magnitude. short jolt. only lasted for a few seconds. from what we understand, no damage. but, yeah, very unsettling this morning, about 5:30 this morning, carol. >> unsettling but i dare say californians are pretty used to this, right? >> very used to it. but anytime it happens, you know, this early in the morning, people are a little bit more unsettled as people are getting ready, you know, for their day. we know that it's standard operating procedure for them to check bridges and things like that and the subway system. and from what again we understand no damage at all. >> all right, dan simon. thank you so much. like a war zone or an end of the world movie. that's how people are describing tornadoes that tore through the midwest and the south. here is the latest. the violent storms are blamed for 39 deaths in five states. national guard troops are now on the ground in kentucky and indiana. fema has also dispatched teams to those states to begin damage assessment. but one state is holding off on asking for federal help. ohio governor john kasich says first the state wants to assess the damage for themselves before asking the obama administration for assistance. cnn's athena jones is in tornado-ravaged henryville, indiana. athena, i want to start with the ohio governor's decision not to ask federal authorities to come into the states to survey the damage. and why he did that. >> reporter: well, from what we understand, carol, there's not as much damage in ohio as there is here in indiana. as you can see behind me, just this bus through this home. so ohio authorities right now are assessing the damage themselves. they believe at the moment that they are going to be able to handle it. of course, that could change at any moment. so they are holding off. what we understand, they are holding off on asking for federal help until they know that they need it, until they know they can't handle it themselves. as you know, the president, president obama, has spoken with the governors of each of the affected states, and said that fema stands at the ready. the federal government and his administration is monitoring the situation. and they stand ready to help with anything that they are asked. they want to make sure that any unmet needs are met. they can help meet them. but right now, the ohio governor hasn't asked for help but that could change at any moment, carol. >> the reason i ask you that is because there are liberal blogs out there attacking the republican governor of ohio, who say that he's not allowing federal authorities to come in because of some political reason. >> well, certainly you can see politics can come into play here when you think about the idea of smaller government, the idea in many states they want to see a smaller federal government. they want to be able to handle things themselves on the state level, whether it's disaster relief or schools or health care or other issues. and so in some way, if that we don't know if the ohio governor isn't going to ask for aid, but that may be coming into play, the whole idea that a governor of a state will say, we want to handle it ourselves. we don't want the federal government to help because we believe in small government. that's certainly one of the political themes we have seen a lot in recent years, carol. >> indiana is a different story, though. the damage is more widespread there. fema is already on the ground, right? >> that's right. and we also have about 250 national guard troops who have been deployed here to help out. we just actually saw a red cross van go by offering disaster relief and assistance. and we have seen a lot of people coming together, whether it's churches or disaster relief organizations coming together to gather goods and water, food, anything that people need to try to help people out. you can see around me here this bus went right into the building there. this was a restaurant. the owners leased it just for the last month. we spoke yesterday with the woman whose parents actually started the restaurant some 20 years ago. it moved here. the restaurant had only been open for about a month. next to me there's also a lot of damage at an auto body shop. you can still see some of the cars underneath the damage. and of course the snow that's fallen overnight doesn't make things any easier when you've got this much debris to go and collect. and so that's what they are going to be dealing with here today. we spoke with the state police a little earlier today. they say that about half this town of henryville now has electricity and gas. but of course you can see that there are a lot of these buildings that no one is going to be in them anyway. so there's not a lot of activity right now. but we expect more cleanup to go on today. >> athena jones live from henryville,in. a kentucky town nearly wiped out by a powerful storm system is facing a new problem this morning. meteorologist rob marciano is following that part of the story in west liberty, kentucky. good morning, rob. >> reporter: good morning, carol. the only vehicles that have been in this area still emergency vehicles and a lot of power vehicles, power company vehicles. residents still not allowed to come here. there goes another power company truck. they are trying to get some juice going on here because power and communication have been the two biggest obstacles here in west liberty. there haven't been many buildings that have gone untouched. at one point, this storm was a mile in width. only the most sturdy standing buildings like that one down there, that's the courthouse, cement and brick, they have actually spent a ton of money renovating that. so that's heartbreaking to see the damage there. but the problem with the snow, and it's still snowing now. we got about three inches of snow on the ground. it eased up, but it's snowing again. nails, glass, sharp pieces of metal, that's dangerous to begin with. now it's hidden, slick, and cold. it's dangerous again and residents won't be allowed back in here today. they have heavy equipment to come in here today. we caught up yesterday with a cnn hero who leads a response team cleaning up debris with specially designed equipment just for storm debris. >> time is of the essence. you know, there's a lot of people that live in this small country town. they want to get back in here. they want to get to their home sites. they are looking for photos, important documents, anything they can salvage. but they can't actually get through the roads and so we're going to have to clear those roads. and we want them to be safe. this truck is specifically designed just to handle storm debris. it's got a crane mounted on the back of it. and in the front of the crane, it's got a huge claw that can come out of this large box and actually grab storm debris because storm debris is very tricky to deal with. after a tornado takes a home or a commercial building or like what we have here, a bank, it just twists everything together. and it's very hard to handle. so you need claws to specifically grab the debris. >> yeah. it's tricky. trickier now that we've got snow piled up on top of that. one of the other reasons they are not letting people in, carol, today is because not only the snow, but they're going to start demolishing some of the buildings. there's just no sense in keeping them around. and on main street, that's closely packed and really tight, it's tough to get around. so west liberty, kentucky, one of the hardest hit with this. the state of kentucky the hardest hit. 21 of the 39 fatalities in this state, and they are reeling. the worst outbreak here since at least 1974. >> and snow on top of it. thank you, rob. to find out more on how you can help those affected by the tornadoes, go to cnn.com/impact. you'll find all the organizations and ways you can help those in need. that's cnn.com/impact. did you know tomorrow was super tuesday? i bet you did. there's a lot at stake in tomorrow's super tuesday primaries. a total of 419 delegates up for grabs. the gop candidates are making a final push in the 10 states holding contests. the results could clarify the picture for a nominee. our political editor paul steinhauser is joining me now. i know you have new polls, but do you really think this will be the definitive answer as to who the nominee will be? >> not the definitive answer, but if mitt romney has a good night i think it gives him some more room between him and the other rivals for the gop nomination. and, yeah, i do have new polls. we'll start with ohio. you know that state well. not all super tuesday states are created equal. ohio seems to be the most important. look at the numbers on the left. for the first time, a brand-new poll has mitt romney on top, three points over santorum. that's within the sampling error basically all knotted up. but a week ago, rick santorum had a seven-point lead. we are seeing momentum shift to mitt romney. now in tennessee, a southern state without newt gingrich, so it's more evenly up for grabs. and rick santorum, he used to have a double digit lead in tennessee. now down to just four points, which again basically all knotted up. i guess the theme is momentum moving to mitt romney. >> why do you think that is? >> a couple of reasons. a lot of ads. the super pac that is supporting him has been blanketing the states with ads. santorum, gingrich, and paul not really keeping up. but also the wins last week in michigan and arizona are helping. momentum really an important factor. >> what about endorsements? mitt romney got a big endorsement from eric cantor. he was on "starting point" this morning and this is what he had to say. >> well, mitt romney is really the only man in the race who has a plan, a bold pro growth plan, to create jobs and get this economy back on track. and this is a central issue for this election. it is about how we're going to make the economy better, how we're going to get small businesses back in gear to begin to grow jobs. >> ok. you know how i feel about endorsements. i don't think they much matter. but he is a big tea party guy, eric cantor, and the tea party hasn't exactly been supportive of mitt romney. could this help him as well? >> you just nailed it. seriously. endorsements don't matter that much this cycle, but, yes, you add the endorsement by cantor and senator coburn of oklahoma, another very conservative, and it could help romney with a part of the base he has not done very well with. >> is part of the reason that rick santorum's surge has sort of ended because of the things he said about a college education, about barack obama being a snob for wanting to send your kids to college or have extra education at the end of high school? do those things matter in a state like ohio? >> yeah. and in a state like ohio where it's more about the economy, it may hurt rick santorum. in a state like tennessee or oklahoma where social conservatives are so important, even here in georgia, it may help rick santorum. one thing, though, if santorum does win ohio, we'll be talking very differently on wednesday morning, won't we? >> yes, we will. paul, i know you're going to stick around. thanks so much. tomorrow, super tuesday, noon eastern. join us online. we'll host the cnn election roundtable, an insider chat on the implications of tuesday's results on the presidential race. that's at cnn.com/roundtable. then join us here on cnn tomorrow night when the votes start coming in. we'll start with the special edition of "john king, usa" followed at 7:00 with live coverage of the results. coming up this morning, the debate over iran's nuclear program. president obama urges diplomacy. ♪[music plays] ♪[music plays] ♪[music plays] purina one beyond. food for your cat or dog. 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[siri] from now on, i'll call you 'rock god'. ok? oh dear... oh dear! ohh dear... i'm not sure exactly what happened here last night. i was out helping people save money on their car insurance. 2 more! you're doing it! aren't they doing great?! hiiiiiii!! come sweat with me! keep going richard. keep sweating!! geico. fifteen minutes could save you sweat! sweat! fifteen percent or more on car insurance. the next hour, president obama wades into high stakes debate with the israeli prime minister, benjamin netanyahu. the u.s. is urging israel to hold off at least for now on launching any military strikes against iran and its nuclear program. cnn's brianna keilar is at the white house where the men will meet, and the two aren't exactly close. so how high is the tension between them really? >> reporter: you know, carol, you know and we have some pretty serious examples that we've seen even in the basket year or so to show that. i think you look somewhat separately at the relationship between israel and the u.s., which is certainly very strong. but of course may also be at this critical moment where this allegiance may be tested. but then you also look separately at the relationship between president obama and prime minister netanyahu, which at times has been frosty to say the least. we saw last year prime minister netanyahu essentially lecturing president obama in the oval office. you can imagine that didn't go over so well here. and we heard of president obama being caught by an open mic, sort of bemoaning his dealings with netanyahu. are they best buddies? no. but they must get along. and i think what you'll see today in these meetings is obviously publicly a very positive face. i think that you'll see both men put on their dealings. and then you'll see a whole lot of spin behind the scenes as both sides really try to frame what they want to see happen going forward, carol. >> so what does president obama want to hear? >> reporter: you know, i think what he wants to hear and we've seen him say this publicly, carol, is that he wants some restraint on the part of israel. he wants to know obviously that the u.s. will not be pulled into some altercation can iran, that by the president's measure may be unnecessary depending on the point when it could happen. but you also have israel that is seeking some clarity. prime minister netanyahu wants some clarity from president obama on sort of what is the trigger for a military strike on iran. you've heard president obama talking about how all options are on the table, and that includes militarily. but there are sort of different triggers here for israel and for the u.s. israel's trigger is this capability that iran could have for creating a nuclear weapon. it appears for the u.s. that seems to be more building a nuclear weapon, although it's a little blurry. president obama hasn't really made a line in the sand there, and certainly that's something that the prime minister would very much welcome and may press the president on, carol. >> brianna keilar live at the white house. thanks. on a whirlwind tour of the caribbean, prince harry charms crowds in the bahamas. but will he receive the same warm welcome in jamaica? 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well, prince harry didn't disappoint. he came to this street festival. he ate, he drank, he even danced. the next morning, harry hit the great outdoors, climbing to the top of the mayan temple. a prince clearly with a head for heights. this was a whirlwind tour of less than 24 hours, and before we knew it, harry was in the bahamas, and in tropical military uniform. a quick change, and time to tease his brother william about landing a trip to paradise. >> i'll certainly be showing off about it to my brother and sister-in-law when i return home. >> you met diana when she came to the bahamas. >> yes. >> and now you're going to meet harry. >> right, her baby. >> the third generation. >> right. so it's wonderful. >> reporter: then he was off again. it's difficult keeping up with him. i think this is a first for a press pass, rushing to the airport to catch up with prince harry, who is always one step ahead. we're still chasing him. we are now going by boat on the way to harbor island in the bahamas, hopefully getting there before him. harry, meanwhile, was at breakneck speed in his boat, until it broke down. luckily, there was a spare. we managed to beat him to harbor island, this small oasis is a paradise where they went wild for their prince. after wowing this usually sleepy group, he went off accompanied by his mother's bridesmaid, india hicks, who helped show him around the island. ok. that was max foster. he is live in nassau today where harry was well received as well. but the next stop could be different? >> reporter: yeah. absolutely. since this trip was announced, a new prime minister was sworn in in jamaica, and she swore to get rid of the monarchy, to get rid of that link with the queen of england, who is also the queen of jamaica, the bahamas, belize. we'll see them shaking hands. but we saw a similar thing last year when the duchess of cambridge and the duke of cambridge, william, went to quebec in canada. they are also generally anti-monarchy but actually were pro the young prince and the young duchess. we'll see if harry manages to turn things around in jamaica. he is a popular guy. went down well here. he'll probably go down well with young people in jamaica. but also in jamaica, we'll see a pretty good harry moment, i think. he'll meet up with usain bolt, who is practicing for the olympics. he's going to race him on the track. we'll bring you that live tomorrow, carol. but loads of great peculiars comi picture s coming in. racing usain bolt. that's crazy. >> i bet he's going to lose. >> i pretty much think so. maybe he'll let him win. >> yeah, maybe he'll let him get a big head start. thank you, max. the biggest bailout of the insurers, aig, is now taking steps to pay it back. allison kosik has an update. good morning. what aig is doing is taking another step to get out from under the thumb of the u.s. government, so aig is selling more assets to pay us, the u.s. taxpayer, back. now it's been doing this for a few years now. but today's step is a big one it's going to go ahead and sell some of its stake in an asian life insurer called aia, and analysts say this sale should raise about $6 billion, and aig says it will take that money and pay back taxpayers. now, keep in mind aig still owes about $50 billion. so after selling this stake in aia, carol, the rest is supposed to be recouped when the government sells its 77% stake in aig shares which reportedly could happen within the next few months. >> ok. so how do the markets look today? >> the opening bell in about five minutes. expect stocks to open lower because of some concerns about how the global economy is doing. china said it expects its economic growth to slow this year. also business activity in europe, that's slowed more than expected in february. now you have to remember these are some of our biggest trading partners, so a slowdown overseas affects us. that is putting investors a bit on edge a little bit before the opening bell. carol? >> allison siclison kosik at thk stock exchange. maybe you've heard, tomorrow is super tuesday. we'll talk more about the battle for ohio, the most coveted prize of all, just ahead. progresso. it fits! fantastic! 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[ male announcer ] with wells fargo advisor's envision plan, you always know where you stand. in fact, 93 percent of envision plan holders say they will retire on their own terms. get started on the plan you need today -- wells fargo advisors. together we'll go far. checking our top stories now, the death toll from a series of tornadoes in five states now up to 39. among the victims, an indiana family of five, including three small children. the decision was made yesterday to take the 14-month-old survivor. she had significant head injuries. they took her off life support. president obama is meting with prime minister benjamin netanyahu today. israel says it reserves the right to defend itself against iranian threats. the president wants to press diplomacy. and gas prices are climbing to that $4 mark. dpas prices up for the 27th straight day, tied to the soaring price of oil. the nationwide average now at $3.77 a gallon. did i mention super tuesday is tomorrow? 10 states and 419 delegates up for grabs. ohio is the crucial prize. so let's talk. cnn contributor will cain is here. welcome, will. >> good morning, carol. congratulations. you have two hours. we're going to miss you here in new york. but small price for two hours of carol, right? >> i'm glad you're on my debut show. it makes me happy. >> thank you. let's talk about rick santorum. he was surging in ohio and then all of a sudden the surge disappeared. why? >> well, we know the answer to that, right? it was contraception, college, and kennedy. three controversial statements in a couple of day's time. i think even among conservatives, it made you cringe a little bit. here is the deal. even if you could explain each of his positions on each issue, and i think you can on some of these. some there are legitimate explanations for how he arrived at his positions. but the initial reaction for everyone, he said, what, snobs? it makes it feel like the campaign is swerving in and out of its lane and it feels like he needs to get a hold of the steering wheel and hold it down the middle. >> on the other hand, you know they are early voting in ohio and not many people are flocking to those polls, at least in early voting. so maybe people aren't so excited about mitt romney either, even though he appears to be catching up with rick santorum. >> well, that's clear, right? we have talked about this from the beginning that mitt romney has this enthusiasm gap, that people can't get excited about him. here is the deal. we have to recognize the limitations of mitt romney's personality. he's never going to inspire fandom. people aren't going to wear mitt romney t-shirts and stand in crowds and cheer his name outside of, you know, the really strong political nuts. but he has to -- i think the way, carol, he begins to generate enthusiasm is stand for something more than himself, and he can do that by letting his opposition define him, i think. this is how somebody like me beginning to get excited. if he can defend success and wealth and become a proxy for capitalism, then you can generate energy and excitement. that i think is his path to enthusiasm. >> really? >> yeah. >> because i see the democrats in ohio doing the happy dance. >> well, that's the interesting thing. i think you're right. i think they would like to define him that way, and i would like liberals to define him that way. then we can have an honest debate. we disagree whether or not his wealth is honestly earned and whether it's a merit or demerit for him in this race. that would be refreshing. we could agree on our disagreement. >> oh, that's so odd to even think about, i can't even fathom that. i forgot to ask you about the house majority leader eric cantor. he came out and endorsed romney. earlier this morning, on cnn soledad asked him about what seemed to be lukewarm endorsements from everywhere. came from "the detroit news" and "the cleveland plain dealer." listen to eric cantor. >> i am very excited about his plan to fix the economy. and that's the issue, soledad. i know you don't want to hear that. >> i do. i love talking economy. i truly do. i just -- i guess i just want you to specifically answer my question. i feel like that's a lukewarm, halfhearted endorsement. do you feel the same way? >> no. i mean, again, i disagree with anybody who said, you know, that there is not energy surrounding mitt romney's campaign. when people take time to look at his economic plan, i think they'll get excited about it. you are already see him gaining momentum. >> oh, come on. seriously, will? >> seriously what? >> seriously? mitt romney is gaining momentum? i guess you could say that in ohio. but i don't think that equals enthusiasm for heading to the polls to actually cast a vote for the man. >> i think that's fair. i do think he is gaining momentum, but i'm not sure that translates into gaining enthusiasm. you just heard what i thought about his enthusiasm gap. and i think representative cantor and now endorsing mitt romney, and he has to say things like that. by the way, romney also gathered the endorsement of senator tom cobourne of oklahoma. which is no small feat. cobourne is an unimpeachable conservative. that's a huge endorsement for romney. i think he is getting momentum in endorsements and some in some of the states like ohio. does that mean he is getting enthusiasm, energy, excitement? that's a totally different question and story. >> not that i expected eric cantor to go, woo hoo, romney! he doesn't seem that enthused. >> right. >> thank you so much. appreciate it. >> thank you. today in syria we are learning the government is expanding its deadly attacks. next, a closer look at the new tactic used by the syrian government and how rebels are responding. ing to be, you know, because you been, you know, this is what you had been doing. you know, working, working, working, working, working, working. and now you're talking about, well you know, i won't be, and i get the chance to spend more time with my wife and my kids. it's my world. that's my world. ♪ ♪ made with only milk... cream... a touch of sugar... and pure natural flavors. ♪ who knew being natural could be so delicious? coffee-mate natural bliss. from nestle. add your flavor naturally. 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[whoosh, clang] you need lifelock, the only identity theft protection company that now monitors bank accounts for takeover fraud. lifelock: relentlessly protecting your identity. call 1-800-lifelock or go to lifelock.com today. this morning in syria, reports the government is expanding its deadly siege. opposition activists say at least seven people died today as government forces attacked cities in the north and south. rebel fighters say they are now stepping up their own offensive because unarmed civilians are being massacred. that i say more than 60 people died across the country just yesterday. senior international correspondent nick robertson is in neighboring lebanon and is joining us live from beirut. nick, there's just no stopping the violence there. >> reporter: there absolutely isn't. the shelling continues in neighborhoods of homs. we have been talking to an activist in the last few minutes in that city, and he says there are several districts there where the free syrian army are sill in some areas, those areas are being shelled. there is smoke rising from a neighborhood where the free syrian army withdrew from at the end of last week. government forces are now inside. people say they believe this is bodies being bushed. certainly there have been videos showing up over the weekend that activists say are people who have been summarily executed, people in the neighborhood executed by government forces. and the town just north of homs, rastan there, video from there and a statement by the free syrian army saying they are having a tactical withdrawal there. but they say the withdrawal is to protect civilian casualties there. there was a lot of civilian casualties there over the weekend from government shelling, and they say now they'll concentrate and regroup and focus offensive operations. and they released video overnight of an attack at damascus on the government air force intelligence building, a very feared institution in syria. the free syrian army attacking that last night, carol. >> what kind of weapons are the rebels using? >> rocket-propelled grenades and automatic small arms. they have the rocket p-propelle grenade s and very little else. they are using some roadside bombs in some cases but they lack heavy weapons. one rebel commander said this morning he hoped in the next few days to get more information indicating that they would get heavier weapons, things that perhaps can more effectively attack and target tanks and such like. but for the free syrian army, their problem is a lack of ammunition, a lack of weapons, they say. some are being bought from -- they are actually purchasing them from militia that says are loyal to bashar al assad and from the syrian army. they are getting some shipped in from lebanon. but it's a shortage of the heavier and stronger weapons that they say is really impacting their fight against the much better equipped government forces. imagine walking away from this. the crew on this helicopter did. we very more on this amazing video right after this short break. checking stories across the country now, from arizona, heart stopping footage of a helicopter crash caught on camera. the aircraft was filming a temvision when it went down. the pilot and the passenger survived. a walk across one of america's most famous bridges. activists are retracing the steps of the march from selma to montgomery. a march that protesters were beaten in a brutal attack that came to be known as brutal sunday. that caused congress to pass an act that gave african-americans a right to vote. 66 people registered for the 975 mile iditarod in alaska a. the first 30 finishers will split a prize of $550,000. it's been 30 years since comedian john blushy's death, but much of his comedy is still alive in reruns and movies. michelle turner is live in los angeles. i can't believe it's been 30 years first of all, and belushi's good friends are just now speaking out about it, like dan aykroyd. >> it was 30 years ago today that belushi died. you can see that dan aykroyd still misses his friend. corrine winter got a chance to speak with dan aykroyd. listen. >> if he was alive, he would be directing plays in new york city. he would be there with the leading likes of theater avante-garde and traditional. he would be directing plays and musicals. he would be one of the premiere director producers on broadway. that would have been his destiny. because he was so intelligent and so well referenced there. and, yeah, he was more of an academic than was given, you know, than the bluto image would have you believe. >> in honor of belushi tonight, aykroyd is holding a fundraiser for the house of blues foundation that provides musical education to underprivileged kids, which of course is a tribute to aykroyd and belushi's classic film "the blues brothers," where he played joliet jake on a mission from god. i know that's one of your favorites. and you may be interested to know -- >> of course it was. >> that dan aykroyd told us this is good, he was writing "ghost busters" for himself, john belushi, and eddie murphy. >> oh, makes you kind of sad, doesn't it? >> wouldn't that have been great? >> it was a great movie anyway, but that would have been awesome. a day cannot go by without talking about lindsay lohan. i watched "saturday night live." >> me too. >> and i just found it kind of sad. >> you know, it was interesting. let me put it like that. and lindsay lohan, the good thing is she can still bring the ratings. because "saturday night live" had its second best night of the season with her as the host. now, it seems like people tuned in just to see how lindsay would do. doubtless some people tuned in to see if she would have a screw-up on the air. and some critics are saying this morning, carol, that the show really didn't seem to trust her, and they relegated her to kind of smaller roles or playing bit parts in some of the sketches. so, you know, we'll see. she didn't do terribly. but she didn't shine, i guess, that's what they are saying. >> that's a very elegant way of putting it. >> i'm trying to play nice. >> i did laugh at points. thanks. appreciate it. >> all right. >> you can see that entire interview with dan aykroyd as he remembers john belushi on "showbiz tonight" tonight at 11:00 eastern. i gotta get a guitar. [siri] i found 12 musical instrument stores. how do i play london calling? whole lotta love? a b minor 9th? [siri] i found this for you. add migraine headache to my list of band names. tell julie and kate our band is playing at the garage tonight. [siri] here's your message to julie and kate. call me rock god. [siri] from now on, i'll call you 'rock god'. ok? less than an hour from now, president obama is schedule to sit down with the israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu. their talk is likely to be tense. the u.s. is urging israel to hold off, at least for now, on launching any strikes against iran in its nuclear program. cnn's dan lothian has more. >> reporter: he addressed sunday's meeting of the american/israeli public affairs can he committee. >> whenever an effort is made to delegitimize the state of israel, my administration has opposed them. so there should not be a shred of doubt by now, the chips are down, i have israel's back. >> reporter: a high-stakes meeting between president obama and his real's prime minister, benjamin netanyahu, iran's nuclear program and how to deal with a looming threat are fueling tensions. >> the warnings that i and others have been giving over the years will materialize unless iran is stopped. >> we are heading into dangerous territory because the israeli/u.s. partnership has already been under strain the last couple of years. >> reporter: haim malka, an expert at the center for strategic and international studies says while the u.s. and israel share the same objectives they don't always share the same strategy. >> the obama administration is going to try to convince the israeli prime minister he should give sanctions a bit more time to work while the israeli government, the israeli prime minister is going to try to convince the president that time is running out and that iran needs to be confronted with explicit military threats. >> reporter: white house has insisted all options, including military action, remain on the table, and while some critics may doubt the president's resolve, in a recent interview with the "atlantic" magazine, he said, "president of the united states, i don't bluff." but there seems to be less clarity, at least publicly about the red line that would prompt the use of u.s. military force against iran. >> speculation or about what we would do if this were to happen what happened would trigger what response is not something i would do here from the podium and it is not productive to the success of our policy. >> reporter: president obama and prime minister netanyahu have met eight times over the past three years, the stalled middle east peace process is always a central focus but the temperature is rising amid talk of a possible attack by israel over nuclear sites in iran. even though the relationship between the president and the prime minister is often characterized as frosty or dysfunctional, the white house down plays their differences. the president said that the relationship is "very functional" and while he admitted that they respect always aligned on every issue, he insisted they share the same goals. dan lothian, cnn, the white house. stories we are working on later today in the cnn newsroom, at 12:30 eastern time, the tsa will outline its strategy for dealing with counterterrorism and improving airline security. at 2:30 eastern, a congressional panel will investigate a humanitarian crisis as china deals with a wave of north korean refugees. china sends them back, where they could face punishment and execution. at 5:30 eastern, attorney general eric holder will justify the u.s. position behind last year's drone strike that killed the american a war al al awlaki, a man with alleged terrorist ties in yemen. we are following a lot of developments in the next hour of the cnn newsroom, check in first with paul steinhauser. >> looking at super tuesday and the latest polls, is the big momentum moving mitt romney's way? we will break down the numbers at the top of the hour. and i'm athena jones in henryville, indiana, a town hit hard by friday's tornado. with vel more on cleanup and recovery efforts at the top of the hour. i'm elizabeth co-en in atlanta. the artificial pancreas is a potential game changer for millions of americans who have diabetes. i talked to a 12-year-old girl who is one of the first to try it out and i will have that at the top of the hour. >> thanks to all of you. ahead, oil and gas prices keep going up, i know you feel the pain. one small town, though, enjoys the profits. ali velshi joins us from curbing, oklahoma, the hub of the nation's oil pipelines. ♪ oh! [ baby crying ] ♪ what started as a whisper ♪ every day, millions of people choose to do the right thing. ♪ slowly turned to a scream ♪ there's an insurance company that does that, too. liberty mutual insurance. responsibility. what's your policy? ♪ amen, omen it is big all season news in the nfl. the league's investigating illegal bounty programs. i'm sure you have heard. jeff fishle joins me. this is like disgusting. >> yeah, it's really embarrassing for the nfl right now and that's why i think you are seeing them move very quickly. the nfl announced friday it was investigating claims that defensive coordinator greg williams and some saints players were using an illegal bowlty system. now, sources say the league has summoned williams to new york today for talks about it. the nfl is looking into allegations that saints players were rewarded for big hits, including knocking opponents out of games in the 2009, 2010, 2011 seasons. william also a similar system when he was with the redskins, players said. williams is now the rams defensive coordinator. we will be following this story. nba now, the celtics point gua guard rajjen rondo and mere, under two minutes left, jeremy lin gets open and hits the three-pointer. >> oh. >> in boston. this would go to overtime. great battle between the celtics and the knicks. rondo takes control in overtime. look at the offensive rebound and the score. rondo, 18 points, 17 rebounds, 20 assists. the last guy to do numbers like that in the game, magic johnson 23 years ago. great win for the celtics. the lakers, the legend of today, kobe bryant wearing that protective mask. da wayne wade broke his nose last week. wade, lebron and the heat taking on the lakers. there is dwyane wade. kobe revenged, the masked mamba, 33 points for the game, his third straight 30-point game, d wade fouls out, lakers win 93-83. >> best thing that ever happened to him that was broken nose. >> can't be stopped, although he sweats inside the mask. >> i can't imagine. >> nothing slows him down. here is charles howell, iii, aka, thurston, lovie, would you pass me the 4-iron? a hole-in-one. tiger woods fantastic in the final round. this is an eagle. he was -- shot a 62 his best final round ever. he got within one stroke of rory mcilroy, mcilroy, just 22, unfazed by tiger lurking. 292-year-old mcilroy finished strong, ends up winning the tournament with this putt here, he is now the number one player in the world, second youngest ever. youngest, of course, ever, tiger, if tigers a back at full strength, these two are going to have great battles all spring and summer. >> fun to watch. >> i'm feeling a twinge of march madness. >> i'm feeling it, too. >> i'm getting a fever. just six days away. actually check your brackets against me answered the official ncaa march madness bracket challenge game. >> carol knows her stuff. >> not really. jeff does, he will compete against me. go to cnn.com/brackets and join the cnn group. it will be a lot of fun. >> i'm n. >> aim in, too. thank you, jeff. >> okay. like a war zone or an end of the world movie, that's how some people are describing devastating tornadoes that tore through the midwest and the south. here is the latest for u the violent storms are now blamed for 39 deaths in five states, more than 650 national guard troops are now on the ground in two of the hardest hit states, kentucky and indiana. fema has also dispatched teams to those states to begin damage assessment. but even with all of the damage we have seen, the ohio governor, the republican, john kasich, is not asking for federal help, at least right now. cnn's athena jones is in tornado-ravaged henryville, indiana. i want to ask you about ohio and the governor's decision not to take federal help right now. >> reporter: well, ohio management officials -- emergency management officials tell us that they are out right now assessing the damage, which we understand to be not nearly as extensive as what we are seeing here in indiana, but those state emergency management officials are out assessing the damage, figuring out what is needed. right now, at this moment, they feel that they are able to handle debris removal there in ohio but they could make a decision later today to go ahead and make a formal request to fema. so, that decision hasn't come down to whether they absolutely will or absolutely won't it could still happen, that call, it just hasn't been made yet. of course, here in indiana, we should mens that there have been fema teams in place since friday but so far, they have been acting in more of an advisory role as they do in many of these disaster situations. we haven't seen them out and about yet, even in this hard-hit town of henryville, which, as you can see, there's extensive dam here. you can look here to my left, there is an auto body shop, this used to be an auto body repair shop, you can still see some of the cars underneath all of that rubble, in the streets behind us, going back behind us, there are houses that have whole sides ripped off. even though here in henryville, we haven't yet seen a lot of fema officials here on the ground now doing assessments but they are here on the state level coordinating with officials here, carol. >> i want to ask you about this toddler, she was found alone in a field, no one knows, you know, how she got there, she died yesterday. it was such a heartbreaking story. >> reporter: it really is. for two days, she had been this toddler, 14-month-old angel babcock had been a symbol of hope, even note rest of her family was killed, this is in a town, new pecan, 20 miles southwest of where we are here this tornado came through and this emergency, national weather service officials believe it was at least 50 miles long. so, a big path of damage. her family had hunkered down in a mobile home, a double wide mobile home with a neighbor, thinking that they might be safe there, we learned that they lay on the floor, they prayed, but ultimately, her mother and father, 21-year-old father, 20-year-old mother and her two young siblings were killed. their bodies were found immediately after the storm, but this young child, angel babcock, was found alone in a field near a sawmill down there she was alive, they took her to the hospital but she died yesterday from her injuries. we understand from her grandfather she suffered a lot of injuries to the head. the family decided to take her off life support about 4:10 p.m. yesterday afternoon. it really was -- she had been a glimmer of hope and ultimately, she did not win her fight. one of the sad stories here, carol. >> we understand she was surrounded by 20 members of her family and our hearts go out for them -- to them this morning. thank you, athena jones live for us. a kentucky town nearly wiped out by the powerful storm system is facing a new problem this morning. meteorologist rob marciano is following that for us in west liberty, kentucky. >> carol it is still snowing here in west liberty, kentucky, got about three inches of snow overnight and that has made the situation even worse, as you can imagine. all of the debris, dangerous to begin with. when you have got shah regards -- shards of glass, metal and cover that up with seemingly innocent snow, it is more dangerous it is slick it is wes wealth and overall nasty. they are not letting residents back in this area again today because it is too dangerous, they are going to try to string up some power and get that going, power and communication has been the biggest struggle with this situation here and this town, which by the way, is the county seat, this is the heart of morgan county, it pretty much feeds surt rounding rural areas, when it is shutdown like that is, it paralyzes a good chunk of the eastern part of kentucky. kentucky, as a whole, 21 of the 39 fatalities happened in this state. the worst tornado outbreak they have seen since at least 1974. carol? >> thank you, rob. to find out how you can help those affected by the tornadoes, go to cnn.com/impact there you will find all the organizations and all the ways you can help those in need. cnn.com/impact. a huge payday for gop candidates in tomorrow's super tuesday contest, ten states offering up a total of 419 delegates. when the smoke clears, we could have a clearer picture of this race. yeah right. our political editor paul steinhauser joins me now. >> could. could. that is a good word, could. >> i hope it does. i think a lot of people are just tired of t and i know you are not. that is okay, because we love you for that reason. so you have these two key polls, so, hit us. >> start in ohio, a state you know extremely well. i guess not all super tuesday states are created equal, ohio seems more more crucial than the rest. quinnipiac this morning, last week, santorum a double digit lead, now romney, 34%. dead even. you can see there last week, santorum up by seven. the home tim in ohio has swung to mitt romney. let's go to georgia, an important state, more for newt gingrich, he has to win it remember, he represented the congressional district here for two decades. well, every poll, including brand new one from the "atlanta journal constitution" indicates newt gingrich up there by double digits. carol, again, super tuesday, more delegates at stake here than all the contests we have had so far. if romney does very well, then he can put a little bit of daylight in between himself and the rest of the gang. let's say rick santorum wins in ohio, tennessee or oklahoma, the game continues on for a while, i'm sure. >> newt gingrich says he is going to stay on and on and on until he absolutely has to get out. he is also attacking mitt romney pretty ferociously. let's listen. >> i think you have a three-way race, isn't clear how it is going to work out. i suspect in april or may, you will begin to see some clarity. each of us has our own reasons thinking it will be us but it is not at all clear to me right now that romney can get above a certain ceiling and the question is whether or not ultimately whether his money starts to run out it is very clear in any kind of relatively evenly financed campaign, romney would not win. >> okay. that wasn't a ferocious attack, but he was questioning romney's electability, which people have been doing since the beginning of time. so, if newt gingrich does well in georgia, and he probably will, who would he hurt down the line? would it be rick santorum or would it be mitt romney? >> floimt campaign would love to see newt gingrich stay in this race, here is why, because newt gingrich and rick santorum kind of divide up the conservative vote that only helps mitt romney. i think mitt romney would be very happy if newt gingrich wins georgia, does okay in tennessee. you can see there gingrich doesn't sound like a person who thinks about getting out of the race, does he? >> i think he is in it for the long haul, paul, we appreciate it. tomorrow, super tuesday, cnn online, wolf blitzer and the political team will hold the election round table, an insider chat on the implications of tuesday's results on the presidential race, cnn.com/roundtable and join us here on cnn when the votes come n start with a special edition of "john king, usa" at 6 p.m. eastern and 7:00 with complete coverage of the results. coming up this morning, the debate over iran's nuclear program, president obama urging diplomas circumstance the israeli prime minister warping of possible military strikes. in the next hour the men search for common ground. and in oregon, this man jumping into a freezing river to rescue a drowning stranger. we will show you how it all turned out, next. 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>> well there is a lot of activity here, we have television commercials going 'round-the-clock, a lot of negative commercials, actually, most people are beat beating up on each other on the television, think the only people happy to see that are the local tv stations making a lot of money off this primary campaign. >> that's true. who are the ads more likely to hurt, santorum, romney or someone else? >> well, i think they are both taking equal shots the each other, i think it is a very close race, i think what ultimately happens is you are seeing a lot of personal negative attacks by both sides. there's no vision. there's no talking about the future, it just personal negative attacks. i think the ultimate winner out of all of this is probably president barack obama. >> okay. so, you're a democrat, people would say, come on, dave, you would say that. >> well, that's true. i would say that but there was a poll that was just taken a couple of days ago that said that 55% of all ohioans, democrats, end pen dents and republicans, had a negative view of mitt romney and only 27% had a positive view. and i think what that means is that all this negative attack, all these negative commercials, very personal, nasty commercials that are going on in ohio is taking its toll and i think romney is going to have a long way to come back in november, in the november election. >> there are some who say that rick santorum speaks the language better, speaks the language of blue collar voters in ohio, especially reagan democrats. they understand him, they like him, maybe they will vote for him t is an open primary in ohio, right? >> well, i think santorum does speak to the working class republicans, reagan democrats, as you want to call them. i mean, remember, this was a state that in 2006 nominated very conservative candidate for governor in the 2006 contested primary. i think rick santorum has got a real shot here in ohio, although every establishment republican in the state of ohio has come out for romney. i mean, even barbara bush did a robocall for him i think the last couple of days. so the establishment republicans are really pulling out all of the stops to try to make this happen for romney, but santorum's got a real chance here in the state. >> you know, you were mentioning that this whole primary thing might help the democrat, barack obama. the comedian bill maher had this to say about democrats across the country doing the happy dance because of the sun posedly weak republican field. let's listen. >> yes, obama could lose. i often talk about how conservatives are in a bubble, but liberals have their bubble, too. and inside it, obama is a shoo-in because the republicans are just so ridiculously out of touch. well, they may be out of touch with you, but believe me, they are in touch with your brother-in-law in rural pennsylvania. >> so does he have a point? are liberals in a bubble? >> well, i don't think any serious person who knows this business understands that this is march and we have a long way to go before any november election. local polls in ohio the president leading by 7% now. this is still march. the problem with the republican message, they are focusing on things like contra accept eggs and the debate over whether there should be a distinction between church and state and not focussing on the economy and the issues this people really want to talk b and so the longer this goes on in the republican party, the better it is for the president. >> you're right t is early. and thing does change. they change so quickly. >> absolutely. >> especially this year, this campaign san. david leyland, thank you so much for joining us, we appreciate it. >> thank you and con graham lations on your new show. >> thank you. i appreciate that. pretty excited myself. coming up, cnn goes in depth. ali velshi joins us from one capitol hill oil town cashing in big on rising oil prices. hey, ali. >> hey, carl, i'm in cushing, oklahoma, the oil pipeline capital of the world. all those pipeline also bring oil from fields and go to refineries, cross through cushing, oklahoma, it is a prosperous town. it is a boom town. oklahoma is also a super tuesday state. we will be talking politics and oil when we come back. newsroom is back in a minute. s. my friends say that it's like i'm driving a spaceship. the body style and the interior design... everything is really cool, but more than anything i love the gas mileage. i don't even know what it's like to really stop and get gas. i am probably going to the gas station about once a month. probably less. you should get a volt because it's going to save you a crap load of money. 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[ male announcer ] with wells fargo advisor's envision plan, you always know where you stand. in fact, 93 percent of envision plan holders say they will retire on their own terms. get started on the plan you need today -- wells fargo advisors. together we'll go far. seven advertisers have now bailed on rush limbaugh's radio show and the national organization for women or n.o.w. they want him fired. the conservative talk show host called sandra fluke a slut because she said insurance companies should sponsor birth control. listen. >> what does it say about the college coed, susan fluke, who goes before a congressional committee and essentially says that she must be paid to have sex what does that make her? it makes her a slut, right, a prostitute? she wants to be paid to have sex. >> so many people were mad, including seven advertisers. limbaugh released a written apology over the weekend. here is part of it. he says, "my choice of words was not the best and in the attempt to be humorous, i created a national stir. i sincerely apologize to ms. fluke for the insulting word choices." that is not enough for new. president terry o'neill joins me, welcome. >> hi, carol. >> we rarely hear rush limbaugh apologize for anything. >> that is a first. taking rush limbaugh off the air, no illusions it is not going to end the war against women, but he went so far over the line in attacking an individual, ordinary citizen who all she did wrong was to testify before congress about the importance of birth control to women's basic health. and the way he attacked her personally was so far over the line that really, he doesn't belong in part of this conversation. meanwhile, we are trying to stop the overall war against women and taking him off the air will be a little part of that but certainly not all of t >> maybe rush limbaugh is waging a war against women, but other conservatives who talk about this birth control issue say it is a religious liberty and they have a point, right? >> no. >> well, you're focusing -- well, they would say they have a point. >> no i do honestly. i do hear where they are coming from. the problem is that the first amendment both says that there shall be no abridgement of the freedom of religion and it says there shall be no establishment of religion. so, what's going on with this whole religious conversation about putting birth control in ordinary health insurance plans is this. the catholic bishops and the fundamentalist evangelicals have not succeeded in convincing women not to use birth control. they've first amendment right to rail against birth control. >> right. >> they don't have a right to use government to do what they can't do. >> right. so, it is a conversation that we should be having intelligently in this country, right? >> absolutely. >> going back to rush limbaugh, do you still want the guy fired? >> sure. yes. yes. because having that conversation about -- about women's health care around the importance of birth control to ordinary health care is not advanced. it is not -- we are not able to have a civilized conversation when one of the leading commentators for the conservative republican party, right, is out there using this vicious language against an ordinary young woman who simply wanted to testify before congress. that goes so far beyond the pale that it prevents us from having that intelligent and thoughtful conversation that we need to have about these issues. >> i know this isn't the first sexist comment that rush limbaugh has made, i have been a victim of rush lum but a myself in that instance, i figure he is an entertainer and of course he might be a voice of the conservative republican party in this country but he doesn't get political figures elected, he is an enter table. who cares? >> a lot of people say he does get political figures elected. there are a lot of people who believe he wields an enormous amount of power. and now his so killed a poll jie yes says, basically, oh, i was just joking, that's all, that's really not what he was doing. in fact, when i -- i first read his comments before i actually heard them and i read them and i thought, i haven't seen that kind of language since i was in seventh grade. it seemed very juvenile and not that big a deal, but when a grown man is saying those things about this law student, really had a very ominous impact to tell you the truth. >> and just the last question for you, because rush limbaugh's listeners say that the left suspect being very fair because when msnbc's ed schultz called the radio talk show host laura ingram a slut, nobody said fire ed schultz. >> there was a big flap about that i mean, that's really not true. in fact, one of the things that pulsed me when rush limbaugh first came out and said what he said, where is the conservative comment taters? they have come out. george will has come out and george will has questioned some politicians, some very conservative politicians for not coming out strongly against rush limbaugh. so i think we do come out sometimes. sometimes it is a little slow for both sides accusing each other of that, but, yeah, no ed schultz got in a lot of trouble for doing that and appropriately so, my organization has repeatedly come, we have repeatedly criticized those who use inappropriate language against sarah palin, against michele bachmann as much as against hillary clinton or michelle obama. so the tone really matters. >> terry o'neill, thanks so much for joining us this afternoon, we appreciate it. >> thanks, carol. checking our top stories now the death toll from a series of tornadoes in five states now up to 39, among the victims, an entire indiana family of five, including three small children. a decision was made yesterday to take the 14-month-old survivor of that family off life support. she died of head injuries. president obama's meeting with israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu, the two leaders will focus on iran's nuclear program. israel stays serves the right to defend itself against iranian threats. the president wants to press diplomacy. gas prices to the $4 mark. pump prices up the 27th straight day, tied to the soaring price of oil. the nationwide of a rams $3.77 a gallon. carfirmation. only hertz gives you a carfirmation. hey. this is challenger. i'll be waiting for you in stall 5. it confirms your reservation and the location your car is in, the moment you land. it's just another way you'll be traveling at the speed of hertz. homicide of young people in america has an impact on all of us. how can we save these young people's lives? 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"my choice of words was not the best" that would be slut, "attempt to be human roux, i created a national stir. i sincerely apologize to ms. fluke for the insulting word choices." here is the question, do you think rush limbaugh's apology sip sear? who should we start with? let's start with will. >> i hope it is, carol. i mean, it should be. we should be outraged what rush limbaugh said. his conversation has hijacked a legitimate debate has zero understanding around it, whether or not the government should be man dating the voluntary relationship between employers and their employees, these kind of issues, we will talk about what rush said. i want to say this also, carol, a little hard for me and some conservatives, while outrage is warranted it does feel selective. you just talked to the chief of new, many other examples. >> i got to cut you off. >> keith ol berman and others and i want the outrage to be universal. >> i brought that up. thank you for pointing that out. i appreciate it was rush limbaugh's apology sincere? chris? >> well, i take him at his word. it is what it is. i think there is a larger conversation here. in fact, will is 100% right. i am so sick and tired of the feigned outrage on the left about this war against women. where was the left when there has been vile attacks on conservative women? laura ingram, monica crowley? where was the left then? if we want to have a debate about attacking women it should be a debate about attacking women, not a debate about attacking rush limbaugh. that's not the issue. >> is left to you to actually answer the question. was rush limbaugh's apology sincere? >> no. no. of course not. he would never have apologized if advertisers didn't start leaving him like kim kardashian's husbands and boyfriends, i hate to pick on a woman. but listen this is ridiculous, is absurd. i'm the proud father of two little beautiful girls. i am the very lucky husband of an amazing, strong, intelligent, creative, confident woman. but we in this country, especially men, have to start standing up for women. women have been doing it for themselves. more men need to come out and advocate for women and women's issues and this attack on their reproductive rights seems like the only thing left that women -- men can't control because they don't have ovaries. >> that was a -- >> pete, that was an attack on you by the buzzer. >> that was fair. tifrmt for our buzzer beater, president obama changed his facebook to the timeline format, the first image on the new pages there it is, a coffee mug with a copy of his birth certificate on it and the words "made in america." so, give me your idea of what the gop candidates should put on their timeline facebook pages. chris? >> i'm going to start with newt. i think what newt could do is actually have a picture of himself along with gladys knight, midnight train to georgia. i think that probably would work. so kind of having that in the background, that's gonna work well. for santorum, i'm not quite sure where the sweater vest was made, but perhaps a history of the sweater vest would really put us all in stead. >> okay. so fun. pete? >> oh, think that newt gingrich needs to update his timeline with a bumper sticker, status update, if you don't like history, revise it, like me. and i'll help chris out with a sweat vest. maybe santorum could come out with a sweat vest just for women, a onesie, it snaps and only the man who is married to her can help unattach t maybe mitt romney should put up a birth certificate that says he wasn't made in a scientific lab. he is very robotic. >> my goodness. will? >> chris and pete, you guys respect giving rick santorum near enough credit for his fashion populism, leaving him and limiting him only to sweater vest that line of clothing would include the bolo for colorado, cowboy hat and boots for texas, he has a whole line of fashion populism, not just the vest, boys. i would say -- give you mitt romney's, put a dollar bill on that coffee mug, carol and say i'm rich. so what. >> the coffee mug should be a foot he drinks out of. >> chris, pete and will, thanks for joining us. see you again tomorrow. >> thanks, guys. oil and gas prices keep climbing toward record levels you feet pinch. one small town is cashing in on all those nice profits. cnn's chief business correspondent ali velshi joins us with the first of his in depth reports. ali, you are in cushing, oklahoma, the hub of america's oil pipe lines. i don't think many americans actually know that >> no, in fact, a lot of people don't know this. oil -- oklahoma is an oil state. the first well in oklahoma was actually drilled almost 100 years ago today, march 17, 1912, the wheeler well about ten miles east of here and what happened is because of that well there were wells around the area, shelter thatted pumping oil, started building railroads and roads to move that oil. over time, oil stopped being moved in barrels, on trucks and on trains into being moved by pipe lines and this became the logical place for the pipe line. today, cushing is the oil pipeline crossroads of america. and you know, all -- the keystone pipeline that they were talking about building, all of these pipelines come into cushing and if you buy, you don't need trade oil, trading for $107 a barrel now, if you actually took delivery of that oil, most people trade it need it cushing is the place you actually get it. there are tank store am farms all over the place. the place is booming because there's more oil being produced in america right now. a lot of that oil coming in from canada, comes into cushing, this place is doing very well. people here are steamed about the decision by the obama administration not to go ahead with the building of that pipeline. generally, they feel it is going to get built. they feel there should be more oil produced in the united states because the more that gets drilled in the united states, mortgage that comes through to cushing. today, cushing doesn't produce as much oil obviously as it used to. we know other areas in the country do but this is where it all comes through. about three times the daily consumption of all the oil in the united states is stored right here in cushing, carol. >> so i would take it the economy there is booming? >> it's doing very well, actually there is a short am of workers around here. we know nationally, there's actually shortage of engineers and oil workers, skilled and unskilled labor. in fact, petroleum engineers, get this, carol, petroleum engineers graduating from school can earn upward of $90,000 a year. it is actually the single most lucrative profession in the united states right now. so, this is an oil town. we have been talking to oil producers, well drillers around here. things are going very, very well for them. they are a little worried. oil producers, including saudi arabia, for that matter, are worried when the price of oil pushes up too high, once get past $100 a barrel it pulls demand down, as you know, and they don't want that to happen. >> ali velshi from cushing, oklahoma, thanks very much. minutes from now, president obamaed by the a high-stakes debate with israeli prime minister, benjamin netanyahu. how to deal with the nuclear program is ahead. wolf blitzer will join us to set the stage. ♪ he was a 21st century global nomad ♪ ♪ home was an airport lounge and an ipad ♪ ♪ made sure his credit score did not go bad ♪ ♪ with a free-credit-score-dot-com ♪ ♪ app that he had ♪ downloaded it in the himalayas ♪ ♪ while meditating like a true playa ♪ ♪ now when he's surfing down in chile'a ♪ ♪ he can see when his score is in danger ♪ ♪ if you're a mobile type on the go ♪ ♪ i suggest you take a tip from my bro ♪ ♪ and download the app that lets you know ♪ ♪ at free-credit-score-dot-com now let's go. ♪ vo: offer applies with enrollment in freecreditscore.com™. in just a few minutes, president obama meets with the israeli prime minister, benjamin netanyahu, the stakes are huge, both leaders worry about iran's nuclear program but the u.s. wants israel to hold off on any military strikes, at least for now. wolf blitzer here in atlanta for tomorrow's could have ram of the super tuesday primaries. thanks for joining me. >> good to see you here in atlanta. nice to see carol costello here. >> pretty excited to be here myself. instead of talking about super tuesday, wayment to talk about benjamin netanyahu and president obama meeting this could have big repercussions throughout the world. so, your two leaders, don't get along all that great, concern about the nuclear thing in iran. so what -- how does that conversation go? >> i'm going to be looking closely, i know you are as well, for the body language, not only the words that prime minister netanyahu and president obama say when they meet within the oval office the next few minutes because all of us remember what happened a year ago when they were in the oval office and it certainly appeared that the prime minister was lecturing the president of the united states when it came to israel's history, concerns, the who will cows a -- holocaust, many adviser told me how irritated president obama was at the way that was going on. there is too much at stake for any personal bitterness or rancor or whatever to get involved. these two countries have a huge stake in what's happening in iran now you what's happening in the middle east. and they will, i assume, especially in the political election year, as it is here in the united states right now, they will paper all of their personal history behind them and they will have the smiles and the best foot forward. >> president obama is in the middle of presidential leeks and we know that the republicans are a bit more hawkish than president obama. >> a bit. >> okay. a lot. a lot more. so, how does he temper that when benjamin netanyahu can obviously use the republican side in this country because he is pretty hawkish himself? >> the president yesterday went before a very powerful pro-israeli lobbying organization and delivered a very positive, pro-israel speech. i don't think the israelis looking historically over 60 years could have dreamt that a president of the united states would be saying such things about israel and it was -- from israel's perspective, was very, very pro-israel. having said that, there are differences between the u.s., between the obama administration and the netanyahu government on a whole host of issues, not only on some of the tactics as far as iran is concerned but on the peace process, if there ever were a peace process again, settlement activity of the israelis in the west bank, for example, going back to the pre'67 lines with mutually agreed adjustments, full. so, there are differences but having said that, the military-to-military cooperation and the intelligence-to-intelligence cooperation between the u.s. and his real very strong right now and the u.s. military assistance has increased during the obama administration, which, of course is what the israelis are happy about. >> so, what is the best outcome for president obama? >> i think the best outcome is that they get on the same page. now, i've always been convinced that there's a good cop/bad cop routine here. they are trying to strengthen the international community and trying to convince the iranians to back off from a nuclear bomb, if you will. i don't know how close they are in terms of capability, whatever. but i think to a certain degree, the israelis being very, very tough and saying it is only a few months away or whatever, that puts pressure on the iranians and at the same time, the good cop, the u.s. is saying, you know what there are still options in terms of diplomacy and sanctions and military action that's down the road, if necessary, but that's the last option, as is always the case. so, i think they are pretty -- they are coordinating their strategies, although there are complications because when the israelis suggest in interviews with reporters or whatever, april, may or june, they may be striking, it does have a tendency to, you know, increase the price of oil, you know, and that has political r ramifications, a lot going on here. >> hopefully we will know more in about an hour. >> we will know more in the next few minutes, they are going to go into the oval office, pool cameras will be in there we will hear what they have to say, then they will bring the tape out, we will play it and all of our viewers will hear at the same time. >> you will be here again. thank you, wolf. appreciate it. tomorrow could change everything in the republican presidential race, ohio is the most crucial prize on super tuesday. next, i will talk to a conservative republican voter, ho one who has already made up her mind on how she is going to vote. [ female announcer ] with the all-new e-trade 360 investing dashboard free streaming quotes, all your investments, positions, and even your trade ticket are all on one customizable page. see the all-new 360 investing dashboard at e-trade. weso to save money, services can get kind of expensive. i've found a new way to get my profile out there. check me out. everybody says i've got a friendly disposition and they love my spinach dip. five foot ten... still doing a little exploring. but... my sign is sagittarius, i'm into spanish cheese, my hairline is receding but i'm getting a weave. getting a weave. there's an easier way to save. who wants some ronald tonight!? who wants some ronald tonight!? geico. fifteen minutes could save you 15% or more. back to politics now, ohio could be the most crucial state in the gop campaign's most crucial day super tuesday. that would be to the latest poll from the state shows a dead heat. you can see mitt romney has reversed rick santorum's lead over the last week. we want to bring in shannon harkey meyer, a conservative republican voter who lives in boehner country, right outside of cincinnati that is actually write met you in 2010, we were at a boehner rally, tea party rally and you were there, pumped up about election 2010. are you as pumped up this time? >> oh, of course. the election's critical. we have got to really work hard as conservatives to bring back our country to the constitution. >> so who are you -- >> i think a good start is -- >> i was just gonna jump the gun. wait a second. we are both talking -- i was just gonna jump the gun and ask you who you were going to vote for. >> my vote tomorrow is going to go toward rick santorum. i was very tonight i also like newt gingrich and i could deem with romney as well and ron paul has his good points, too. i think my best choice for tomorrow is going to be rick santorum. >> some analysts say his focus on social issues is a turnout for many voters, they are not a turnoff for you? >> do think the social issues are important and i like his stances on those. the other thing, too, about rick santorum is i think he brings a lot more to the table than just the socialist issue piece. i was looking last night at his made for -- made in america plan and it has a lot of good points in it that can help us bring back energy end pep dense, the economy, growth, employment and manufacturing, so i would like to see more of that, too and i think he does off they're as well, not just the social piece. >> you're into being fiscally responsible, too with a balanced budget, right? >> absolutely. >> there is one concern that you might have with rick santorum's economic plan. the committee for responsible federal budget last week found his plan would actually add $4.5 trillion to the deficit over the next decade u does that concern you? >> of course it does and i think that if that is the case he needs to take a better look at that and possibly put some other details into that plan. however, i think that one of the big things that we can do for our country is to bring about energy independence and his plan does look at that and if we can get energy independence and also the growth that comes from that out in the west and with drilling and whatnot, then we can help to bring about a stronger economy, which i would hope that would also offset any -- any changes to the plan. >> shannon, thank you for being with us today. we appreciate it. >> thank you. new hope for diabetes patients. up next, how an experimental device could give them and their families more of a worry-free future. actually i it is pretty amazing a pancreas, man made. we will tell you about it next. in addition to the two hundred plus facilities that the university of phoenix has we have a very progressive online learning environment. we have something called phoenix connect that allows students to have a social network. you can post discussion questions. we have more than twenty thousand faculty members, chances are one of them is online when you need some assistance. i'm ron gdovic, i'm committed to providing my students with a twenty-first-century education and i am a phoenix. it is being called a game changer for the nearly 5 million diabetics in this country who use insulin, type i die bet tic-- die ya beltic. elizabeth cohen has the story of one girl you try out. isn't something you implant on your body, you wear it on the outside. >> she was one of the first to try it out, 12 years old, has type i diabetes. since she was diagnosed at able 8, to prince her finger, carol, 12 times a day and then give herself insulin and then sometimes she has these sugar lows. her mother wakes up every three hours in the middle of the night in order to see if she is hitting a sugar low. you can see her, ellie, here with her mom, stephanie, at home. i said she does this 10 to 12 times a day, she joined a trial where they gave her an artificial pancreas, it is not, as you said, not inside, is outside. and what this did is it gave her a vacation from diabetes. the device detected what her blood sugar was and gave her the appropriate amount of insul.or the appropriate amount of glucose if she needed it that thing around her neck, the black bag, where parts of the artificial pancreas are. we spoke to ellie this morning, see what she has to say about her three-day experience. >> it is really hard to go to sleepovers and birthday parties. i won't have to test my blood sugar, estimate insullen i have to take. >> now, elie was unhappy that she had to leave the artificial pancreas behind in the hospital but that's how experimental it is that she can't take it home with her, it was only for use for three days in the hospital. >> when might this become available for all type i diabet diabetics? >> doctors are hoping four years from now, a relatively short amount of time but they are hoping for that and type ii diabetics who use insulin. >> elizabeth cope, many thanks. take a quick break. we will be right back. splenda® essentials™ no calorie sweetener with b vitamins, the first and only one to help support a healthy metabolism. three smart ways to sweeten. same great taste. splenda® essentials™. make that new stouffer's steam meal so tasty. actually, the milk from my farm makes it so creamy, right dad. ah, but my carrots have that crunch. it's my milk in the rich sauce coating the chicken and the pasta. boys! don't you think stouffer's steam perfect bag should get some credit? my carrots. my milk. my carrots. my milk. 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