name mitt romney, even though he called him to tell him the news. >> and i had the chance to speak with him this morning. we exchanged our thoughts about going forward and we both have a great deal of interest in seeing the country take on a very different path. >> i want to bring in msnbc contributor karen hunter. good morning. karen, somehow, mitt romney bring rick santorum into the fold, does he need an endorsement? >> yes, he needs an endorsement. i'm not sure if he's going to get it. >> it was a very nasty, nasty campaign. i think there are some hurt feelings. if mitt romney wants to win the consecutive states, he's going to need rick santorum and that base, tea party base that santorum carries in order to win.

>> let me play another clip of romney. >> he will continue to have a major role in the republican party and i look forward to his work in helping ensure victories for republicans across the country in november. >> david, is that kind of code, gosh, i hope he endorses me soon? >> we have seen this movie before, chris, he will endorse. feelings are raw. the primary is just ending. we talked this four years for president obama and hillary clinton. would they be able to unify? of course, they did. regardless of what romney and santorum think of each other, business is business. they will come together. the conservative base suspicious of mitt romney will they come together? it's still too early. >> when you think of rick santorum's policy, what we saw yesterday i think made him the

surprising candidate, he spoke from the heart, he does connect with people, karen, how does mitt romney start to first sort of repair the damage by a tougher than expected primary fight? in terms of liability, mitt romney is 40 points behind. that's why rick santorum was able to change. >> first, he needs to get a personality transplant, which i don't think they offer anywhere, so that's tough. maybe he can do some work and be more authentic. he puts his dog on the roof. that's who he is. he's not the beer-drinking, wearing jeans and comfortable. that's all i think americans feel, like he's a phony. >> you know, david, lot of people have pointed out the fact, it's not that barack obama

is exactly going to the poor house, this guy was, the harvard review editor, he had a best-selling book, obviously, his future is assured as a former president of the united states whenever that will be a year or five years from now, but there is this authenticity question that lirngs for mitt romney, what does he do? >> i agree the likability numbers are problematic. it's something that he can repair. he has been fighting off both democrats on the left and republicans on the right and he's in a much better position now going head to head against the president to have at least a unified party behind him, only get attacked from one direction. it's much easier to be likable when not everyone hates you. it's important though, for him to be who he is. i don't think hi needs a

personality transplant. if people believe what they're getting a genuine article of what he offers, if the campaign shapes up in a way that's advantageous for him. >> richard, there are two issues here, one for mitt romney is ability the personality, the other is the issue, conservatives who have real problems in the way that he talked about some of the things that are very important and maybe changed his position on that. 7 .more self-identified democrats voted in 2008 than republicans. the enthusiasm clearly four years ago, three years ago was with barack obama. so, can mitt romney bring lukewarm conservatives into the fold? not that they're going to vote for barack obama, might they stay home 1234

>> i think there are things that romney can do to solidify the base. but i think they're going to peal in comparison to what barack obama has done. barack obama will guarantee an energized conservative base. whatever concerns that may have on romney are overshadowed completely by their growing terror of a second obama term, those comments to the russian president are going to reverberate, reverberate. the suspicion among social conservatives that there's a real radical in barack obama that's going to come out the day after the election. they're fearful about that. that will energize the republican base around mitt romney. unless he does foolish things. >> i want to talk about his running mate possibilities. do you think it's enough to be against obama as opposed to for

who you are candidate is? >> it certainly helps in this case. and remember, being for santorum does not necessarily mean you were anti-romney, romney was already getting about 40% of evangelical votes in the republican primaries. and i know a lot of folks who spoerted santorum who are going to have no problems supporting romney against barack obama. >> in the times, nate suggestsed that mitt to romney is reasonably well vetted. he comes from a swing state, which might make him a vp pick. would it help him at this point to at least give signals that rick santorum would be part of thissed a min strax should romney win? >> i think that when he says that santorum's going to have a significant role to play in the republican party, i think there needs to be a clearer sit-down

where they have -- where romney is listening to santorum and santorum is listening to romney and out of that, santorum is considered for a significant role. i think he would make a great vice presidential nominee. i think marco rubio would. the comment has been the republican bench is stronger than the first string. and it's from that bench that you're going to find the vice presidential nominee. >> you're suggesting that there's somebody out there on the bench who's stronger than the nominee mitt romney? >> i think for instance marco rubio would bring an excitement to this ticket that it doesn't have with just with mitt romney. marco rubio is one of the more talented people in politics that i have met in the last ten years. >> so mitt romney needs that? without it he's in trouble.

>> any ticket would benefit from marco rubio. >> in general, mitt romney -- there are two schools of thought. richard, there are people who think with rare exception, vice presidents have rarely made the difference or will make the difference, do you think that mitt romney needs that right pick to make the difference for him? >> well, i think this is the most important election for the future of the united states since 1860. i remember the 1960 election and lyndon johnson did make the difference by taking his home state of texas. i think this is going to be a very, very close election by a very evenly divided country and florida could be as decisive this year as texas was in 196037. >> richard land, who seems to be putting his weight behind marco rubio, at least as one of his possibilities. thank you, richard.

what did you hear there, karen, i heard him saying that mitt romney has to be careful, he needs some help? >> did he say 1860. marco rubio, he kept saying mar marco, because florida is going to be an important swing state. marco rubio could possibly help mitt romney win florida. but i think, you know, that's not going to be his best pick. but he needs a very strong pick. >> even as we speak, i'm told that mitt romney just said that yesterday, the general election begins, david, at a fund-raiser last night, here's what the president had to say, sort of setting up the general election. >> that's the choice in this election. this isn't your run of mill political debate. we have not seen a contrast like this in a long time. this is the defining issue of

our time. this make or break moment for our middle class. >> historians are going to love this one. at another event he compared to race to johnson goldwater which ended up in the biggest democratic landslide. mitt romney said, oh no, it's more like carter/reagan. david, how do you see this race shaping up? >> over the past couple of days, i'll let mitt romney and president obama fight that one out. i think we have seen in speeches and remarks from both the president and the governor over the past couple of days how they want to frame this election. mitt romney wants it to be about economic opportunity for everybody. some will succeed. some will fail. but everybody will have the freedom to pursue the dreams they want. the president is arguing for economic fairness so that everybody has a fair shot. everybody's protected by the

government if they have a run of bad luck. both of these messages have an opportunity to resonate with voters. neither should be dismissed or discounted by the opposition. but, it does set up a contrast as the president said and mitt romney has said, that's what could this election very interesting. they're offering contrasts. romney's message resonates message with independents better than the president's. >> one of the things that the president is looking at very strongly and he's going to be talking very shortly at the white house, the buffett rule. we'll be hearing about this all week long. again, it's about tax fairness. >> yes, yes. and mitt romney is the poster person for this. he's the example. we forgot about the occupy wall street movement. romney is the 1%. >> behind the president today is

going to be people who make million dollars, the secretaries. >> yeah. it's perfect for the president's argument to have mitt romney as that candidate. put a big bull's eye around him and say this is the problem. >> thank you both to you. and richard land as well. we want to get you caught up on this developing story. this past hour, all of the countries around that epicenter of that powerful earthquake have lifted the tsunami warning. witnesses said that the buildings shook for three, four minutes. people started running to higher ground, fearing a tsunami. this was the same area hit back in 2004. it killed about 230,000 people. the area continues to be hit by aftershocks. right now, again, it appears

that the worst is over for now. again, we're waiting for the president at the white house, he's going to urge congress to pass the so-called buffett rule, that will mean higher taxes on the wealthy and we'll have that live for you when it happens. you're watching msnbc. brother's keeper. what's number two we wanna do? bring it up to 90 decatherms. how bout ya, joe? let's go ahead and bring it online. attention on site, attention on site. now starting unit nine. some of the world's cleanest gas turbines are now powering some of america's biggest cities. siemens. answers. you're probably muddling through allergies. try zyrtec® for powerful allergy relief. and zyrtec® is different than claritin® because it starts working faster on the first day you take it. zyrtec®. love the air. the sleep number bed.

the magic of this bed is that you're sleeping on something that conforms to your individual shape. wow! that feels really good. you can adjust it to whatever your needs are. so whatever you feel like, the sleep number bed's going to provide it for you. now, sleep number redefines memory foam, combining coolfit gel foam with sleep number adjustability! during our white sale, receive $400 in free bedding. only at the sleep number store, where queen mattresses start at just $699. ttd#: 1-800-345-2550 let's talk about the cookie-cutter retirement advice ttd#: 1-800-345-2550 you get at some places. ttd#: 1-800-345-2550 they say you have to do this, have that, invest here ttd#: 1-800-345-2550 ttd#: 1-800-345-2550 you know what? ttd#: 1-800-345-2550 you can't create a retirement plan based on ttd#: 1-800-345-2550 a predetermined script. ttd#: 1-800-345-2550 at charles schwab, we actually take the time to listen - ttd#: 1-800-345-2550 to understand you and your goals... ttd#: 1-800-345-2550 ...so together we can find real-life answers for your

ttd#: 1-800-345-2550 real-life retirement. ttd#: 1-800-345-2550 talk to chuck ttd#: 1-800-345-2550 and let's write a script based on your life story. ttd#: 1-800-345-2550

in just minutes president obama will make a new populous pitch to level the tax playing field. he'll be flakd by millionaires and their secretaries at the white house. he'll call on congress to pass the buffett law, famously named after billionaire warren buffett. the president's plan would impose a minimum tax of 30% of those earning a million dollars a year. let's bring in vermont senator, bernie sanders. good morning.

you know what the republicans are saying about the buffett rule, they say it's class warfare, what is your argument. >> i think the republicans are right. class warfare is being waged in america. it's the corporate and billionaires who are waging warfare against the middle class. sadly the wrong side is winning. chris, a study just came out recently, it said between 2009 and 2010, 93%, 93% of all new income went to the top 1%. today, you have the top 1% earning more income. you have the 400 wealthiest people in the america owning more wealth than the bottom half americans. people on top who are doing phenomenal well. their effective real tax rate is the lowest in decades. on the other hand, you have a

declining middle class and massive unemployment. should the wealthiest people in this country in terms of deficit reduction, in terms of helping us fund education and infrastructure be asked to paid more in taxes, of course they should. >> if they to go along with the buffett law, it's going to generate 10% in revenue. which is a drop in the bucket when you're dealing with this deficit. >> they're right. we have to do a lot more. one of the things that we got to do in addition moving toward progressive taxes, we have to do away with these outrageous loopholes that agree. oil companies making billions of dollars in years in profit and paying nothing in taxes.

huge sums of tax savings like bermuda in the cayman islands, we're losing hundreds of billions dollars in revenue. should we start closing some of these tax loopholes that corporations are enjoying? of course we should do. >> former president george w. bush made a rare comment, he talked about the tax cuts that bare his name. >> i which they weren't called the bush tax cuts. they're probably less likely to be raised. but if you raise taxes, you're taking money out of the pockets of consumer. >> what about that argument? >> you know, chris, we did hear that point from president bush for eight years. we did hear that and during his eight-year term, we lost 500,000

private sector jobs. president bush and mitt romney are exponents of a theory called trickle-down economy. if you give huge tax breaks to millionaires and billionaires, they're going to reinvest in america and we're going to live happily ever. we saw that movie during the bush years, it failed. when bush left office, we were losing 800,000 jobs a month. we were on the verge of an international financial collapse. it just so happens that theory doesn't work for ordinary people. it works for millionaires and billionaires. it has to change. we got to start investing in programs that help the middle class and the working families. but not progressive taxation, but fighting to defend social security, medicare and medicaid.

transforming our energy system. president bush and mitt romney's economic theories work for the wealthiest people in this country. they don't work for the working americans. >> bernie sanders, from the beautiful state of vermont. thank you so much. we're waiting to hear what the president has to say about the buffett rule and while he'll focus on the economy and we'll have that for you live, michelle obama has been reaching out to a different set of voters and we'll talk about that next.

at the white house the president has just take on the to podium to talk about the buffett rule, in what he calls a fundamental choice in the upcoming election. let's listen. >> -- everybody's doing their fair share and everybody's playing by the same set of rules. the people who have joined me here today, are extremely successful. they created jobs.

opportunities for thousands of americans. they're rightly proud of their success. they love the country that made their success possible. and most importantly, they want to make sure that the next generation, people coming up behind them, have the same opportunities that they had. they understand, though, that for some time now, when compared to the middle class, they hadn't been asked to do their fair share. and they are here because they believe there's something deeply wrong and irresponsible about that. at a time when the share of national income flowing to the top 1% of people in this country. these same folks are paying taxes at one of the lowest rates in 50 years. in fact 1 in 4 millionaires pays a lower tax rate than middle-class household.

some millionaires take advantage of loopholes and shelters that let them get away with paying no income taxes. that's perfectly legal under the system we currently have. you heard that my friend warren buffett pays a lower tax rate than his secretary. he's been pointing that out and said we should fix it. the executives behind me and in the audience agree with him. they agree with warren. this should be fixed. they in fact have brought some of their own assistants to prove that same point. it's just plain wrong that middle-class americans pay a higher share in taxes than some millionaires and billionaires. now, it's that these folks are excited about the idea of paying more taxes.

nobody loves paying taxes. in a perfect world, none of us would have no taxes, no deficits to pay down and schools and bridges and roads and national defense and caring for our veterans would all happen magically. we would have all money we need to make investments in the things that help us grow. investments by the way that have been essential to the private sector success as well. not just -- they're not just important in terms of people that directly benefit from these programs. but historically those investments that we made in science, technology and transportation, that's part of what made us an economic superpower. but this is the real world that we live in. and we have real choices and real consequences. right now, we've got the

significant deficits that are going to have to be closed. right now, we have significant needs if we want to continue to grow this economy and compete in this 21st century hypercompetitive, technologically integrated economy. that means we can't afford to keep spending more money on tax cuts for wealthy americans who don't need them and weren't even asking for them. it's time we did something about it. now, i want to emphasize this is not simply an issue of redistributing wealth. that's what you'll hear from those who object to a tax plan that is fair. this is not just about fairness. this is also about growth. this is also about making the investments that we need to succeed and it's about us as a

country to be willing pay for those investments and close the deficit. next week, members of congress will have a chance to vote on what we call the buffett rule. it's simple. if you make more than $1 million a year, not if you've have $1 million, but if you make $1 million a year, you should pay at least the same percentage of your income in taxes as middle-class families do. if on the other hand you make less than $250,000 a year like 98% of americans families should do, your taxes shouldn't go up. that's pretty sensible. most americans agree with me. so do most millionaires. 2/3 of millionaires support this idea. so do nearly half of all republicans across the country. we just need some of the republican politicians here in washington to get onboard with

where the country is. i know that some prefer to run around use the same reflexive the false claim of not raising the taxes. i cut taxes for small business owners 17 times. for most folks in this room, taxes are as low as they have been in 50 years. there are others, who say this is just a gimmick. just taxing millionaires and billionaires just imposing the buffett rule won't do enough to close the deficit. well, i agree. that's not all we have to do to close the deficit. a notion that it doesn't solve the entire problem doesn't mean we shouldn't do it at all. there's enough excuses for inaction in washington we certainly don't need more

excuses. i just point out that the buffett rule is something that will get us moving in the right direction towards fairness, towards economic growth. it will help us close our deficit. if republicans in congress were truly concerned with deficits and debt, then i'm assuming that they wouldn't have proposed to spend an additional 1$1.3 trillion on tax cuts. they want to go in the opposite direction. they want to double down on some of the inequities that already exist in the tax code. if we're going to keep giving someone like me and people in this room, tax breaks that we don't need or afford, one or two things happen. either you got to borrow more money to pay down a deeper

deficit or you've got to demand deeper sacrifices from the middle class and you've got to cut investments that help us grow as an economy. you got to tell seniors to pay more for their medicare. you'll have to tell that working family that scrape and buy they'll have to do more because the wealthiest of americans are doing less. and that's not right. the middle class has seen enough of its security erode over the past few decades that we shouldn't let that happen. we're not going to stop building first-class schools and making sure that they've got science labs in them, you know, we're

not going to fail to make investments in science and research that cure or help people. or create technology that ends create jobs and industries that we haven't seen before. america, prosperity has never just trickled down from a wealthy few. prosperity has been built from the bottom up and from the heart of the middle class, outward. and so, it's time for congress to stand up for the middle class and make our tax system fair by passing this buffett rule. let me just close by saying this i'm not the first president to call for this idea that everyone has to do their fair share. one of my predecessors traveled across the country pushing for the same concept. he received a letter from a wealthy executive, paid lower tax rate s than his secretary, e

wanted to come washington, so this president gave another speech that said it was crazy, that's a quote, that loopholes make it so they pay nothing. that class warrior was ronald reagan. he thought that in america the wealthiest should pay their fair share and he said so. i know that position might disqualify from the republican primaries these days. but what ronald reagan was calling for then is the same thing we're calling for then a return to basic fairness and responsibility. everybody doing their part. and if it will help convince folks in congress to make the right choice, we could call it the reagan rule instead of the

buffett rule. the choice is clear, this vote is coming up. i'm asking every american who agrees with me, call your member of congress, write a e-mail, tweet them, stop giving the tax breaks to the wealthiest americans who don't need them and is not asking for them. start asking everybody to do their fair share. every american who's willing to work hard has a chance at similar skesdz. so, that we're making investments that help this economy grow. so that we're able to bring down our deficits in a fair and balanced and sensible way. tell them to pass the buffett rule. i'm going to keep on making this case across the country, because i believe that this rule is consistent with those principals and those valls that have make us this remarkable place where everybody has opportunity.

now, each of us is only here because someone somewhere felt responsibility not only for themselves but also for their community and for their country. they felt a responsibility to us, the future generations and now it's our turn to be similarly responsible. now it's turn to preserve that american dream for future generations. i want to thank those of you who are here with me today. i want to appeal to the american people and make sure we keep the pressure on congress to do the right thing. thank you very much, everybody. [ applause ] >> the president surrounded by millionaires and their assistants and many more of them in audience getting applause for his argument for the buffett rule. 30% for anyone who makes $1 million a year, they should be paying the same as middle-class americans.

certainly, little in comparison to the average middle class american. two-thirds of millionaires he pointed out support it. a majority of american people support it. we'll be hearing from him more this week. he'll be going around the country and talking about support for the buffett rule. we'll have much more coming up on that and some surprising new developments in the trayvon martin case. but let's get to politics now, newt gingrich is not dropping out of the race. however a utah newspaper reports that his check to get on the ballot there bounced. the salt lake tribune said that the campaign sent the check in march, it was returned for insufficient funds. we reached out to the gingrich campaign. this is what they told us, a second check has been sent to the good people of utah. speakingover money, george clooney is loaning some of his to president obama. well, kind of. he's going to host a 150-seat,

$40,000 a plate dinner for the president's rere-election campaign. he's been testifying at a house hearing and every getting arr t arrested for protesting at the sudan embassy. the first lady is going to appear on the colbert report. but she might need a rest after "the biggest loser." >> white house. i love >> it she's sweating there. she did the entire workout with the contestant contestants. working out is a key part of her let's move initiative to get kids to exercise and eat right. >> i am a big fan of "the biggest loser." because the contestants inspire so many of us. >> and the first lady personally greeted each contestant with a hug and had inspiration for them

on the weight-loss. the governmenting, new predictions on summer prices at the pump. worst-case scenario, apparently not going to happen, we're going to pay more than we did a year ago. >> a small chance that prices of gas can high to $5. for april through september, it's predicting that gas will cost on average 3.95 per gallon. that's a 66.3% year over year increase. americans have cut back and are expected to continue that trend into the summer as these prices rise. even still, analysts expect that households will spend an average $3,410 on gas this year.

>> thank you. while the first lady hit primetime, her husband has been burning up social media. according to the washington post, president obama has the most mentions on twitter over the past week, followed by mitt romney, rick santorum, ron paul and newt gingrich. if you read only one thing today, suggest on a day when the political word is speculating about rick santorum's future, the buzz over hillary 2016 is ramping up. texts from hillary has become the must-read for political junkies. i have a link to it on our facebook page right now. check it out. let's start with car insurance x. this one does save people a lot of money

and it's very affordable. it was very delicious. could you please taste car insurance y? this one is much more expensive. ugh. it's really bad. let's see what you picked. oh, geico! over their competitor. you are a magician right? no., oh. you're not?, no., oh, well, give it a shot. i am so, so sorry. it was this close. [ sneezes ] [ male announcer ] you may be an allergy muddler. try zyrtec® for powerful allergy relief. and zyrtec® is different than claritin® because it starts working faster on the first day you take it. zyrtec®. love the air. [ sneezes ]

my high school science teacher made me what i am today. our science teacher helped us build it. ♪ now i'm a geologist at chevron, and i get to help science teachers. it has four servo motors and a wireless microcontroller. over the last three years we've put nearly 100 million dollars into american education.

that's thousands of kids learning to love science. ♪ isn't that cool? and that's pretty cool. ♪ 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'. that's good morning, veggie style. hmmm. for half the calories plus veggie nutrition. could've had a v8. enjoy hot and spicy food?

it may help your cholesterol as well. new research states the ingredient that makes some pepper spicy can prevent blood vessels from constricting and narrowing. that can prevent heart attacks and stroke. just moments ago, before al sharpton national action network, attorney general eric holder ca eer gave an update on shooting death of trayvon martin. >> the department will conduct a thorough and independent review of the evidence. although i can't share with where our current efforts will lead us from here, in all cases we'll examine the can facts and the law. if we find evidence of a potential federal criminal, civil rights crime, we'll take appropriate action. >> in a meantime, several new twist and turns this in this case. special prosecutor can tell us today, whether george zimmerman

will be charged. in a bizarre turn, zimmerman's lawyers are no longer defending him, they raised questions about his whereabouts and state of mind mind. >> based on learning from the special prosecutor directly, he had contacted them when they said they won't talk to me without my lawyers. his actions here recently don't speeblg of someone who's completely doing very well. he may just been an emotionally beatdown guy in this process. >>. i'm not a lawyer, that seems strange to me yesterday. i was watching that press conference, i don't know if i have seen anything quite like it. >> very, very strange, chris. if you're going to withdraw from representing someone, why do an interview?

it's inappropriate. >> obviously, they reached a relationship schism that they requires their withdrawal from the case. they're trying to advance this case in the court of public opinion. >> independently zimmerman tried to contact the prosecutor after apparently telling them, want nothing to do to talking with anybody, also with an interviewer. >> so, i don't think thatted a vantzs his case. i think it's awful, negative towards him. it's inappropriate for you to go and say anything. >> they also said they haven't had face to face contact with martin, he's been their client through texts and e-mails, how unusual is that in. >> very. >> now, we do know, chris, we were talking yesterday about how he said that he was fearful and that he left and he was in fear for his life.

he might be at a undisclosed location. >> let me ask you about what's going on now in the mind of the prosecutor, she made it clear, within 72 hours we're going to get something new in this case, what's going on inside the prosecutor's case? >> they're building it with reference to the florida statute that has been the focus, the stand your ground law, it's a somewhat confusing statute, that creates some unnecessary problems for the prosecution. i think when they analyze its carefully it will be pretty clear based on the facts, it probably will not provide a defense for zimmerman on these facts. because, the law does not protect, even the florida law doesn't protect someone who is an aggressor, you cannot take an initiative, you can't attack

someone else and benefit from a self-defense claim when that person who is acting lawfully uses force to defend themselves. >> with that same theory apply by the fact that he was following him and he continued to have some sort of confrontation, whoever may have, there's some dispute about this, threatened the other person first. >> the law specifically addresses people who initially provoke an attack against themselves. the protections that would otherwise be available to someone who's attacked by someone who's attacking unlawfully or not available to the initial aggressor. >> so, do you think what we're going to hear that there will be charges filed? >> my guess is, at the very least, we'll get some briefing on what facts have been developed. that have not been previously

disclosed in the course of the investigation may correct the record or whatever apprehensions are in the public do main. >> what happens if we have george zimmerman without a lawyer? >> he'll get a very good public defender. but will happen after the charges he's allowed to do a motion which allows him to use the stand your ground and the judge can say that he gets immunity from that. 99% of the time the judge said that the stand your ground doesn't apply to you, let the jury decide and then it goes to the jury. there's a little procedural thing here. but i think there are going to be charges whether it's manslaughter or murder. because of the public outcry, it looks like that's the road we're heading down. >> will there be a change of

venue? >> i think everyone at this point has been tainted. everybody in other country has heard about this case. it's going to be heard to find jurors who haven't been tainted. >> karen and zachary, thanks to both of you. we did hear from the special prosecutor in the case yesterday that something will be announced within 72 hours. we'll keep you posted right here on msnbc. and we'll be right back. with anti smudge power will last through all your drama. who knew lashes this big could last this long. [ male announcer ] new lashblast 24hr from covergirl. riding the dog like it's a small horse is frowned upon in this establishment! luckily though, ya know, i conceal this bad boy underneath my blanket just so i can get on e-trade. check my investment portfolio, research stocks... wait, why are you taking... oh, i see...solitary. just a man and his thoughts. and a smartphone... with an e-trade app.

♪ nobody knows... [ male announcer ] e-trade. investing unleashed. the chevy cruze eco also offers 42 mpg on the highway. actually, it's cruze e-co, not ec-o. just like e-ither. or ei-ther. or e-conomical. [ chuckling ] or ec-onomical. pa-tato, po-tato, huh? actually, it's to-mato, ta-mato. oh, that's right. [ laughs ] [ car door shuts ] [ male announcer ] visit your local chevy dealer today. now very well qualified lessees can get a 2012 chevy cruze ls for around $159 per month. e.p.a. estimated 36 miles per gallon highway.

♪ hi, everybody. i'm thomas roberts. agenda next hour, rick santorum is out of romney's way. will it be smooth sailing to the convention? he said the war on women is fiction, saying the war of women is like saying there's a war on

caterpillars. where in the world is george zimmerman the special prosecutor said that she'll have announcement this week? chris? >> thank you, thomas. the simpsons home, a no-snooze alarm. down to the wire. one of tv's best-kept secrets is a secret no more. the home of the simpsons is springfield, oregon. he spilled the beans during the interview. as finishing a marathon at the north pole isn't special enough, the woman crossed the finish line, her boyfriend got down and proposed. i think she said yes. how about a shampoo from a

robot? panasonic is testing a product that scans the customer's head and then scrubs the hair. it could go on a market in a year. if you can sleep through anything this alarm clock might be for you. no snooze button. you can't unplug it because it unplugs. you have to go to the other room to stop it from buzzing. that's going to do it from us. everyone is doing a little imitation. i'm chris jansing. thomas roberts is up next. i'll see you back here tomorrow. sorry. sore knee.

blast of cold feels nice. why don't you use bengay zero degrees? it's the one you store in the freezer. same medicated pain reliever used by physical therapists. that's chilly. [ male announcer ] new bengay zero degrees. freeze and move on.

until i had the shingles. i have never encountered such a burning sensation... new bengay zero degrees.

it was like a red rash. like somebody had set a bag of hot charcoal on my neck. i had no idea it came from chickenpox. it's something you never want to encounter. for more of the inside story, visit shinglesinfo.com zmrnchs rick santorum called him the worst republican in the country to put up against barack obama. but with santorum out, it's all about the numbers for mitt romney now. we'll talk to the rnc chair, can his party come together and what

about that so-called war on women comment? the big question at this hour, where in the world is george zimmerman? his lawyers quit just as the special prosecutor in the case says that she's going to have a decision in the next 72 hours in the shooting death of trayvon martin. and the story of how an testimony brought at a garage sale a year ago, could be worth more than $130 million in coca-cola stock. hi, everybody. great to have you with me today. i'm thomas roberts. the road to the republican nomination is now wide open for romney, after months, months of hard-fought fighting, primaries, contentious debates. romney emerged as the clear but flawed front-runner. 11 victories in 2012. making the decision to step aside with the prospect of losing a political race in his home state for the second time. >> we made the decision to get in this race at our