in miami, phil keating, fox news. >>> in sports, the hoyas made it two wins in a row boating depaul 83-75. jason clark led the way for georgetown. he scored a career high 31 points. >>> maryland on the road against florida state. this one would stay close into the second half. the seminoles won this one 48- 70. >>> the caps suffer their first shutout loss of the season 3-0. >>> it is 4:30 on this wednesday. we are halfway through the workweek folks. no traffic out there right now at this hour. definitely hold onto your steering wheel as it will be a windy one. good morning. i'm sarah simmons. welcome to fox 5 morning news. let's say god morning to tucker barnes to get the latest. >> technically, we're not halfway through the workweek yet because we're just starting the day. >> it feels like it. >> we had a holiday on monday. >> let's stick to the weather. >> we have a cold front coming through and that will deliver colder, blustery conditions. our high temperatures are right now. later this afternoon, we'll be in the upper 30s and low 40s. check out ocean city. they are still enjoying

correspondent phil keating reports there is much debate about how the vote willing b conducting in the >> ♪ god bless america >> reporter: once again, florida and its election laws recently changed by the republican controlled legislature are being challenged in the court. and today in tam parks by democrats of the u.s. sub committee on civil and human rights. >> with what we went through in 2000, we ought to make it easier to cast our ballot and easier to register to vote. >> the most obvious change for florida voters early voting. which is underway for tuesday's republican primary has been reduced from two weeks to eight days. and will be eliminated the sunday before election day in november. in 2008, barack obama and democrats benefited by a surge in minority votes on that sunday. >> anytime you get a law that reversed to reduce the nberr of persons in this case who can vote, of course. that is jim crow another his best. jim crow, the wife, the children, and all of them. the whole jim crow family. >> republicans say this is not some master plan to suppress democratic votes. many.o.p

in tampa, phil keating, fox news. >> bret: california republican jerry lewis says he will retire from house when his current term expires. lewis has been in the house of representatives since 1978. he was chairman of appropriations committee in 2005 and 2006. the third house republican from the state to announce his retirement in recent days. we will talk about the >>> our campaign as a pro-jobs reagan conservative, and a secondary issue is whether or not romney's record is in fact valid. this is not the centerpiece of my campaign, but it's a legitimate important question. >> if you go to gaffney, south carolina, or georgetown, south carolina, a couple of cities where bain capital did come in and destruct those companies and people lost their jobsly tell you a sensitive issue in those places. >> we cannot afford to have our nominee be the issue in this race. >> bret: the focus is south carolina. we have our debate monday. the primary is next saturday. as you take a look at the real clear politics average of polls in south carolina, mitt romney still has the lead. newt gingrich is in s

in tampa, phil keating, fox news. >> bret: california republican jerry lewis says he will retire fromterm expires. lewis has been in the house of representatives since 1978. he was chairman of appropriations committee in 2005 and 2006. the third house republican from the state to announce his retirement in recent days. we will talk about the presidential campaign when the fox all-stars join me after the break. whee whee wheeeeeeeeeeee! pure adrenaline. whee whee wheeeeeeeeeeee! everything you love about geico, now mobile. download the new geico app today. whee wheeeeeeeeeeee-he-he-heeeeee! but think about your heart. 2% has over half the saturated fat of whole milk. want to cut back on fat and not compromisen taste? try smart balance fat free milk. it's what you'd expect from the folks at smart balance. >>> our campaign as a pro-jobs reagan conservative, and a secondary issue is whether or not romney's record is in fact valid. this is not the centerpiece of my campaign, but it's a legitimate important question. >> if you go to gaffney, south carolina, or georgetown, south carolina, a

outside of tampa, phil keating, fox news. >> and please join megyn kelly and me 8 p.m.astern for coverage of the florida primary. we'll have the results and all the analysis as the vote comes in, and among our guests, brit hume, sarah palin, joe tripe. iowa public party chief matt strong is stepping down and party leaders were not happy with the confusion over the iowa caucuses and strong declared romney the winner and determined that rick santorum had received 34 more votes. have you've ever wondered how much presidential candidates value your individual votes. there's some interesting information for you later in the grapevine. >> up next, why one religious leader says that president obama is starting a holy war with catholics. your eye healt. would you take it? well, there is. [ male announcer ] it's called ocuvite. a vitamin totally dedicated to your eyes, from the eye-care experts at bausch + lomb. as you age, eyes can lose vital nutrients. ocuvite helps replenish key eye nutrients. [ male announcer ] ocuvite has a unique formula not found in your multivitamin to h

in little havana, miami, phil keating, fox news. >> bret: very true. it can change.talk about the latest in the 2012 campaign in florida when the fox all-stars join me in a moment. >>> he is not going to be president of the united states. that is not going to happen. let me make my prediction, that is not going to happen. >> why are you so sure? # >> there is something i know. >> if he is knows something he is ought to say it. if he is doesn't know something, he is ought to quit saying it. this is a baloney. i don't think any republican will be threatened by nancy pelosi. and blankly, i'd rather have her threaten me than endorse me. >> we need to understand why that is. the records need to be released because you know if nancy pelosi knows those things right now, he is will hand them to barack obama's campaign. >> bret: back and forth about what the now my morety leader says what he is knows about gingrich's past. she was on the investigating committee. but her staff said she was talking about the public records much of the public doesn't know about. let's look at th

in tampa, florida, phil keating, fox news. >> bret: we will talk about the heated florida primary and 2012 news when the fox all-stars join me after the break. drinking a smoothie with no vegetable nutrition? ♪ [ gong ] strawberry banana! [ male announcer ] for a smoothie with real fruit plus veggie nutrition new v8 v-fusion smoothie. could've had a v8. i'm bidding on a 1979 dukes of hazzard lunchbox, but my auction ends in 15 seconds ! even worse, my buddy's bidding on the same lunchbox. it's airbrushed ! but i've got verizon 4g lte. it's so fast that i can outbid him at the last second. i got it ! yes, i won ! woo hoo ! it's got a thermos ! rely on verizon 4g lte. because only the fastest survive. you wouldn't want your doctor doing your job. so why are you doing his? only your doctor can determine if your persistent heartburn is actually something more serious... like acid reflux disease. over time, stomach acid can damage the lining of your esophagus. for many, prescription nexium not only provides 24-hour heartburn relief, but can also help heal acid related erosions in the linin

phil keating with the news live in tampa tonight. e critics suggesting some sort of master plan or another there, phil. >> make the republic master plan accusation outright or they imply it here in tampa today at the courthouse, two visiting u.s. democratic senators dick durbin of illinois and florida's bill nelson certainly did imply that citing a brennan center study for justice suggesting a million dollars voters could be impacted adversely nationwide. specifically young, minority, elderly and handicapped voters. >> any time you get a law that is reversed to reduce the number of persons in this case who can vote, of course, that's jim crow at its best. jim crow, the wife, the children, all of them. the whole jim crow family. >> florida's republic dominated legislature and republic governor also imposed new restrictions on third party voter registration efforts and in protest the league of women voters has stopped doing it for the first time in 72 years, shep. >> shepard: phil, these changes in effect for the primary could be thrown

back to you. >> all right, phil keating live for us in florida. we'll check back in with you as well. will the negativity now go away on the final day? i mean, it's interesting because mitt romney did the same thing in new hampshire. when he won in new hampshire, his entire speech there really sounded like he was the nominee because he went after president obama in that entire speech. then when it went back to campaigning, they've gone at each other again. at least yesterday up until that speech, they were still doing that. >> but we have yet to see a candidate go in front, look ahead at president obama and then not be tripped up in the next state. >> sure. >> so we saw it in south carolina, mitt romney approached the debates and everything like basically i've got this thing wrapped up. newt gingrich went after him. went after him. went after him along with rick santorum. he was the target and now by the time we got out of florida, he suffered about a double digit loss in south carolina. so see where it goes. it was a little bit personal yesterday

phil keating is live in our south florida newsroom this evening.tonight at $50,000 a head. >> on exclusive palm beach at the home of steven ross who owns the miami dolphins tonight's goal $1 million. airing today on florida's all-important spanish networks this second tv ad put out by the romney campaign, this one entirely in spanish. florida republics say romney's campaign clearly has the organizational lead, every absentee voter gets targeted by mail, which romney emphasized in west palm beach. >> i was in iowa as you know just a few days ago and won in a landslide of 8 votes. so i'm hoping. >> [cheers and applause] >> i'm hoping you guys can do a little better than that. so, make sure and get those absentee ballots in. >> newt gingrich also on the ground in florida tonight. he has a fundraiser in miami. tomorrow he opens his orlando headquarters, shep? >> shepard: got to get through south carolina, first. anybody who waits until after south carolina to start barn storming florida is probably making a biggerrer. >> absolutely. technically south c

we need a bigger boat. >> brian: reportedly out there, phil keating. of fun. we've been talking to people that have been getting these brand-new i voted stickers on their way to work. couple of things at the florida -- that the florida voters are pointed out. some of them just on the way to this precinct. number one, they were impressed with mitt romney's debate skills and performance in the two florida debates as compared to the south carolina debate when is newt gingrich really earned a lot of his south carolina support for their primary. number two, all of the negative attacks between mitt romney and newt gingrich really did turn off quite a few voters here and i talked with some santorum supporters. they cast their vote for santorum. specifically because of that. mitt romney campaigning at the villages yesterday, of course. every candidate stops there not only to get a free ride and tricked out golf cart, but drum up good quality votes. retired community there and mitt romney appealing to them, but also talking a little bit about the vision of our f

phil keating is live in tampa. phil?gs played for about a million florida registered republicans expected to cast their ballots today and get their well-earned i voted sticker. a third of the republicans already voted either by absentee ballot or by voting early, but that ended on saturday. so talking with the voters as they have left polling precinct 813 here today after casting their vote, they told us a lot of it came all the way down to television. florida, unlike south carolina and new hampshire and iowa, this was a very large state with ten tv markets, too much space, too much time and very much an expensive state. so the candidates really reached out to the voters via the television airwaves either on the two televised florida debates or from the nonstop commercials on the air, about $20 million spent by romney and gingrich alone, about four or five to one for romney attacking each other, and here's a taste of what the florida voters told us today. >> i voted for mitt romney, and i made up my mind after the last d

phil keating live in miami with an update. phil? >> reporter: hi, jon.g state will deliver on that title come in november can be seen by record number of absentee ballots mailed out across the state from tallahassee. more than 400,000. that is more voters, more votes, than iowa and new hampshire combined. >> every election we always say, this is the most important election in our lifetime. i think that is the most important election of our lifetime. >> reporter: the result, that record number of florida republicans are voting early by absentee ballot and they are voting now. so far more 50,000 ballots have been returned to be counted on january 1st. 31st, rather. that is primary day in florida. and the campaigns are ramping up. we met up with volunteers for the romney, paul, perry and gingrich campaigns up in tam 5 -- tampa, chasing absentee ballot recipients with phone calls and mailers trying to make up their minds before they mail them back. they said any campaign waiting for south carolina january 21st primary first to then shift gears in florida ris

bill: phil keating in miami. thank you.00 convicts. a judge has blocked that move, is that legal? >> we have our law enforcement officers watching the ones we think are dangerous that have been released. i think they'll be fine, just be careful. to walk like one. when you walk 10,000 steps a day, it's the same as walking a professional golf course. humana. proud supporter of health and well-being. bill: new developments this morning in mississippi where a judge is halting release of 21-inch mates pardoned by governor hayley barbour in one of his final acts of office. 200, some of them convicted killers and rapists triggered an uproar in the state. the state is trying to stop the move. does it have the power for can the governor do that. joey jackson, and dog burns. doug burns, good morning to both of you. this is his call. >> it exactly is. you have an executive pa rog georgipea prerogative. it's important to keep in mind that there is a notice requirement here, what is it? it's requirement that the inmate seeking clemency

phil keating is live in miami with more. , i flifd miami for a dozen years or so, i know something about how large and influence the -- influential the cuban american bloc is in florida. tell us more. >> reporter: for those that don't live in florida, they may be surprised but it's very important, 12 percent of the leak toreat, the cuban american population, 600,000 total people, i'm at the florida university campus, where inside newt gingrich is giving a speech specifically dealing with the cuba issue, however, it's a very important issue when you look across the state here, and gingrich so far has been the only candidate to swing by thai ocho, cafe versailles, trying to impress the cuban community and i spoke with him on camera, he said his goal if elected would be to create a cuban spring. >> i would use every tool the united states has short of military, i would do the things that ronald reagan, pope john paul ii and margaret thatcher did to undermine and defeat the soviet empire. >> two polls showed gingrich with a surgi

phil keating is live from tampa where the hearing is being held today. hi, phil. >> reporter: hi.down on the tampa right now. a senate judiciary subcommittee dealing with civil rights is holding a meeting, a hearing outside of the nation's capital. in about an hour senator dick durbin as well as florida senator bill nelson will be on hand listening to witness testimony to try to figure out why florida changed it voting laws since and what the impact that would be. a lot of democrats and critics, they say it's outright voter suppression of likely democratic voters. take early voting for one example. currently, it's underway right now for the republican primary in florida, but this year instead of 14 days of early voting, it's only eight days, and not allowed this upcoming november is early voting on the sunday before election day. and, of course, in the 2008 president obama and democrats benefited greatly by the souls to the polls campaign, african-american churches taking congress regants from service on that sunday to early vote immediately helping president obama get elected. an

phil keating is live in miami with a broader look at all of this, phil? >> reporter: hi, jenna.out a dozen people now declared dead out of italy and two dozen remain missing and the searching goes on. there is already direct economic impact financially speaking for miami-based carnival cruise lines, which owns the gashed-open coast sta, the coast sta concordia. that is about 100 million in lost revenue for this upcoming year. the florida is the port ship capital of the year with miami, and port canaveral, the top three. about 13 million americans took a cruise vacation last year. about the 20 million worldwide. it is growing in popularity. the dramatic pictures of this deadly scene played out on televisions around the globe all weekend long yet cruise travelex period of times say people canceling their future trips because of this, so far extremely rare and anecdotal. >> after a plane crash people get right back on the airplanes and get right back on the cruise his. these ships are numerous as large as they are because they offer incredibly safe vacations and the traveling publi

phil keating. at his post in miami. long week of back and forth. >>. >> reporter: yeah, bill a lot has been very negative especially between mitt romney and newt gingrich. negative attacks on tv. nonstop in the i-4 corridor. down in south florida as well. lots of campaign events just like today. tomorrow is the big primary election here in florida. 7:00 p.m. tomorrow night mitt romney certainly expects to be attending a joyous victory party. four or five of the most recent polls come out last three days, all showing romney with a strong lead, ranging from seven percentage points to 14. newt gingrich was up at the villages where 1,000 people turned out. the villages known for its trademark golf carts, all tricked out by the elderly retirees. he was there hitting romney hard. once again, hammering him for being a liar in the debates, for being liberal governor of massachusetts who was, pro-choice on the abortion issue and romney's team yesterday really hitting it hard on all the campaign stops that he is is a pro-life can

phil keating live in miami. you have been canvasing the state. good morning to you. >> this is first debate in the election cycle for the republican nominee where mitt romney was not polling ahead of everybody else. at least not perceived as the absolute frontrunner as they all entered the forum there at the university of south florida in tampa. and so, two reason polls came out, post-south carolina which has gingrich ahead of romney in florida, by eight points and nine points. and this is after weeks and weeks of romney with a very clear lead in the polls and in organization. so romney, came on the attack and gingrich, appeared to take the higher ground. >> i'm not going to spend the evening trying to chase governor romney's misinformation. we'll have a site, newt.org by tomorrow morning. we'll list, he said four things are false. i don't want to waste the time on them. the american public deserve a discussion how to beat barack obama. american public deserve what a discussion what we do with the economy. this is the worst kind of trivial politi

and phil keating explains why changes in some of florida's voting laws are being challenged in the courtsesident obama talked to some of his democratic colleagues this afternoon. about the november general election. we'll hear what he had to say. we'll explore whether taxpayers are getting their money's worth investing in green energy programs. in the grapevine, what the main stream media did not tell you about a huge event in washington this week. "special report" from washington starts at 6:00 eastern. a lot of politics. now back to new york and my colleagues with "the five." ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >> kimberly: come back to momma here. welcome back to "the five." it's not a debate without newt gingrich getting into it with one of the moderators. last night no, exception. take a look at the testy exchange between gingrich and romney. >> i just want to reiterate and ask you are you satisfied right now with the level of transparency as far as his personal finances? >> you and i have a great relationship. it goes back a long way. i'm with him. this is a nonsense question. >> you make a serious accusation

plus, phil keating tells us how the g.o.p.e huge cuban population in south florida. u.s. special ops forces pulled off another daring mission. jennifer griffin at the pentagon tells us what they did and where they did it. the keystone xl project is apparently not dead yet. jim angle has an update on the effort to get the controversial pipeline approved despite president obama rejection of it last week. you probably heard newt gingrich talk about sal alinsky of the criticism of president. tonight, james rosen tells us who sal was and why it matters. "special report" starts at 6:00 eastern. now back to new york and my colleagues with "the five." ♪ ♪ >> dana: welcome back. we're moving out of politics but staying in washington, d.c. former c.i.a. officer charged in leaking information. charged with disclosing classified information to reporters and lying to the c.i.a. about sensitive material. he faces up to 30 years in prison if convicted. revealing information about waterboarding, allegedly and other harsh interrogation measure

. >> somebody who knows a little bit about surfing is phil keating. the wave, isn't it? >> yeah, that's a monsterous wave and that is the classic surf guitarist sound. nice touch in there. yesterday in florida, the last sunday of campaigning for the republican candidates before tuesday's primary, that's tomorrow, rick santorum had good news on two fronts. number one, the improvement of the health of his 3-year-old daughter turning a corner and he says that's miraculous but last night, florida's tea partiers had a conference call with the candidates and then picked who was their preferred eventual nominee and rick santorum got the highest percentage followed by gingrich and then romney. romney still getting mixed support from florida's tea partiers. as for romney himself, he was appealing to the cuban-american vote. very important in florida. 12% of the electorate. he was there at the end of yesterday afternoon joined on stage by the prominent and influential south florida congresspeople and again, he hit gingrich who he says resigned in disgrace as sp

phil keating is live in miami. phil, when we take a look at the role that each of the candidates is playing, it seems like newt gingrich is playing the role of the underdog yet again. >> reporter: he has to. every poll consistently coming in over the past few days showing romney with -- with a commanding lead, on average ahead seven points ahead of gingrich so gingrich, again, hope 230g a -- hoping for a come from behind victory. we have new numbers for absentee ballots, 600,000 total coming in for a primary that's going to pull out 1.5 to 2 million republicans, so that's about one third of the total vote. tomorrow, of course, the other two-thirds are going to go to the polls and that's why the candidates are stuffing hard once again for about the ninth straight day down here in florida, an expensive -- an extensive state, gingrich in jacksonville, again promising supporters a big come from behind. >> i'm very excited. i can feel it over the last three days, the end of close again, we just as we had in south carolin

phil keating is live in miami with all of this. >> reporter: more florida republicans have now voted for the state's january 31st primary, which is next tuesday than the total number of votes that came up in new hampshire earlier this month. according to the republican party, we are now at about 290,000 votes cast early in the sunshine state. most of those early votes cast by mail, a record number of florida republicans requested an absentee ballot this year, which are coming in daily. those votes will be added to the mix at 7:00pm next tuesday night, once the polls close. early voting began statewide in person in florida's 67 counties on saturday. five counties, including very important hillsboro county around tampa bee gone a week earlier reporting about a thousand early votes a day. despite two recent florida polls that show newt gingrich with an 8 point and 9 point lead over mitt romney, over the past year the romney campaign has far out spent and excelled in getting an organization and ground game on in florida. rick santorum and newt gingrich were focusing hard in new hampshire