a war. and the latest from a cruise ship that ran aground off the coast of italy. let's go outfront. >> good evening, everyone. i'm erin burnett, and outfront tonight, we're live in charleston, south carolina. tonight, newt gingrich whose performance in tomorrow's primary election here will make or break his run at the presidency. no doubt, he's surging in the polls. you look that left right and center. the latest show him in striking distance of mitt romney. he's also ignited the fire storm, slamming the media of his ex-wife's accusation he wanted an open marriage. >> the destructive, vicious, negative media of much of the news media makes it harder to govern the country, harder to attract decent people to run forophilfor office, and rm i'm appalled you would open a presidential debate with a topic like that. >> i caught up with newt gingrich today, about an hour and a half away from here, in a town called orangeburg, south carolina, to talk about the race, the issues, and yes, his private life. >> do you feel the momentum has changed for you over the past two days? >> i think it really began to change dramatically after monday night in myrtle beach. you could go back home, georgia, and i feel pretty good campaigning in south carolina. we're getting a good, positive response. monday night seemed to galvanize people, and then sarah palin said she would vote for me, and now michael reagan and chuck norris. at every stage, you have this continuing acceleration, if you will. >> i was at a denny's today talking to a lot of people and asking if they had seen the debate. they saw it last night. and they were, a lot of them had changed their minds. romney supporters saying now we're going for newt. and the reason was because of the beginning of the debate and how you responded to john kieng's question about your ex-wife. did you expect that question right off the top? >> i sort of had a hunch that that would happen because i thought they couldn't contain themselves. and i felt that they -- they would think it was clever. but i think there's something going on here that is very deep. part of it is a really deep dislike of the media, and a level that nobody in the media wants to think about yet because this has happened five times, six times now in these debates. the other, though, is people want to leader who is forceful and knows what they think and has the guts to stand there and say it. part of it is if i had said the color is blue, it's the forcefulness because they know we're in trouble as a country, at least our side of the country, republicans, tea parties, independents, we think the country is in trouble, so they're looking for a leader that has a forcefulness and clarity, and i think that delivery of that clearness is as important as a specific topic. >> it was interesting, you know, i was talking to the daughter, she had been very intent to mitt romney before, and she switched to you, and it was because of the topic. she said we all have skeletons in our closet. i talked to arth women and she said, i have been divorced, too, and i wouldn't want someone to bring that up. do you think it's allowed you to connect to people in a more human way? >> it has. i think people are a lot smarter than our analysts believe they are, and they lead to complete lies and they go around and say, that's not true. and there's a kind of judgment there that is real, in addition, i had a pastor who said to me, you know, in some ways having somebody who had pain in their life is really helpful. somebody whose life has been so perfect they don't understand pain, it's hard for them to understand what the rest of us go through. and it was a very interesting way of thinking about it. i have had people come up to me all day today and say they were glad i responded so harshly, that i was so clear about it. some people have written those close to me and said they were embarrassed for the country that that kind of thing was brought to us. a number of people said wi were in their prayers. it's an interesting human response. >> i heard that, too. people also, though, do seem to feel that the question of morality effects someone's personal life as well as their proeflg li professional life. i spoke to tim at denny's. he said if you're going to be the president, you have to be of high moral character because you're representing the country, the most important person in the country. he said, you know, his marital past is not the most important thing, but it will be a deciding factor. don't you think it's fair that the morality question comes up? >> of course. but it's -- i don't believe anybody is going to go to work tomorrow and didn't know i had been divorced. it's all been out here for eight months. and there's a sense of why would abc news bring it up now? why would they get into it now? and why would they do it the way this did it? that's why people were saying that was taken over the line. you should measure, whether it's romney or santorum orron paul or obama. all of us, if we're seeking to have you loan us the most powerful assets in the world, we should be able to have a conversation that is detailed and open. i don't object to that. >> when people say, if someone would be unfaithful in their personal life or dishonest in their personal life, they might be dishonest as a business leader. you said, i have been dishonest. you were honest about that. >> look who i am now and how close calista and i are as a cuptle, how close i am to my daughters and son-in-laws and not 15, 20 years ago, but is this now a person experienced enough and wise enough and with enough force of perment that i think he could get america back on track? >> you could be the front runner, win tomorrow in florida, right? >> yeah. >> the way it's going. >> it's been like this, so who knows. >> you come into a general election, all these issues become -- they're going to be looked at again. i looked at presidential history. we have never had a president who has been married three times. one in 20 americans have been married more than twice. when you get to an election, you're against barack obama, a stereo typical family guy. do you think that's going to be an issue where people say, do i connect with him? do i have a lot in common with newt gingrich? >> no, i think the country is in so much trouble. somebody said to me the other week, if you have a serious illness, what you really want to know is not what kind of car does the doctor drive or if he's a good doctor. i think barack obama is radical and not very competent, and people see that. he's likable. i would never beat obama in a personality contest. i wouldn't try. he's a very likable person. but the presidency is not about likability. it's about, are you capable of doing the job? are you capable of helping get jobs, are you capable of being that man. on the issue of capability, i think he has an enormous burden to carry. >> you mentioned sarah palin before the interview and her endorsement and you mentioned her the other day, that you would consider her for a position. have you thought more about that? i saw that, i said, wait a minute, what is he saying? >> i suggest there's a movie that was made about her. i think it was called "beyond defeated." it's a very interested document. when you go back and look at her career as mayor and on the ethics commission where she forced the republican state senator to resign and the campaign against the incomitant governor and the amount she cleaned up the state and how effective she was negotiating with big oil, she has great capability if she wants to do it. she would be somebody you would consider as a talent in a variety of possible positions. but that's, i have to finish winning a nomination, then you have to win the general election. so we're still a long way off from that kind of thinking. >> you were talking about a gold commission. that's something ron paul has been passionate about, back since the reagan years, and it was interesting talking about ron paul supporters. they are passionate. ron paul or nobody. but when i pushed hard, maybe then newt. >> well, one -- it's a fact of life, ron paul is going to get a significant vote. it's a fact of life that you want to find something that will give him a strong reason not to consider a third party, and then you have to say, okay, under what circumstance. he has a legitimate role. he's earned that by running an adequate campaign, and you want to find something we're adequately compatible on. >> one final question, i reached out on twitter today, social media, and i asked for questions for you. there were questions about a lot of things, but the main question was about last night, and it was about what you had said in 1998, talking to april 22nd, referring to the monica lewinsky scandal, i will never again as a speaker make a speech without commenting on this topic. there's a perception that has been hypocritical because you were so hard on clinton and. >> what was the problem, clinton's problem? he lied under oath in front of a federal judge, which is a felony. wasn't his personal behavior in the oval office. he lied under oath to a federal judge. he committed a felony. >> so that's the oath that bothered you. thoug not the marital oath he would have broken. >> it was many articles for a long time, starting with jennifer flowers. the problem was, and you can jauj that as a private citizen and say i like it or don't like it. problem was perjury, and he's a lawyer. he has no excuse. perjury in front of a federal judge in a case like that has jail time. now, you get to a point where you say, are we going to become a third world country and as long as your poll numbers are good, who cares if you break the law? we need to enforce the law. that's what the case was about. it was enormous -- i think the country got to the right solution. he was impeached by the house. the senate refused to convict, but we stood a tough standard for future presidents that says don't break the law. >> last question, you're very popular this week. we'll see what happens tomorrow. >> and you're be back. >> you'll be back. you're going on. how great of a week has it been for donations? >> very good. i don't know the details, because i don't pay attention. but i can tell you that we have the resources to go on to florida, and we're very excited about it. this has been, as you said earlier, this has been my entire career, the wildest ride i have ever been on. it's amazing. >> a mazing to cover it as well. thanks so much. >> all right, well, you heard from newt gingrich, as everyone is getting ready to start voting tomorrow morning. now, hear from the voters. we went by a denny's for a grand slam. we have not been eating well down here, absolutely not eating well. they shared their thoughts on last night's debate and tomorrow's primary. and a woman who knows more about south carolina politics than almost anyone. jenny sanford comes out front. >> and the latest fights on sopa. the bill's on hold, but for how long? we'll be back. with your buddie? lost your appetite for romance? and your mood is on its way down. you might not just be getting older. you might have a treatable condition called low testosterone or low t. millions of men, forty-five or older, may have low t. so talk to your doctor about low t. hey, michael! 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[ male announcer ] we are insurance. ♪ we are farmers ♪ bum, ba-da-bum, bum, bum, bum ♪ our crew woke up this morning in charleston and decided bojangles wasn't enough. we needed to go to denny's and we did. the restaurant chain is based right here in south carolina, which is -- we didn't know that until a few weeks ago. we wanted to go and find out what voters were thinking. if was a good place to go. on their minds, the debate front and center and the primary tomorrow. >> i think there were a lot of people who switched over to newt gingrich last night in south carolina. i think he came out the winner in his primary because of the atta attacks on his private life. >> all the way until last night. >> is it pro-life republican, i really like what santorum has to say. >> i'm a ron paul supporter, so i appreciated hearing him live, but i don't think that he was given quite the amount of time the others were. >> out front now, republican congressman, tim scott, of south carolina. local conservative talk show host vince colclough, and john avalon. congressman g to see you. i know you're friends with newt gingrich, have been for a long time. you have not yet endorsed. how do you think it's going to go? >> last night, there was a softball thrown as newt gingrich, it was ugly, but he hit it out of the park. it changed the dynamic of the race. i would have said before yesterday, there would have been a photo finish with romney cuting the tape first, and i would say today it slipped. still a very tight race. i was in the gym this afternoon, and the folks in the gym paused and then they said, newt. i was very surprised. i think the momentum has shifted because the backlash towards the timing of the story seems to be running the tape. runing the race. >> that was actually, neat was talking to me about a book that inspired him about waves in television and ride to waves. he was talking about just that, very open about it. >> vince, what are you hearing? you were talking to voters in south carolina all day? >> it's a mix of things. there are the people who very much are upset about the fact that he's had these cases of infidelity, and we have known this about newt gingrich, but what is significant about it is i think the people who are already opposed to newt gingrich are still opposed to newt gingrich. others are more supportive than ever because they feel like the media has come down on him and now they're rallying behind him. it's going to be interesting to see whether this actually has helped him in the long run. >> interesting. we spoke about to media issue. the elite media, which is how he has been describing it, that has been working for him. >> red meat for the republican audience. the bias has been baked in the cake for a long time. when mitt romney was selling millions of negative ads, they didn't seem sympathetic, but gingrich has the gain. you can see it in the polls. >> it could go well for him. congressman, jow known him for a long time. you haven't come out and formally endorsed anyone. why is that? >> a guy that matches your values and who wins in the fall and that equation really is something i'm still going through the process. i like what mitt brings to the table. an organization, very good structure, deep pockets and the opportunity to run the race for the long haul. newt brings the ability, the more you attack him, the better he gets. you've got to appreciate that. >> he loves being attacked. >> it works for him. >> that's why i said last night the ugly softball was truly a slow pitch. for the rest of us who may have dodging it, not him. in a general election, six or seven debates against this president, who is very, very good, we want our very best toe to toe, with the heavyweight champion, frarngly. do you go with a guy that has the structure of the organization and deep pockets, but may not do as well or go with the guy you know will win the debates, will hit hard, often and the more he gets attacked, he has the ability to win independents. on issues like this, from my perspective. >> what do you think about the unless issue. a lot of people thought he would do better with the crowd because he's been governor of a state like massachusetts. >> part of what's happening here, too, another dynamic, for people who were supportive of herman cain and they feel the media helped to bring him down. so this is oortd reason why -- >> and cain was ardently defending with the media. >> so now you're at a place where they're saying, you're not going to take him down. we're going to stand with him. one of the things that i hear people saying over and over again is they love the way he's able to debate, frame an argument, the way he's able to inspire people and that frankly is kind of missing from some of the other candidates, so that's one of the strongest things that helps him. >> tortoise and hear? >> perry supporters, going to nutd. herman supporters, they're probably going to go to newt. mitt romney's camp trying to lower expectations. and they have a great organization, but today, i got two robo calls back to back. they're definitely, i'm sure it was a coincidence, but they know it's tight. >> i imagine like a little turtle shell and mitt's face sticking out. appreciate it. and we'll see how it goes tomorrow. still out front, new video from the cruise ship. new video in from inside the ship. you of course know it crashed a week ago off the coast of italy. and more from south carolina. we found peaches in the palmetto state. georgia, you got nothing. 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[ male announcer ] you love the taste of 2% milk. but think about your heart. 2% has over half the saturated fat of whole milk. want to cut back on fat and not compromise on taste? try smart balance fat free milk. it's what you'd expect from the folks at smart balance. we're in south carolina tonight. here's are few facts about the palmetto state. state animal, white tailed deer. amphibian, spotted salamander kind of like a newt. and most surprising, the state fruit is the peach. you say what? georgia is be best known at the peach state, but in the 1950s, south carolina took over from georgia as the biggest peach producing state in the union and even though since california has passed them both, south carolina still produces way more peaches than georgia, which brings us to tonight's number, 90,000. the number of peaches south carolina produces each year. that is more than double you, georgia. at 40,000. commercially produced in 23 states, californiaering soult carolina, georgia, and new jersey, number four. south carolina and georgia focus on their fresh rather than processed peaches and their fruit feud pops up in the strangest places. for example, the 1972 album eat a peach, released by the alman brothers band. that peach cover was designed by two guys from south carolina. all right. coming up, a woman who has experienced the best and worst of south carolina politics. jenny sanford comes out front next. and president obama pushing for increased sanctions against iran. could be one of the last chances to avoiding direct conflict. we'll be right back. 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[ sniffling ] [ male announcer ] not sure what to take? now robitussin® makes finding the right relief simpler than ever. click on the robitussin® relief finder. click on your symptoms. get your right relief. ♪ makes the cold aisle easy. ♪ robitussin®. relief made simple. we start the second half of our show with stories we care about, where we focus on our reporting, do the work and find the "outfront" five. newt gingrich. we had the chance to spend time with him today. in orangeburg, south carolina. could he win tomorrow? the former speaker of the house has been climbing and a strategist for mitt romney admitted to cnn his candidate could lose south carolina. earlier, i asked speaker gingrich about his shift in momentum. >> i think it really began to change dramatically after monday night in myrtle beach, the debate. we were pretty good before them because back home, i feel pretty good campaigning in south carolina. we're getting a good, positive response, but monday night seems to galvanize people and it got better, can then sarah palin said she would vote for me and it got better. and now today, we have michael reagan and chuck norris. i think at every stage, we've had this continuing acceleration, if you will. >> number two, the united states is considering closing its embassy in syria over security concerns. that's what two senior officials tell us tonight. we are told that the united states has asked the syrian government for more security around its damascus embassy and a decision to close will be based on a request. closing the embassy would effectively end diplomatic relations with syria. 6,000 people have been killed in conflicts there since march. number three, the national highway investigation has closed its investigation into chevy volt battery fires. we looked through the report today. investigators did not find a safety defect. they also supported gm's fix, which re-enforces the structure surrounding the battery. no fires were reported in cars that people were driving. this came from crash tests. we'll continue to follow it. number four, r existing home sales rose. up 5% in december. the national association of realtors said the annual pace reflected by the number is 4.6 million homes. to give you context, the highest pace in nearly a year. the number of existing homes for sale, a crucial measure of how much we've got to work through to get better fell to 2.4 million. the lowest levels since 2005 and that is a really significant number to fixing the single biggest issue in this economy, which remains housing. it has been 168 days since the united states lost its top credit rating. what are we doing to get it back? stocks helping three weeks in a row. the dow, nasdaq and s&p ended the week higher by more than 2%. she knows south carolina politics better than absolutely anyone. former first lady, jenny sanford, is not shying way from the political limelight. here, in fact, she's already weighing in on who she will not be voting for tomorrow. also the author of "staying true" a really great book and she joins us now. >> good to be here. >> i wanted to ask you, you were at the debate last night and i know you were waiting to hear what everyone had to say and you got to see that incredibly testy and rather memorable beginning to the interview, with newt gingrich. what did you take away? >> from the whole debate or beginning? >> whole debate. >> as i said before, the whole debate, not just last night's debate but the whole race actually very short on substance. and even though some of the candidates were able to clarify their positions a little bit last night, they remain a little too focused on bickering about one another. i think that's part of the struggle with so many people right now. >> it was interesting today, i didn't know exactly how, the beginning of the debate, conversation about newt gingrich's ex-wife and fidelity, how that would go over. it seemed a lot of women rallied around him. i wanted to play a quick sound bite. about what newt gingrich told me this afternoon about that and ask you about it. here he is. >> i don't believe anybody who's going to vote tomorrow didn't already know i had been divorced and remarried. it's all been out here for eight months. and there was a sense of why would abc news bring it up now? >> what's your reaction? >> you know, i have a mixed reaction about that. because on the one hand, newt gingrich is the candidate who has risen up. is just getting the scrutiny of the national pres. he hasn't been a candidate fully vetted for a long period of time in this race. i believe the issue is fair game during a presidential race because he's asking to be the leader of our nation. so the i think the issue of his character is an issue and so then the question really then is suspect is the timing. i am not so sure that sometimes in politics, you can control the timing. the other issue is was it a fair question on john king's part? it's a fair question to be asked. perhaps it shouldn't have been the first question. >> talk about the speaker today, we had a conversation about it and morality. he seemed to say yes, and it will be an issue in the general election. it's interesting to your point, it hasn't been talked about a lot recently. even though he is right. everyone knows his past. >> there's no scrutiny focused on the people, the lower candidates that are new in the race or low in the polls. it's not until they become real contenders that the scrutiny is intense. newt's focus has been recent. same with santorum. you have romney who's been the front-runner. paul who's been in the race for as long as romney and then these two that are up and comers nipping at people's heels that are gent generating the excitement in the race, but they haven't been fleshed out. that's adding to the uncertainty and unpredictability in the race. it makes it exciting. >> it is exciting. and i know it's been a big -- your family has been watching and involved. you were there, your ex-husband was there. >> two sons. one left school today to go to a ron paul rally. >> i was going to bring that up, so, yeah, is he old enough? >> he's 18. he's 18. he's just turned 18 in december. he's in that sweet spot. ron paul is, he's the one that actually does have a clear message. and whether you agree, you know what he's about. he wants to cut a trillion dollars. he wants to cut, and he has a consistent record to back that up. the question is, where is he on foreign policy to a younger person, a younger person, i asked landon. how can you -- are you okay with his foreign policy stance? are you okay with cutting back on the military, for example. he just says we can't afford it. from a young person's perspective, i get where he's coming from. he hasn't thought through those issues. he's more concerned that the government is going to be bankrupt when he becomes of age to need any services. >> who do you think will win tomorrow given the negative ad campaigning here? given the overwhelming blitz of ads. >> every campaign i've managed, you go down to the end. like a squeaker. sometimes the negative stuff really backfires. i think that it's anybody's guess tomorrow. i wont be surprised if gingrich won, but also if romney won. at the end of the day, if there's a lot of uncertainty, newt is great campaigner, no question, but he's not a great leader. i think if people remember it, there's a reason why he was speaker, then he left. there are a lot of questions. sometimes when you go to the voting booth, people vote on instinct. i could see romney being the voice of reason that edges out. either way. >> we shall see. anyway, great to see you. >> thanks for having me. >> well, the internet giant spoke and congress listened. this has been one heck of a fight over the past week. today, two controversial antipiracy bills were put on hold indefinitely. the move follows protest by google, facebook, wikipedia. they all argue that the legislation went too far and it would stifle free speech and really sensor the internet. we have bib on the sorie for a couple weeks, we spoke to jimmy wales before he blacked out his website to protest the bills. >> i'm a big believer that we should be dealing with issues of piracy and in a serious way, but this bill is not the right bill. >> media companies including time warner which owns cnn supported the legislation, but it wasn't enough to convince congress. just how big of a victory is this for internet companies? i'm joined by deckland. good to see you. how big of a win is this for tech companies, and this is big established media versus big media. >> well, it's a pretty big win. this is huge and what's interest is that the tech companies didn't even roll out the heavy artillery. this is the light artillery. google said sign a petition. they didn't say here's a link where you can get your members of congress's phone number. or better yet, here's a link to his primary opponent and maybe you should donate some money. that's the real heavy artillery, so the tech companies have another weapon and hollywood did not see this coming. they got rolled by the internet this week. this is a historic week in internet politics, maybe american politics. >> it was pretty amazing. all the presidential candidates weighing in on this last night. it's significant. the blackout protests we saw from websites like wikipedia were effective. i'm just wondering, you're saying this is a huge victory. this bill's going to get reworked and what if they don't like it then? will a blackout work or, they got the bang for your buck and that's it? >> well, the danger that they face, it's not just tech companies, remember. this is something like 12 million internet users being involved in a protest that's 4.5 million people signed the google.com petition. against these bills. wikipedia is not a tech company. wick amedia foundation runs it. it's a non-profit group. its users voted to do that, but there is a danger they can do this once. the first time wikipedia does this, everyone pays attention. it's a huge thing. it's never been done before. they do it a second time, people get annoyed. a third, it's like, been there, done that, why are they doing it? they better have gotten it right this time and i think they probably did. >> all right. thank you very much. we appreciate it. we know there's a lot of people on the internet who are going to be watching to see what's next. thanks again. >> cruise ship video that crashed off the coast of italy. it's amazing. thepara passengers were told mis after they hit the rocks. and tonight, ideas. we have been exploring. we found a guy who has turned the world of vodka upside down. we'll take you there. 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[ female announcer ] travelocity. get great deals on all kinds of beach vacations. getwill be giving away kinds passafree copies of the alcoholism & addiction cure. to get yours, go to ssagesmalibubook.com. we do this at the same time every night. our outer circle where we reach out to our sources around the world. we begin in iran. there are developments there. general martin dempsey is in israel for a series of high pro file meetings with israeli leaders, there is growing concern that the israeli government could act unilaterally to shut down iran's program. the obama administration has been pushing allies to sign on to sanctions targeting the could oil industry and central bank to force iran to abandon its nu nuclear pursuits without a war. kareem is a leading exprt on iran and we asked him how iran is interpreting the trip. >> in the eyes of iranian official, the united states and israel are really indistinguishable. i think iran's hostility is the key source of the conflict. david said it can enrich uranium and call for israel's demise, but it can't do it at the same time. >> and now to afghanistan. a helicopter crash in helmand provens killed six american marines. the taliban claimed responsibility, but the nato-led force reported no activity. in a separate incident, an afghan soldier opened fire on an unarmed french troops, killing 4 and injuring 15. this led nicolas sarkozy to suspend training operations and combat help in afghanistan. we asked nick peyton walsh how the nato mission is affecting the troops' pull out of afghanistan. >> nicolas sarkozy suggested he might bring troops home early. there are 4,000 french soldiers here helping with training and security in some areas, it's more symbolic. sarkozy's facing great pressure ahead of re-election in april. this war is deeply unpopular in france and nato needs this to stay within the coalition. to stop america's fighting this war alone. if they were to leave early, people might see signs of the coalition here crumbling. >> and now to the u.k. and an update on the media hacking scandal that took down rupert murdoch's news of the world newspaper. word that news international, which is the parent company of the now defunkt newspaper, has agreed to dole out hundreds of thousands of dollars in settlements to 18 reported victims, including some famous brits. a number of people over alleged phone hacking. jim talked to tus about the victims. >> among those said to have settles include actor jude law who reportedly receiving nearly $200,000. these are a fraction of the alleged phone hacking done on behalf of murdoch's news of the world newspaper, shut down last summer. erin. >> all right, italian rescue workers are now resuming their search for 21 people who are still missing after the costa concordia disaster. we have new video to show you which as you'll see shows thomoments just after the ship ran aground. a crew member speaking in italian is telling people to go back into their cabins. >> sounds and looks chaotic. dan rivers has been covering this. when row see this video of the crew member giving the invukzs, hey, it was a generator problem, everything is fixed, go back to your cabin. seems like that was complete chaos, doesn't it? >> that's certainly was some passengers are saying. certainly the impression you might be left with after seeing that video. however, one costa employee is speaking back, writing in a local newspaper, i have read and seen and heard so much nonsense, ridiculous from the survivors. resorting to sensationalism rather than information. they're saying the crew did everything they could, well trained, they got the 3,000 passengers off as quickly as they could. there are two sides to every story, and all of the passengers vehemently disagree, saying they had to sim for it in some cases to get to shore alive. >> dan, behind you, i think we're looking at the outline of a ship and there's lights. it looks like the search and rescue mission is now back in progress. what can you tell us as to how that's going, what they're doing, and hot the chances may be of anyone stelbeing alive on the costa concordia? >> it's seven days since the accident. they had to suspend on a number of occasions this week the diving inside the ship. it's too dangerous, the ship is moving around on the bottom, on the rocks that it's sitting on. they have resumed. but frankly, i think now the chances of finding anyone else alive is very slim indeed. they're beginning to get all of the logistical pieces in place to start the salvage operation that is going to involve pumping 200,000 tons of heavy fuel out. that's the kind of thing they're going to be looking at over the weekend, and today, we have seen relative to those laying flowers out to sea, very poignant scenes, especially the mother of a 5-year-old girl who is the youngest of the missing passengers. >> dan rivers, thank you very much. we'll continue to watch and see what happens behind you. up next, while we have been down here in charleston, we went way out on the barrier island and found a guy who checked out south carolina and said, i don't want to live anywhere else and found a company and change an industry and make a whole lot of money while i'm doing it. it's a sweet idea, and it's next. so about 20 minutes away from here, out in the middle of nowhere, beautiful country, a local company has disrupted the vade caw market with a sweet southern taste. take a look in tonight's big i.d.e.a. >> scott was a man on the move, he lives in 21 cities in as many years, always working for the liquor industry, but always searching for a place to settle down. in 2006, he finally found the answer here, in south carolina, and sweet tea. >> that's good. >> created here, in a small distillery on an island, fire fly sweet tea and vodka, a marriage made in 70 proof heaven. >> we make our vodka out of wine. we crush the grapes, we ferment the grapes, they make alcohol, then we distill the wine and then it ends up, the vapors end up here because alcohol boiled around 192 degrees. then we take this and transfer it to the larger tanks. and then we mix our tea and sugar together and then we bottle it and then it's fire fly vodka. >> the south isn't just a source of inspiration but ingredients. >> original fire fly vodka made with american sugar, american tea and vodka. cane sugar. and remember, it's straight up, 70 proof. >> whoa. >> cheers. >> and the tea used in the vodka, they grow it right up the road on the charleston tea plan tashz. >> you get your tee from here, american tea? >> this is the only plantation in america, and we get a portion of our tea from here. >> right down the street. bill owns the plantation and he's a third generation food taster. >> how do you end up being the only tea farmer in the united states? >> i guess i'm the only one crazy enough to do it. >> bill said he was skeptical about the booze