month. the u.n. general assembly plans to stroet this afternoon on a resolution condemning president assad for the brutal crackdown. our journalists in syria say government forces appear to be losing their tight grip across the northern part of the country. we're going to get a firsthand account on the ground from cnn's ivan watson. >> reporter: young men and old sit on the ground chain-smoking next to assault rifles, but they say they've gotten these weapons within the last couple of months. they're trying to protect their communities, their families and villages by laying rings of improvised land mines but they're aware they do not have weaponry to match the tanks or personal carriers and air power of bashar al assad's army. we are learning more about how whitney houston spent her last days. they say she was drinking heavily the week before her body was found in a beverly hills hotel room. hotel guests heard her complaining that her drinks waurpted down. here's what dr. drew said about what happened. >> the fact she could go to treatments as recently as last may and she come up and people around her think partying with xhol is okay because her problem is other drugs, it shows that the treatments were ab jekt failures. a bill to keep your money in a paycheck is a done deal. lawmakers have resolved all the differences on extending the payroll tax cut. once they sorted out the remaining technical issue, the bill goes to the house and nature for final votes. p if you make $50,000, tax cut is worth about $83 a month. legislation extending unemployment benefits, prevents attac attacks, a cut in fees for medicare doctors as well. we're a long way from november, but the road ahead looking up for president obama. the latest polls showing him leading his republican rivals and hypothetical match-ups. the new cnn roc international poll, president obama leading mitt romney 51% to 46%. they were virtually tied in january. holds a lead with 52% to 45% for rick santorum. north korea celebrating the 70th anniversary of the birth of its late leader, kim jong-il. the large military parade there in the capital city of pyongyang. the event used to shore up support for his son and chosen successor kim jong-un. while soldiers pay respect to his father while pledging loyalty to him. the death toll in the honduras prison fire now at 382. inmates' families wait to find out if their loved ones were among those victims. fast-moving fire broke out on tuesday and it's one of the worst tragedies for decades in latin america. they renewed focus on the prison conditions in that region. two russian cosmonauts taking a stroll in space. they're preparing the international space station for the brand-new module next year and installing shields to protect it from space debris. > the revolt in syria entering its 12th month. the world is now ready to condemn president bashar al assad for killing his own people, but today's u.n. general assembly vote is symbolic while the death toll is rising. a syrian man who left new york to join his fellow syrians now joining us via skype. he's at a refugee camp on the turkish syrian border. first of all, explain to us how it is that you leave brooklyn and your family in brooklyn and now try to head to syria, essentially putting your life on the line? >> hi. actually my family, they are not in brooklyn. they we they are in homs. i decided to leave brooklyn to join my family to die with them, because it might be the last chance for me to join them. >> you say your family is in homs in syria. have you had a chance to talk to them? do they know that you are trying to cross the border and head in their direction? >> no. i tried so hard to get contact with them, but i couldn't. >> and how did you make it to the turkish border? what is your plan? how do you plan on trying to actually reach your family? >> actually, after i heard the news every day without taking any part of it, so i decided to leave. as long as i know that my name has been blacklisted at the damascus airport, i thought it could be safe or possible for me to go by ground it to homs. i felt it could be the easiest way to go from turkey and from there to find my way to homs. unfortunately, it was impossible. >> you say that you are willing to risk your life. why? >> there's nothing athat happen left to live for, so it's a matter of dignity. it's a matter of future. i want to be with my family if they are going to die. >> when you cross the border and you find your family, what will do you next? will you try to get them out of the country? >> actually, today it's different to me, because the whole syrian people, they are my family now. so somehow it's not my own family i'm talking about. so it's all syria now. >> it's a larger family. >> yeah. >> do they believe in what you are doing? i mean, what good can come of this, do you think, the putting your life on the line and potentially not coming back? >> i believe that every one of us, the syrian people who are fighting against this criminal regime, if every one of them took a small bark of tpart of t big picture than we may be able to do something eventually and free our country. >> do you feel you have the kind of support you need, or are you there by yourself on your own trying to cross the border to get to your family? >> we honestly don't have any kind of support. we have been listening to news every day, and we are hoping to get something from anyone, but no, there's nothing at all. it's our own -- it's our own fight, and i don't know why the syrian blood is so cheap. is it water? i don't know. >> thank you so much just for talking to us, for risking your life to talk to us, for being there where you are to bring this story to us. it's so important what's taping place there. please keep in touch with us and let us know if you're able to cross the border. if you do see family and have some support when you enter that country, and please, please be safe. thank you. >> thank you very much. i really appreciate it. thank you. here's a rundown of some of the other stories we're covering. first, as whitney houston's family prepares for her funeral, we have more on the disturbing details how she spent her final days. a big you-turn for gm. two years ago was bankruptcy and today record profits. he's a sensation, linspiration, jeremy lin inspiring a whole new way with words. and since my doctor prescribed lipitor, i won't go without it for my high cholesterol. why kid myself? diet and exercise weren't lowering my cholesterol enough. now i'm eating healthier, exercising more, taking lipitor. numbers don't lie. my cholesterol has stayed down. and here's another number you might be interested in. lipitor may be available for as little as $4 a month with the lipitor co-pay card. terms and conditions apply. visit lipitor.com for details. 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[ man ] saw 'em in '83 in fresno. place was crawling with chicks. i got to go. ♪ any way you want it ♪ that's the way you need it ♪ any way you want it ♪ [ male announcer ] engine light on? come to meineke now for a free code scan read and you'll say...my money. my choice. my meineke. we're hearing troubling new details now about how whitney houston may have spent her last days. don lemon is live in los angeles with the latest. don, what have you learned today? >> reporter: some very disturbing details, and it would lend itself to the possibility of the end. not really the possibility, suzanne, but the end that whitney houston came it to, if indeed, true. according to sources who were briefed on whitney houston's activities and behaviors the days before her death say that she really had some erratic behavior, partying at the hotel bar and at the pool and also jumping in and out of the pool doing somersaults, guests explained that she looked disvedi disheveled and her clothes were mismatched and complained loudly that they watered her drinks down and put too much ice in her drinks. you look at pictures of her days before her death at the pool. you see a drink. we don't know for sure what's in the drink, but it does coincide with the reports people say they saw her in the hotel at the pool area in the bar wandering around and also drinking at the pool. they said that at times, suzanne, she was alone, and also there were times when she was with her entourage, and that she was drinking. they saw her, and then also with a male companion. it's very disturbing, but it gives us an idea of her activities and really her physical state leading up to her death. >> and what do we know about the investigators who were questioning her doctors about these pills that they found in the room with her? >> reporter: suzanne, not just questioning. they've issued subpoenas to doctors on the west coast, on the east coast. they want to know everything, every single doctor who treated her ever, ever, every single person who ever prescribed a pill to her. every single person who ever filled a precipitation medication for her. they want to know, because they want to be exactly 100% sure, clear that she was not doctor shopping or pharmacy shopping, as we hear so much about in celebrity cases. at this point they say it doesn't appear that any of that is the case. everyone has been extremely cooperative, and some doctors and pharmacists have been able to give them information na leading them it to other doctors and pharmacies. again, nothing appears out of the ordinary at this point, suzanne. >> we know as the investigation continues, obviously her family is preparing for the funeral this saturday. i imagine this is just going to be a who's who of musicians, music legends, actors, everything in the community. do you have a sense of who's actually going to be attending? >> reporter: absolutely. it pains me to have to report about her activity the days before she died, because your heart, suzanne, you know, goes out to the family. cissy houston, bobbi kristina and everyone. your heart goes out to them, but cissy houston was famous before her daughter was born, a famous gospel singer. the family friends with the winans family and the winans are part of the celebrities there, aretha franklin, l.a. reed, ray judge and brandy and valerie simpson. i'm going to speak exclusively with jakes on my show as well. you see jesse jackson is participating and at least will be there for the funeral, and also it's going to be streamed live on cnn.com as well, suzanne. >> thank you for your excellent coverage. we have full coverage this saturday beginning at 11:00 a.m. eastern. don's going to be there, and he's going to be joined by piers morgan, soledad o'brien ased world says farewell to legend whitney houston. checking stories affiliates are covering cross country begin in new orleans at the end of a tough chapter in recovering from hurricane katrina. fema has now removed the last trailer. after six years, the last of the survivors have relocated to rebuilt homes. cleveland, this is a one-month-old puppy pulled from a sewage drain trapped for two days. this rottweiler german shepherd mix was breathing, but our affiliate said he wasn't out of the woods yet. they lost track of him after he started to walk on monday. this car is kind of cool easier to squeeze into a parking space. m.i.t. developed in tiny two-seater. it folds up when you park. it's called the city car, and can go into production as early as next year. and just two years after bankruptcy, general motors breaking records. the latest earnings for the maker of chevy and cadillac also mark a turning point in the auto industry as a whole. whwheeee! ! whwheeee!! whwheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! ahah h heaeadsds u up. whwheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! evevererytythihingng y youou l , nonow w momobibilele.. dodownwnloloadad t thehe n nep totodaday.y. all right. one of our friends has a million dollars hitting the jackpot, our friend and co-worker jen hauser just won the georgia lottery. the pay outis $1 million. she still showed up for work today. she's going to talk about what she plans to do with the money. we hope to give her some ideas. we want to hear from you. what would you do with aa million dollars? go to facebook with your responses. some milestones in motor city. general motors reports record-breaking profits and it's the first time in seven years that the big three automakers in the black at the same time. alison kosik is at the new york st stock exchange to break down the numbers. this is extraordinary it's happening all at one. >> exactly. this whole turn-around took three years to turn it around and not just in the profits but they're hiring as well. ford and chrysler reported their earnings a few weeks ago. today we heard from gm. they reported an almost $8 billion profit for 2011. that is a record high, but it definitely wasn't easy. she slashed and burned during bankruptcy but set themselves up to make money by closing plants, selling off some brands. they changed the union labor contract. now you see gm as a leading machine and a company that can benefit more from the recovering economy. suzanne. >> we're also hearing that gm is cutting costs and changing the pension plan. do we think that's even necessary? >> it is, because gm's pension, suzanne, it's running out of money. what it's going to do now is move all of its salaried workers into 401(k) plans. gm will still continue making contributions, but 401(k)s are cheaper than traditional pension plans. what it does is shift some cost to the workers, and this is helping gm to keep a lid on expenses because at present, you know, sales here in the u.s. for gm are good, but gm is losing money in europe. suzanne. >> do we as taxpayers own a piece of this, a piece of gm? >> yes. the government still owns about 30% of general motors. its waiting to sell those shares until the stock price picks up. that way the government can can make more money. gm right now is up 4%, but it's trading below its ipo price. if the government did it sell today, it will be at a loss. so the government is holding out until at least it makes a bit of a profit. overall, the market is in the green today. boosted by some improving jobless claim numbers and home construction numbers as well. the dow is up 55. nasdaq and s&p are also in the green. suzanne. >> thanks good news. check this out. this is outside of detroit. drivers finding it kind of tough to stay on the right side of the law here. look at this sign. it's located in a school speed zone. it lists at least six different signs when drivers need to slow down during the day. the school district official says the times are needed because there are three schools in the area with different start and end times, so the law requires each specific time to be listed there. that's just confusing. >> did anybody stop and think about that sign? i guess that's the whole point. you stop short, and you're going to sit and read that, but you're going to cause accidents in the process. >> i can't imagine anybody is moving on that street when you look at all those different times there. i guess they'll sort it out. >> i think they need on to change the sign. >> i'm thinking, too, now that it's on air. we'll see what happens. thanks. >> yes, we're making fun of it. jeremy lin's winning streak with the knicks not over. the lin puns, they're not stopping either. we're going to run down some of the most creative lin one-liners. before we get to that, it's time for travel insider. as cnn reporters, producers often get the inside scoop on some of the great places to go, my friend brianna keeler shows where she likes to unwind. >> i cover the white house for cnn, and one of my favorite places in the d.c. area is old town alexandria, virginia. it's about 7 1/2 miles south of the white house. this is a place where you can come and get a great meal, do a little shopping, and even get a history lesson. this is, after all, the hometown of george washington, and here you can find the grave site of his personal physician, james kreeg. it's a little spooky and one of the stops on the ghost tour in town. i say we get out of here and find other spirits. this is one of my favorite places to end the evening, it's the px speakeasy and it's unmarked. the blue light means they're open. you can knock on the door and come on in. when you get upstairs, you might be lucky enough to show up on a night where todd thrasher is here to mix you a drink. so what are we having tonight? >> what are you in the mood for? rum, vodka, gin. >> let's try gin. >> that is a wine from france. purple basil. put a little dash of gin in there to give it a backbone. three drops of scitric acid. we wave it to the cocktail dogs. the sweet basil. >> that's amazing. >> thanks very much. >> cheers from old town alexandria, virginia. i'm good about washing my face. but sometimes i wonder... what's left behind? 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[ female announcer ] yoplait original. 25 flavors for you to love. it is so good. the u.n. takes a vote and considers options to end want bloodshed in syria. whitney houston leaves behind a legacy and a huge personal fortune. he's plain linspirational. a look at the nba's newest superstar. syrian forces pounding the city of hams foms for the 13th straight day. new diplomatic efforts are under way to try to end the bloodshed. we want to bring in fran townsend. fran, the u.n. general assembly takes up this mostly symbolic resolution on syria today. what do we make of what's going to actually happen here? >> well, look, i don't think we have any reason to suspect that both russia and china, if not one, both, will use their veto power. russia has a commercial relationship and is basically syria's arms supplier and they have a critical port in the mediterranean that the syrian have permitted them to use for nuclear warships. russia's self-interested in here, and i don't have any reason to believe base odd talking about diplomats we will change russia's mind. >> whether we look at the situation on the ground, our own reporters say it appears that the security forces there are losing their grip at least on the northern part of the country. do we think it's a window of opportunity for the international community to jump in and help the opposition? >> well, absolutely. i mean, first and foremost what we need to provide them is humanitarian aid in far greater quantities than anything that has been provided so far. i mean, there continues to be some debate about whether or not to arm the opposition. sort of like in libya, the people are not sure who the opposition is and who they would be arming, but certainly there needs to be a much more open media environment so there's international observation of the atroscities that the assad regime is committing there, and there needs to be humanitarian aid, including medical supplies which are from what we end in very short supply right now. >> fran, i want to turn the corner to iran. there's a lot taking place there. there was a big production iran made yesterday touting the progress on the nuclear program. do we think this is more bluser from iran, or something to back this up? >> well, the problem is we can't be sure unless, remember, saddam hussein and iraq had lots of bluser and it turned out that the wmd program has been dormant for years.ter and it turned out the wmd program has been dormant for years. they moved from 3.5% to 20% enrichment, which is not necessary for a civilian nuclear program. that is achievement we ought to be concerned about. when they talk about more modern centrifuges, that is something we should be concerned about. you hope the effectiveness of the sanctions which we have seen will make that far more difficult for them to implement. >> and, fran, we should let our viewers know that you and other former national security officials support the u.s. state department dropping the terror designation for mek. i want to move on to another issue taking place here, iran and recommeisrael could you seeh other of bombings in other countries, thailand, india, and the republic of georgia. there's this back and forth taking place here. do we understand whether or not there is actually a proxy war that is taking place already between israel and iran? >> you know, suzanne, the facts here are extremely murky. i don't think we fully appreciate and understand what's going on, but i will say when you see the types of attacks in the republic in georgia, in india and thailand that are clearly iranian-related, this is sort of out of the iranian play look. they use hezbollah and the plot to kill the ianian ba iaia iaii am babassador to the u.s. they want to intimidate and instill terror not only in up populations but to intimidate governments in terms of their policy. >> fran, finally in iran there are some signs that the sanctions are working, that people are suffering. do you see any signals that the iranian government, the leadership is actually willing to negotiate? >> you know, we've seen signs of this in the past. when they feel pressure, they indicate that they are willing to negotiate, except we never see any real credible follow-up or real steps. they engage in negotiations basically as a stall tactic, and then they back away from them when the pressure is eased off them. i don't think we have any reason to think this is any more sincere than previous efforts. >> thank you for your perspective as always. thank you. she lives behind family, friends and millions of dollars. we'll take a look at whitney houston's fortune. wanna know the difference between a trader and an elite trader? 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[ laura ] hot, right out of the shell. i love lobster. i'm laura mclennan from spruce head, maine, and i sea food differently. the lin streak now at 7. jeremy lin and the new york knicks beat the smdz kings last night ensuring the lin puns won't go anytime soon. it has linspired jeanne moos. >> in less than two weeks he went to the cover of "sports illustrated," and the three letters of his last name have become everyone's favorite word game. >> it's linexplicible. >> my symptoms are linsomnia. >> headline writers cite divine lintervention. shots like this sure look div e divine. >> lin to the rim. >> jeremy lin cut by two teams came off the bench and made the hapless new york knicks winners. now it's inspiring songs. and to top it off lin comes across as a really nice guy, a team player. >> can you believe this is happening to you? >> no. >> he has an economics degree from harvard and did a parody video telling kids how to get into the ivy league school. >> step one, get glasses. if you already have glasses, get bigger glasses. >> after lin was seen doing a multi-step handshake that includes cupping the eyes to signify thick, nerdy glasses and a few folks stard the linning focusing on the eyes. if all the lin word play and puns are driving you nut, too bad. they're spreading like lininfluenza. if you have trouble making up your own, there's the jeremy lin word generators. lin plus ninja is linja. >> super lintendo. >> spike lee got giddy citing to the "wall street journal." >> jeremy i move so afafast i m be on jeremy, stop asian profiling. >> of premium linoleum tile, but he prefers the basketball court. >> we couldn't get a stop. >> jeanne moos, cnn, lint, new york. get it. a friend of ours at cnn won big on a scratch ticket. that's all we can talk about this morning. for today's talk back today what would you do with a million dollars. here's a sign of the times, penny says i'd fill up the gas tank in my car. we'll have more responses up up next. roast forest fresh full tank brain freeze cake donettes rolling hot dogs bag of ice anti-freeze wash and dry diesel self-serve fix a flat jumper cables 5% cashback right now, get 5% cashback at gas stations. it pays to discover. 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[ major nutrition ] ensure. nutrition in charge! the world needs more energy. where's it going to come from? ♪ that's why right here, in australia, chevron is building one of the biggest natural gas projects in the world. enough power for a city the size of singapore for 50 years. what's it going to do to the planet? natural gas is the cleanest conventional fuel there is. we've got to be smart about this. it's a smart way to go. ♪ the fire is out but the outrage continues. an anti-crime group in washington state has blocked plans to have josh powell buried next to his two sons. powell killed the boys and himself by setting the house on fire earlier this month. crimestoppers and a local sheriff have reportedly bought plots on both sides of the boys' grave sites to prevent powell's family from burying him near the children. her voice was a national treasure. ♪ oh say does that "star-spangled banner" ♪ ♪ yet wave ♪ o'er the land of the free ♪ and the home of the brave >> whitney houston gives that to us. she leaves behind a huge personal fortune. tom forman reports on her enormous wealth. >> reporter: measuring the wealth of whitney is difficult at best, but a good starting place is her 1992 hit movie "the bodyguard." over 20 years it has made almost $411 million. the soundtrack has sold 17 million copies in the u.s. alone. according to the recording industry association of america, that's the most ever, more than purple rain and saturday night fever. of course, the film also gave us that song. ♪ and i will love you >> "i will always love you" sold 4 million copies in the first year alone. that's seven records every minute. it was great news for houston and maybe even better news for dolly parton who wrote it. under recording law parton and not houston and her estate is the one that gets paid every time you hear it on the radio. she talked about the tune recently on anderson's daylight ta daytime talk show. >> i got all the money for the person and writing and i bought a lot of cheap wigs. p >> still, houston's music was the cornerstone of her empire and her records broke records time and again. she produced more number one singles in a row than even the beatles. her songs climbed the charts fast but stayed near the top for long periods. how much she earned from all of that is uncertain, but when abc's diane sawyer asked about rumors using crack the singer himself suggested she had enormous wealth. >> first of all, let's get one thing straight. crack is cheap. i make too much money to ever smoke crack. let's get that straight, okay? i don't do crack. i don't do that. crack is whack. >> now her songs are dominating online sales just as michael jackson's did after his sudden loss, and that could be worth many millions. in two years after his death, billboard says he sold 16 million songs and almost 11 million albums. certainly there have been celebrities that spent their fortunes as fast as they made them, but houston would have to work at that. in the mid-'90s was widely regarded as one of the wealthiest entertains on the planet. >> the show underwent a huge transformation. >> her appeal continues. the grammys packed with references and tributes to houston scored its biggest audience in almost 30 years. when "sparkle" is released later this year, industry experts expect it to build even more on the fame and fortune of whitney houston. tom forman, cnn, washington. cnn has full coverage of whitney houston's funeral this saturday beginning at 11:00 a.m. eastern. join piers morgan, soledad o'brien and don lemon as the world says good-bye to a legend. santorum releases his tax returns. we have details in the political ticker. the update is up next. improve roi through seo all by cob. and you...rent from national. because only national lets you choose any car in the aisle... and go. you can even take a full-size or above, and still pay the mid-size price. i'm going b-i-g. [ male announcer ] good choice business pro. good choice. go national. go like a pro. all right. so rick santorum says sometimes he works six, seven job ace year. he said it paid off. he released his tax returns for the last four years. the politi washington is mark preston. his earnings, what do we know of his tax rate? >> we know his tax rate is a lot higher than what mitt romney's tax rate was. let's take a look at these numbers right here, suzanne. just last year alone, he made nearly $1 million but his tax rate was 28%, a little more than 28%. his earnings were down actually from the year before. we're hearing a little over $1 million. now, compared to the average person, this is a lot of minute compared to mitt romney of course, mitt romney's tax rate, what was it, about $27 million, was 15%. so rick santorum releasing his taxes a little later than most people but let's see what people say. >> and i'd like to know what the six or seven jobs are, too, that he says he has. i guess that's a lot of work there but he says he made nearly a million dollars and now we can see his tax rate. tell us about the secret service protection for santorum. what is that about? is that actually happening? >> we are not quite sure. we know that his campaign has reached out to the homeland security. this is very routine in many ways. last night rick santorum was on piers morgan. he was asked about it and he said he didn't know anything about it. that's not too surprising. a lot of these decisions are made by aides. a request is made and put into the secretary of homeland security and it's kicked up to capitol hill where they look at the request and make a decision. right now he does not have secret service protection. mitt romney does. it wouldn't be too surprising given the crowds that rick santorum is starting to generate for him to get it very soon. >> and we know looking at michigan, all eyes on michigan, mitt romney has an endorsement. this has been a tough fight is this significant? who is this? >> it's significant in that it's the rick schneiderman. he was born in michigan and his father was a former executive of a major car company up there as well. he really points to mitt romney's career as a businessman and not a career politician which, not surprisingly, suzanne, we heard that over and over and over again from mitt romney. now, the big question is, do endorsements really matter? in the past they haven't necessarily mattered with south carolina, it's always good to have people like you, suzanne. in the end, it's probably not bad. >> not a bad thing at all. all right. thank you, mark. good to see you. for the latest political news, go to cnnpolitics.com. all right. we love this story. a friend of ours here at cnn just won $1 million from a scratch ticket. mario says he would buy a place to live. nothing too grand, just a place to call my own and make sure i could invest some to live off. buy some tools to work with and then donate the rest. alexi would open a store, create jobs and in the long run turn it into many more millions. gary says he would buy a cheap but nice house, a car i can depend on, pay a few bills, and start a savings account. and karen says, i would hide from my relatives. >> that's always good advice. or new relatives you never knew you had. we are going to have the lucky winner on in the next hour. she will tell us what she is going to do with the money and get advice from our own christine romans. fans of colbert, why taping has suspended abruptly. we'll have a live report. ♪ the new c-class with over 2,000 refinements. it's amazing...inside and out. see your authorized mercedes-benz dealer for exceptional offers through mercedes-benz financial services. ♪ you and me and the big old tree ♪ ♪ side by side, one, two, three ♪ ♪ count the birds in the big old tree ♪ ♪ la la la [ male announcer ] the inspiring story of how a shipping giant can befriend a forest may seem like the stuff of fairy tales. ♪ ♪ you and me and the big old tree side by side ♪ but if you take away the faces on the trees... take away the pixie dust. take away the singing animals, and the charming outfits. take away the sprites, and the storybook narrator... 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[ male announcer ] sustainable solutions. weight loss programs can be expensive. so to save some money, i just got the popular girls from the local middle school to follow me around. ew. seriously? so gross. ew. seriously? that is so gross. ew. seriously? dude that is so totally gross. so gross...i know. there's an easier way to save. geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more. it is no laughing matter that stephen colbert has suspended taping. what do we know? >> "showbiz tonight" has confirmed that colbert has suspended taping due to unforeseen circumstances. there was a repeat show last night and there will be another repeat tonight. fans were already in their seats when they were told that the show was canceled. there's no reason on the show's website. nothing from their twitter feed. just a lot of speculation out there right now. we did ask comedy central and stephen colbert's publicist for information on this and as of right now they haven't gotten back to us but we will continue trying to find out today. >> has there been previous circumstances that might give us some clues here? >> no. this is unprecedented. it's reportedly only happened twice before for the daily show on comedy central and one of those was when jon stewart had a baby and when a staff member unexpectedly passed away. there are reports that it's expected to be on the air soon. fans, of course, hoping that it's true and that the reasons behind this is not serious. >> is there any reports that maybe he's out sick? >> well, it's all speculation at this point. i had wondered that myself. maybe the guy just got sick, got a litta little sore throat or something like that. if that were the case, though, they would put that notice up. of course, we're talking about you, stephen, look forward to you being back on the air. >> we hope he is well. thanks again, a.j. top of the hour, suzanne malveaux. we are learning more about how whitney houston spent her last days. a source close to the investigation tells cnn that she was seen partying in beverly hills even the night before she died. here's what hln's dr. drew said about it. >> the fact that she could go to those treatments as really as last may and come out and she and the people around her think that partying with alcohol is somehow okay because her problem is other drugs is -- it shows that the treatments were abject failures. abject failures. more attacks across syria as the u.n. general assembly plans to vote this afternoon on a resolution condemning president bashar al assad with a crackdown. meanwhile, government forces appear to be losing their tight grip across the northern part of the country. we are getting a first hand account from ivan watson. >> young man and old, sit on the ground, chain smoking, weapons, light weapons, but they say they've gotten within the last couple of months. they tell us that they are trying to protect their communities, their family, their villages by laying rings of improvised landmines but are fully aware that they do not have weaponry and air power of bashar's army. >> the death toll in the honduras prison fire now at 382. inmates' families are anxiously waiting to find out if their loved ones were among those victims. a fast-moving fire broke out on tuesday. it's one of the worst tragedies of its kind in latin america. and now the focus is on the deplorable prison conditions in that region. north korea celebrating the 70th anniversary of the birth of its late leader, kim jong-il. you can see the military parade. also being used to shore up support. they are paying respects to his father while loyalty to him. this guy is known as the underwear bomber and in just about an hour he's scheduled to be sentenced in federal court. it's been more than two years since he was charged with the plot for blowing up a plane. he faces life in prison. we're a long way to november but the road ahead is looking up for president obama. the latest poll showing him leading his republican rivals in a hypothetical matchup. president obama leads mitt romney 51-46%. they were virtually tied in january. he also holds a lead with 52 support to 45% for rick santorum. two russian cosmonauts taking a stroll in space right now. they are preparing for the arrival of a brand-new module. we are hearing troubling new details about how whitney houston may have spent her last days. don lemon is in los angeles with the latest news. don, what is new today? >> i have some new details, too, coming from a source, suzanne. this is just in. a source close to the death investigation. but bear with me because this is information that is going to give us an idea of exactly what happened. investigators say that they are aware of the report that we said yesterday of whitney houston partying in the hotel and other venues, even on the night before she died. hotel personnel confirm to investigators that houston was partying the night before her death in the hotel bar. investigators are being looking at the video from television appearances and reports as part of the investigation as to her physical state and behavior leading up to her death. again, i'm reading my information that spoke to a source close to the investigation says that she believes that the surveillance video could reveal, suzanne, houston's activities in the common area of that hotel but would not confirm the existence of the surveillance tapes that investigators have requested them. the source says that the prescription drug, very important, suzanne, xanax, was found in houston's hotel room and family members confirm that she used the medication but are not sure if she took it on that day. she also had a prescription for amox sill lan which is an antibiotic among the drugs found in her hotel room but added they are not sure if she took it on that day as well. it was described to her. this source says no benzodiazepian nor valium found in the hotel room. we heard that she was in the bathtub and submerged, what have you. the source says upon arrival paramedics found houston's body in the hotel room, face up, not in the bathroom. that she was laying on the floor wet on her back. so no official ever saw whitney houston's body in the bathtub or in the bathroom. that was just reported to them from her assistant and from the security guard, from her own security guard who found her and removed her from the tub, put her in the room found on her back face up in the room wet. so the investigation -- i think that brings the investigation to another level. how did they know for sure that she was ever in that bathtub or ever in the bathroom? there's no official -- no one ever official see saw her that way. >> and, don, what is the significance of that, do you suppose? the fact that there are these two different stories, the stories we heard before that she was found in the bathtub and now this report that says she was out of the bathtub and on her back? >> well, i think that what it does, it broadens the investigation. listen, i really want to point out here, suzanne, they are saying, this is not -- they don't believe it's criminal. that it's a standard death investigation at this point. but i think that let's us know that the investigation is broader than one might suspect. you shouldn't draw any conclusions like, oh, well, she drowned. she was definitely in the bathroom or in the bathtub. we don't know that for sure. investigators don't know that for sure. they've got their work cut out for them, not only about the condition her body was in when they saw her, but also what she took -- what she ingested in the days leading up, including prescription medication and alcohol the days before and possibly other substances. >> and, don, just to be clear here, your source is reporting that she was partying. what does that mean specifically? what does that look like? what do the surveillance cameras potentially show her doing? >> so here's the thing. if you were partying in the days before you die, in the hours before you die, meaning take alcohol, and prescription drugs are found in your room, i don't know of any prescription drug that a doctor would say, oh, it's okay to have alcohol with it. usually they will say, do not consume alcohol if you ingest this drug. so ak0rding to a person who was at the hotel, other guests and someone briefed on her activities, that she was acting erratically, that she was doing summersomersalts in the pool, go up to rehearse sal, jump in the pool and get back out and then her hair dress people would have to do it again. and then complaining about her drinks being watered down and not enough and then too much ice being placed in it. listen, suzanne, we know it's a sad reality but these are the facts. we hate to report that a superstar died this way and someone who was beloved by so many. but these are the facts and the information coming in surrounding the last moments of whitney houston's life. >> don, thank you for bringing that to us. cnn has full coverage of whitney houston's funeral beginning at 11:00 a.m. the world will say farewell to a legend. here's a rundown of some of the stories we're covering over the next hour. first, the suffering of syria. we'll go inside a medical clinic where a doctor struggles to save the wounded. and arsenic in baby formula. what you need to know about this disturbing discovery. and then, all right, just won 1 million bucks, what would you do? that happens to be one of our colleagues and friends and she's getting expert money advice. f. peter. i can see that you're busy... but you were gonna help us crunch the numbers for accounts receivable today. i mean i know that this is important. well, both are important. let's be clear. they are but this is important too. 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[ male announcer ] michelin knows it's better for xerox to help manage their finance processing. so they can focus on keeping the world moving. with xerox, you're ready for real business. colleagues and friends and she's [ engine sputtering ] [ male announcer ] engine light on? come to meineke now for a free code scan read and you'll say...my money. my choice. my meineke. the human suffering in homs is getting worse. arwa damon is in that city. she's giving us a rare look at the extent of the suffering taking place there and i've got to warn you, these images are graphic and they are difficult to watch. >> reporter: on the horizon, thick smoke billows from a gas pipeline. this is the war zone that homs has become. we're in a neighborhood that's endured constant shelling, where civilians are killed and wounded every day. a 30-year-old man lies on the brink of death after shrapnel hit him in the head. brain matter actually came out of the wound last may. >> translator: i couldn't really do anything for him. i just fixed him up to keep the brain matter in. and inserted a tube, a nasal tube to suction the blood. he will die if he doesn't get out. the doctor is one of only two doctors here. his specialty is internal medicine. the other doctor is actually a dentist. this 36-year-old is attached by a few muscles only. i just went out to take out the trash. i thought that the shelling had quieted down, he recalled. i hardly stepped out the door when i heard a massive sound. the father of three tried to get his wife and children out of the area but he says government forces turned them back. he says, we are begging all countries in the world, please, get involved. mohammed also tried to escape but wasn't allowed through the checkpoint. he says he was hit by a tank round. after running to help those wounded in a rocket attack in front of his house. the doctor was just saying that this is a patient who has to get out of here within 24 hours or else his leg most definitely is going to need to be amputated and the doctor was pointing out how at this point you can smell the rot coming from the wound. this patient has been lying like this for four days now. the feeling of helplessness in the face of such suffering is overwhelming. we've lost all feeling, he says. there is no value to life. the rockets just rained down. the doctor can't hold back the tears. this is a case that survived, he says. most cases we get like, this they die within an hour or two because we can't do anything for them. this is how they have to move around a short distance to get from one location to another where they have the patient. >> six patients were killed in this building after a strike. the shelling is relentless. what they have to do, because the clinics keep getting targeted, is try to distribute the patients around because they have a number of houses in the vicinity where they also have the makeshift clinics as well. in what was a living room, one man growns as groans as he sho his wound. he initially traces a tank on the wall and then shows the crude drawings. >> he has been drawing trying to explain to us what happened because he's in so much agony he cannot speak. he's one of the cameraman that goes out all of the time. some of his clips that we constantly see posted to youtube. he's been drawing two tanks and explaining how he was moving down the street across from them when they fired at him. he's also got a severe head injury. his skull has been cracked and he's suffering from internal bleeding as well. lying in the room nearby, the 19-year-old is barely hanging on, wounded when the clinic was hit a few days ago. among those treating him is 27 yeerd man. he's a volunteer. there is a team of 20 volunteers now on the medical front lines. i swear to you, he's just a doctor. he came here to help people and now he needs help. no one is equipped to deal with the scale of the casualties. an average of 60 wounded a day. not to mention, the rising death toll. these are humans, nora says, her voice trum belg, they are not stones. and all she wants to know is how many have to die before they receive help. arwa damon, cnn, syria. >> more sad news out of homs. the 19-year-old featured in her story has died. 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[ kyle ] it's like we're connected. no we're not. yeah, we are. no...we're not. ♪ the allstate value plan. dollar for dollar, nobody protects you like allstate. our cnn producer just won the georgia lottery. couldn't have happened to a nicer person. guess what, she still showed up to work today. we don't ungds that but we're going to talk to her about that. she'll be on the show later to tell us what she's going to do with all of this money. what would you do with $1 million? rick santorum battling it out. the gloves come off again. john, good to see you. >> good to see. >> you this is pretty exciting because romney planning to nuke rick santorum with negative ads. reportedly spending 29 times more than santorum's team. is he going to be able to take that? >> well, this has been the romney strategy. it worked in iowa. it worked in florida. an overwhelming number of negative ads that uses money and organization. the rick santorum has done something very smart, though. they put out an ad called the rombo ad. it depict admit romney character with a mud gun to blunt those attacks, to pre-empt them by saying, look, not only is this a strategy that you guys are going to see, but it could blow back and get mud on him. it was a smart attempt to pre-empt the ads that you're going to see. >> there's going to be a lot of mudslinging but they say these ads are going to make mitt romney and newt gingrich look like love tap. what do you think? >> i love it when someone says this round of attack is going to make the others look like love taps. look, they are fighting for their life. there should be no doubt about this. mitt romney should be winning michigan easy. his father was governor a. popular governor in the 1960s. this is his near hometown crowd. if he's fighting to win michigan, which he is, it's crisis time in the romney camp and they are going to throw everything they have at him. watch out. it's going to be intense. >> and watch out, rick santorum is a far less messy candidate and less polarizing than newt gingrich. could this backfire and make him look unlikable? >> it could and there are already signs that it has. mitt romney's like built has decreased enormously and it's not just among independents. it's about whether he's honest and trustworthy. that's a reflection of the devastating effect of this. the problem with the devastating ad strategy is it can hurt the other guy but kill you as well. the romney camp has done this in the past and will do it again. >> all of this -- it gets to the point where people are just really thinking it's going to get all out ugly. i want to show you a quick poll here that we saw. a hypothetical smach now between president obama and mitt romney. this is the latest poll. it has obama leading romney. 51% to 46% y do we think that they are moving in the romney direction? >> the primary fight has been ugly, the fact that it's extended, dominated by negative ads is taking a toll. so what you're seeing is it could take a poll. while they are reaching out to the far right, independents in particular. >> and that should hold true for the next poll as well because obama has a lead, 52% to 45%. i imagine that the moderates are sticking with president obama? >> well, for now. again, he benefits by comparison. president obama has had real problems keeping independents over the past several years but he's doing better in comparison because what is happening with this fight in contrast to 2008 when hillary clinton and barack obama were fighting with who could be white working class folks, it's all about who can appeal best to the far right and while it may win the nomination, it hurts them when it comes to appealing to the independent voters who ultimately decide who wins or loses the presidential election in america. >> all right. john, thank you. great to see you. >> great to see you, too. so do you think before you tweet? if not, listen up. the department of homeland security is now monitoring social media. we're going to tell you what they are actually looking for. but, first, dr. sanjay gupta talks to a man who has made it his job to make things. he's found der of make magazine. find out why he made cnn's "next list". >> so here's a model. this is two pieces of play dough. first we're going to put a battery on. >> wow. >> so we're able to -- >> that's pretty amazing. >> -- plug that in anywhere. 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[ female announcer ] new multi-grain cheerios peanut butter. here's a rundown of some of the stories we're working on. next, the u.n. takes a stand on syria. and then arsenic found in baby food. we're going to take a closer look at that. and later, she won $1 million on a scratch ticket. one lucky winner will tell us how she's going to spend the jackpot. fierce new attacks in syria as the government crackdown enters 12 months. the world is ready to condemn bashar al assad for slaughtering its people but today's u.n. vote is only symbolic. nick peyton walsh is joining us. you've been talking to an activist that we have simply gotten to known as "danny." i understand that you went to a disclosed place and he's since moved on. tell us how he's doing. >> reporter: he is surprisingly, i would say calm but clearly the time ppds he has spent in homs and his experience in syria has left him with pretty intense memories, some of which he shared with us. >> it would take me hours, a kid is still alive and while another kid lost two legs and is still alive. my friend lost his left arm. my friend has lost an eyeball. my friend got hit by a sniper in his mouth, left out here, lost all his teeth. this is the way of life. i would rather get killed than live like that. they aren't scared of dying. we will die for our country. people say it's an islamic movement and taliban and -- it's guys like me, 17, 18-year-olds going out and doing demonstrations. >> reporter: he made a direct appeal to barack obama for military help, for a no fly zone, some kind of assistance saying he doesn't believe this conflict can have a peaceful resolution. interestingly, though, he referred to the diplomacy in the last few months, specifically, the veto of russia and china against a u.n. security council resolution, demanding change. he says that itself was a crime against humanity because the russians had given a green light to bashar to intensify his crackdown, suzanne. >> and, nick, does danny have a hope of optimism that he will be able to change his country, that change will come? >>. >> reporter: he says he believes ee right and the people around him are right and given what has happened, given the terrifying events that they have witnessed, i think they do know that they need some kind of outside help. he was almost begging in his tone, to a certain extent, where he suggested they might even take help from the israelis. for many in the arab world, a deeply disliked country. they would even accept help from them to help get back on a path to confront this very well-equipped, very huge crackdown. >> he is so brave to bring this story to us. we appreciate the fact that he has talked to us and to you and told us what is taking place there and the kind of suffering that his family and friends are going through now. nick, thank you very much. appreciate it. some disturbing news about what you may be feeding your baby. a study finds arsenic in some baby formula. we're going to talk about what that means. powerful cold medicine that leaves out artificial flavors and dyes and instead uses something more natural, honey. new nature fusion cold & flu from vicks. ♪[music plays] ♪[music plays] purina one beyond. food for your cat or dog. all right. new parents, listen up. doctors say there's a worrisome amount of arsenic in baby formula. i want to bring in elizabeth cohen to explain. there's a lot of arsenic found in these foods and we know that arsenic causes cancer. >> we know that when people get high amounts of arsenic it can increase their risk of cancer. we can't say if your baby drinks this much formula with this arsenic in it, then this is going to happen to them. but of course there's a lot of concern because babies drink a lot of formula. >> how much arsenic was found? >> they found that the formulas that had the organic brown rice syrup had 20 times the amount of arsenic as formulas that didn't have it. and these are marketed as organic, that you think that you are getting something that is healthy. >> and the other thing is, when you think of this, this is better than the high-fructose syrup? >> well, actually, this has arsenic in it so it's not good at all. they say there is nothing to that report and that rice does not have high levels of arsenic in it. i want to talk about some other products. it wasn't just baby formula. these are cereal bars that contain organic brown rice syrup. they looked at federal drinking water standards. these had as much as 128 parts her billion of arsenic. you can see that's a lot higher. there was more arsenic in these than what is allowed in federal drinking water. so that's also a concern. >> so you have brown rice syrup in a lot of foods. should we be concerned about this? >> well, it's not in many, many foods. you can actually see the ingredients. there were plenty of bars that don't have it. so if this concerns you and you think, oh, my gosh, turn those packages around and look for one that doesn't have organic brown rice syrup. people also wonder how arsenic gets into rice. some soil has arsenic in it and the rice can absorb that arsenic. that's the relationship. >> and i guess researchers are saying there's an urgent need for regulation. >> some people would say, if we put limits on how much could be in water, how much arsenic can can be in water, why can't we limit how much can be put in cereal bars? >> okay. elizabeth, thank you. it's always eye opening. it's a little concerning. >> yes. and i think parents buy their formula with the organic brown rice syrup. >> elizabeth, thanks. so we've been asking you, what would you do with a cool million bucks? it happened to one of our producers in her most recent lottery win. yeah, that's right. she's won before. we're going to talk to her next. all energy development comes with some risk, but proven technologies allow natural gas producers to supply affordable, cleaner energy, while protecting our environment. across america, these technologies protect air - by monitoring air quality and reducing emissions... ...protect water - through conservation and self-contained recycling systems... ... and protect land - by reducing our footprint and respecting wildlife. america's natural gas... domestic, abundant, clean energy to power our lives... that's smarter power today. so i wasn't playing much of a role in my own life, but with advair, i'm breathing better so now i can take the lead on a science adventure. advair is clinically proven to help significantly improve lung function. unlike most copd medications, advair contains both an anti-inflammatory and a long-acting bronchodilator, working together to help improve your lung function all day. advair won't replace fast-acting inhalers for sudden symptoms and should not be used more than twice a day. people with copd taking advair may have a higher chance of pneumonia. advair may increase your risk of osteoporosis and some eye problems. tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high blood pressure before taking advair. if you're still having difficulty breathing, take the lead. ask your doctor if including advair could help improve your lung function. get your first full prescription free and save on refills at advaircopd.com. she won the lottery. believe it or not, one of our cnn colleagues won twice. her most recent, $1 million. jennifer hauser claimed the prize on monday. what's the best way to handle all of that money? christine romans has advice from new york. but, first, we want to talk to jennifer. you are my new best friend. >> all right z congratulations. this is what it looked like, right? >> that's the one. well, not the one. >> this is what it looked like. >> yes. >> how does this happen? >> well, my husband picked the ticket and he gave it to me. it was around valentine's day and our anniversary. i just wanted to give him a little credit since my picture is everywhere. yeah, it's pretty exciting. >> how is this you won twice? in november you cashed in how much? >> 100. >> $100,000. >> and they take the taxes out of both of them but it's still great. >> what are you going to do with the money? >> well, we bought a car. we're going to buy a car. we're close to it. my husband really wanted this particular car. >> is it a fancy car? >> it's a maximum. it's nice. i want to help my mom with some things, family, that kind of stuff. >> and you have a 6-year-old, too? >> yeah. >> i don't know what we're going to do. probably send her to a nicer school. >> that's really nice. how are your friends reacting? when you won $100,000, you guys hung out in a limo? >> well, that wasn't a direct result of it. i wanted to have fun. i didn't tell anyone about the 100,000. this was actually supposed to be a little bit of a hush-hush but somehow the word got out. i should have known because i'm a journalist. so my phone blew up and i'm happy to hear from i'm not sur them. >> well, you probably have a lot more relatives than you knew. >> i have a small family. >> it's going to get bigger. >> yeah, right. >> i want to bring in christine. weigh in on this. one million, you took a lump sum. after taxes, what does that breakdown to? >> is that like 600 grand you took home? >> no -- well, after taxes it's more than half. it's more like 4 something. >> the government got a little bit to pay down the national debt. >> there you go. i'm helping the world. >> you have to be really careful with this money. i know you've heard this before. you've got to be careful with this money because you have enough money here now that you can guard it, invest it, and be strategic with it and this is going to be an inheritance that you'll be able to pass down and live a great life with this if you keep working and investing. make sure you pay off all of your high-interest debt and i bet you did that after you got your own amount. even low interest mortgage debt, pay that stuff on time but you need to be using your money to grow for you. take another look at your life insurance and again it's going to protect you down the road. max out your 401(k) and ira right now. start a 529 for your daughter. max it out as well. and then you start investing it. here's where you have fun. lathered municipal bonds. >> what is that? >> good. lad tered municipal bonds, you're not going to pay taxes on the money that you're earning. high yielding stocks and funds, mutual funds, those also are going to generate income for you. and some of those can get 6, 7, 8%. that's why you want to focus on making your money grow for you. not by -- low interest debt, 5% or less, don't worry about that. be very careful. you don't want a big tax bill. that's why mortgage interest is good for you. you get to write that off every year. >> i admire the fact that you came into work today because i took a survey of our team, well, i don't know. half of us might -- >> you're going to continue to show up here at cnn? >> yes. i like the boss and the job. >> i think we're going to start a pool of buying these here and maybe your luck will rub off. >> maybe. >> congratulations. >> thanks. >> what jen plans to do with her cool million. what would you do with 1 million bucks? stephanie says i would pay off my student loans and be debt free. and david said, sorry to say this but a million dollars doesn't go as far as it used to. i'd pay off the mortgage and maybe a romantic dinner for two. you'd be surprised how far that kind of money could stretch. lewis says, i would put it all on the facebook ipo. you can see more of your responses on my facebook page. congratulations. fashion world has now found a new "it" girl. how she scored her work with the top designers. we're going toi introduce you t joan small. joe joan smals has her eye on success. and we caught up with her. >> reporter: one look at her and it's clear, joan smalls is not just a super model, she's a star. >> it's kind of like a go-getter heart. i'm coming to be great. >> reporter: on the cat walk at louboutin, the "it" girl designers must have. >> she's like a seasoned actress. >> reporter: what's not to love? >> she represent as girl that i feel i design for. >> three years ago she wanted more. she switched managers who directed her to change her approach. for instance, the casting calls dressed the part. >> high heels. show off the legs and great body. >> joan started booking jobs. the break through was an exclusive contract in january of 2010. during high fashion's most coveted runway. >> she said, joan, don't go anywhere else. we need you. i got goose bumps all over my body. >> did you realize that would be a breakthrough moment for you? >> why. i think you can kind of feel it. when you want something so bad and i think it's instinct that it's going to be the moment that is going to change everything. >> reporter: it did. >> and then shortly thereafter with american vogue and then she was representing a brand of estee lauder. >> reporter: the fires latina. a multi-year contract at a rate of more than $1 million a year. fitted by vera wang. most recently, chanel. >> i wanted to be greater and bigger. i came here with a purpose and to finally achieve it and be an inspiration for others. >> reporter: super model joan smalls. elena cho, cnn. >> don't forget to watch the special backstage pass saturday february 25th at 2:30 p.m. the thing you tweet could end you up on a watch list. we'll go into social media. ♪ [ male announcer ] the 2012 m-class continually monitors blind spots, scans the road to reveal potential threats, even helps awaken its driver if he begins to doze. so in the blink of an eye it will have performed more active safety measures than most cars will in a lifetime. introducing the all-new 2012 m-class. see your authorized mercedes-benz dealer for exceptional offers through mercedes-benz financial services. until the end of the quarter to think about your money... ♪ that right now, you want to know where you are, and where you'd like to be. we know you'd like to see the same information your advisor does so you can get a deeper understanding of what's going on with your portfolio. we know all this because we asked you, and what we heard helped us create pnc wealth insight, a smarter way to work with your pnc advisor, so you can make better decisions and live achievement. all right. affiliates coming across the country from new orleans. recovering from hurricane katrina. this one-month-old puppy was pulled from this sewage drain. he was there for two days. he was breathing but he's not out of the woods yet. the dog's owner says they lost track of him after he started walking on monday. and this car makes it easier to squeeze into a parking space. this tiny two seater can get tinier because it folds up when you park. it's called a city kark and will go into production next year. kind of cool. so when you tweet, even comment on a blog, the government could be watching. department homeland security is monitoring social media. today congress held a meeting on it and tell us something that they are doing here. >> well, what they are doing is contracting with a private company to look at what is going on to get a better picture of the landscape. they look at facebook, twitter, youtube. what they are doing, they say, is screening for certain key words. terrorism, tornado. they are looking for natural disaster, a specific event, or as simple as long lines at the airport. a skeptical congress today listened to the man who runs the nerve center at department of homeland security to describe how they are using social media. >> what we do do, if there are long lines at the airport, screening centers, those would come up to us and we pass it on to the appropriate department. is it really happening and what to do we do to fix that. but the individual making that claim is insignificant to us. there is something happening, go check it out. >> reporter: so dhs says it's the what that they are looking at, not the who. but we've scanned the contract provided by some privacy advocates and one of the things in there is that they can collect information from people who report positively or negatively on the department of homeland security. they are supposed to scrub that from any private information from that but in fact a name got through. we saw somebody's name on one of these exchanges in these documents. >> what happens to information that you're not sharing publicly, like facebook posts that you only share with your friends? do they have access to that? are they monitoring that kind of stuff? >> they are not supposed to. anything you tweet, that goes out there. some people assume because cyberspace is large, that's not the right way to think of it.