making news this morning -- mitt romney's resurgence. firmly the front-runner again. after south carolina's disappointment, a decisive win in florida. the other republicans not giving up. the u.s. on alert. iran is more ready than ever to launch attacks on american soil. and sarah palin's look-alike. our first look at julian moore in her role as alaska's governor. good wednesday morning, everyone. i'm paula faris. rob nelson is off this morning. mitt romney's run away win in florida has left the other candidates black and blue. they're all moving ahead today, with critical contests in nevada, colorado, and minnesota in the next week. is this race as good as over? it's "your voice, your vote."

that m tahman bradley is live in washington. >> reporter: this thing was a blowout. the exit polls showed that florida voters still don't think romney is conservative enough. so his rivals plejed to keep fighting. mitt romney leaves florida with a decisive win and momentum. >> to the people in the room and the people all over florida, thank you tonight for this great victory. >> reporter: romney took advantage of a more diverse ele electorate. after overwhelming newt gingrich with partially negative ads, he turned his attacks toward the president. >> mr. president, you were elected to lead. you chose to follow. now it's time to get out of the way. >> reporter: the candidate will

begin receiving secret service proe tegs. >> we're going contest every place and we'll win. we'll be in tampa as the nominee in august. >> reporter: the former house speaker is hoping to survive february when the campaign rolls through states romney won when he ran four years ago, places like nevada, with a big mormon population, and michigan, romney's birthplace. gingrich hopes conservatives will coalesce around him. >> it's clear. this will be a two-person race between the conservative leader, newt gingrich and the moderate. >> reporter: rick santorum is out with a new ad. >> voters discovered gingrich wasn't a true conservative. >> reporter: 44% of voters felt that romney was best suited to beat president obama. >> thanks, tahman bradley, live

in washington. we'll talk to mitt romney later on "good morning america." rick santorum tells cnn his daughter bella will likely go home from the hop soon. she had a strong ways of pneumonia over the weekend. and a milestone for ron paul and his wife. they celebrate their 55th wedding anniversary today. meanwhile, a new filing shows president obama is flush in campaign cash. his campaign reports they have $82 million on hoond and it raised about $5 million in the last 24 hours. mr. obama made a quick trip to to auto show. in a veiled swipe at republicans, it's important to realize that some leaders were willing to let the industry die. to capitol hill now. new warnings about iran. james clapper reported that iran

is growing more bold and more ready than ever to launch terror attacks inside the united states. >> i think they are insistent with their outreach elsewhere. they're trying to penetrate and engage in this hemisphere. >> the threat doms as the u.s. is leading an international boycott of iran's oil because of its nuclear ambitions. the united nationss is attacking the deadly violence in syria. secretary of state is asking that the u.n. ask president bashir to step down. more than 5,000 people have died in qulashs the syrian government. in italy, the search for the missing in the cruise ship wreck has been called off. it's too dangerous for searchers. among the people still missing are jerry and barbara heil of

michigan. the family says they are disheartened but they understand the decision. today is february 1st. it's been a wacky winter. some of us are holding golf clubs and tennis rackets. here's abc's scott goldberg. >> reporter: in this weird winter, one of the strange sights is a snowplow. that snowstorm in new york was special. across the rest of the country, two dozen cities reported record highs. two-thirds of the country is ten degrees warmer than normal. in the deep red swath, 20 to 25 degrees above normal. even the tundra in the twin cities is not so frozen. organizers of an annual cross-country ski race had to scrap plans to put the finish line in the middle of the city because there's no snow on the

street. >> it's not something we like. >> reporter: in chicago, the warmest start to winter in 78 years. weird as it sounds, spring will be seven weeks away. scott goldberg, abc news, new york. >> you know that means we'll get hammered in the next couple of weeks. more record highs along the rece coast. showers for new york, nashville, new orleans. thunderstorms in south florida. heavy snow in northern maine. out west, mountain snow showers in the rockies. phoenix at 72. 55 in omaha. 44 in chicago. mostly 60s from new york to atlanta and miami. warms up to 80. dallas, 75. well, coming up, the outcry over one super bowl ad before it even airs. plus major recall involving

birth control pill that may not be effective. and to indy, a super bowl tradition. always wacky, always entertaining, media day. we're right back.

and welcome back, everyone. reports say today is the day for facebook. the social network is expected to file its initial public offering of stock today. the preliminary target is likely to be $5 billion. the demand for shares could

bring it as high as $100 billion. the stock goes on sale in may. good news, u.s. markets are off to the best start in 15 years after a month of slow, but steady advances. tokyo's nikkei average picked up seven points today. hong kong's hang seng lost 57 points. in london, the ftse opened higher. on wall street, the dow fell 21 points. the nasdaq gained 2. the housing market is still in trouble. home prices fell for a third straight month. hardest hit was atlanta, real estate hit its lowest level since the crisis began. a large number of vacant homes means prices are likely to stay low. and pfizer is recalling a million pacts of birth control pills. the pacts may not have enough tablets are active ingredients, raising the risk of unwanted pregnancies. the expiration dates are.

>> july to march 2013. a super bowl commercial featuring chimpanzees is just wrong, according to a zoo. the lincoln park zoo says the spot will hurt conservation efforts for this endangered species. can't we just have a little fun? it's the other big sports story. peyton manning and rumors of retirement. so has he played his final ever? and cheating by an elite college. sending shock waves through higher education. [ female announcer ] did you know that the sources of bad breath are hidden in the contours of your teeth & tongue. introducing a breakthrough for aquafresh. new extreme clean pure breath action. its micro active foam penetrates those hard to reach places. and it now contains a mineral compound that captures and neutralizes bad breath odors

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>> hi, i'm snuggle. look, i get towels fluffy... blankets cuddly... and clothes stay fresh... [sniffs] for 14 days. and i cost less than the leading brand. let's snuggle. [ kate ] most women may not be properly absorbing the calcium they take because they don't take it with food. switch to citracal maximum plus d. it's the only calcium supplement that can be taken with or without food. that's why my doctor recommends citracal maximum. it's all about absorption. chicago. as we mentioned earlier, people in the windy city are enjoying the warmest start of winter in eight decades.

the temperature hit 57 yesterday. a far cry from a year ago, when a blizzard, the third worst in the city's history, left the city under nearly two feet of snow. i was there. it was not good that time. for a look at morning road conditions. snow on i. 95 in northern maine. showers damped i-40 in memphis and i-10 from houston to new orleans. snow and ice on parts of i-15. and i-90 in the cascades. if you're flying, airport delays are possible in new orleans, atlanta, and washington, d.c. there's now a possible accomplice in the murder of a wealthy michigan woman. hundreds of mourners attended the service for jane bashara. her husband, bob, is a person of interest. they say joez joseph gents, man

turned himself in to police yesterday could have have been an accomplice. same-sex marriage is about to become the law of the land in washington state. the legislation is expected to sail through the house. if passed, washington will join d.c. and seven states. the coast guard is trying to figure out what caused an explosion that ripped apart this 40-foot boat. this blast occurred last night, trapping man that lived on the boat. he was air lifted to a nearby hospital. there was so much broken glass and debris, it wasn't clear how many over boats were damaged. one of the most elite private colleges in the country is at the center of a cheating scandal. this time, it doesn't involve dishonest students, rather administrators hoping to boost the school's rankings.

here's abc's abbie boudreau. >> reporter: at claremont mckenna, college students live by a code of honor. but educators at this prestigious liberal arts college outside los angeles admitted they were the ones who had been cheating. for six years the school submitted false data to the critical "u.s. news & world report" lying about the average math and reading s.a.t. scores of their students, inflating them by 10 to 20 points each. >> there is a violation of trust. people in this country think that colleges and universities are supposed to be, you know, pillars in our society. >> reporter: "u.s. news," a tool depended on by families, had been ranking claremont mckenna in the top ten of liberal arts colleges in the entire country. the cheating scandal could change that. the students there, who pay a yearly tuition of more than $55,000, were trying to come to terms with what their school had done. >> it's a little embarrassing for the school, i think. >> reporter: why would a school cheat? experts say every notch a school can rise on the rankings is critical. >> what they get in the end is

better students. they attract better faculty. they attract more money. >> reporter: the school blames one administrator who has been fired. he's now gone if the college has declined our requests for an interview. they said to a letter to students and staff that they take the situation seriously. a college that pride its on teaching its students is itself learning a valuable lesson. abbie boudreau, abc news. colts quarterback peyton manning is making it as clear as possible, he is not retiring. he intends to back on the field. he missed the entire last season the colts went 2-14, fired their head coach and gms. the recovery was not progressing well enough for him to return.

meantime, his little brother, eli, was getting plenty of attention at the annual super bowl media day. he called it a special experience that every quarterback should cherish. tom braid zi did i says come sunday's game, he doesn't want to throw any interceptions. thousands of people paid $25 to get in to media day, the first time fans have been allowed in. now to hoops highlights from espn news. >> good morning, i'm jorge andr andres. let's start with the lakers. lakers leading, 18-13, kobe. hitting the "j." a lakers seven-point lead. kobe again. baseline drains another jumper. and it's 24-15, los angeles leads. moments later, kobe, again.

a big first quarter for him. draining the floater. he had 18 points in the first quarter. later, we'll have 27 minutes in the game. here in the second. another "j." and the lakers go on to win, 106-73. andrew bynum with 20 and 11. the celtics and the cavs. pick it up in the third quarter. celtics up 19. ray allen. doing what he do. knocking down the three from the win. he had 12 points, 8 assists. 75-63, boston leads. fourth quarter. a pull-up "j." cavs cutting it to a nine-point defic deficit. irving. 21 points. third straight game with 20 or more points. cavs within two. celtic possession. the celtics hang on to win, 93-90. for your espn news update,

i'm jorge andres. tune in to espn news for more. up next, "the pulse." and our first look at julianne moore playing sarah palin. and the first lady takes on jay leno's famously bad eating habits. unloaded a puddle of water. woman's voice: turn right ahead. so i make sure i have the right guidance to get me exactly where i need to be. it's the same with taxes. turbo tax has a unique gps feature that guides me step-by-step, so i know it's done right. they even offer representation in case of an audit, and calculations are guaranteed accurate, which helps me reach my maximum refund--guaranteed. man: try turbo tax online now. you don't pay unless you're satisfied.

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pulse." starting with a rare, late-night visit to the tonight show with jay leno. she brought him some honey from the white house. >> it looks like you got a little testy with al roker. show that footage. >> is jumping jacks your exercise of choice? >> i do everything. exercise, lunges. boxing. >> does the president have to worry about the boxing part? >> i didn't mean to hit him that hard. >> the first lady, always a good sport with a nasty left hook. over on cbs, david letterman marks his 30th anniversary. bill murray started the festivities last night. a cup cake and 30 burning

candles. the 30th anniversary show won't be an extravaganza because letterman does not like drawing attention to himself. can't get enough of the republican presidential race? you can do 2008 all over again thanks to hbo. "game change." the look at john mccain's last months of his campaign. including a choice of running mate. >> this is sarah. ♪ american woman said get away ♪ american woman >> the difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull? lipstick. >> ed harris plays john cain. >> thought for sure tina fey would get that job. that lives up to the moment. neil lane bridal

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updating the day's top stories, mitt romney crushed newt gingrich in yesterday's florida primary. soon, romney will be under secret service protection. we'll talk to him later on "good morning america." the director of national intelligence warned cob of new threats from iran. they're more determined than ever to launch an take on u.s. soil. the warmest january on record in some places. still above normal in the midwest. for the rest of today's weather, showers from the northeast to the gulf coast. snow in northern maine. more than a foot of snow in the cascades. and as the economy improves, it's expected that more than 1 million construction jobs will be added over the next six years. women usually lose out of those jobs because they lack the strength of men. as we hear from abc's nick watt, a california program hopes to

change that. >> reporter: in the shadow of a long beach power plant, a dozen women are stepping into tool belts. this innovative program trains women for, women, man's work. for the knew who make it through the grueling ten weeks, for those that can hack the physical demands, the rewards are great. because traditionally male blue collar jobs can pay a lot more. iron workers, nearly all men, make on average 23 bucks an hour. waitresses make just 10. >> women have to go out to work. i have a child to support. >> reporter: donna williamson, a recent graduate, is back lending a hand. she was a waitress scraping by on minimum wage. now she's an ironworker making twice as much. she's developed a crushing handshake and these days carries a tool belt that's almost a third of her body weight. >> at the end of the day, you are dirty. you're sweating. you don't smell the greatest, and that's fine with me. >> reporter: we followed donna to work grinding metal.

good day for this? >> good day. >> reporter: gender equality is advancing in other workplaces. a quarter of ceos are women, but ironworkers, well, still less than 1%. right here there are 250 guys at work and only 2 women. the program teaches safety, timekeeping, how to find work and -- >> we should talk about the habits that you're going to change. >> reporter: -- how to handle discrimination. >> and they need to learn to brush it off and continue on with their work. >> reporter: to set an example for others. >> if i can do it, they can do it, and i'm only 5'2". >> reporter: proving a woman's place might be on a construction site. nick watt, abc news, los angeles. story. 250,000 female full-time ners america. that's what's makes news this