tory dunnan joins us. tell us what's at stake tomorrow. >> reporter: louisiana is going to be a key state, especially for newt gingrich and santorum spawn. both of those candidates have been campaigning vigorously in the state doing anything they can to slow down mitt romney. after romney's win in illinois, many people started saying it's time for the other two candidates to drop out of the race. this is what they're pointing to the delegate map. you need 1,244 delegate -- 1,144. mitt romney is leading. rick santorum is still scam paining there today and he's trying to convince those last-minute voters. >> if you want a clear contest between different visions of americans, you have to nominate someone who price that clear conscience. that's why we're asking for your support. >> reporter: going into the race there's a new poll that shows santorum with a double digit lead over newt gingrich and mitt romney. it gives his campaign that validation to keep moving on but a loss could have the opposite effect. >>>

tory dunnan, we'll continue to watch the numbers. >>> allegations of abuse by those charged with caring for a disadvantaged youth in a harford county school. why the mother said if she was accused of the abuse, the would be arrested. >>> many people fall to scams from people promising to give them free medical supplies. >>> here's a preview of what's ahead on world fumes tonight at 6:30. >> the showdown in the nation's highest court today, the battle over healthcare reform is dividing the country. the supreme court will decide what happens. what does it mean for you, your family. see the whole picture on world news. [ female announcer ] what's new from ziploc? ♪ if you're struggling to make portioning and freezing easier... ♪ ...try new ziploc perfect portions bags. just grab your portion, no touch no mess, turn the bag inside out, and freeze inside ziploc brand freezer bags for unbeatable protection. [ doorbell rings ] somebody order a wrecking ball? thanks, but i'm good. [ female announcer ] so portion and freeze with ease, with new perfect portions from ziploc. sc johnson. a family c

tory dunnan has more. what's the atmosphere like tonight? >> reporter: they're getting everything set up at romney headquarters. there's a lot of mitt romney to do well to help solidify his role. if you take a look at the latest pole -- pocialtion romney has a double digit lead. the former massachusetts governor has drop upwards of $3 million on the state. they're outspending santorum seven to one. yet, santorum is still appearing to be confident and issues this prediction. >> i predict if we're able to do what most people think are impossible, which is to carry the state of illinois they'll stop talking about delegates and start talking about how to stop rick santorum from being the nominee. >> reporter: let's talk about the delegate count. you have romney leading with 521 delegates. santorum 237. this isn't all about the math. when you talk about mitt romney there tends to be this enthusiasm gap. it could help us with the much needed momentum. >> so, we're not in the south anymore. seems like the topics have shifted. what can you tell us a

tory dunnan joins us to tell us what's behind the changes. >> reporter: this really all boils down to a lack of campaign cash. there are a lot of changes at play. he will be cutting one third of his staff. there's a new campaign manager in place. newt gingrich's schedule will become less intensive. the focus will now be on the convention. his team realizes they're in the going to get the number of delegates. so now they're going to be talking to individual delegates. here's what gingrich had to say about all of the changes. >> downsizing. so we're doing the appropriate things to be able it campaign. >> reporter: it's still going to be a long road ahead for the former speaker of the house. you have newt gingrich with 136 delegates. he's behind santorum and further behind mitt romney. but this might get worse for newt gingrich. the new poll just came out it. shows 60% of republicans feel it's time for newt gingrich to bow out of the race. despite all of this, he says he's staying in. >> let's go to november. it's suggesting the president is in pretty good shape what can you tell us abou

we'll have much more on this and a live report from tory dunnan tonight at 5:30. >>> well, presidentobama was in the battleground state of north carolina campaigning for lower gas prices. the president spoke at a chrysler truck manufacturing truck outside charlotte where he highlighted some of the administration's fume standards. he has battled criticism from candidates about the rising price of fuel. it shows private employers added about 216,000 new jobs last february. >>> the gas tax has been in the headlines for the past few days. naturally, another tax is coming up. who was in annapolis pushing for a higher tobacco tax. >>> why the fda said there's a serious problem with aeroshots breathable caffeine. >>> and what slip learning is all about and why it works. >>> it gives you the buzz of caffeine you need so badly in just an instant but not everybody is celebrating the inhaled caffeine. joce sterman has more. >> reporter: when we first told you about aeroshots, we mentioned the food and drug administration was reviewing the product after hearing about safety concerns. now they're

tory dunnan joins us live from columbus, ohio. i know mitt romney picked up some big endorsements over the weekend. where does the race stand? tory? >> reporter: mitt romney is coming off of four victories from last week. the latest polls are shifting in his favor. let's start at the national level. romney is leading santorum 38% to 32% among likely republican voters. go in debt and closer and talk about some of the key states voting tomorrow like here in ohio. this is a brand-new poll it. show last close race a dead heat between romney and santorum. just last week santorum had the lead here. a statistical tie between romney and santorum. it was last month that santorum was up by seven points. we're sort of seeing a similar situation as we shaw in michigan and florida, one where mitt romney seems to come back in the last minute. in those states this was one state voting or two states voting but when we talk about super tuesday, there are 10 states voting. >> i know a lot of people will be watching. we'll see you tomorrow. jamie co

tory dunnan joins us from washington. how will this impact the gop race? >> reporter: it seems like the republican establishment has started lining up behind mitt romney. the question is how much do this endorsements really matter? >> i am honored. >> reporter: mitt romney has the edge this campaign season when this comes to endorsements. even his chief rival admits it. >> every endorsement it seems is going for mitt romney. >> reporter: he added two more which already included former florida governor jeb bush and and governor christi. so far this year, endorsements haven't moved the dial. >> i'm endorsing mitt romney. >> reporter: governors from south carolina, mississippi and tennessee, all backed romney before their state's primaries. he lost each contest. if you don't have them, bash them. rick santorum is taking the antiendorsement route. >> romney's got all the mon nirks the endorsement -- money, the endorsements. none of that matters. >> reporter: think longhand hard before you make your move. >> if you want a conservative, you must vote for mitt ro

tory dunnan joins to us set this all up. >> reporter: this is really shaping up to be a war of words between a republican presidential candidate and a president from another country all of this started yesterday. >> it is alarming. it is troubling. >> reporter: that's mitt romney's response to a question about an open mike moment between president and russian president deme trif med yes. in going after the president's gaffe romney may have created one of his own. >> this is to russia. this is without question our number one geopolitical foe. they fight every cause for the world's worst actors. >> reporter: the frm massachusetts governor tried to clarify. >> the nation that lines up with the world's worst actors. of course the worse is the nuclear iran. >> reporter: it was clear russia was listening. >> the first advice is to list on it reason. reason never harmed a presidential candidate. my other advice is to check their clocks from time to time. this is twef -- 2012, not the mid-1970s. >> reporter: it said that russia would prefer to deal with president obama. >> newt gingrich was

tory dunnan has more. >> reporter: things are goingwell. as you can see, it's super tuesday. let's start with mitt romney because expectations are the highest for him. he hopes to be the inevitable nominee. he wants big victories to help him seal the deal. then there's rick santorum. he's trying to stay in the top tier of candidates. you have to remember, when you talk about rick santorum, he's lost the past five contests to mitt romney. then newt gingrich hasn't had a big victory since that big south carolina win. he is expected to do well in his home state of georgia but the question remains, can he win in any other state. finally, there's ron paul with a passion nal following but it hasn't been enough for him. he needs something positive to happen. one thing is certain. the candidates are realizing mitt romney is the front-runner and they're not holding back anymore. take a listen. >> a flip-flopper who has been on all sides, supported tarp bailouts and provided the blueprint for obamacare. >> he would be the weakest candidate on the most important issue of the day. >> he

tory dunnan joins us from columbus, ohio. what happens next. >> reporter: you're exactly right.hat's the big question. what are the game plans for the candidates? it depends upon who you're asking. mitt romney points to the scoreboard to show he was yesterday's big winner. he definitely has a point, six viblght rise, including a nail biter in ohio and a widening lead over gop rivals. >> tonight we're counting up delegates for the convention it looks good and we're counting down the days to november. >> reporter: romney still faces roadblocks ahead. he has yet to win over the conservative vote. there's a fierce challenger nipping at his heels. rick santorum showed he's a viable forks pick up wins in north dakota, oklahoma, tennessee and a very close second in ohio. >> we'll get at least a couple of gold medals and a whole lot of silver medals. >> reporter: but his biggest challenge may come from-- from within. this has left him scrambling to get on the ballots in different states. >> this is amazing. >> reporter: then there's newt gingrich. the former house speaker picked up a mu

and joining us now tori dunnan who's been watching the polls in ohio. >> reporter: the big news of courseat mitt romney takes the state. this is going to be huge for his campaign in terms of momentum going forward. rick santorum kind of played this well earlier today. he had his campaign in lowering expectations saying if they came close to mitt romney they would consider it to be a victory. take a listen to what both of those candidates had to say about tonight. >> tonight we're doing some counting. we're counting down the days until november and that looks even better. >> this was a big night tonight, lots of states. we're going to win a few, we're going to lose a few. but as it looks right now, we're going to get at least a couple of gold medals and a whole pass fill of silver medals. >> romney has the story tonight with that win here in ohio. newt gingrich has a story going on, because he said his campaign rested on the fact on whether or not he won his home state of georgia. listen to what he has to say. >> remember when it was tim pawlenty who was going to crowd me out, then herman

and joining us now tori dunnan who's been watching the polls in ohio. >> reporter: the big news of course is that mitt romney takes the state. this is going to be huge for his campaign in terms of momentum going forward. rick santorum kind of played this well earlier today. he had his campaign in lowering expectations saying if they came close to mitt romney they would consider it to be a victory. take a listen to what both of those candidates had to say about tonight. >> tonight we're doing some counting. we're counting down the days until november and that looks even better. >> this was a big night tonight, lots of states. we're going to win a few, we're going to lose a few. but as it looks right now, we're going to get at least a couple of gold medals and a whole pass fill of silver medals. >> romney has the story tonight with that win here in ohio. newt gingrich has a story going on, because he said his campaign rested on the fact on whether or not he won his home state of georgia. listen to what he has to say. >> remember when it was tim pawlenty who was going to crowd me out, then h