning unnecessary. but say the sun rises on december 22nd and you still need to retire, td ameritrade's investment consultants can help you build a plan that fits your life. we'll even throw in up to $600 when you open a new account or roll over an old 401(k). so who's in control now, mayans?

when you open a new account or roll over an old 401(k). when it comes to paint... ...there's one brand that always tops the charts. so let's grab a few of those gallons- at a price that's now even lower. 'cause when we mix behr ultra paint and primer in one... ...with a few hours... ...we get more than just color... ...we get top-rated coverage. the kind wakes up walls, and reinvents rooms.

more saving. more doing. that's the power of the home depot. behr ultra paint and primer in one now starts at just $29.38, it's lowest price ever. an accident doesn't have to slow you down. with better car replacement, if your car is totaled, we give you the money for a car one model year newer. liberty mutual auto insurance.

diarrhea, gas or bloating? get ahead of it! one phillips' colon health probiotic cap a day helps defend against digestive issues with three strains of good bacteria. hit me! [ female announcer ] live the regular life. phillips'. consuming honey may do more than just feed your sweet tooth. new studies from the uk show that manuka honey may help kill strep bacteria.

it also treats diabetic ulcers. i'm thomas roberts. rick santorum goes after mitt romney as the mud-slinging rambo of negative ads. romney's biggest fear isn't that santorum is gaining. the big fear is he's leading and may grab romney's michigan. new details on whitney houston's funeral. is bobby brown being banned from the private service in new jersey? and meet the woman giving voice to the marginalized voice of transgender americans. chris? we are following several new developments in the escalating nuclear tensions with iran. this morning, president mahmoud ahmadinejad is shown supposedly loading fuel rods into a nuclear reactor. tough sanctions have come from the west and the u.n. iran claims it's using new add advantaged centrifuges.

u.s. warships are now patrolling the strait of hormuz. and new developments from israel as well, accusing iran of trying to assassinate its diplomats. stephanie gosk is live in tel aviv with the latest. >> reporter: tough words today from prime minister benjamin netanyahu who said that iran is destabilizing the world and that the kind of violence we saw earlier this week could be replicated in other countries if iran is not stopped. today in bangkok, thai investigators say the explosives they found in the apartment that blew up yesterday were similar to the explosives used in georgia and india on tuesday. but they wouldn't say that they are directly linked. they say the investigation is still going on. but israeli officials say that's all they really need at this point. they are accusing iran of a state-sponsored attack on its diplomats around the world.

there is a heightened state of alert here in israel as well as in israeli embassies around the world. and there are concerns that there might be attacks on softer targets, places like jewish community centers and other kind of jewish centers, synagogues and places outside of israel. >> stephanie, thank you for that update. i'm joined now by p.j. carley. always good to see you. >> hello, chris. >> how worried are you about the risk of escalation here? >> it's a great danger regarding the attacks on israeli diplomats, we've seen a low-grade conflict between israel and iran for some time. this is characteristic of that. probably at the moment, it fits within the parameters of what we've seen before. but as you say, there's a lot of kindling there that's been collecting over the years, a lot of tensions. and any day now, one of these sparks could really result in some sort of escalation. >> and give us a little sense of the significance of some of the things we're seeing today because we ticked off three or

four new developments. we just saw the pictures of ahmadinejad supposedly helping to load those nuclear fuel rods, the report that is iran has started using these new advanced centrifuges at its new iranian enrichment site. how much pause does that give you? >> it affirms what iran has said. ostensibly on a civilian program for which it has a right to proceed, but as they master this technology, the distance between a civilian program and a military program is a relatively short leap. i don't think iran's made the strategic decision to move from a civilian effort to a military effort. but given the rhetoric of iran, it poses an existential threat. it has the attention of israel and the united states and others. >> we heard benjamin netanyahu

saying this morning before parliament stating his concerns. what do you think the end game is for iran here? >> well, i think the -- i don't think that iran has decided whether to actually produce a weapon. their pursuit of this nuclear capability is about protecting the regime. they're looked in the region recent years -- saddam had a weapons program, he's gone. gadhafi had a weapons program, he's gone. those countries that have survived and have nuclear programs like pakistan have gradually been accepted by the west. so they're working down a path to try to preserve their regime. >> p.j. crowley, always good to see you. thank you so much for sharing your expertise. >> all right, chris. we just saw "marine one" landing. "air force one" is going to leave andrews air force base, heading to the master lock factory in milwaukee, part of his plan to talk more about the budget, more about the economy.

we should hear some things about the payroll tax cut. master lock, by the way, one of the places that actually brought jobs back to the united states. it had left the u.s. that's an example, too, from the president of how manufacturing can move forward here in the u.s. we'll continue to follow the president's movements. today's tweet of the day comes from senator chuck schumer. he's tweeting about the amazing jeremy lin. he writes -- jeremy lin does it again, is there anything this guy can't do? six in a row for the new york knicks. a new belt. some nylons. and what girl wouldn't need new shoes? we talked about getting a diamond. but with all the thank you points i've been earning... ♪ ...i flew us to the rock i really had in mind. ♪ [ male announcer ] the citi thank you card. earn points you can use for travel on any airline, with no blackout dates.

discover visine® tired eye relief with hydroblend™, only from visine®. just one drop instantly soothes and revives tired, overworked eyes. and comforts them for up to ten hours. visine® tired eye relief. try now and save $3. [ sighs ] i can't wait till morning. wait! it's morning in china! ♪ [ male announcer ] it's sweet, it's nutty... it's absolutely delicious. kellogg's crunchy nut. it's morning somewhere. [ laughs ] [ mayhem ] please continue to hold. the next available claims representative will be with you in 97 minutes. [ laughs ] ♪ and if you've got cut rate insurance, there's nothing you can do about this. so get allstate. the only insurance company that guarantees your claim experience won't be mayhem... like me. [ dennis ] introducing the claim satisfaction guarantee. only from allstate. dollar for dollar, nobody protects you from mayhem like allstate.

a naked cowgirl, the tiniiet chameleon. an 18-year-old dressed in just her birthday suit in texas and cowboy boots led police on a slow-speed chase. she was arrested and charged with dui. the tiniest chameleon on

earth. over half an inch from nose to tail. it was found in the forests of madagascar. and the linsanity continues. new york knicks phenom jeremy lin drilling a three-point shot with half a second lift to give the knicks a victory over toronto last night. the undrafted harvard grad has led the team to six straight wins after being a relative unknown. guess what? he finally got his own apartment, i think, just yesterday. let's check out another winner. you're looking at the top dog from westminster. a 4-year-old pekingese named malachy. wowing the judges with those long locks and that smooshed-in face. that wraps up this hour of "jansing & co." i'm chris jansing. thomas roberts is up next. see you back here tomorrow. shazi: seven years ago, i had this idea. to make baby food the way moms would.

happybaby strives to make the best organic baby food. in a business like ours, personal connections are so important. we use our american express open gold card to further those connections. last year we took dozens of trips using membership rewards points to meet with farmers that grow our sweet potatoes and merchants that sell our product. vo: get the card built for business spending. call 1-800-now-open to find out how the gold card can serve your business.

i want to fix up old houses. ♪ [ woman ] when i grow up, i want to take him on his first flight. i want to run a marathon. i'm going to own my own restaurant. when i grow up, i'm going to start a band. [ female announcer ] at aarp we believe you're never done growing. thanks, mom. i just want to get my car back. [ female announcer ] discover what's next in your life. get this free travel bag when you join at aarp.org/jointoday. i had[ designer ]eelingg enough of just covering up my moderate to severe plaque psoriasis. i decided enough is enough. ♪ [ spa lady ] i started enbrel. it's clinically proven to provide clearer skin. [ rv guy ] enbrel may not work for everyone -- and may not clear you completely, but for many, it gets skin clearer fast, within 2 months,

and keeps it clearer up to 9 months. [ male announcer ] because enbrel suppresses your immune system, it may lower your ability to fight infections. serious, sometimes fatal, events including infections, tuberculosis, lymphoma, other cancers, and nervous system and blood disorders have occurred. before starting enbrel, your doctor should test you for tuberculosis and discuss whether you've been to a region where certain fungal infections are common. don't start enbrel if you have an infection like the flu. tell your doctor if you're prone to infections, have cuts or sores, have had hepatitis b, have been treated for heart failure, or if, while on enbrel, you experience persistent fever, bruising, bleeding, or paleness. if you've had enough, ask your dermatologist about enbrel.