wolf? >> what are they saying, the romney folks about the new york times story today saying he's likely to raise about $800 million to try to beat president obama between his own campaign, his pro-romney super pac, and other republican super pacs and the republican national committee and the $800 million number. what are they saying about that? >> reporter: wolf, we have tried all day to get the romney campaign to respond to that report. as of right now they have not. as you have seen, there is a lot of reporting on that figure. it's an eye-popping number and the romney campaign will have to raise that kind of money if they'll have to take on the president. it's been reported that the president's re-election campaign may raise along with the dnc $1 billion although there are democrats who push back on that number also, wolf. >> yea. whoever -- there will be a ton, a ton of money that will be going toward advertising in those key battleground states. hundreds and hundreds of millions of doll

i'm wolf blitzer. you're "in the situation room." -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com >> let's begin with the breaking news. tornado emergencies right now in the dallas-ft. worth area. look at these pictures that have been coming in. this was the scene in the dallas-ft. worth area just a little while ago as the sky turns dark. we see a massive funnel cloud draw closer and then this monster tornado descends on a truck park, picks up giant trailers as if they were little toys and sends them flying. look at this. flying through the air. that's just one of the twisters on the ground today. let's go straight to our meteorologist chad myers. >> chad, for viewers who are just tuning in, update them on what has happened over the past hour or so. >> what has happened as two tornadoes, one going up 35w and one going up 35e. you have to understand, from san antonio to austin there's one interstate called interstate 35. north of dallas, there's one interstate going to oklahoma, but right at dfw, part of the inte

i'm wolf blitzer. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com >>> an historic and stunning showdown is under way right now between the obama administration and federal judges. a three-member appeals panel all republican appointees has taken issue with the president's jawboning of the u.s. supreme court over the health care reform law. now an unusual demand from those judges is putting a lot of heat from the justice department in washington. brian todd is following this battle for us. brian, what's going on? >> reporter: one seasoned court analyst says federal judges almost never do this kind of thing. whether he intended to or not an appeals court judge has publicly taken on president obama and walked into the political fire. >> reporter: a barometer of how high the political stakes are for the president and his opponents on the health care law. a public sparring match between president obama and the courts. on monday, mr. obama says this about the supreme court's review of he

eastern. >>> thanks, wolf. special primary of edition of "piers morgan tonight." there may finally be a turning point in this epic and some might a eternal republican race. the polls are close in wisconsin with 42 delegates in stake. i want to bring back wolf blitzer with breaking news. bring us up to speed on where we are right now. >> the polls in wisconsin, piers, have now closed but we are not, repeat not able to make a projection yet based on the exit poll information that's been coming in. we'll wait to get some official numbers coming in before we can make a projection in wisconsin. as soon as we get those official numbers, we'll weigh it and certain precincts with the exit poll information and share that

eastern. >>> thanks, wolf. special primary of edition of "piers morgan tonight." there may finally be a turning point in this epic and some might a eternal republican race. the polls are close in wisconsin with 42 delegates in stake. i want to bring back wolf blitzer with breaking news. bring us up to speed on where we are right now. >> the polls in wisconsin, piers, have now closed but we are not, repeat not able to make a p

i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com >>> let's get right to the breaking news right now. it's a disease as frightening as it is deadly. the u.s. agriculture department announced that a case of mad cow disease has been confirmed -- confirmed in a dairy cow out in central california. let's bring in lisa sylvester. she's working this story for us. lisa, what is the department of agriculture saying. what's going on? >> reporter: wolf, the usda just released information within the last hour and what we know is that it is a dairy cow from central california that has tested positive for bse or commonly known or referred to as mad cow disease, and wolf, this is only the fourth case ever detected in the united states. normally an animal contracts bse from consuming contaminated feed and this cow tested positive from atypical bse, it's a rare form of the disease and not generally associated with an animal-consuming infected feed and it states, quote, the cow was

wolf?hns, thanks very much. sources close to romney, portman is someone they're taking a serious, and closer look at. listen to what portman told john king last night. >> a lot of people say the traditional school was get someone who locks you up a state and they think ron portman would lock you up ohio. no republican has won the presidency without wing ohio. >> i think he's going to win ohio and the top issue in ohio is jobs and the economy. it's true in lorraine county whereby the way theray 8.7% unemployment and people are looking around for leadership so i think mitt romney has a good opportunity to win in ohio. >> he's being coy. he's not saying yes and not saying no. >> they never say yes. >> portman is obviously someone they think is on the short list. i don't think romney himself knows yet. they're going to be extensive vetting. they want to avoid the mistakes that mccain made the last time. >> oh, absolutely. look, i think mitt romney faces some of the same problems that john mccai

wolf? >> are they planning special events next week in coordination with the first anniversary of the killing of bin laden over the white house? i think that we're going to see the president acknowledge this more, but i wouldn't expect -- i actually don't know whether we'll see a special ceremony acknowledging the killing of osama bin laden. i'll let you know if they do. i suspect they'll do special things around it. it's the first anniversary and smart politics at this point, as well. all reit. thanks very much for that. >> the celebrity president. details of the effort to oust president obama using a new strategy. also, a daring escape by a human rights activist, how a blind man got away from police. all eyes in the sky as the space shuttle "enterprise" makes a dramatic entrance to its new hometown. great shot. how did the nba become the hottest league on the planet? by building on the cisco intelligent network they're able to serve up live video, and instant replays, creating fans from b

wolf? that we don't know. the united states is perceived as weak things become unstable around the world and we've seen the world become increasingly unstable during the press dencs of barack obama. this is the president that sat down with medvedev and said here are my cards, and i'm in a very weak situation. take it easy on me and i'll give you what you want after the election. that's terrible poker. no one does that, and you certainly don't do that with a global competitor. >> you have to tell your friends in the romney campaign, you worked for them years ago, you're not working for them now, there is no more soviet union and czechoslovakia, and they want to get the language correct if they want to be responsible and authoritative. >> they do need to get the language correct and comedians are relieved and they're relieved that joe biden is back. he can watch his language a little bit, too. >> yes. >> the point about the soviet union is there's a historic russian compulsion to expand and t

wolf? >> thanks very much. go exercise and do some workouts and you'll be filling in for me tomorrow here in "the situation room." barbells. >> so is rick santorum becoming irrelevant? jack cafferty is coming up with "the cafferty file." that's his question. also, why critics say you should be angry about the bisart san bills. growing up brown in a black and white society. the south carolina governor nicky haley writes about her experiences growing up brown in south carolina in her powerful new book. we also talk about the gop presidential race, mitt romney and women. stand by for the interview. we always hear about jobs leaving america. here's a chance to create jobs in america. oil sands projects, like kearl, and the keystone pipeline will provide secure and reliable energy to the united states. over the coming years, projects like these could create more than half a million jobs in the us alone. from the canadian border, through the mid west, to the gulf coast. benefiting hundreds of tho

wolf?> thank you. >>> police drop a bombshell in the old missing child case. they're saying a british girl could be alive years after she disappeared. >> and the military probe into the secret service prostitution scandal. one u.s. lawmaker is furious over what he's calling the pentagon's totally, totally uncooperative methods, plus new information about a confirmed case of mad cow disease. we're going live to the california dairy farm that's at the center of this right now. [ female announcer ] if whole grain isn't the first ingredient in your breakfast cereal, what is? now, in every box of general mills big g cereal, there's more whole grain than any other ingredient. that's why it's listed first. get more whole grain than any other ingredient... just look for the white check. get more whole grain than any other ingredient... (spoken in mandarin) i've still got hours of battery life. it's an ultrabook. you bring great shame upon this coffee hut. with a long-lasting ultrabook, everything e

i'm wolf blitzer. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com >> let's begin with the breaking news in a case that has gripped the entire nation. a senior law enforcement source says george zimmerman, the neighborhood watch captain who shot dead an unarmed teenager trayvon martin will, in fact, be charged. florida's special prosecutor has scheduled a news conference two hours from now. of course, we'll bring that to you live. let's go to cnn's martin savidge. he's in sanford, florida, watching all of this unfold. set the scene for us, martin. what do we know right now? >> reporter: we know that sanford is, of course, the epicenter and right now there is a lot of tension in this town in the leadup to that special announcement that will come from the special prosecutor at 6:00. what we do know is that she has said quite plainly and this was the press release, the wording and it is very carefully worded. the release says, quote, miss corey is prepared, rather, to release new info

wolf?ing this affidavit of probable cause and second-degree murder that the prosecutor just released and i know you read it as well. state of florida versus george zimmerman. you point out that the prosecutors in this case are very specific on those words that zimmerman uttered in that 911 call. let me read that paragraph. during the recorded call, zimmerman made reference to people he felt had committed and gotten away with break-s in in the neighborhood and later, he said these -- and i won't use that word, a bad word, always get away. these, bad word, punks. the word was punks that he used, not a derogatory word against african-americans. i guess, david, and maybe the lawyers will be able to explain this, this removes presumably the opportunity for the u.s. justice department to file some sort of civil rights case against george zimmerman if he used punks as opposed to a derogatory word about african-americans. >> reporter: that would appear to be the case. what the justice department is

wolfe: thanks, man.ay, yeah, the numbers match up, this is coster's meth seizure. 40 keys, right? yeah. looks like it's all here. so, what do you think that means, that avery didn't snatch some of the meth? damn it, where'd he get it from then? i don't know. walter, is that powder moving in that bag? ew! walter: aw...! do me a favor, open that up for a sec. no. uh-uh. it's going to be something gross. you're a wimp. if this is meth, walter, it should turn a brownish... orange. nothing. walter, i think this is filled with some kind of flour. those bugs are weevils. they switched out the dope. wolfe: yeah, somebody who had access to it. simmons: somebody like asa avery. simmons: hey, mace! buzz me in? (lock buzzes) thanks. thank you. is that it? coster. that's him. i don't see avery's name on the log in. what? he had access, but... avery never logged his meth seizure into evidence. who did? no, no, no, that's gotta be a mistake. walter, who did? oh, my god. oh, man... sam was working the night shift when t

wolfe: thanks, man.ay, yeah, the numbers match up, this is coster's meth seizure. 40 keys, right? yeah. looks like it's all here. so, what do you think that means, that avery didn't snatch some of the meth? damn it, where'd he get it from then? i don't know. walter, is that powder moving in that bag? ew! walter: aw...! do me a favor, open that up for a sec. no. uh-uh. it's going to be something gross. you're a wimp. if this is meth, walter, it should turn a brownish... orange. nothing. walter, i think this is filled with some kind of flour. those bugs are weevils. they switched out the dope. wolfe: yeah, somebody who had access to it. simmons: somebody like asa avery. simmons: hey, mace! buzz me in? (lock buzzes) thanks. thank you. is that it? coster. that's him. i don't see avery's name on the log in. what? he had access, but... avery never logged his meth seizure into evidence. who did? no, no, no, that's gotta be a mistake. walter, who did? oh, my god. oh, man... sam was working the night shift when t

i'm wolf blitzer? i'm wolf blitzer? you're in "the situation room. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com >>> we're also learning that george zimmerman, the shooter of trayvon martin, will be speaking publicly within the hour, maybe within the half hour, we are told, he's going to be speaking. we'll have live coverage of that and his first public comments on television. george zimmerman will be making a statement. we'll see what he has to say. that's coming up this hour as well, but let's get to the other breaking news we're following. rick santorum bows to reality and says the presidential race, as far as he's concern side over. with with the suspension of his campaign he leaves mitt romney the clear path to the nomination and a november matchup against president barack obama. let's go straight to our national political correspondent jim acosta and he was there when he made his statement in pennsylvania. i know you've spoken to santorum aides. what else are they saying? >> reporter: wolf, what they're telling me and i j

wolf? >> four more american families are about to be notified of a loss of loved ones. sad story continuing in afghanistan. we'll get more information, barbara, as it comes in. i spoke of this war in afghanistan at nato headquarters outside brussels, belgium, yesterday. i spoke with leon panetta and secretary of state hillary clinton. they sat down with me for an exclusive interview in brussels. listen. >> madam secretary, mr. secretary, thank you for being with us. >> we are glad to be with you. >> let's talk about afghanistan. $2 billion a week in u.s. taxpayer dollars being spent to maintain the troop level and the existence to the afghan people. is this money well spent right now? $100 billion a year for another two and a half years? >> well, first of all, wolf, we are in a transition and as we transition, the afghan security forces are stepping up to protect their own people and as we saw over the weekend with those deplorable attacks luckily, they were not successful and that was beca

wolf? >> thank you. rick santorum talking tough about staying in the race, but some key democrats are not talking much about him at all, and that may speak volumes. obama senior strategist david axelrod and vice president joe biden, for that matter, have both been aiming their attacks directly at mitt romney. >> i can't remember a presidential candidate in the recent past who seems not to understand by what he says what ordinary middle class people are thinking about and are concerned about. >> he seems to be oblivious to the experiences of everyday people. >> look, governor romney's business practices and his policies have clearly benefited the wealthy and most powerful among us, often at the expense of working and middle class families. >> look, you have a guy who wants to go back to the same policies that got us into this disaster. >> i think governor romney is a little out of touch. >> the obama campaign clearly signaling they expect to face mitt romney in november. lots of raw politics to hash out w

i'm going to wolf blitzer with breaking news for us.olf, to you. >> piers, the moment that mitt romney has been waiting for, we're ready to make a projection right now. and as you've been saying, three for three for mitt romney tonight. we can now project that mitt romney is the winner in the state of wisconsin. earlier we projected a win in the district of columbia and a win in maryland. three for three for mitt romney tonight. he wins in wisconsin. 42 total delegates at stake in this primary. a big night for mitt romney. you saw the exit poll numbers. he was ahead by about seven points. the official numbers show it tighter right now but based on the exit poll numbers as well as the official numbers coming in right now, we can now project that mitt romney will carry wisconsin. so the race continues. the race continues to april 24th when pennsylvania is coming up. it's going to be a huge night on that tuesday. piers. >> thanks a lot, wolf. we'll go back to john, the senior adviser to rick santorum. there we have it, it's official. three

i'm wolf blitzer. i'm wolf blitzer. "the situation room". -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com >>> united nations is calling north korea's attempted rocking launch deplorable and destabilizing, even though it broke apart and fell into the sea and now, u.n. officials are warning the nation. stan grant is getting rare access inside north korea. stan? r. >> reporter: it started with a day of so much hope. this was the crowning achievement, the day they put a satellite into orbit. it went terribly wrong. that will not deter this nation. they're going to press ahead with more. ♪ from disaster to glory in a day. in north korea, history is what you make it. as always is here. this is about the power of images and the worship of their leader. two massive statues of the founder of the country and his son, kim jong-il. watching over the third generation of this dynasty, the newly crown eed se preem leader kim jong-un. this is how north korea is responding with the scene of triumph, this massive statues. when you're ruled by a pe

>> you know, wolf, it is really stunning and surreal. offense that 747. it is also very sad, an exclamation point to the end of an era. >> february 24th of last year, the 39th and final liftoff of the shuttle discovery. 148 million miles traveled, over a quarter century. >> discovery now making one last reach for the stars. the oldest of the three orbiters discovery was the first to be retired. at first light tuesday morning, it will leave the kennedy space center one last time. this time no roar of jet engines. destination, permanent display at the smithsonian in washington. >> this beckons, i can take this on again. let's fire it up and let it go again. >> it's sad in that we're done and, you know, it's going away, on the other hand, she's going to the smithsonian where hopefully millions of people are going to get to see discovery. >> reporter: the cost about $60 million a seat. nasa is stuck with this arrangement for at least the next four years. that's until a commercial company is ready. >> i a confident that commercial state will

i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." >> you certainly could say the general election campaign began this week when republican candidate rick santorum declared "the race is over for me." now that mitt romney's toughest challenger is out of the picture, romney and president obama are taking direct jabs at one another. let's bring in our senior correspondent, joe johns. romney, it's his race, he's the challenger. he moved to the right during this campaign, the primary season, but now presumably he's got to move a little closer to the center. >> it does sound that way certainly, wolf. it's been a very good week for mitt romney. now it's up to him and his staff to keep it going. we've essentially entered the general election phase of the 2012 campaign with lightning speed thanks to social nemedia d controversial remarks by romney's wife anne by political strategist hillary rosen. recent polls show mitt romney running behind president obama with women voters by double digits. the question is how

>> hi, wolf.of new shelling by the syrian government ahead of the deadline for the latest peace plan. the assad regime agreed to withdraw the military from residential areas on april 10, but the state department says there's no evidence syria is working to meet the commitments. >>> an update on the health of former vice president dick cheney. he left the hospital ten days after undergoing a successful heart transplant. he's suffered at least five heart attacks. >>> and sales are revved up in march you could say. the big three saw nearly 13% jump last month. capping off the best sales quarter since 2008. good news. wolf, back to you. >> thanks very much, susan. we'll be right back. everyone in america depends on the postal service. i get my cancer medications through the mail. now washington, they're looking at shutting down post offices coast to coast. closing plants is not the answer. they want to cut 100,000 jobs. it's gonna cost us more, and the service is gonna be less. we could lose clientele

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now you have a new novel called the wolf gift. now i assume from the title this is about a wolf without learns the true meaning of christmas. (laughter) true? >> no, no, actually, he just learns how to be a werewolf, a man learns how to be a werewolf. >> stephen: how do you learn how to be a werewolf, aren't you bitten by another werewolf to become a werewolf. >> that is what happens to this young man, rubin golding, my hero. he is 23, he is a reporter. and he gets bitten. >> stephen: rubin golding, is he jewish. >> well, actually, no, he actually isn't jewish. but he might be his background. i haven't gotten into the back store eve the ancest ree yet. i might do that in the second book. >> stephen: because i'm not sure if man flesh is kosher. >> well, it that would be a problem because he does definitely get carried away. and he does eat man flesh. >> stephen: he does eat people. >> he does. >> stephen: now this is a problem for me. well-- i hope this is a problem for him. (laughter) >> it is definitely a problem. he wants to fig

you can follow me on twitter @wolf blitzer cnn. a lot more happening tonight, including ann romney's efforts including trying to bring women out to vote for her husband. and new polling to show how much of a gender gap there is to key swing states when it comes to a race against president obama. that's next. ♪ [ male announcer ] you're at the age where you don't get thrown by curveballs. ♪ this is the age of knowing how to get things done. so, why let erectile dysfunction get in your way? talk to your doctor about viagra. 20 million men already have. ask your doctor if your heart is healthy enough for sex. do not take viagra if you take nitrates for chest pain; it may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. side effects include headache, flushing, upset stomach, and abnormal vision. to avoid long-term injury, seek immediate medical help for an erection lasting more than four hours. stop taking viagra and call your doctor right away if you experience a sudden decrease or loss in vision or hearing. this is the age of taking action. v

wolf. >> lizzie o'leary. thanks very much. good report.ur, is the tea party over? paul in north carolina with apologies to shakespeare, the tea party was a phenomenon from sound and furry signifying nothing. the summer of 2010 was notable for angry mobs shouting at congressman and carrying miss spelled signs and making fools of themselves and went to the polls, elected a contingent of equally undesirable representatives. once in congress they had no agenda, now idea how you to legislate and no attention to come proceed miez. they brought the gears of the government to a complete halt and in the end accomplished nothing. is the tea party over? for all our sakes, hope so. johnny in los angeles writes the fact it is not getting media coverage doesn't mean the tea party is over. the darl lightnings of the media are sympathetic to the democrat's needs to continuously hide the fact that our federal government can't pass a budget nor spend within its means. the latter issue continues to devalue our dollar and makes every american poorer each and

yeah, wolf, apparently this guy is okay.ou know, this is one of those things, things not to do when you attend a concert. >> you think he might have had a beer or two before doing that? do you think he was a little excited? >> it is entirely, entirely possible. just, again, folks, don't try that at home. >> don't try that at home at all. >>> coming up we have stunning new details coming into "the situation room" got secret al qaeda attack plans that were actually hidden inside a porn video. our own nic robertson has the story. and the trial of a man who wanted to be president of the united states. new details on how john edwards allegedly tried to hide his pregnant misstress. for holdoligrip because my dentures fit well. before those little pieces would get in between my dentures and my gum and it was uncomfortable. even well-fitting dentures let in food particles. super poligrip is zinc free. with just a few dabs, it's clinically proven to seal out more food particles so you're more comfortable and confident while you eat.