peter hamby working his sources. sources now confirming to cnn that rick perry is expected to drop out of the presidential campaign today. as you know, cnn is going to be holding a debate among the gop candidates this evening. that means four people taking the stage if, indeed, rick perry comes forward today and announces he is suspending his campaign. our peter hamby breaking that story just moments ago through paul steinhauser there in charleston. the two sources confirming to him, rick perry will be dropping out of his presidential run. >>> all right. let's check some other stories happening cross-country. right now at least three people feared missing and dead in oregon. their car went into deep waters and was swept in a canal. melting snow and heavy rains have triggered severe flooding in that state. >>> more weather whoes. roads will remain dangerous there in seattle. >>> a philanthropist is donating $7.5 million to help fix the washington monument. billionaire david rubinstein is splitting the cost with the go

our thanks to peter hamby there in tampa for us. peter, thank you. thank you, everyone, for watching today, as always. i'd love to know what you think of the program. you can continue the conversation with me on line any time. you can find me on facebook or twitter at randikaye@cnn. we meet with brooke who is live in tampa, florida. hello, brooke. >> hi, randi. thanks for having me on again. beautiful day in tampa today. check the clock. six hours to go until the very latest polls close in the state of florida. we're going to be talking to the florida governor here within the next hour. also, an undocumented student who was worried about the candidates' positions when it comes specifically to the dream act, and we'll be talking to a controversial pastor who is a supporter of mitt romney's campaign. everything making news. rapid fire. let's go. we have seen the foreclosure signs here in florida. you don't have to go far to find them. but the housing numbers nationwide are even worse than the experts thought. home prices, they plummeted 1.3% in nova lo

. >> peter hamby in hialeah, say hello to my friends there in south florida. thanks so much. >> absolutely. >> all right, peter. >>> the hospital in joplin, missouri, it took a direct hit by a tornado last year. well, today, it is being demolished. coming up in the next hour, i'll talk to someone who knows firsthand about the town's healing process. more politics after this. an accident doesn't have to slow you down. with better car replacement available only with liberty mutual auto insurance, if your car's totaled, we give you the money for a car one model year newer. to learn more, visit us today. responsibility. what's your policy? a little bird told me about a band...

peter hamby from south carolina.moment, we'll explore what certainly looks like a split between the republican establishment and the party's social conservatives. among those joining us, tony perkins, family research council. later, if you've ever set up an online account at zap po's shoe store, you need to i think ca your password. what makes the sleep number store different? you walk into a conventional mattress store, it's really not about you. they say, "well, if you want a firm bed you can lie on one of those, if you want a soft bed you can lie on one of those." we provide the exact individualization that your body needs. welcome to the sleep number year-end closeout event. not just ordinary beds on sale, but the bed that can change your life on sale. the sleep number bed. it calibrates precisely to your body and your comfort zone. now you can feel what happens as we raise your sleep number setting and allow the bed to contour to your individual shape. oh yeah. it's really shaping to my body. it's the final days

our peter hamby got this one.d, my third place finish in new hampshire was nice and at the time called it a ticket to ride but apparently it was a ticket to ride home. he apparently is about to just call it quits. just days before the south carolina primary. he's going to announce today he's dropping out, and likely to expect to put his support behind the front-runner, mitt romney. >>> rescue workers in italy have temporarily suspended operations because the cruise liner started to shift and move. the ship's chairman and ceo just wrapped up a press conference. he says the accident was caused by human error and says passengers are the absolute first priority. >>> if you are a fan of that adorable mini cooper, and if you have one, more importantly, you might want to take a peek at it because there's a big recall of about 90,000 of these cars. federal officials are saying there's possible fire hazard, faulty circuit board on certain models from 2006 to 2011. nice cars. >> cute little car. >> i love them. i got a smar

peter hamby, in columbia, south carolina. to be checking your international headlines including how one of the most important holidays in china will be celebrated this year. plus, a special cnn freedom project uncovers the use of children in west africa to harvest your guilty pleasure. with your mortgage, want to avoid foreclosure. candy? um-- well, you know, you're in luck. we're experts in this sort of thing, mortgage rigamarole, whatnot. why don't we get a contract? who wants a contract? [honks horn] [circus music plays] here you go, pete. thanks, betty. betty: we're out of toner. announcer: if you're facing foreclosure, talk to the right people. speak with hud-approved housing counselors free of charge at... >>> all right. checking international headlines now, we start in china. the chinese new year starts tomorrow, but celebrations are already under way around the world. china says good-bye to the year of the rabbit and hello to the year of dragon which symbolizes courage and prosperity. >>> and oprah winfrey is visiting

cnn's peter hamby standing by for us in columbia, and peter hamby, let's take a look first at this theelevision ad. this is to be inserted into the race in south carolina. this is the one being run by the supporters of newt gingrich against mitt romney. here it is. >> a story of greed, playing the system for a quick buck. a group of corporate raiders led by mitt romney. more ruthless than wall street. for tens of thousands of americans, the suffering began when mitt romney came to town. >> subtle? not so much. let me just quote that again. the suffering began when mitt romney came to town. is that ad airing right now? you seeing it there on tv when you're popping the tv on, people talking about it at all? >> reporter: you know, i actually watched a lot of tv this morning. but i haven't seen it. and a lot of republicans i've talked to haven't seen it yet either, which is curious. that's just anecdotal brooke, obviously. but the mitt romney super pac restore our future has been all over tv and lots of people are seeing it. i just talked to a republican operative at this event where gingr

in plantation, florida, peter hamby, cnn. >>> want to give you a program reminder here, too. keep it here on cnn for the florida primary on tuesday night. our special coverage begins at 6:00 eastern. >>> so maybe a little bumpy for a couple of the candidates. maybe they're in florida. but meteorologist reynolds wolf is looking at the weather map and i understand the florida map is a little dicy, too, today reynolds. >> absolutely. south florida could see scattered showers and thunderstorms. out to the west, different. not rain but dry conditions. with the w that the red flag warnings. fire dangers a prospect in southern california. the great lakes to the ohio valley, it's all snow. we'll let you know how much coming up in a few minutes. >>> when mitt romney talks education, he keeps mentioning a certain florida school. but how did full sail university make the stump speech? we're going to follow the money trail a little later this hour. ♪ for you are mine >> that and prayers, tears, and deep emotion at etta james' funeral. christina augu christina august aguilera singing "at

in plantation, florida, peter hamby, cnn. >>> a programming note. we've got you covered. keep it here on cnn for the florida primary. special coverage begins at 6:00 eastern. >>> you know who else is up early? meteorologist reynolds wolf in our weather center. we've been talking about the high winds in california. >> not only that, but you have the drying conditions, which means we have a real fire threat in that part. fire threats in texas and even into alabama and just a little sliver of florida and also a chance of some scattered snowshowers that we expect for parts of the ohio valley. yeah, it's coming back too, which means delays nationwide. we'll have more on that coming up in just a few moments. >> all righty. good to see you, reynolds. >> good to see you too. >> i want to give you a heads up for some of the stories we're working on today. first of all, the founder of a breast implant firm is under arrest charged with providing faulty implants for as many as 300,000 women around the world. then children were forced to play a game called catch a slave. >> it was a g

peter hamby is there.r, how is mitt romney crafting his message for the community there in hialeah? >> yeah, he's got a lot of support from the establishment cuban community here in hialeah, fred. he did a rally here and it is a cuban restaurant, that is usually closed on sunday. they opened it especially for this event and jammed it here. there is probably 500 people. ileana ros-lehtinen was on stage with him. mario lincoln diaz-balart, a congressman from the miami area spoke for him. craig romney, romney's son, spoke spanish and introduced his father. he said in spanish, you know, my father doesn't speak spanish but can talk about the economy. look, ron talked about how immigration may not be as big of an issue among the cuban-american set here in florida, but castro is and romney took a hard line against fidel castro as he has been this is his closing argument to the community, his last push in the cuban-american community before tuesday. he heads here to kind of -- to pompano beach to visit with elderl

peter hamby is there with the perry campaign or i guess what's left of it.ks figured perry would would quit the race after his dismal showing in iowa. he pressed on to south carolina. he went. why get out now? you know what, a day, two days before the primary? >> reporter: yeah, it's an interesting question. i asked the campaign about in this morning. they said they were going to go all-in in south carolina and then halfway through or you know as the primary is approaching they leave. frankly they wanted to avoid an embarrassment to finish in last place. that's what polls showed after huntsman left the race that perry was going to be the caboose in the republican field here. he went out with a flourish endorsing newt gingrich. he does not have a warm relationship with governor romney. he does have a good relationship, brooke, with speaker gingrich. so you know, will this have an impact here in south carolina? i actually think it might. a lot of voters do like governor perry didn't think he was electable in the end. but this is a tightening race, and anything

cnn political reporter peter hamby joins us now from florence. you're following santorum.is he talking about, what is he focusing on today after getting that real boost, that shot in the arm from the group in texas. >> absolutely. and he talked a lot about his faith today. you hear that a lot when you follow rick santorum around the campaign trail, and conservative states like iowa and south carolina. he talks about how the country is sort of founded on morals and faith and president obama's quite frankly taken that away from people. it is a dove tail nicely with his endorsement yesterday from all the evangelical and social conservative leaders in texas. we heard something new from him today, a super pac supporting mitt romney, running a television ad, saying rick santorum supports the right of felons to vote. rick santorum basically said, quote/unquote, that's yuck, at the speech he just gave here in florence. he said yes in the senate he did vote to allow former felons who have served their sentences to vote, but says the ad is distorting his record. he's really going ha

a senior campaign official is telling cnn's pete hamby that jon huntsman is dropping out of the racer official with the huntsman campaign is telling cnn's pete hamby that jon huntsman will drop out of the race. the official says it will happen on monday. and here's something that you'll only hear on cnn, is that he is set to endorse mitt romney. jon huntsman dropping out, set to endorse mitt romney. it should happen on monday. details at the top of the hour, right here on cnn. friend. ♪ is it fast? it's got a lightning bolt on it, doesn't it? ♪ is it fast? i don't even know if it's street-legal. ♪ is it safe? oh, yeah. it's a volkswagen. [ male announcer ] the security of a jetta. one of nine volkswagen models named a 2012 iihs top safety pick. ♪ got you in a stranglehold, baby ♪ most powerful trading app ? total access - to everything. from idea to research to trade. including financials, indicators and real-time streaming quotes. whether you check your investments every day or every minute, our app can take them from thought to trade. at scottrade, seven-dollar trades are just the

cnn's peter hamby live in greenville tonight. you know the popular thinking it has been south carolina conservative, a lot of evange c evangelicals a lost cause for a more pragmatic conservative like mitt romney what is behind these dramatic numbers? >> well, you know, it is starting to look like a lot like the mccain path to victory in '08, had the divided conservative field like we saw romney this week, where he can skate to whip the primary. this state has been perceived a long time as being this hive of evangel evangelicals and conservative state. [ no audio ] where i am in greenville, yes, a lot of megachurches but also a lot of international companies. romney is a business guy. you go down to the coast there is a strong military and veteran presence. he was there with john mccain today. romney running on a really strong national security platform. got a lot of commuters around the charlotte suburbs, so it's a very, you know, broad cross section of republican voters in this state. as you and michael pointed out, romney is ru

peter hamby is on the ground. this is fascinating to get right inside the room.a here. at this one site, you see it highlighted here. we make it easy for you. ron paul is winning, but then you have a split throughout the rest. we'll watch these all night long. >> we've got all of the respondents now to the entrance poll results have reported. we've tabulated the results. let's see what happened. now, there are two waves. the early waves we told you about the tie, the tie between ron paul and mitt romney, both with 24%, 18% for rick santorum, 13% for newt gingrich. now we've got all the early arrivals and the late arrivals. they have now been tabulated, counted, these are the poll results. not the official results. but this is what people said they were going to do as they were walking in though theo the caucuses. let's look at both waves. all voters, look at this, ron paul, 24%, mitt romney, 23%. very close behind rick santorum, 19%, newt gingrich, 13%. this is the entrance poll. let's see the bottom three right now as well. in addition to these other top four. r

peter hamby was first to break the news this morning. texas governor rick perry was dropping out of the race for the republican nomination. peter, what do you know about how rick perry came to this decision to leave the race? >> reporter: yeah, it's pretty interesting. if you'll recall, the morning after the iowa caucuses, he said he might go back to texas and reassess his campaign and then he went for this jog and said he's all in for south carolina. i asked what changed between then and now and they didn't see a path forward. the problem for him, though, was that these voters that came out to see him, while they liked his message and liked him personally, just did not think he was viable against president obama. those debates really hurt his perception among republican voters. so his family is supposedly all on board with this decision. perry's going back to texas this weekend. there's no plans right now for him to actually campaign with gingrich. that might change after south carolina. south carolina is now a wild card. these last 48

you have peter hamby on after me. he'll talk about the organization. this was it. his eggs were all in one basket. third was better than last which is what he was pulling for quite some time. it's hard to see his campaign going much further than south carolina but you know what, not going to make any predictions in this race because it has been such a role ler coaster ride. >> anything can still happen. thanks so much. dana bash there in manchester. >>> let's turn to christine romans here in the election center. christine, you've been dilging through the exit poll data. what are the numbers telling us? what is this about romney's edge? >> let's talk a little bit about what it is that new hampshire voters were looking for in their candidate. for the top candidate quality, 35% said, fredricka, that they wanted someone who could beat president obama. 26% said they wanted experience. 22% character. 13% a true conservative. you can see who won those categories. it was mitt romney with the ability to beat the president and his experience, character and true conservatism,

peter hamby, thank you, in south carolina for us.his. >>> security are running down here now by the mall. i continue to follow them. >> stan grant in the midst of this mob. what are they looking for? apple iphone 4,s. they got so violent the apple store kept its doors closed to people trying to get their hands on these new phones. why all of this outrage? coming up next, digging deeper for you into china's obsession with apple. all things apple. stay right here. [ male announcer ] why do we grow quaker oats? because there are mountains to climb. ♪ dreams to be realized. ♪ new worlds to be explored and hearts to be won. quaker oats. energy to get you going, fiber to help fill you up and help keep your heart healthy. super people eat super grains. and help keep your heart healthy. ♪ more and more folks are trying out snapshot from progressive. a totally different way to save on car insurance. the better you drive, the more you can save. no wonder snapshot's catching on. plug into the savings you deserve with snapshot from progressive.

by far you get the most of it is ron paul. >> peter hamby, great reporting.elps when you've got a grandmother on the ground to help with the source reporting. peter, thank you. >>> president obama is in new york city tonight for fund raisers and other campaign events including one at the historic apollo theater. ramping up for his re-election fight also includes opening up what's been a very private house. the new edition of time magazine takes us inside obama's world. so let's discuss the commander in chief challenge with fareed zakaria, cnn an thor of "fareed zakaria gps." you had a fascinating conversation with the democratic incumbent, president obama, about his world view. i want to begin there. we have a big republican presidential debate today. i want to read something from your interview that the president would say is a realistic view of u.s. foreign policy that some of these republicans would say is a retreat from where they believe america should stand. he said "countries are once again looking to the united states for leadership. that's not the ex

now let's get right to peter hamby, live in myrtle beach, south carolina.peter? >> reporter: i don't think there will be a huge impact in the race. huntsman was not really catching on in the polls especially here in south carolina but also nationally. and you have to wonder, will this help mitt romney? probably not. maybe around the margins if there are some moderate leaning voters here in the south carolina primary. and the race becomes a close one on saturday, you know, maybe that could help him. but huntsman doesn't have a big donor network, and there's not a lot of friendliness. they have a frosty relationship. i think the immediate impact on the race you will see in the debates tonight and the cnn debate on thursday night. you have a shrinking stage. have you five candidates, and especially if newt gingrich and rick santorum trying to break out of that anti-romney pack, it gives them more space and more time to train their fire on mitt romney. we have been going through all of these debates over the last year. sorry go ahead. >> what's the likelihood?

. >> let's move on, peter hamby. i want to talk about newt gingrich here, newt gingrich in florida. super pack that supports him is airing another trailer for another anti-romney documentary. here's just a part of it. >> they never do any work for the government like medicare? >> we didn't do any work with the government. >> saw the title, "blood money." can you just explain to me what this documentary is about, what specifically they're going after romney on? >> yeah, it's a pretty brutal ad. the super pack that gingrich has -- excuse me, outside this campaign has have been running some very tough ads like that bain ad we saw in south carolina. this is basically about a medical aid in california romney served on the board of. they took over this company in 1989, and eventually this medical company had to pay $119 million in civil and criminal feels for fraudulently billing medicare. romney has never been accused of any wrongdoing here, but his company, bain capital, did make money when they sold off this company. so the argument from the newt gingrich super pack and now today from

thank you, peter hamby.or more on the new hampshire primary, remember to watch cnn tonight at 7:00 p.m. we'll watch you live coverage as the votes are tallied. >>> you may hear more curse words on television during the day, thanks to the internet and cable. the supreme court weighs in on policing the airwaves. the latest on this first amendment fight, next. >>> and the nfl family in mourning after authorities confirm that the body found near a river is the son of a green bay packers coach. the investigation into his death, next. what ? customers didn't like it. so why do banks do it ? hello ? hello ?! if your bank doesn't let you talk to a real person 24/7, you need an ally. hello ? ally bank. no nonsense. just people sense. . >>> rick santorum, how can you be pro second amendment because it's a question of liberty and yet be anti-gay marriage? gay marriage, women's right to choose and gun rights are all personal liberty issues, and so if you're going to be consistent, consistently for personal liberty, you

. >>> all right, let's check in now with our peter hamby.d as we get ready for the vote and the big primary count tonight. peter, let's look to next month, really, because florida is going to come to an end pretty quick. what states vote in february and how important are they? >> it's interesting, we have seven states and some are more important than others, it turns out. first we have the nevada caucuses which are this saturday. that's a big state for mitt romney. he won there in 2008. there is a mormon population, ron paul organizing there aggressively because of the strong grassroots. the newt gingrich campaign low expectations for that state. we have caucuses in colorado, minnesota, we have a primary in missouri, we have primaries in arizona and michigan as well. so it's a crowded state, but some of these states, randi, don't matter as much as the other ones because they're non-binding delegates in several of them, such as this missouri primary or some of these other caucus states. >> obviously romney is looking like he's heading for a w

peter hamby is standing by in south carolina.jim acosta in new hampshire for the latest from there. >> with romney to win the new hampshire primary, the real race in the state is for second place, but judging by this rick santorum town hall that just wrapped up that was filled with ron paul supporters and occupy wall street protesters, the race is starting to feel like a circus. rising in the polls and touring a new hampshire gun shop, rick santorum could feel the target on his back. >> mitt romney and john mccain are coming after you. >> two moderate candidates come after you, i think it tells you the conservative alternative is starting to catch fire. >> santorum is gunning for second place, with ron paul and newt gingrich and jon huntsman. >> you're getting screwed. >> it may be do or die time for hunt man, who just won a key endorsement from "the boston glob globe". that may explain why a group supporting paul released this outrageous web ad -- governor, should ron paul disavow that ad from that video from his supporters? >>

peter hamby, thank you very much.ida republican debate tonight live on cnn at 8:00 p.m. eastern. this is going to be some good tv. thanks for watch. as always, i love to hear what you think of the show. continue the conversation with me on facebook or twitter @ randi kaye cnn. cnn newsroom continues with brooke baldwin. >> thank you so much. happy thursday to all of you. i'm brooke baldwin. top of the hour, everything making news, rapid fire. let's go. want to let you know right now we are standing by live there at the pentagon, live pictures waiting fur i an major announcement coming from defense secretary leon panetta, a major announcement on downsizing the u.s. military. of course, stand by for that. also, it is the last chance for republican presidential hopefuls to battle face to face before the florida primary next tuesday. and you can only see it here on cnn. 8:00 eastern, cnn hosting a republican debate live from jacksonville all four remaining candidates will meet on that stage as new poll numbers tad show mi

joining us is peter hamby. what does it look like? >> we have a new ad from the mix of the romney campaign. like you said, it's getting heated. as much as people think romney is sort of in the captain's seat and in a good position to win, they are keeping the gas on -- keeping their foot on the gas against newt gingrich. they have a new ad today basically playing an entire news clip of tom brokaw talking about newt gingrich when he got sanctioned by the house in 1998, just basically reminding voters, hey, this guy is not the person that you want in washington, there's negative ads from romney's super pac supporting mitt romney, accusing gingrich of having too much baggage. basically if you talk to voters in florida, they like newt gingrich's's no holds barred approach. they think he'd be tough out there, but they have questions about can he win. they're trying to tap into those doubts and remind people, hey, you might like this guy, but you should vote with your head on tuesday instead of your heart. we're the guy that can actually go

. >> peter hamby in greenville, south carolina, thanks so much. appreciate that.n us every sunday afternoon at 4:00 eastern time when we dedicate an entire hour to the presidential contenders in this 2012 election. >>> meantime, coming up today at 4:00 eastern time, we'll talk to tony perkins. he's the moderator of that big conservative christian gathering in texas. we'll ask him which candidate the group just might be backing for president. >>> and straight ahead, race, religion and the removal of a body from a cemetery. our legal guys will be weighing in on that straight ahead. >>> next, how to tackle credit card debt. our christine romans has an action plan to help you. ♪ secondhand smoke affects everyone's health. it's not just irritating. it can cause heart disease and even death. speak up about secondhand smoke. your health and the health of your family depend on it. >>> coming up, oprah's choice for the white house. >>> but first, we're just three weeks into the new year. are you still on track with your financial new year's resolutions? if not, the best in

cnn pleas political reporter peter hamby broke this news for us. when is the official announcement? >> the official announcement will be tomorrow they sheraton hotel where there's a big debate sponsored by the republican party. the official endorsement will be here. he is going to endorse governor romney. a campaign official tells me the reason they're getting behind governor romney is they believe he's the one true candidate who can fix the economy. of course jon huntsman is playing in the same lane in the republican primary as governor romney on that moderate side of the primary. so this makes a lot of sense. there's traditionally been a little bit of friction between the romney and huntsman family. they did not like each other at all but you see the establishment getting behind mitt romney with in endorsement. >> what's interesting, peter, is earlier today south carolina's largest newspaper said the editorial board called him the essential values candidate, honor, decency and pragmatism. and now this. >> it's pretty interesting on the same day the state paper, the largest newspap