that's where they will try to determine the cause of death. a music industry executive stayed in the room just above houston's and says she heard two loud booms and a man's voice around 20 minutes before houston was pronounced dead. ♪ ♪ i get so emotional, baby every time i think of you ♪ >> it is hard to know where to begin or how to describe the life of whitney houston, as both an entertainer and person. she's being described as larger than life. born in 1963 to gospel singer cici houston. her debut album entitled, of course, "whitney houston" sold 12 million copies in the u.s. alone. she recorded a string of billboard flb one hits in the 1908s and 1990s, including "saving all my love for you" and "how will i know." ♪ and i will always love you ♪ i will always >> houston went on to star with kevin kosner in the hit "the bodyguard." the soundtrack was one of the top ten biggest selling albums of all time, and it included a remake of dolly pardon's "i will always love you." she later battled drug problems and became better known for her high profile and 15-year marriage to bobbi brown. they had one child, who is 19 years old. houston had just finished film aing remake of the 1970s music "sparkle." it is scheduled to be released nationwide in august. tonight was supposed to be the music industry's big night, the grammys, but now there is, of course, a dark cloud hanging over the event. what are people saying about whitney houston? our entertainment correspondent kreen. >> reporter: many are still reeling from the fact that whitney houston has died. she was found at the beverly hilton. paramedics were called to the scene but were unable to resuscitate her. they were not able to determine the cause of death. houston was just 48 years old. she was scheduled to attend the annual clive davis pre-grammy party in the evening. it's one of the premier parties before the grammys. music's biggest night, davis, the mega producer who helped launch houston's very successful career. he asked for a moment of silence at the party and said he is personally devastated by the loss of someone so dear, so close to him for so many years. as you can imagine, ted, reaction from many in the music business has been pouring in. many expressing deep sorrow about the loss. for example, tony bennett. he said houston was the greatest singer he has ever heard. christina aguilera said houston's notes soar to places most singers dreamed of reaching. she will be missed. and eddie lavert from the ojays has said the loss has left a hole in our souls. the recording academy plans to pay tribute with jennifer hudson taking part in the ceremony. ted. >> well, fans, about everybody i know, is reacting to the sudden loss of a great singer. twitter lit up in the hours following houston's death reaching as many as 1,000 tweets per second according to top storiy.com. celebrities at the clive davis pre-grammy party spoke to our camera crews about the loss of a legend. >> she sent so much love out into the world, and she was an inspiration for so many people, and we're there with her. >> i have known her for a little girl up, you know, and her family, of course, and i'm venturing out to say this and may get some flack, but there will never be another voice like that. >> when i first heard whitney houston, i call up clive davis at sony columbia, and i said clive, that's one of the greatest singers i ever heard. >> i just remember when we were doing "the bodyguard" that she would work all day filming, tired from that and come into the studio, and just rip her coat off and go up to the mike, like i said, like a race horse, and she is the definitive girl. i love great voices, and hers was the greatest of all. >> you know that voice anywhere. i gri up listening to "the bodyguard" soundtrack. that was like my jam. >> it was amazing to see someone like that have all the star qualities and be able to sing like that because all people with star quality are not necessarily excellent. we see it. she was excellent and a star. >> the memories that i have of her is sitting with her in atlanta talking about the music that she wanted to do, talking about the songs that she wanted me to write for her. she said i just need people to know that i'm happy. i'm not bitter. i'm not depressed. i'm happy. i got my kids, my music, and my god. i'm happy. >> all throughout the day we'll be bringing you tributes to whitney houston from coast-to-coast. we'll be live outside the newark new jersey church where the pop icon got her start as a child singing in the church choir. at 11:00 eastern reverend al sharpton will call for a national prayer for houston's family during a service at the second baptist church in los angeles, and beginning at 3:00 eastern we'll be live from the red carpet at the 54th annual grammy awards. we'll get reaction to houston's death from some of the music industry's biggest stars. millions of fans, of course, are flooding on-line sites to express their grief and shock about houston's sudden death. we'll tell you what they're saying coming up. ♪ after giving it my all ♪ winter storms have come ♪ and darkened my sun ♪ after all that i've been through ♪ ♪ i look to you how'd you do it? 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you, and good morning everyone. if you are waking up to this sad news, the report about whitney houston, people -- it's absolutely amazing the kinds of responses that have come in overnight on every platform known to man. what's behind me right now is whitney houston's official website, and you can see the simple image of her that says there in loving memory, and it links you over to an official facebook, which is getting tens of thousands of posts, and they keep increasing. just before the break we were mentioning that twitter had an incredible number of tweets and people weighing in on whitney houston here, and you can see more and more stories and memories of her at her official website. now, what weave been doing throughout the night is hearing from you and i report and on facebook as well. we have reports. i want to share it with you. this helps show the global impact of her life. take a look at this one. she was truly inspirational not just in america, but all over the world. particularly here in africa. she broke the glass ceiling from any black female entertainers. sure hope she finds the peace she lacked here on earth. came in on facebook. let's take another one. now are you in the hands of angels. whitney houston, i will always love you and remember you. that's from facebook. here's something that came in to us on cnnireport. i had the honor of attending a whitney houston concert about 18 years ago. she had the most beautiful voice. i'm satedened this voice is silent. so many people are remembering the specific concerts they went to decades ago and weighing in with the emotions they felt at the time. this is the power of music. it's the biggest reasons it sticks with you so incredibly long. let's keep going here. another one for you. from christy also on ireport, who writes a simple message that says her voice touched my life and my family's lives forever and does. i will mention one more here. this is a woman who wrote overnight saying she made it through some of the toughest times of her entire life. i made it through some of the roughest times of my life with whitney houston's songs. times when my faith and strength as a woman were tested. i prevailed belloing lyrically through her voice. let's come back to my screen for a second. let's see what you can do no wrush i showed you the official website and how can you weigh in there. i also want you to see this. we at cnn are partners with time magazine and time.com. what time does is bring together some of the most iconic images of that person. we've seen them do this before. remember after michael jackson's tragic death. now, here are some classic images of whitney houston. i just want to show you a few. this is one early on of her marriage to bobbi brown, and the third one i'm going to end on for you here is particularly significant given today. this is a shot from 1988, whitney houston accepting a grammy for best pop vocal. also in los angeles at the grammys that year, and as we know, she was in los angeles for the grammys. this time around. we have video of her as well. i will just let you know, we look forward to hearing from you. i'll be here throughout the morning and throughout the day. we're going to be hearing from ow every platform. ireport, twitter, facebook. you can always reach me at josh lebs.cnn. while i bring this back to ted, i got a post on facebook this morning that i find so interesting, ted. this is from an old friend of mine who is now a very successful opera singer named chari grouper. >> at her best whitney houston innately possessed what so many of us singers work a lifetime to achieve. this is the breadth of whitney houston's power, her musical power, and the success of her career. we have opera singers weighing in, and people in africa saying she broke the glass ceiling, and millions of people in this country are mourning her loss today. >> absolutely, josh. everybody today remembering songs and just remembering her unbelievable voice. >> whitney houston died on the eve of the grammy awards. josh was saying music's biggest awards show will, of course, go on tonight, but it does plan a special tribute to houston. find out who will sung in her honor. we'll have details ahead. plus, we're also monitoring some other stories, including this icy pilot on a busy interstate. stay with us. for fastidious librarian emily skinner, each day was fueled by thorough preparation for events to come. well somewhere along the way, emily went right on living. but you see, with the help of her raymond james financial advisor, she had planned for every eventuality. ...which meant she continued to have the means to live on... ...even at the ripe old age of 187. life well planned. see what a raymond james advisor can do for you. but we couldn't simply repeat history. we had to create it. introducing the 2013 lexus gs, with leading-edge safety technology, like available blind spot monitor... 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[ engine revving ] the all-new 2013 lexus gs. there's no going back. ♪ >> we'll have more on whitney houston in just a moment, but, first, here are some stories that we're watching this morning. in here syria we are now hearing that the military is putting civilians on their tanks to act as human shields. one opposition activist said it's happening in the city of homs which is the epicenter of the uprising. syria's military has been bombing at opposition forces killing over 100 people in the last 48 hours. the greek parliament votes today on a bailout deal that could save the country. at least economically and much of europe's financial disaster. there is a lot of pushback from the greek people who launched protests over pay cuts that would come out of the bailout. greek's failure could impact american ebanks. many of those ebanks -- as many as 65 cars piled up in accidents out of ohio highways. snow is being blamed for chain reaction crashes on i-76 and portage county where there are two wrecks a mile apart. each wreck involved more than ten cars. there is a major accident on the ohio turnpike, and there are a few injuries that nobody seriously hurt. meteorologist reynolds wolf is in our weather center, and this is the second day we've seen that. it's been ohio today treacherous. >> absolutely. >> you know what's interesting. i bet you know this, ted, as a guy who is from wisconsin, it seems like a lot of these pile-ups always begin during the early snowfalls. it seems that people are trying to just learn how to drive once again in the snow and ice, and then later in the season i know we're already into february, but it's been a strange winter -- it seems as we get closer to spring, we have some of those late snowfalls, people handle it a lot better. it's kind of a little bit of a learning curve that people have to deal with. ruin the learning curve is we have plenty of sunshine for the northern plains, but on both other sides of the continent we have entirely different weather conditions. snow in parts of the northeast. let's examine that first very quickly. as we zoom in, we'll notice we still have watches and warnings, some advisories, especially for parts of the appalachians, and as we zoom in more, you'll notice parts of the great lakes. with the prevailing wind coming from the northwest, it's going to affect plays like lake ontario and even lake erie, and as the wind moves across the lakes, water in a constant state of evaporation, it's going to mix if with that cold air aloft, and the result will be lake-effect snowfall. be ready, you may have up to a foot of snowfall before the weekend is out. even in binghamton right along parts of 85, it cab rough for you. even on 86, ted just showed you that video moments ago. well, again, you might have backups and issues like that. keep that in mind. something else we're going to see as we look out towards the west and the central plains. a lot of purple out there. the reason why we're seeing that, winter weather not watches or warnings, but mostly advisories. we have a few watches and warnings, but the advisories are there to warn you about what's coming in the coming days. this area of low pressure that's bringing scattered showers to parts of the san gabriels in southern california and even places like big berry. you've had snowfall. that low is not going to remain locked in place. it's going to drift in a little bit and then surge back up to parts of the southern plains, and the central plains tapping into the overwhelming moisture coming in from the gulf of mexico. the result is going to be scattered showers, possible thunderstorms in south texas, but notice on the other side of that frontal boundary, you've got the cold air and, again, the moisture. the result will be the chance of snowfall. very quickly, let's wrap it up. 36 the high. 46 in dallas. 43 in atlanta. back over to denver and into salt lake city. 30s and 40s. 58 in san francisco and 65 in los angeles. that's your forecast. ted, your turn. >> all right. thanks. >> well, the music world is mourning the sudden death of whitney houston. up next singer jennifer holiday joins me to talk about houston's life, legacy, and her unforgettable voice and the friendships that they share. ♪ what i am ♪ because i never change all my colors for you ♪ ♪ take my love i'll never ask ♪ oh will you grab us some yoplait? sure. what flavor? mm, one of each. lemon burst, hm, cherry orchard, blackberry harvest... my daughter's grabbing some yoplait. pina colada, orange creme. i can't imagine where she is... strawberry cheesecake. 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"i want to dance with somebody." it earned her top female vocalist grammy performance. she was 48 years old. her bodyguard found her unconscious at the beverly hilton hotel. a cause of death has not been determined. this will be a special tribute to her tonight at the grammy awards. >> here outside staples center the executive producer of the show ken ehrlich told us the show will go on and that jennifer hudson will perform some sort of special tribute to whitney houston. >> i have asked jennifer hudson to come and we're really at this moment, you know, talking about what she's going to do, but it will be something respectful. it's not going to be a full blown tribute. to me that feels like it's too early. it's too fresh at this moment. we're working on something that will be really respectful and appropriate to whitney's memory. >> well, ehrlich says this won't be an all-out tribute to whitney houston. he wants the same person who produced the michael jackson memorial here at staples center about two and a half years ago. cnn, los angeles. well, to her fans whitney houston was a larger than life superstar, but those who knew her personally, her friendship, was one that will always be treasured. we haven't heard a lot of that since the singer's death, but we have one of those people on the phone right now. tony award winning actress jennifer holiday joins us now by phone from san diego where she performed last night where it's also about 3:30 in the morning. thanks very much for staying up to share with us. first of all, jennifer, your reaction to the death of whitney houston? >> well, ted, i can, first of all, thank you for allowing me to share my grief with so many of us. this has been just devastating for so many of us, and our hearts are just bleeding now, and i was watching cnn. i'm getting ready for my performance here in san diego with the san diego symphony, and i just almost dropped, and i, of course, you know, of being in show business thinking about my audience and my needing to sing for them tonight. i had to pull myself together, but through the whole performance and through my time of getting ready, i just couldn't quit thinking about her. as i walked into the symphony hall, the hall was empty, and i could see a piano with a light there, and i could swear that i could see her singing "i will always love you" because of that scene that was there, and i just stopped for a minute, and i just shed a few tears, and i said, okay, you got to pull it together. you have an audience waiting on you as well. >> we heard about that jennifer hudson is going to be doing a special treb out at the grammys tonight. she actually played you, your part, in "dream girls." tonight will be a lot of celebrity reaction and what whitney houston meant for them. you had a special relationship with her. give us an indication of what type of person whitney houston was. we all know she had a wonderful voice and a wonderful performer. what type of a person was she? >> whitney was one of the most down -- just so down home and just nice and kind-hearted, and i had met her early on because i move so many of the same people that she knew -- michael jackson -- all these people that i move, of course, through "dream girls" and then aretha franklin and singers and stuff, so i got to know her just as a myself person, and she was always very kind-hearted. when i had fallen upon hard times and had lost my home and trying to get my career back together, she kind of stepped in to try to figure out, okay, so how are you going to get work, how are you going to do -- she would offer me jobs. one time she had a birthday party and she said, well, i can book you to sing for that. she and i were label mates briefly. i was with arister records. i did one album for them, and i sang for the clive davis party, which she was always at. she personally took me around to people, introduced me and personally sought after. she was always just trying to show that she cared about people. she was also that same way with her musicians early on, and i learned from her how to treat musicians. you know, just many terms of she -- her piano player, who was a musical director. she loved him and his death was one of her first tragic deaths. the loss of the piano player and how she cared for them and the family. she's always been a very caring person, and i think that it got all mixed up because she didn't have a lot to say about a lot of things. meaning like i'm very deep and analytical about a lot of stuff. she -- you didn't feel darkness from her, and, you know, you can get that from some people, some artists. they feel dark and secretive. you didn't feel that. you always felt a light from her. she was always uplifting ask trying to help people, you know, by connecting them. let me introduce you to this one. let me call this one for you and that sort of thing. >> you know, you mentioned darkness. there was some darkness in her life clearly, but you describe her as someone who was helping you and helping others. were there enough people around? i know her family did everything they could to help her during her struggle. do you think that she did have that group around her that she needed? >> oh, she definitely has. she definitely has the group of people who loved her. her mother, oh, my god, i didn't have a show business mother, but if i had one, i would have wanted cici houston. she had a lot of it, as you are beginning to learn with entertainers and stuff, when we shut you out, we shut you out, and when you have money and you have power and things, you shut out even more, so i know a lot of people want to go quick to say that it's the family's fault or nobody was there, the media -- they want to blame everybody except the person, and i understand that. we've all been there. i even wanted to tell her -- i felt that i could restore her voice, so she had a lot of things that she could do with her instrument and me having an instrument as well and doing eight shows a weak on broadway. there were things that we learned, but mentally in her mind, it felt that if she couldn't sound the exact same way, that people wouldn't love her, but i wanted to show her that it could work in this other range. she couldn't believe it in her mind, so she kind of doused that disappointment with herself with the other things. you know, with the drugs and the alcohol. it just became a pain for her as well, so in trying to always help her and i had moved to atlanta, so i got a chance to talk with and see her, but by that time, just the disillusionment in her mind, the one reason that maybe she wanted to get back to clive davis was that sometimes we want to go back to where a glory, to where we knew some love, to where we knew something, and i think that her dying close to him was almost close to heaven because it allowed her somewhere where she remembered love where she remembered someone teaing care of her and fighting for her and being there for her. >> jennifer, we really appreciate you staying up with us and sharing your insights of the tragic death of your friend, whitney houston. >> i thank you. >> jennifer holiday joining us from san diego. we've got much more ahead coming up on whitney houston. we'll take you to los angeles for the latest of the investigation into her death. stay with us. t. but you said it was greek. mmhmm. so is it greek or is it yoplait? exactly. okay... [ female announcer ] yoplait. it is so greek. >> to get on my bike and ride up in the mountains, but really it just brings peace, and in my drug and alcohol abuse, it was the opposite. i got into it pretty young. by the time i was 15, it was pretty serious drugs. when i got sober and i lost my group of friends because they were still out drinking and using. i got into boxing, triathlon, climbing. i had this new group of friends. i had completely redefined myself, so i thought how can i give this to other people? i'm scott strohheder, and i want to help people find a better life being sober. >> welcome to friday night climbing. >> it offers about 50 events free. you see they're capable of whatever you put your mind to. we have this common connection, so it's easy to make new friends. we do night rides, triathlon training, strength training. it really is just a new community of folks i hang out with. >> i'm an example of hitting rock bottom. i had a heroin overdose. they had to jump-start me with the paddles. >> drill it in there. yep. >> going out biking and hitting the baghdad really fills the void. it's the best to prove that i can imagine having. >> we're having fun and we're proud of being sober. come out and go climbing with us. thanks for the flowers guys. [ both ] you're welcome. oooh are you guys signing up for the free massage? [ both ] so 32 seconds ago. hey guys you hear frank's cat is sick? yeah, we heard. wanna sign the card? did you know the guys from china are in the office... [ speaking chinese ] [ male announcer ] stay a step ahead with the 4g lte galaxy s ii skyrocket. only from at&t. ♪ lead paint poisoning affects one million children today. if you're pregnant or have young children and your home was built before 1978, you could be at risk. learn how to protect your family. to find your home's danger zones, the health effects, or just to find help, log on to leadfreekids.org. have more fiber than other leading brands. they're the better way to enjoy your fiber. welcome back. i'm ted rolands. many people are just waking up to the news that celebrated singer whitney houston is dead. she was just 48 years old. here is what we know right now. houston's body was found in her room at the beverly hilton hotel. police say there were no signs of "obvious criminal intent." her body was removed from the hotel to the morgue just a couple of hours ago. that's where they will try to determine the cause of death. music industry executives staying in the room just above houston says she heard two loud booms and a man's voice around 20 minutes before houston was pronounced dead. >> kelli carter saw whitney houston this past tuesday. she is in our los angeles bureau. tell us where you saw her and how did she seem to be doing to you? >> you know, i was actually at the beverly hilton. randy and monica, two singers who obviously were influenced and mentored by whitney houston, were rehearsing for the clive davis party, that happened just a few hours ago, and she had been hanging out with monica most of the day and her daughter bobbi christina were there. i saw her and said hi. she didn't as good as the last time i saw her, and she didn't talk, but she sat in on my interview with brandy, monica, and clive davis. right before i wauktd into that interview rm room someone -- a publicist tapped me and said just so you know whitney houston is going to just kind of hang out and sit in on the interview. i said okay. i had seen her earlier that day. a couple of times. that was pretty much the context that i had seen her on thursday. >> you say that she didn't look as good as you had seen her before. was she then, or what do you mean by that? >> you know, i think -- i've been covering celebrities for a long time, and at a place like the beverly hilton where celebrities stay and they know that media people are there, you would be hard pressed to catch someone, you know, not put entirely together because, of course, the worst thing -- one of the worst things that can happen for someone famous is to kind of see you not looking your best and so it was a little -- i was a little taken aback that, you know, she wasn't as made up as you might expect to see someone with members of the press kind of crawling around, you know, waiting to interview someone like clive davis who obviously was her mentor and someone that discovered her all those years ago, and so that kind of threw me off a little bit, but other than that, you know, nothing alarming or nothing like what we have seen, you know, from her in years passed when things weren't really as good for her. >> what are you expecting tonight at the grammys? >> you know, obviously we know -- i talked with l.l. cool jay who had come from the final grammy rehearsals. they obviously were reworking the show to pay respectable treb out to whitney houston, and we know now that jennifer hudson, of course, is going to be a part of that. what i definitely expect is that probably everyone who gets up on that stage is going to pay tribute to whitney houston in some way, shape, or form. people are going to shot her out and talk about her influence. we're going to hear her name trickled throughout the entire grammy service, and i believe that at some point the music -- the recording music industry will come back and do something on a larger scale because, again, this really just happened hours ago. certainly not enough time to give tribute to a singer as influential as whitney houston as they would like to. >> all right, kelli carter from los angeles, thank you very much for your insight. appreciate it. >> thanks for having me. well, before she became a global superstar, whitney houston sang in the youth choir at a church in newark, new jersey. this morning that church is paying tribute to her as well. we'll tell you how coming up. ♪ searching for a hero ♪ people need someone to look up to ♪ ♪ i never found anyone who will fill my needs ♪ ♪ i'm one of six children that my mother raised by herself and so, college was a dream, when i was a kid. i didn't know how i was going to do it, but i knew i was going to get that opportunity one day. and that's what happened with the university of phoenix. nothing can stop me now. i feel like the sky is the limit with what i can do and what i can accomplish. my name is naphtali bryant and i am a phoenix. ♪ there's no more fighting left ♪ >> whitney houston was born in newark, new jersey. that is where we find our debra farik, at the new hope baptist church where she began her path to stardom as a member of the new hope junior choir. the church is planning some special remembrances today. what can you tell us? >> they are. really what they're going to be doing, they're going to be doing a special prayer. a number of parishioners coming in this morning that are commenting about the houston family, the mother, cici houston still an active member of the new hope church, and this is the place, ted, where whitney houston said that she found her voice "singing for god," and this was as a young teenager. she was part of the junior choir. her mom of the director there. we spoke yesterday to the pastor. he had this to say. >> the church that whitney grew up in is calling for prayer. the entire houston family and whitney's fans. at this time we're definitely asking for the respect for the privacy of the family and the church and during this time of grief and sorrow. >> reporter: and newark, new jersey, was a very important place for whitney houston. she grew up here. she identified very strongly with the community, and stayed in jersey up until 2009 when she was putting her house on the market. she was spend aing lot more time in atlanta and a lot more time in los angeles. the folks here are just so impressed by the voice that she brought, and this is where she was at so much peace and experienced so much joy singing as part of that junior choir. ted, they're planning a service, a small one. somebody came, put a flower -- some flowers out and some notes. they're affected as deeply as everyone around the world. when you think about the tributes that are pouring forth, it's such a range of artists. britney spears, mariah carey. obviously aretha frink lynn was her god mother, but these young singers saying that it was her slows that they aspired to, that they listened to, that they modelled themselves after. we're hearing that this morning, ted. >> debra live for us there in approximate new jersey this morning. as deb said, the outpouring over the death of whitney houston is coming in from around the world, and it will be coming in tonight at the grammy awards. her death came, of course, on the eve of the grammy awards, and the show's producers are planning to honor her tonight with some of today's top talent. >> our plan at this point is we do -- i've asked jennifer hudson to come, and we're really at this moment, you know, talking about what she's going to do, but it will be something respectful. i not going to be a full blown tribute. to me that feels like it's too early, it's too fresh at this moment. we're working on something that will be really respectful and appropriate to whitney's memory. >> and, of course, it's not just the grammys who are remembering whitney houston. coming up, we'll have reaction from throughout the music industry. plus, stay with us. sarah palin rallies the conservatives yesterday, and she has a message for the eventual republican nominee. we'll hear that. ♪ ♪ oh >> whitney houston is our top story this morning. she was found dead last night in her hotel room. she was 48. the cause of her death is not known yet. here are some other stories making news for us this morning. mitt romney has another notch in his belt with last night's win in the main caucus. you can see the numbers there. romney barely beat out ron paul. paul had spent a lot of time campaigning for the good finish in may. the win ends a three contest winning streak that rick santorum had. maine voters were the only ones that gave romney a victory yesterday. he also won the straw poll at the conservative political action conference. it's the annual gathering of conservative activists rsh here are the numbers. santorum finished a close second in the poll. rom my, santorum, and newt gingrich will address the conference on friday. sarah palin closed out the cpac convention with a rouzing speech for republicans. she took some shots, as expected, at president obama, the washington establishment, and, of course, the media. palin did not endorse anybody, but she did have this to say about how the eventual nominee should act. >> our candidate must be someone who can instinctively turn right to constitutional conservative principles. it's too late m game to teach it or to spin it at this point. it's either there or it isn't. >> mitt romney gets two wins, and kind of a warning there from sarah palin. joining us now is patricia murphy, founder of citizen jane politics and a contributor for the daily beast. let's start off here, patricia, with the question. two wins yesterday for romney. which was bigger cpac or maine? >> i think cpac. there were only 2,000 fewer voters there than in maine. >> no delegates. >> no delegates in either one, although winning cpac was so important for mitt romney because he needs to start to tamp down this raging story line that says it is mitt romney against the conservative base of the party. it is him against everybody else. everybody hates mitt romney, but is he going to win anyway. this is the story lien that's been going forward. to get a win at cpac -- it was not a huge win. he did not get a huge ovation before tl, but he did well enough to win, and that's exactly what he needed to do. >> rick santorum took a close second. >> yes. >> at cpac. to that end that you were just talking about, he seems to have now been the anointed the anti-romney candidate. when does this end? when do or do conservatives just rally behind one of the top three, i would assume. >> well, who knows, right? >> all the way to the -- >> it could easily go all the way to the convention. what rick santorum wants is to become the alternative to mitt romney, and if you dig into the cpac results, nonsp mitt romney clobbered mitt romney. that person would have beaten mitt romney pretty handily. that's the number that romney's peep do not want to focus on. rick santorum has really changed his storyline from being the nice guy who can't win to the nice guy, the conservative guy, who is winning and the biggest storyline to me this week was newt gingrich just fell off the map. where was he? third place at cpac where he was poefd to have a great showing. fourth place in maine. you can't do that and hope to continue any kind of momentum they might have built up in south carolina. >> where does it go tore gingrich? the pressure is on? >> the biggest day for his political career at this point is going to be center tuesday. that is where he is saying he will have his big show. he has his home state of georgia voting, tennessee is voting. there are a lot of other states. you're going to have to have a lot of money, a lot of organization to do very well, and you need to have at least some organize neck movement. if you don't have the money, you at least have to have the people power out there. santorum seems to be the one who has that right now. >> palin brought them to her feet, as she obviously still has a lot of power. how does she play in? >> this is what she is so good at, and this is where they picked her as vice president. this is why she makes such a huge splash on the national stage. she connects with people and rallies people. she is a true conservative. there is no better audience, no bigger audience for her than that cpac crowd. she really is ceremonial at this point. she's not raising the money the way she used to. she has not chosen to endorse anybody yet. her influence has waned, but not at cpac. she's their girl. >> let's take a look at her at cpac. >> competition will lead us to victory in 2012. we must stay true to our principles. i believe the competition has to keep going, but let's make sure this competition brings out the best in our party. we know -- we know that the far left and their media allies can't beat us on the issues, so instead they'll distort our records. she'll smear our reputations. they'll even attack our families. let's not do the job for them, okay, republicans? okay, independents? >> warning, huh? she's going to be a part of this down the stretch, i would assume. >> absolutely. sarah palin, you know, is never going away. >> thank you very much. big day in politics yesterday many maine and, of course, in washington and cpac. more reaction this morning to the death of whitney houston. 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[ 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. ♪ it's not right, but it's okay i'm going to make it anyway ♪ >> the condolences continue to pour in this morning for whitney houston. diana ross, gladys knight, and smoky robinson are also remembering whitney houston this morning. take a listen. >> she just had such an incredible voice, and, you know, she just is a beautiful, beautiful face. i remember the first time i saw her first on records. just beautiful girl. >> we're also hearing from you, the fans, across the country, offering your memories of whitney houston. take a listen to that. >> a loss not only to the republican community, but i think everyone around. >> her voice was amazing. when you heard her voice, you knew pbl who it was. >> i will always remember her performance of the national anthem the year after 9/11. >> i remember growing up and listening and dreaming that i was going to marry that woman. >> a lot of people have that same dream or a lot of people wanted to be whitney houston. when we come back, we'll go to los angeles for the latest on the investigation into her death. stay with us. you're watching cnn special coverage of the death of whitney houston. ♪ because i never change all my colors for you ♪ looking good! you lost some weight. you noticed! these clothes are too big, so i'm donating them. how'd you do it? eating right, whole grain. 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[ horn honking ] ♪ ...all through the night [ man ] maybe that's why we go to so many memorable places. ♪ [ male announcer ] the subaru outback. love the road you're on. good morning. welcome to cnn sunday morning. i'm ted rolands. >> it's 4:00 a.m. in los angeles where the sudden death of pop icon whitney houston has just shocked the country. many of you may have been waking up to the news. houston's body was found in a room at the beverly hilton hotel. police say there were no signs of "obvious criminal intent." the body was moved from the hotel to the morgue just a couple of hours ago, and that obviously is where they will try to determine the cause of death. a music industry executive staying in the room just above houston's says she heard two loud booms and a man's voice. that was around 20 minutes before houston was pronounced dead. hard to know how to describe the life of whitney houston or where to begin. ♪ i get so emotional, baby ♪ every time i think of you ♪ i get so emotional, baby >> as both an entertainer and a person, she's been described as larger than life. she was born in 1963 to gospel singer cici houston. her voice was discovered when she was a young girl singing at her church in newark, new jersey. her debut album self-titled "whitney houston" sold 12 million copies. that was in the united states alone. she record aid string of billboard number one hits from the 1980s and 1990s including songs of "saving all my love for you" and "how will i know." ♪ everybody's searching for a hero ♪ ♪ people need someone to look up to ♪ >> of course, houston went on to star with kevin costner in the film "the bodyguard." the soundtrack was one of the top ten biggest selling albums of all time. her bright career later stalled in subsequent year as she battled drug problems. becoming better known for her high profile 15-year marriage to r & b star bobbi brown of new edition. they have one child together bobbi christina. before her death whitney houston had finished filming a remake of the movie "sparkle." it is scheduled to be released in august. that's according to sony pictures. >> shocked, stunned, and devastated. that's how many of music's biggest stars and fans around the world are saying they're feeling this morning at the sudden death of whitney houston. entertainment journalist kelli carter joins us from los angeles now. you saw whitney houston in person just a few days ago. where were you, and how did she look to you at that time. >> i saw her when i was at the beverly hilton hotel, and i was there to interview clive davis, brandy, and monica. two singers she mentored. they're performing at the clive davis party, which is just a few hours ago, and she sat in on our interview. i kind of threw my hand up at her, waived at her, and she didn't look as good as i saw her a couple of months ago in detroit when she was on set filming "sparkle." you know, nothing that was entirely alarming, to be honest with you. >> she was actually sitting in the interview while you were conducting this interview. >> yeah. >> that had to be a little nerve racking, to say the least. >> just a little bit. you know, right before i walked in i think it was a publicist kind of tapped me and said just so you know, whitney houston is in there and just probably going to sit in on your interview. what i learned later is that she was hanging out with monica much of that day with her daughter who also was there. they were just kind of, you know, floating in and out, and i is a her in and around the hotel. before that interview, during that interview, after that interview and, unfortunately, that would be the last time that i would see her alive. >> i know you talked to l.l. cool jay too, hosting the grammys tonight. what did he tell you about what we could expect? >>dy. i talked with l.l. as he was coming back from the last grammy rehearsal, and he said he didn't want to die vulg all the details, but they would be reworking the show to pay respectable tribute to whitney houston. we now know, of course, that jennifer hudson has signed on, and she is somebody that was influenced by whitney houston, and signed on to perform a tribute to her and that's all we know right now, but he was obviously very upset. also in attendance at that dinner a long-time whitney houston friend magic yon son who said that he was very upset. ars ino hall was there and very upset, and also at that dinner i talked with was tika sumpter who plays one of whitney houston's daughters in "sparkle." she was crying and very upset. i asked if she had reached out to any of the co-stars which also include jordyn sparks." she said no, she hadn't talked with anyone as of yet. jill scott, another singer was also there. she kept shaking her head and said i can't, i can't, i can't. she was just not able to talk about whitney houston. a lot of tears. you know, just a lot of people upset about that news. >> all right. kelli carter, live for us this morning in los angeles. thanks, kelly. >> thank you. stunning reaction coming in from around the world to houston's death. a few statements that we're going this morning. dolly parton issuing this statement. mine is one of only millions of hearts broken by the death of whitney houston. i will always remain in awe of the wonderful performance she did of my song. i are k truly say, whitney, i will always love you. you will be missed. we're also hearing from mariah carey that shared the charts with her throughout the 1990s. she is, quote, heart broke sxen in tears over the shocking death of my friend, the incomparable miss whet any houston. my condolences to her family and all the millions of fans throughout the world. she will never be forgotten as one of the greatest voiz to ever grace the earth. this from aretha franklin, who also happens to be houston's godmother. she said, "i just can't talk about it now. it's so stunning and unbelievable. i couldn't believe what i was reading coming across the tv screen. my heart goes out to cssy, her daughter bobbi kris." >> people all over the world have been reacting to her sudden death. our job lebs is monitoring that for us. good morning. >> good morning again to you. good morning again toeth bottom of you. let me tell you, folks, they are coming in from all ownered the world. trend maps shows you around the world the kind of tweet that is are going out on any given moment, and you can see hash tag whitney houston. an especially large number of tweets happening at any given moment. take a look at that. we have ireport. hearing from a lot of you via ireport. let's go tie couple of quotes. i pulled up one from sheila that came in want long ago. she said whitney houston was a dooef yashgs a songstress, an icon, a transformer. we should all be grateful for her beautiful legacy that she left us where. tammy said thank you to her family who shared her with the world. whet any, may you fill heaven with your voice. here's one. we're hearing from people all over the world. such great stars go beyond touch and lift our community beyond measure. now, you can weigh in any time on i report. we're also following you on facebook and on twitter. her official website leads you to facebook. i want to show you something nice and visual here that we have for cnn.com. our partners are from time.com, and in the weak of the death of an icon time often will give us a spread of some iconic photos of the person who has died, so this is one of the photos they have of here this morning. this is all the way back in 1986 when whitney was holding a sign "the boston harrold" that said say no to drugs. take a look at some other photos. this one here says she's clapping her hands during a kids choice awards. into the 1990s there. one more. really iconic photo. this shows her worldwide reach here. this photo is from 1993. there you go. october 1993 from when she was performing in the netherlands, and i will tell you this morning we are hearing from people in europe from all over the world. last hour i read you a quote from an opera singer who said that she has influenced opera singers all over the world. we read you a quote from a woman in africa who said she opened up the way, helped pave the way for black female performers. not just in the united states, but in other parts of the the world. certainly in the pop era. we look look fathered to hearing from you. what she meant to you and what the music that whitney hoost brought us meant to you. the moment that it played out in your lives. keep those messages coming. i will see you all next hour with some of the latest. ted, back to you. >> all right. i'll take it there, josh. whitney meant so much to so many people, so many young stars, including jennifer hutted son. back in 2008 whitney presented jennifer hudson a grammy. tonight hudson paying tribute to her idol. details just ahead. ♪ clock strikes upon the hour and the sun begins to fade ♪ ♪ still a lifetime to figure out ♪ 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[ major nutrition ] ensure. nutrition in charge! ♪ it's not right, but it's okay ♪ ♪ i'm going to make it anyway >> condolences continue to pour in this morning for whitney houston. earlier this morning i spoke to one of her colleagues, singer and actor tyrese gibson. he dedicated a performance to whitney houston last night in houston, texas. take a listen. >> it's unbelievable. whitney houston created the standard in music as we see it today, and, you know, there's never been a female artist to ever do it the way whitney houston has done it. i want to send my prayers and my shouts to the family and all of her friends and people that knew her and loved her over the years. ♪ and i ♪ will always love you >> the power of music is that at some point some of the most significant things we've ever done in our life, music was there to add to it. whitney houston music will forever be in our hearts and our minds because her music has traveled into some of the darkest places, and that's also been a part of some of the most incredible, beautiful moments that people have shared in their lives. >> was it difficult for her the way she was at times portrayed and the things that she went through? her troubles were well documented. was it a difficult road for her? >> i can't really speak for her, but can i only imagine it was difficult sometimes. us as entertainers, we do have a responsibility to be and do our best as public figures, but because we make so much money or we have so much success and we become the stars, people stop forgetting that we're human and that we're going to fall in love publicly and make mistakes publicly and we're going to rub people the wrong way sometimes publicly or sometimes you're going to have drug and alcohol problems publically. it's another level of pressure to deal with a drug or an alcoholic problem -- alcohol problem when so many people are watching. you're not deej with any of these issues yourself. >> the new jersey church where she got her start. plans to pay tribute it her this morning. debra is just outside the new hope baptist church. deb, i have to imagine it is such an emotional scene there this morning. what have you been hearing in. >> you know, it is. a lot of the parishioners who came for the early service this morning, they were very quiet. the news is really still sinking in because she was such a big part of this church. she began in the junior choir here at new hope baptist church, and you look at some video that we found on youtube of her singing. the song she was singing was "have a little talk with jesus." just take a listen for a second. ♪ >> a.j., you know, there was a real joy. there was a real joy when she was performing. she described it as singing for god. she was part of the junior choir. her mom was a gospel singer. very involved with this church. emergency new jersey, a big part of who she was. she was really living here for the majority of her life selling her house back in 2009, spending a lot manager time in atlanta, and also in los angeles. her pastor yesterday had this to say. >> the church, the church that whitney houston grew up in, is calling for prayer for daughter bobbi kristina and her mother, cissy houston, and family and friends. we're asking for respect of the family and church during this time of grief and sorrow. >> there's going to be a long service this morning, a.j. that begins at about 8:00. we're expected to hear a lot more from parishioners of that time. they're, of course, going to acknowledge her passing and figure out a way to honor her memory. aretha franklin -- just a strong sense of community and connection with this particular church, a.j. >> she always stayed close to those roots, and her mother was a part of for so many years. thank you so much. ted. >> we'll continue to bring you the latest on the death of whitney houston, but a quick pause. when we come back, we're going to look at some political news, including sarah palin. she has a message for the republican presidential candidates. that message basically is play nice. that's not all she said yesterday. we'll tell you what else she said coming up after the break. it is yoplait. but you said it was greek. mmhmm. so is it greek or is it yoplait? exactly. okay... 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have moore on whitney houston, but here are a few other stories making muse this morning. mitt romney won in the maine caucuses last night. you can see the numbers there. romney barely beat ron paul. paul had spent a lot of time campaigning for that good finish in maine. the win ends the three contest winning streak that rick santorum had. maine voters weren't the only ones giving romney a victory. he also won the straw poll in the conservative political action convention, cpac, the annual gathering of conservative activists. here are those numbers. santorum finished a los second in the poll. romney, santorum, and newt gingrich all addressed the conference on friday. sarah palin closed out the ypac convention with a rouzing speech for republicans. she took shots at president obama, the washington establishment, and, of course, the media. palin did not endorse anyone on stage, but she did have this to say about how the eventual nominee should act. >> our candidate must be someone who can instinctively turn right to constitutional conservative principles. it's too late in the game to teach it or to spin it at this point. it's either there or it isn't. >> sarah palin still an integral part of the republican party and the ongoing election process. meteorologist reynolds wolf is in our weather center now. let's check in with him rsh reynolds, good morning once again to you. >> good morning to you, sir. it's going to be kind of an interesting morning for a lot of people who are trying to travel around the country. first and foremost, when we get to weather, one of the most important prospects of it is how it affects you and the way it's going to affect you if you head to the airports, possibly some delays. cleveland, lake-effect snowfall could keep you grounded for just under an hour. we're expecting more of the same, new york. the wind could keep you grounded for that, and that's although major airports we're talking in new york. la guardia, of course, jfk, and even over towards newark. flefrl, the wind is going to be an issue. yes, the wind in chicago, and miami, surprisingly, not the wind, and a few thunderstorms in the afternoon. now, what we also anticipate is going to be that rush for cold air to tumble into parts of the southeast and into the mid-atlantic states. we do have some snow. that's going to be that lake-effect activity, and as we zoom in, you'll notice that the heavy snowfall is actually going to be up in parts of the appalachians. could see anywhere from 8 to 12 inches of snowfall. as we approach the lake, the machines are roaring today. we have the wind coming out of the northwest, and that northwest breeze moving right across the lakes that's going to really pick up a lot of that evaporation off of lake erie and lake ontario, and the result could be anywhere from 8 to 12 inches of snowfall. lake-effect activity should be happening in syracuse, maybe even as far south as binghamton. maybe not buffalo as much. it's iffing to be more of a northwesterly as opposed to due west breeze. we couldn't see the snow begin to really pick up. as we wrap things up, we'll be seeing over the next few days, a lot of purple. we very quickly wrap this thing up. you'll see that low eject from parts of the four corners. dip down a bit, and there we go back into portions of the central plains. snow moves into monday. we could see snow for the central plains, and rain in texas. that's your forecast. that's a wrap. ted, back to you. >> thanks, reynolds. the story we've been following all morning, one of the music's greatest voices. a special tribute planned today for whitney houston. we'll have more after this. ♪ oh ♪ oh ♪ oh can you enjoy vegetables with sauce and still reach your weight loss goals? you can with green giant frozen vegetables. over twenty delicious varieties have sixty calories or less per serving and are now weight watchers-endorsed. try green giant frozen vegetables with sauce. montgomery and abigail higgins had... ...a tree that bore the most rare and magical fruit. which provided for their every financial need. and then, in one blinding blink of an eye, their tree had given its last. but with their raymond james financial advisor, they had prepared for even the unthinkable. and they danced. see what a raymond james advisor can do for you. ♪ i'm every woman it's all in me ♪ ♪ anything you want done, baby i do it naturally ♪ >> she sang back up for shacka khan, and we'll be bringing you tributes to whitney houston from coast-to-coast. we'll be live outside the newark, new jersey, church where the pop icon got her start as a child singing in the church choir, and then at 11:00 eastern reverend al sharpton will call for a national prayer during service tiz second baptist church of los angeles, and beginning at 3:00 eastern we will be live from the red carpet. the 54th annual grammy awards will be getting plenty of reaction to houston's death from some of the music industry's biggest stars. ted. >> also at the grammy awards tonight, producers are planning to honor whitney houston with some of today's top talent. >> our plan at this point is we do -- i've asked jennifer hudson to come, and we're really at this moment, you know, talking about what she's going to do, but it will be something respectful. it's not going to be a full blown tribute. to me that