nbc's brian mohr reports. >> reporter: three days before the next presidential primaries and all eyes are on michigan. >> wow. >> reporter: it's mitt romney's home state but if the polls are right, it's within rick santorum's grasp. >> it is absolutely laughable to have a liberal government of massachusetts suggest that i am not the conservative in this race. >> thank you so much. >> reporter: romney reminded voters that santorum supported him back in 2008. >> he said he is the clear conservative candidate. he's right. i am the conservative candidate and what we need in the white house is principled conservative leadership and i'll bring it. >> reporter: romney is under fire in michigan. he's turned up the heat on himself holding an event in a near empty stadium and trying to woo detroit with this ad lib. >> i drive a mustang and a chevy pickup truck and a couple cadillacs. >> reporter: ron paul is continuing with the slow and steady tragedy. >> if you would like to have national energy and american energy policy, never again bow h to a saudi king and pay $2.50 a gallon, newt gingrich

brian mohr, news 4. >>> there as major cleanup under way in athens after yesterday's violent riots.roke out in the capital as the greek parliament approved a new round of strict austerity measures. a starbucks was set ablaze. athens has been volatile now for months but the deep spending cuts sparked a new level of violence. the austerity measures are part of a new bailout plan from the european union and the international monetary fund. >>> the greece debt deal did have a positive effect on wall street on this monday as banks were big gainers. the dow is up almost 72 points. nasdaq gained 27. and the s&p 500 was up about 9. it was also a good day for apple. stock of the tech giant topped $500 a share for the first time. >>> the mercury moved up after our bitter cold weekend but get ready, folks. we could see more storms in the week ahead. >> storm 4 meteorologist veronica johnson has details now. veronica? >> reporter: that's right. a couple more opportunities to get some little systems coming through here. maybe producing more of what we had this past weekend and, of course, a lot

on capitol hill, brian mohr, news 4. >>> president obama is also calling for a simplified tax code.fficials in the administration say the president will release a framework for corporate tax reform by the end of the month. >>> coming up tonight a dramatic demonstration. protesters rappelling off the memorial bridge and it didn't end there. >> new developments in the penn state scandal. why jerry sandusky is getting more freedom as he sits at home awaiting trial on sexual abuse charges. >>> riots in greece. thousands of people taking to the streets set buildings on fire unless the government plans to avoid defaults on its loans. >>> temperatures rebounded today back to near 50 degrees. i am watching a couple storms including this one that will move in overnight. i'll show you what effect it may have on your commute plus what to expect the rest of the week. hey, dan. >> hey, doug. it's a precarious playoff situation for your washington capitals. a fan favorite? officially departs from the university of maryland. plus the road finally not so rocky for the wizards. >>> some of the restr

nbc's brian mohr joins us from washington with the details. brian, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, lynn. santorum had been hoping for a good night. he got a lot better. gop presidential hopeful rick santorum had hoped to win in minnesota and missouri, but his apparent victory in colorado is nothing short of an upset. perhaps even a game changer. >> i don't stand here to claim to be the conservative alternative to mitt romney. i stand here to be the conservative alternative to barack obama. >> reporter: it was a gut shot for newt gingrich. who's collecting delegates and has all but given up on outright wins. santorum is now claiming four, including the iowa caucuses. mitt romney is still the front-runner, though, and he is the man to beat. >> this was a good night for rick santorum. i want to congratulate senator santorum, wish him the very best. we will keep on campaigning down the road, but i expect to become our nominee with your help. >> reporter: ron paul isn't giving up. >> we did very well tonight and have a very, very strong sec

brian mohr has the latest on the increased violence and whether the u.s. plans to change its strategy. >> reporter: a suicide attack in eastern afghanistan is just the latest in a string of bloody attacks after copies of the koran were burned on a u.s. military base. two americans, lieutenant colonel john loftus and major robert marchante were murdered on saturday in the interior ministry. whilt afghan military searched for the gunman, u.s. advisers remained off the job in the nation's ministry buildings until tensions cooled. but the pentagon insists the long-term strategy remains unchanged. >> anyone who believes they can weaken our resolve through these cowardly attacks is severely mistaken. >> reporter: the white house says president obama's plan for a 2014 pullout remains in place. >> he does not want american troops to be in afghanistan any longer. not a day longer than they need to be to complete this mission. >> reporter: but the events of the past week have put more pressure on an already strained relationship. >> i'd be less than honest if i didn