once again live from washington, moderator gwen ifill. gwen: good evening. last week we were talking about the economy, but this week republicans jockeyed for the party's most conservative voters and president obama was forced into a political corner by catholic bishops opposed to birth control. the president decided to try to defuse the controversy with an appearance in the white house briefing room today. >> if a woman's employer is a charity or a hospital that has a religious objection to providing contraceptive services as part of their health plan, the insurance company, not the hospital, not the charity, will be required to reach out and offer the woman contraceptive care free of charge, without co-pays and without hassles. gwen: there was a religious liberty argument. there was a health care argument. and in the end they both collided. how did this whole thing blow up? >> this was an outgrowth of president obama's health care reform and democrats, particularly women, have argued that birth control should be just a basic part of women's health care. bu

once again, live from washington, moderator gwen ifill. gwen: good evening. you can tell we're approaching another do or die moment in this republican primary contest as the criticism gets more personal and the predictions more apocalyptic. next week's tests occur in arizona and michigan where this week there were high-minded speeches, low-minded negative advertising and one big debate. in this exchange the argument between romney and santorum seemed to be about birth control, but it really was about who do you trust? >> you said i personally opposed creptives -- crept isks but said you -- contraceptisks but voted for title x. you didn't say this was something i was opposed to. you said it in a positive light. >> i think i was making it clear that while i have a personal moral objection to it, that even though i don't support it i voted for bills that included it and i made it very clear in subsequent interviews that i don't support that. gwen: even though i don't support it i voted for bills that included it. that's never combfment which of these guys is pun

once again, live from washington, moderator gwen ifill. gwen: good evening. the candidate who has captured the imagination of republican voters this week doesn't have a national headquarters, a 50-state campaign infrastructure, or even a fancy campaign bus. but he seems to have one big advantage at least for now, his last name is not romney. so another big primary fight is under way. and in a half dozen states, this is what voters are seeing. >> santorum even voted to raise his own pay and joined hillary clinton to let convicted felons vote. rick santorum. big spender. washington insider. >> mitt romney's negative attack machine is back. on full throttle. this time romney's firing his mud at rick santorum. gwen: but as santorum is soaring in state and national polls right now, it's because people are -- is it because people are for him or is it because people are against romney? karen, straighten us out. >> very uplifting stuff in those ads. you know, we've now seen this sequence of events play out so many times where somebody emerges as the alternative to ro

gwen: speaking of europe, austerity. >> absolutely. gwen: ok. let's talk about how those republicans responded to this today. because they have the same general response to the economic news that it's not good much. >> i know the president didn't cause this downturn. this recession. but he didn't make it better, either. he made it worse. gwen: romney who won big in florida this week still seemed to have some trouble getting his footing on the campaign trail. and many of his wounds seemed to be self-inflicted. is that right, karen? >> the reason he couldn't get his footing is it was in his mouth. the morning after his victory in florida, and it was a big victory, it was almost a mirror image of south carolina. he won across the board except for the very most conservative voters. he won huge margins among women. so this should have been a moment of celebration and sort of laying the premise for going forward. but instead, in an interview on cnn, mitt romney had another one of these gaffes. and these all seem to sort of play into the stereotype. th

gwen: and california just adds

gwen: those might be fighting words in michigan. except -- >> my feeling was that we should not support the -- the government should not be involved in bailouts period. gwen: running to the right. can rick santorum outpace mitt romney? >> senator santorum is getting his moment in the spotlight now. which is a good thing. i hope people take a very close look at his record. if you want a fiscal conservative, you can't vote for rick santorum because he's not. he's not a deficit hawk. gwen: while in washington, congress grudgingly extends the payroll tax holiday. >> the only reason we're even talking about a payroll tax break or an extension of unemployment benefits is because of the president's economic policies have failed. >> this is make or break moment

gwen: romney and santorum square off. who has more to love in this expensive race? plus the slaughter in syria and the upheaval in afghanistan tonight on "washington week." >> while i was fighting to save the olympics you were fighting to save the bridge to nowhere. gwen: mitt romney punches back. >> who do you trust? who is authentic? who is believable? gwen: and it's a two-man race again this time with high stakes in romney's native state of michigan as both sides and even president obama spend like it's going out be style the >> fiscal coiffes? really? how can mitt romney beat broke where on the vital decisions player -- they're not much different. >> man who helped save my daughter was mitt romney. >> every reno candidate every republican candidate turned their barks said let detroit go

gwen is down in the weather center to update us on a very chilly, windy sunday morning gwen. >> those are great combinations in terms of words to describe it melanie. it is very very cold last night could have been one of the coldest nights of the season so far on record. let's begin with a look at our maps and show you exactly what is happening we do still have a winter storm warning until 7:00 p.m. tonight for allegheny,high lands ranch pendleton, mineral, frost burg, high town, bayard, mount storm here we are talking at least any where from 6 to 12- inch offs snow, by the time this is all over tonight. already shea have gotten in excess of -- they have gotten in excess of 6 inches. wind chill advisory as well. 40 miles per hour and wind chill values expected to be some 5 to 10 degrees below 0. that is in effect until noon. now, here is a look at the areas that we are saying all in pink where we have the winter storm warning but we have snow totals, 1.5 inches german town. damascus, over 2 inches, same for lavalle maryland. frost burg, 4 inches plus. bayard west irvin yeah, they hav

i'm gwen ifill. >> woodruff: and i'm judy woodruff. on the newshour tonight, we get the latest on the battle for 50 delegates in the sunshine state, and we talk with its junior senator, marco rubio. >> ifill: then ray suarez interviews susan rice, u.s. ambassador to the united nations, about the security council resolution calling for syria's leader to step down. >> woodruff: from germany, margaret warner reports on reaction to the european union's fiscal discipline deal. >> ifill: as florida votes, jeffrey brown examines the foreclosure crisis that has depressed housing prices there and around the country. >> woodruff: and we close with more on the political campaign from mark shields and david brooks. >> ifill: that's all ahead on tonight's newshour. major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: moving our economy for 160 years. bnsf, the engine that connects us. >> and by the alfred p. sloan foundation. supporting science, technology, and improved economic performance and financial literacy in the 21st century. and with t

now i don't want to see them blossom early with the warm weather we have been having we will go to gwen toll bert in the weather center for a look at what happened overnight. >>> good morning melanie. yes, we did have a lot of snow and accumulating in some of our neighbourhoods it is not quite over yet. let's take a look at our maps and show you totals we got in some regions, german town good an inch and a half of accumulation, in new market an inch and a half as well. over 2 inches, la vail, stevensville a half inch and one inch west virginia and barryville an itch -- berryville an inch and a half. >> there is still a few flakes coming from the west it will continue to push its way across the area see the swath of moisture, we are primarily concerned with what is happening to the north of us because from areas of western pennsylvania, that patch is starting to push its way to the southeast. so, we are really keeping an eye on that. periods of snow will start to taper off 9 to 10 this morning, through the east and west virginia panhandle a little steadier, areas north in maryland sox th

gwen over to you. >> we will recap the vote tonight in florida. romney won big with 46 percent of the vote, 32 percent for newt gingrich, rick santorum form came in a distant third followed by ron paul in single digits. some closing thoughts now from mark shields and david brooks. ron paul, fourth now in south carolina, fourth in florida, he is still campaigning and in nevada this week. what happens with him? >> i think caucus states are ron paul's hope. caucus states, the premium is upon ideological conviction and organizational excellence, and that is sort of an intense coalition of support can really reflect and almost magnify. i think ron paul in nevada and, maine looks to be fairly tough territory for him but i think that is the root for him at this point. >> let's look at this map, because as you look at the root, we are looking at a root that takes us through some interesting states but not a clear path through any one except for mitt romney except for whatever measures we have at hand. >> if we assume gingrich does better at the south, the

gwen i know everybody is wanting to see what is going to be going on today and tomorrow. >>> a lot of anticipation about this i will tell you the models have been all over the place finally things are coming together even last night when i was on in the 10 and 11:00 p.m. shows things were questionable. let's begin with a look at radar. this is the system down to the south that started in the gulf states pushing its way up the coast and really, it is starting to move its way a little more offshore which is good news for us. a lot of the pro sippation bands have dissipate -- precipitation bands have dissipated somewhat. looks like we will dodge the main bullet as far as the dc metro area is concerned but not as far to the areas south and west. winter weather warnings and advisories to tell you about winter storm warning, piedmont, south side virginia, lynchville, danville, martinsville income passed they could see 3 to 8 inches of snowfall winter weather advisory, any where from 1 to 4 inches there and that includes central and eastern virginia, high land, pendleton, fredericksburg, cha

and our gwen ifill is in phoenix tracking the developments. hello, gwen.we understand a lot of arizona republicans have already voted. what does this race look like right now? >> reporter: well, it's very interesting. the secretary of state here has said that about 178,000 people have already voted. they got their ballots some weeks ago, starting february 2, and if, indeed, they voted before this last santorum string of victories last week, that the conventional wisdom has it that mitt romney would have benefited from this. he's been strong in all the polls in arizona. there has been some closing with rick santorum in the last week or so. but the truth is rick santorum has absolutely no organization that anybody can identify here in arizona. he came and campaigned here yesterday, went to a couple events, some of which it seemed the attendees were setting up the chairs and setting up the event itself. , whereas mitt romney has a very organized campaign at work here and that often makes a difference when people are not deciding at the last minute, which is,

week is starting out great. >>> thanks, gwen. >>> taking the only off tonight, it's kind of a tongue twister. ever heard of sword swallower's day? >> it was a sight to see. there it goes. right down the hatch. sword swallowers showed out of their talent in l.a. this weekend. >> i can't look. >> the event is part of the sword swallowers association international and cosponsored by ripley's. >> now that's a tongue twister. >> there's an association for everything. >> really is. still looks painful. >>> big money contracts to big time -- >>> ryan zimmerman is getting a pretty penny. plus, we'll get to know one of his teammates, bryce harper in a one-on-one with dave feldman. plus, can you figure this out? what does a flying umbrella have to do with golf? we'll tell you in a couple of minutes. any guesses? >> something to do with the forecast? >> we'll just say mary poppins. you'll have to watch sports xtra. >>> we shall. speaking of mary poppins. let's talk about the oscars. getting close to the end. still handing out awards. here's a list of some of the winners so far. >> octavia spenc

good evening, i'm gwen ifill. >> brown: and i'm jeffrey brown. on the "newshour" tonight: margaret warner gets the latest on one of the deadliest prison fires in a century from nicholas casey of the "wall street journal." >> ifill: then, we turn to the g.o.p. presidential race, where former pennsylvania senator rick santorum is breaking into the lead. >> brown: we get two views on the safety and wisdom of building the nation's first new nuclear reactors in more than three decades. >> ifill: from tunisia, we have a report on the economic and political struggles of a fledgling democracy one year after the revolution that sparked the arab spring. >> what happened is it gave people the belief that someone is not as only nip at the present time as they thought they are. libya has a real shot as building a real democratic society. >> brown: and ray suarez examines the efforts to resolve a critical drug shortage, involving a treatment for childhood leukemia. >> ifill: that's all ahead on tonight's "newshour." major funding for the pbs newshour has been

i'm gwen ifill. >> woodruff: and i'm judy woodruff. on the newshour tonight, we examine what's at the source of the violence and how it will affect the american strategy and the ability to work with afghan security forces. >> ifill: then, we take a closer look at why mitt romney is having trouble closing the deal, through the eyes of voters in arizona. >> the scary part is falling into that who's electable, which way do i go? who do i think can get elected and who do i really support? >> woodruff: plus, stuart rothenberg and susan page assess the state of play in the g.o.p. campaign as the candidates vow they are in the race for the long haul. >> ifill: as russian presidential elections approach, antigovernment protests grow. ray suarez talks with margaret warner, who's reporting from moscow. >> woodruff: and spencer michels reports on how music therapy can help the brain recover from disability or injury. >> music can make a positive impact on people suffering from early onset dimension, kids with aus tism, with veterans coming back a

. >> ifill: and i'm gwen ifill. on the newshour tonight, we get the latest at what's turning out to be a dead heat in michigan from bill ballenger, and analysis from mark shields and david brooks. >> woodruff: then, ray suarez looks at the new york city police department's surveillance of muslim neighborhoods across the northeast in the wake of 9/11. >> ifill: from ethiopia, we look at the battle over land and water between relocated farmers and the government. >> this country is a country that has suffered food insecurity and famine and yet gives out these huge land resources. >> woodruff: we talk with marcia coyle about today's arguments at the supreme court on whether multinational corporations can be held responsible for human rights violations. >> ifill: and jeffrey brown talks with jason moran, the pianist, composer, and new musical adviser for jazz at the kennedy center for the performing arts washington. >> improvisation of music and jazz kindof forces us to focus. it forces us to have an imagination. >> woo

we will see you tonight at 10:00. >> thanks, gwen. >> you recognize that guy. you know him from two tickets to paradise. eddy money paid a visit to fox 5. he is promoting his new song that benefits fallen soldiers. >> this is about all the men and women serving the country in iraq and afghanistan and it's basically about a kid that doesn't make it back. >> eddie money performs at the hamilton in northwest at 7:30 and 10:00. all the proceeds go to the intrepid fallen hero fun. >> give him a lot of credit for coming in that early and singing live. a lot of artists would never do that. >> can you sing that song take me home tonight? >> no, before my time. >> oh. >> 'jeremy lin suffered in his first loss earlier this week. w >>> good afternoon. jeremy lin had a big time test today. they hosted the dallas mavericks in a nationally televised game. lin continuing the pregame routine with fields, he went to staple stanford -- he went to stanford. in the third quarter, lamar odom struggled in the back court. lin with the steal. he throws it down. knicks down three after