we talked to one of the convicted killers pardoned by mississippi's governor. we're going to hear his reaction to the outrage over his release. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." >> mitt romney, the clear front-runner in a cnn/orcp poll out just now. romney with a double-digit lead, asking republican voters their choice for the nominee. look at the battle for second place. newt gingrich, ron paul, rick santorum are all in a statistic cal tie, each getting between 15 and 18%. let's get more from gloria borger, taking a closer look at all of this. he's rising nationally, at least it looks like that. >> yeah, it is, and rising at newt gingrich's expense. we compared the numbers you just showed with the numbers from december. what a difference a month makes. romney in december, 28%, now 34, up six. newt gingrich down ten points, and again paul has been pretty consistent. santorum almost quadrupled his support. i think the big news here, wolf, to me is that mitt romney has broken through that 25%, 28% level with republicans, now is pitch into the mid 30 range. that probably means who we're seeing in this national poll is that it reflects what's gone on in iowa and new hampshire. as i always say nothing succeeds like success. clearly republicans nationwide are now looking at him more and more as the eventual nominee. >> how important is the whole issue of electability? >> very, very important. we've seen that in the polls in iowa and new hampshire. you also see it in our new numbers. when we asked republicans who has the best chance of beating oin november, now you see romney up to 55%, gingrich again at the expense of newt gingrich, who is down. santorum rises considerably, but only to 9%. another takeaway from our poll, wolf, is that about 7 out of 10 republicans told us they would rather vote for somebody who can beat barack obama, as opposed to somebody who just agrees with them on all the issues. so again, that electability is so, so important to mitt romney. people believe he can beat barack obama. >> he does have in weaknesses, though. >> he does. >> what are his weaknesses? >> what's interesting about mitt romney is that people like him, but they really can't relate to him. we asked this question we always ask in presidential campaigns. who cares the most about people like you? you see the results here. ron paul does the best. romney, of course, a very, very close sect rick santorum, the closest thing to a pop you list in this race, does well and then gingrich and the rest. so very important that mitt romney allow people to believe he understands their plight, which is why the issue of bain capital is potential so dangerous for him, because if he is portrayed as a corporate raider who doesn't care about people who gets laid off, who doesn't care about a 9.9% unemployment rate in the state of south carolina, that could be very damaging to him. he has to be able to tell people, as bill clinton used to say qush i feel your pain." >> hold on for one second. something is happening right now. this is just coming into "the situation room." a federal judge has just ruled -- let me be precise -- again four of the republican presidential candidates who were suing to get their names on the virginia primary ballot. in the ruling, the judge says newt gingrich, santorum, huntsman and rick perry waited too long to file their claims. as you know, they didn't meet the deadlines. they needed all certified, notified, it doesn't happen. they went to court and now a federal judge says the state of virginia is right not allowing you on the ballot. >> this is very good news for mitt romney and ron paul, both of whom have good organizations, who got the signatures they needed. this is embarrassing, quite frankly, for someone like newt gingrich, who lives in the state of virginia, who made the point of telling journalists we're going to get on the ballot in virginia and now took it to court and lost. there are a lot of republicans who say our primary is not going to be as important as otherwise, because of course you're not going to have a full slate of candidates, but in the end mitt romly really benefits from this. >> they have other problems in long before virginia becomes a problem. gloria, thanks very much. newt gingrich is looking ahead towards florida, and judging be the campaign swing, he's prepared to wage a bloody gloves-off fight. jim acosta caught up with newt gingrich in south florida. jim? >> reporter: just when everybody thought newt gingrich was toning down the attacks on mitt romney, the former speaker today went nuclear. perhaps it was the strong cuban coffee he sipped in the little havana neighborhood. the former speaker served up tough talk on the claim of creating 100,000 jobs. >> if he can't stand up today and defend his claim how will he stand up to obama in the fall? >> reporter: gingrich seized on this new add from the romney campaign. >> mitt romney helped create and ran a company that invested in struggling businesses, grew new ones, and rebuilt old once, creating thousands of jobs. an interview in cnn, he laughed at the phrase as proof romney isn't telling the truth. >> do you think he misstated the facts? >> of course he did. you know he did. the question is -- >> are you saying he's lying? >> i'm saying he -- >> but a romney campaign spokesman says the governor is not backing away from the claim, saying 100,000 is thousands of jobs. romney repeated the claim to reporters thursday. >> i think my experience at bain is pretty much in the open. there are a number of businesses that we helped start, which collectively you can look on their web sites. >> reporter: the former speaker has come under fire over a pro-gingrich -- the pac is running clips from the film in south carolina where gingrich and romney are neck and neck in a new poll. gingrich admits he's abandoned his pledge to run a positive campaign. the latest web video compares romney to failed candidates michael dukakis and john kerry. it even inds with romney speaking french. [ speaking foreign language ] >> reporter: you yoon to say -- is it because he attacked you first? >> when somebody runs $3.5 million of negative ads, i asked him to take them off the air, he refused to do it, you unilate l unilaterally disarm and quit or you decide to match. >> reporter: meanwhile, he's calling on the super pac to clear of any inaccuracies in that king of bain movie. but that's not enough. wolf? >> jim acosta in south florida. president obama meanwhile, says he wants to streamline the federal government, proposing significant changes, but his critics question the electric year timing of this. our white house correspondent dan lothian is joining us with the details. what does the president specifically, dan, want to do. >> first of all, this is a fulfillment that something the president talked about last year. the president talked today about how there's overlap in agencies within the government, the kind of inefficiency that business leaders would not tolerate. so the president is asking congress for permission to shape things up. >> like making a new year's weight loss resolution, president obama is aiming to slim down using a colorful prop. >> there are six departments and agencies focused primarily on business and trade and the federal government. six. in this case, six is not better than one. >> reporter: the president is asking congress for consolidation authority, similar to powers last held by former president ronald reagan. it would allow him to combine several agencies into one, including the small business administration and the office of the u.s. trade representative. the commerce department as we know it would be eliminated. >> there's a real opportunity for us to fundamentally rethink reform and remake our government to meet the demands of this time. >> but some viewed this well-timed opportunities touting to saving $3 billion over ten years with suspicious. >> any proposal is part political, but in a presidential year, you've got to think that politics constitutes a huge part of this announcement, and republicans are already reacting that way, calling it an election eve conversion by barack obama. >> reporter: one of those republicans is senator john cornyn. in a written statement, he said, quote, president obama doesn't have much of a report to back up the newfound enthusiasm for limited goism. similar from speaker boehner. but republicans who have long touted streamlined government are promising to gift the president's request review. >> it's hard for them to oppose in they want the government to work better for the community. >> reporter: the president also announced he would elevate the small business administration to a cabinet-level business, giving small businesses a louder voice during these cabinet meetings. i did ask the senior aide about criticism about the timing of all of this, this officials telling me the president is focused on doing his job, on helping small businesses, and that even in this difficult political environment, there's no reason something like this can't get bipartisan support. >> dan lothian, thanks very much. he's ron paul's biggest campaign trail cheerleader. talking about his son, senator rand paul of kentucky. some are saying, already, he's one of the presidential ambition guys himself. stand by for that. plus tensions with iran could end up impacting your wallet. we're going to explain how. one of the mississippi plurders on the loose after getting pardoned. he speaks exclusively with cnn. you're going to see the interview first right here in "the situation room." ♪ ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] entune mobile technology. ♪ stronger! ♪ stand a little taller [ male announcer ] stay seamlessly connected to your smart phone. available on the reinvented 2012 camry. from toyota. ♪ from toyota. i've tried it. but nothing helped me beat my back pain. then i tried salonpas. it's powerful relief that works at the site of pain and lasts up to 12 hours. salonpas. i refer to her as "that woman with the great gums." as jill's dentist, i know that her gums are a foundation of a healthy smile. jill knows that, too -- so she uses crest pro-health clinical gum protection toothpaste. it helps eliminate plaque at the gum line, helping prevent gingivitis. it's even clinically proven to help reverse it in just 4 weeks. and it protects these other areas dentists check most. crest pro-health clinical gum protection. because healthy smiles are built on healthy gums. life opens up when you do. nor rand paul is already a favorite of tea party republicans, but could he follow in his father's footprints and make a run for the white house in 2016? our senior congressional correspondent dana bash is joining us. he's an impressive guy. >> no question he made a splash. there's been a lot of father/son teams in politics, but none quite like ron and rand paul. watching them both on the trail, it's clear there's a lot of grooming going on. >> please welcome my father, ron paul. >> reporter: but when rand paul stumps for his father, it's different. >> there's only one candidate who's never been accused of flip flopping. >> reporter: he's not only the senator from kentucky and a tea party darling -- >> i got started running as part of the tea party movement in 2010, because i was unhappy with republicans. the republican party is an empty vessel unless we imbue it with values. >> reporter: rand paul is also heir apparent to this libertarian anti-interventionist movement his 76-year-old father spent decades building up. >> there's no doubt he's going to run for president and run on the republican side of things someday. the question is not if, it's when. >> it looks like we have some young people here. there's energy. >> reporter: a newcomer to politics himself, rand paul rocked the gop in 2010 by running against the republican establishment's candidates and winning. >> i have a message we've had come to take our government back. >> reporter: like his father, rand paul is unbending in his beliefs, even when it irks his own party. in may he sought out cnn to rail against the senate gop leadership for trying to prevent a vote on one of his amendments to the p.a.t.r.i.o.t. act. >> they're sending around information to try to convince other republicans to vote against my amendment. >> reporter: as you know, this is unusual for a republican freshman senator to come on and really lash out at his own leadership. why are you doing that? isms i'm disappointed. i'm disappointed they don't want to allow debate. >> reporter: he made headlines back home this week for giving $5,000 of his senate office budget back to the treasury. at that press conference he didn't rule out agreeing to be the gop's running mate if asked. >> i am interested in trying to shape the direction and make our country more fiscally conservative, and we'll have to see where it goes. right now, i'm still supporting that guy from texas. >> reporter: as for rand paul, strategists say there's one reason hi all but rules out a third-party run. >> i have no intentions of doing that, no plans, no desire, and flat-out i don't want to. >> reporter: it would harm his son's political future. >> that would close the door on him ever doing very well with the republican nomination. >> reporter: the reason for that any ron paul run as a third-party candidate would likely take significant votes from the republican nominee po templeal enough to reewill ebbet barack obama. in any event, wolf, as much as ron paul has done to promote the cause of libertarianism, people watch rand, he's learned from his mistakes. maybe he could even do more for that cause. >> his father is doing well, but why isn't he out there campaigning? >> it's very interesting. we don't know. he went home right after he did one rally in south carolina, the day after new hampshire, and he's taken a rest, but he's not going to be -- i think he'll be off the trail for 3 1/2 days. another, he has such a following and internet presence, he doesn't need to shake hands the other way candidates do to get votes. pain at the pump, and iran is partly to blame. as gas and oil prices spike, all eyes are on the islamic republic. lisa has more. >> it's usually in the spring and summertime when we see gas prices starting to rise, but this winter consumers have probably noticed oil and gas prices are unconsiderableably, as iran threatens to block the strait of horrid ms. the average price is $3.38 a gallon. that's up 29 cents from a year ago. and the country is on track to hit an average of $4 a gallon by summertime. >> about 10% since christmas, and gasoline prices tied to the price of oil are rising rather sharply. >> reporter: what's driving the price increase? tension between the united states and iran. iran has threatened to close the strait of hormuz, where more than 30% of the world's oil passes through. secretary of state hillary clinton warned iran to dial back the rhetoric. >> this is an international waterwayened united states and others are committed to keeping open. it's part of the lifeline that keeps oil and gas moving around the world. it's also important to speak as clearly as we can to the iranians about the dangers of this kind of prove investigation. >> reporter: diplomatic efforts to slow iran's nuclear programs have faltered. in response the u.s. and european union have been stepping up sanctions, leading to the new bill ibellicose lang. do they have the right to say no passage? >> no, this is international water. everyone has free access. that has been established for several decades. >> reporter: the talk of a possible closure is driving up prices, says kent moore author of the new book "the vega factor." >> the market has been governed for some time by futures contracts, which means the contracts that people are buying and sets for future delivery of oil, we now are into oil brings manship oil brinksmanship is unstable and un -- japan agreed to reduce the amount of oil it imports from iran, but china still hasn't given a commitment. wolf? >> lisa, good report. thank you. politics getting personal. attacks on mitt romney's executive experience at home with many south carolina voters. a cnn exclusive. we speak to a mississippi man convicted of murdering his wife, but then pardoned. you'll hear it first right here in "the situation room." ♪ [ woman ] when i grow up, i want to take him on his first flight. i want to run a marathon. i'm going to own my own restaurant. when i grow up, i'm going to start a band. 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[ male announcer ] want great taste and whole grain oats that can help lower cholesterol? honey nut cheerios. in what passes for common sense. used to be we socked money away and expected it to grow. then the world changed... and the common sense of retirement planning became anything but common. fortunately, td ameritrade's investment consultants can help you build a plan that fits your life. take control by opening a new account or rolling over an old 401(k) today, and we'll throw in up to $600. how's that for common sense? lisa sylvester is monitoring some of the other top stories in "the situation room." a story about cheating doctors. what's going on? >> a cnn investigation finds that radiology students have been cheating on exams for years. here's how it works. students split up test questions to memorize, then share with the next round the test-takers. some argue it isn't cheating, into you they still learn the information. john edwards may have a life-threatening heart conditioning. the judge who spoke with edwards' cardiologist says the problem is potential dangerous. the trial was set to begin on january 30th. a keep suspect in the disappearance of u.s. teenager natalie holloway is going to jail. joran van der sloot received a 28-year sentence for the murder of a peruvian woman in 2010. and the iphone is so popular in china, it's dangerous. take a look here, chaos erupted after hundreds of fans camped out all night but the phone, only to be told it was unavailable the next morning. due to safety concerns, apple says the phone won't be available in beijing and shane high for the time being. so quite a popular product there, the iphone. >> they tail it seriously over there, very seriously. thank you very much, lisa. the company helped found years ago now casting a bit of a shadow over mitt romney's campaign. >> do you see them reinvesting? >> no, none at all. >> we'll hear from south carolina voters who have bad memories of bain capital. also fluorjohn mccain on david letterman's show, a blunt take on the party's race to the white house. and an exclusive interview with one of the mississippi killers pardoned. he talk about the outrage over his release. i wouldn't do that. get married? no, i wouldn't use that single miles credit card. nice ring. knock it off. ignore him. with the capital one venture card you earn... double miles on every purchase. 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[ male announcer ] get the venture card at capitalone.com and earn double miles on every purchase every day. what's in your wallet? i was gonna say that. uh huh... i refer to her as "that woman with the great gums." as jill's dentist, i know that her gums are a foundation of a healthy smile. jill knows that, too -- so she uses crest pro-health clinical gum protection toothpaste. it helps eliminate plaque at the gum line, helping prevent gingivitis. it's even clinically proven to help reverse it in just 4 weeks. and it protects these other areas dentists check most. crest pro-health clinical gum protection. because healthy smiles are built on healthy gums. life opens up when you do. attacks on mitt romney over his venture capitalist past are resonating with some for them the name bain capital brings back bitterness. >> reporter: in the mid '90s when bain capital was investing in steel, it bought this plant in south carolina. steeler workers local president james sanderson says things did not go well. while do you see any reinvesting? >> no, they were not investing anything. >> reporter: was the equipment wearing down? >> very much so. >> reporter: bain's spokesman tells cnn that the claim of no investments is not true. were you more or less competitive? >> we were. >> this competitive with -- because they did not have us in a position where we could compete. our equipment was being neglected. we could not doing the stuff that needed to be done and had been doing. >> reporter: touring a motorcycle dealer in south carolina, romney points to bain's national successes, including sports authority and staples. he also acknowledging the failures. >> there's some big businesses that have been to cut back in order to survive and try to make them stronger. sometimes our successful at that. sometimes you're not. >> reporter: in george town, the united steel works says 50 were sold out and bain told it just after four years. the firm inked a deal in 1987 to bring a photo album manufacturer to cherokee county, south carolina. at the time it was a very big deal when bain decided to expand and bring a company here. this entire area had not been developed and the -- but the company closed just five years later. county officials estimate up to 150 people lost their jobs. what do you say to the people who did lose their jobs in those situations that might view venture capitalism as a job killer instead of a job creator? >> i think any time a job is lost is a tragedy. it's devastating. every time we invested in business was to try to encourage ongoing life. >> reporter: it was a surprise after the county provided $3.2 million in bonds in a $50,000 sewer line as incentive to build. but 20 years later county officials look back at the deal as a win/win. even though you lost 150 jobs when the company left, you still consider it as something that helped the county? >> we came out okay. >> reporter: the building bain built is home of pen manufacturer bic employing 80 people. after changing hands a couple times, the steel plant in george did not town is back up and running with 225 hourly workers, and some bitter bain memories that have not mellowed with time. how much do you hold mitt romney responsible? >> very, because he was the leader. >> reporter: the decision and consequences that the apparent leader will be explaining in this critical primary state. david mattingly, cnn, greer, south carolina. here's a look at some of the other political headlines making news. as the republican race for the nomination heats up, it turns out many voters aren't even paying attention. less than half now south carolina is the next primary state, about 70% only half can say where mitt romney was governor. answer to the last one, of course, massachusetts. the first lady busting a move earlier today. she was promoting an upcoming appearance on icarly. isms she thanks military families for their service. >> her husband is the president. >> first lady michelle obama joins the cast. in the most powerful icarly of all time "i meet the first lady." the episode featuring mrs. obama airs monday night. oprah winfrey says she's 100% behind barack obama, but inlike back in 2008, the talk show host says she doesn't need to formally endorse president obama, since everyone knows who he is. she also says she thinks president obama is doing a great job. >> i am a 100% supporter of him, and i've already endorsed him and i've already -- everybody asks are you going to do what i did in 2008? what i did in 2008 is because people didn't -- my own friends didn't know who this guy is. do you think he's going to be president? so, yeah, i really do. so i was happy to step up and do what i felt was a public service, because i so believed in him, and i still do. >> what do you think the biggest challenge will be for a second term? >> the biggest challenge i think will be the same thing as the first four years. that's getting jobs for people and getting our economy back in order, and building a sense of confidence in the american people so that they know that their futures can be sustain away. i think that's the biggest challenge. i think he is a masterful leader, and i think that what it takes to be able to do that on a daily basis, and to stand up in a world where everybody is just open to attacking you all the time, it's a very hard job. i'm not in a position to say anything other than i'm proud of him. >> i know wolf is going to ask me, did oprah publicly endorse? >> i didn't endorse him and i didn't not endorse him. >> there it is, the interrue interest oprah. she spoke to cnn's robin churn off in south africa. she's marking the graduation of the. listen to the republican presidential hopeful answer a question about his now famous sweater vest. >> senator santorum, i'm reverend michael gore of the first wesleyan church, and i believe you are an answer to a prayer to get this country back. my question is -- where can i purchase one of those sweater vests? >> i don't designers. we have them online, they're embroidered, they say rick santorum, and i think they're gray and blue, so there will be two colors. i think close to 1,000 people have bought sweater vests already in the last two days. we're also working on another type of sweater vest, and this is a hunting vest, an orange one. we have the rick santorum logo, and the saying "the right to bare arms." who knew senator santorum a fashion icon. he's campaigning, by the way in south carolina, after finishing near the bottom in new hampshire. the comedian stephen colbert says he's launching a second bid for president in south carolina. >> i am proud to announce i am forming an exploratory committee to lay the groundwork for my possible candidacy for the president of the united states of south carolina. i'm doing it! >> the south carolina native says voters see him as an eight testify to mitt romney, or as he puts it, the only mitt alternative. south carolina elected officials say write-ins are not allowed in the primaries. 2007, the comedy central cost filed to run for the without as a democrat. mitthernative. that's what he said. a convicted killer set free be an outgoing governor sparking fear and outrage in his home state and beyond. we found him. now he's talking exclusively to cnn. up next, newt gingrich is making fun of mitt romney for speaking french. paul begala and mary matalin are standing by. for you. one more thing.... those pj's you like, i bought you five new pairs. love you. did you see the hockey game last night? 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[ male announcer ] new bengay cold therapy. the same technology used by physical therapists. go to bengay.com for a $3 coupon. let's getting right to our strategy session. paul begala is in washington, and from new orleans, the republican strategist mary matalin. mary, let me start with you. is mitt romney potential in danger by all negative publicity he's getting and potentially could be defined by. >> yes, in danger if he doesn't handle it. he cannot not respond. he has 20 do a little discourse on equity investments, and point out the affect they create jobs, and he there is a way to handle it, and no pun intended, he could learnedage it to a positive if he opened the debate and talked about the free market necessitating virile tour and morality. there's an opening for him to leverage to to his advantage. if he doesn't handle it right or respond, or think it's going to go away, it's going -- >> when he was being accused -- go on -- explaining this all for his perspective. >> he was not accountable for what reverend wright said. this is about what mitt romney did. mary is right. it's all about morality. what romney did is not what normal businesses do. romney's answer is very dishonest. you say you invest, some businesses succeed and some fail, but yes, even the ones that failed he took money out of. that's not the same as just a normal investment that goes bad. it's a heads i win/tails you lose deal. it's a rigged deal, which is why many conservatives are attacking him for this. they're not attacking capitalism. they're attacking the vulture capitalism where romney enriched hisself and the wealthy investors by hammering the middle class which i think is hugely problematic for him. >> newt gingrich is doing well in this -- he's got a new web video really blasting mitt romney. i'm going to play a clip of it. watch this. >> romney proposed the contract with america, raise taxes and offered the government mandated health care with taxpayer-funded abortions, but now he tells us, trust me, i'm a conservative. massachusetts moderate mitt romney, he'll say anything to win. anything. just like john kerry -- [ speaking foreign language ] >> he speaks french, too. [ speaking foreign language ] but he's still a massachusetts moderate. a massachusetts moderate cannot beat barack obama. on a scale of 0 to 10, 10 being the best, how good is that ad? that's what we say here every day in new orleans, let the good times roll. it's clever, it's funny, but romney learned his french, which is a difficult language, as a missionary in france. so it's not comparable to kerry. they're trying to turn him into kerry. and i don't want like these attacks, like when mitt called newt zany, they should stick to the facts, still to the philosophy, who is the better conservative, why/why not. this is a little too cute. i don't know anybody in south carolina that will cast their vote based on what language people speak. >> what do you think, paul? >> i think mary is exactly right about that. it's really amazing that newt gingrich, he's a professor, he may even speak french himself. i think he may have lived in france himself. i'm not sure. he's trying to make a broader point that romney governed as a moderate. not entirely true. he governed as a liberal. so those are valid attacks that newt is raising and governor romney needs to answer them, but the nothing of attacking for speaking french, it's silly. >> it might appeal to some blue collar voters out there potential. senator john mccain who won the primary four years ago was on letterman last night. watch this. >> how do you think things are going for your party, the grand old party. how is it going, senator? >> well, we've had better days. >> it seems like everybody has gone wacky in the republican party. i just wondered, was it the influence of the tea party, or am i over-examining this? >> you're over-examining it, as usual. >> as usual? >> yes. [ laughter ] >> i see. >> these are good things for america. how many people have watched one of necessary die bates? i'll bet you everybody in this -- you know. it's been good for america. >> i agree. >> it's good for the process. it's good to see whether somebody is a wacko or whether they're not a wacko. >> which one is the wacko in there? [ laughter ] pinches is it too many conveying too little, or are with we starreding a big conversation. all we have is voters are say way more than the ads the debates influenced their vote, so i guess in the end the voters are feeling like they're getting something out of this and more of them are watching them. you know, they are kind of interesting, the more they have, the more opportunity there for people to take a walk on the wild side. >> paul? >> i love these debates. it puts the candidates under real pressure, and it does show a bit about who, as mccain said, who is wacko, and so far i think it's all of them. >> i love the debates too. guys, thanks very much. one of the mississippi murderers is speaking out. he was paroled by the governor. up next, he speaking exclusively to cnn. cnn has located one of the convicted murderers pardoned by governor haley barbour. cnn's martin savidge spoke to anthony mccray convicted of murdering his wife. martin, what did he tell you? >> reporter: it was quite a fascinating way. we had gone done to do a profile on the victim's family to see their outrage and hear how this pardon has once again torn up their lives. somebody leads you to the house where anthony mccray used to live and points out that's anthony mccray. we went to the house, the doors were closed. it took some coaxing, some work to get us to talk to him, but eventually he did, and here's how it went down. >> it's a blessing to be out, see your children, take care of them, all that. i've been saved, baptized, i've been ringing the bible for 12 1/2 years, so it's a true blessing. i didn't do this. god did this. >> reporter: your pardon, though, as you probably know by now, has triggered a lot of outrage. not just users, of course, but pardons of other prisoners. >> yes, sir. >> reporter: what do you think about that? >> the lord laid on the governor's heart, and the inmates around the world who have been working at the government mansion did -- whatever they've been doing in charleston, yes, i think they should be pardoned. everybody deserves a second chance in life. >> reporter: do you think people should be angry at governor barbour? >> no. no, sir. he treated us like we were his children. >> reporter: like you were his children. >> that's right. he don't -- he don't raise no kind of -- to nobody. he asks us to do stuff, we do it. >> reporter: let me point out one thing. anthony mccray is a murderer. no doubt. he shot his wife in the back in front of witnesses after an argument in a public cafe. that's never been in question. he says he's a changed man. what we do know is the governor haley barbour is being improperly chastised for this pardon, which he says gave him a second chance. it's also interesting to note, while working in the governor's mansion, he could talk to governor barbour on a daily basis and lobby on his own behalf. >> and probably did. martin savidge, thank you very much. why some prostitutes are backing ron paul for president. some prostitutes are enthusiastically backing ron paul for president. elizabeth cohen shows us why. >> reporter: ron paul's met a lot of his supporters, but he probably hasn't met these women. and they love him. >> the client comes into the bunny ranch and says i'm pimping for paul, they'll have a real good time, aren't they, girls? >> yeah! >> if the presidential election were held today, there's no question who would win here? the prostitutes at this legal brothel have a pimping for paul campaign, because he supports their right to make their living this way. >> yes, you have a right to do thing that are very controversial. >> reporter: prostitute is legal in 16 counties in nevada. they prefer the term working girls, they say this helps protect their health. first they have the right to reject any customer they don't like. you bring a gentleman in here, you do an inspection of some kind? >> um-hmm. >> what are you looking for? >> we ask him to drop his pants. >> reporter: they're looking for signs of sexually transmitted diseases. >> they say, honey, there's something here that i'm concerned about. i don't know if it would be in both our interests to party here. why don't you go to a doctor get that checked out. >> reporter: second, a client has to use a condom by law. what do you say? >> no. even if it's thousands and thousands of dollars. i look at my health. i don't know where this guy has been. >> reporter: thirdly they get checked regularly for sexually transmitted diseases. >> see you in a week. >> reporter: the nevada department of epidemiology says in more than 30 years there's been a single case of hiv among legal prostitutes. the working girls want to keep the federal government out of their business, so they're asking customers to donate to paul's campaign on their way out the door. in two days they made $587, and they're pimping for more the owner of the bunny ranch said he tried to donate it, but folks at the campaign said, no, we don't want it directly, please give it to a pac that supports ron paul instead. we reached out to the campaign, and we did not get a response. wolf? >> elizabeth cohen, thank you. >> elizabeth cohen, thank you. captions by vitac www.vitac.com i'll ask the ousted president about his plans for a comeback. stand by for my exclusive interview. she beat the odds to become a semifinalist for a prestigious science surprise. if you think that's impressive, get this -- she's homeless. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." first, exclusive new information just coming in. we're learning about two disturbing close encounters between iranian boats and u.s. warships. this provocative behavior only fueling already heightened tensions between the united states and iran. let's get straight to barbara starr. she has the details. what do we know? >> as a time of heightened tensions, the pentagon still wants to say these relative routine, but listen to what happened last friday in the strait of hormuz and the percent gulf. the navy war ship first up, the "uss new orleans" was going into the gulf, gull through the strait of hormuz, when three iranian speedboats approached it at high speed, and came within 500 yards, within range of this navy warship. the navy warship signaled the iranians to back off. they ignored all signals, in opposition to standard maritime procedures. eventually we're told he did break away. another incident, the same day, a u.s. coast card cutter called the "adack" was harassed by high-speed iranian boats. the personnel on board the coast guard cutter says they observed the iranians with ak-47s, and they believe one of the machine guns at the front of one of those boats was pointed right at them. eventually a larger iranian naval vessel intervened and the small speedboats backed off. routine or not, these types of encounters are extremely concerning to the u.s. navy. you know, the question is, wolf, how close do you let an iranian speedboat get before you have to do something about it. >> i'm sure there was nervousness on the u.s. ships. thank you, barbara. the united states is putting iran on notice when it comes to the country's latest threats. or foreign affairs correspondent jill dougherty is taking a look at what the obama administration is doing behind the scenes. jill, what is going on? >> wolf, what barbara is talking about really shows there's a question -- does iran really understand the red lines that the white house -- the administration is laying out? now, the state department says no question that iran has gotten the message, but others are warning there's real danger of miscalculation. don't even think of blocking the strait of hormuz. a blunt public warning to iran from defense secretary leon panetta. >> that's another red line for us, and that we will respond to that. >> reporter: with the danger of military confrontation over that vital choke point escalating, the u.s. is using every channel it has, including secret back channels to lay down its red lines to tehran. >> we used our regular channels of commune indicate, of which there are several, to make our message known, privately in addition to the very strong public we're sending. >> reporter: washington talks to iran through its protecting power, switzerland. it also uses turkey, whose leader talks with iran's supreme leader. as we a qatar, oman and japan, and a senior admiration officials tells cnn the u.s. now has asked iran to establish a direct channel of communication, so that miscalculations don't laid to military confrontation. >> they don't know how the west operates, and they may be convinced that the west is a paper tiger. they may actually believe their own rhetoric. >> michael rubin briefs personnel on ships bound for the persian gulf on iran's history and strategy. the com bink of giant u.s. air krafl carriers, small heavily armed iranian boats in the narrow strait of hormuz could be a deadly combination. now, the white house insists publicly or privately the message is the same, and the state department says they have no doubt that tehran has gotten the message, but with tensions growing, wolf, there are no guarantee. >> thanks very much, jill dougherty over at the state department. let's go to syria now, where there are reports of at least 11 civilian deaths, include three children just amid vicious new flashes with security forces. this is video purporting to show one of the many antigovernment protests taking place. our nic robertson is getting some rare government access inside syria, and took to the streets before the chaos broke out. >> reporter: friday, close to noon, driving into the center of hamah, is it streets deserted, checkpoints manned, one of the syria's oldest cities braces for what's become the weekly day of rage against the government. the streets here almost deserted, very quiet. just a few people wandering around, but all the stores shut. as you drive into the city, you get a sense there's very little traffic on the roads. army checkpoints all along the highway between this city. it feels quite tense. just look down here. you see the police and army lined up at the end of the street. a 2 1/2 hour drive from the capital, it is the city bashar al assad cannot afford to lose. 30 years ago his father killed 30,000 people here, putting down an islamist revolt, haysily writing on the wall shows you today's opposition is not far away. in the center where monitors live, soldiers seem keen to show they have riot gear rather than rifles, in a sill synonymous world over with syrian repression. the soldiers say on a normal week diehl, all these stores would be open, but as we've driven in, the whole city is shut and closed the cars and trucks are some of the only vehicles we have seen. this is friday, and this is a day where there's normally by riots in this country, and the soldiers have wooden sticking, battens, riot shields. water cannons have been placed out, and another one back here. under government pressure, we leave without finding out what happens next. within a few hours, opposition spokesmen accuse these soldiers of firing tear gas and live rounds, killing one protester. we weren't there to see. nic robertson, hamah, syria. nic is joining us live on the phone from damascus. did you see any evidence at all of the brutal massacre that occurred in the early 1980s by bashar al assad's father? >> reporter: we didn't. the government officials guiding us into the city didn't take us anywhere near that location. it's so scorched into the memories of everyone in this country and the region as well. you only have to mention h amount ma, and people shake at the scale of that putdown. >> people remember that brutal crackdown, the massacre that occurred then. i know there's a debate with many analysts here in washington about the president, the leader of syria. is he really in power? or is he just the figurehead? i have no idea if you've gotten any sense of that, but i know you're familiar with the debate. what's your sense? >> reporter: wolf, it is very hard to tell what you hear on the ground. what is very clear is this is a president in the shadows for much of the last few months, perhaps really since last summer. he's come out on a political rebound in the past couple days, what was very telling about his speech earlier in the week, he said i was convinced that i was lying. he was talking about an interview with barbara walters in november, but now i realized that was just a media manipulation. you get the sense this is a man, while on the political rebound, is being pushed out, being told you need to get out, you need to be strong in front of the people and you need to be our man, you need to hold the country or your supporters together, so you get a sense he's -- >> i get that sense as well. thank you very much, nic, who's in damascus. i always tell him to be careful. i hope he will be. thank you. you might know that mitt romney's father was a very famous politician in his own right, but you may not know a surprising fact about his roots. and secrets talk about the candidates. christian conservative leaders are meeting behind closed doors to see if they can agree on an endorsement. ttd#: 1-800-345-2550 ttd#: 1-800-345-2550 let's talk about the cookie-cutter retirement advice ttd#: 1-800-345-2550 you get at some places. ttd#: 1-800-345-2550 they say you have to do this, have that, invest here ttd#: 1-800-345-2550 ttd#: 1-800-345-2550 you know what? 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mitt romney is asking military vet rants for their support. but take a look at this live picture, mitt romney expected to be joined by two keep political allies, the governor of south carolina, nikki haley, and senator john mccain. he won the south carolina republican primary four years ago. look at this, the just released poll shows romney the clear front-runners among republican voters nationwide. newt gingrich, ron paul and rick santorum are in a tight race for second place. in south carolina, romney has a much smaller advantage. he gets 29%, a new poll of likely gop voters. close behind 25%. ron paul has clined 20%. rick santorum has slipped into single digits. joe johns is covering romney's fight for south carolina. joe, romney's days at bain capital keep on hurting him to a certain degree. what are they saying? special what is the candidate says about them? >> reporter: well, it certainly does keep following him around. he had a large supportive crowd here, a standing room only crowd, in fact, but he made no direct comment about bain capital, the controversy over whether he was a layoff specialist, if you will, while working there. he did make an oblique reference to the nature of free enterprise. listen to it. inch a lot of people talk about how to create jobs. by the way, it is not to walk away from free enterprise. it's instead to hold fast to that system and to make it work for the american people. how do you do that? you make america the best place in the world for innovators and entrepreneurs and job creators, but having tax rates that are competitive. by having regulators and regulations that are up to date and that encourage the economy, as opposed to dampen it. you make sure we open up new markets for american goods. >> while mitt romney was on the -- i asked several times about bain capital, but he didn't respond. i also caught up with nikki hal haley. >> here's what she said. >> not at all. i don't think it's a problem. i think it's a prop when republicans start criticizing free market. that's the problem. >> reporter: also, the suggesting that romney is hiding behind free enterprise in the middle of this controversy. just one more sign that the president's reelection staff is going to take a few shots at this guy just in case he does become the nominee. wolf? >> if he does, they'll take a few more. are you getting any sense, watching what's going on in south carolina, that the whole bain capital thing is getting any real traction with voters? >> reporter: you know, it's interesting, at this event here i asked a lot of people in the crowd about it. some hadn't even made up their mind yet. virtually everyone i talked to said they were hurt, upset, appalled, whatever word you want to use, that this issue even came up. so it doesn't seem like the kind of thing is hurting mitt romney. >> joe, thank you. please be sure to tune into cnn tuesday night for our southern republican presidential debate. only here on cnn. president obama has a new plan to streamline the federal government. we're going to tell you how he says he can save several billion. and space junk is threatening once again the international space station. you know when i grow up, i'm going to own my own restaurant. i want to be a volunteer firefighter. when i grow up, i want to write a novel. i want to go on a road trip. when i grow up, i'm going to go there. i want to fix up old houses. 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[ female announcer ] discover what's next in your life. get this free travel bag when you join at aarp.org/jointoday. ♪ ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] entune mobile technology. ♪ stronger! ♪ stand a little taller [ male announcer ] stay seamlessly connected to your smart phone. available on the reinvented 2012 camry. from toyota. ♪ lisa sylvester is monitoring other top stories in "the situation room," including a major move to restructure the federal government. what's going on? >> president obama is unveiling a plan to combine several government agencies that focus on commerce and trade and ultimately eliminate the commerce department. he says the move would cut 2,000 jobs through attrition and save $3 billion over the next decade. one catch -- he needs congress to grant him the authority. >> there's a real opportunity right now for us to fundamentally rethink reform and meet the demands of our time. it's worthy of the american people so that it works. congress needs to reinstate this authority that has in the past been given to democratic and republican presidents for decades. a spokesman for house speaker boehner says small businesses are more concerned about government policy than how the departments are structured. standard & poor's has just downgraded the credit rating of nine european nations. cyprus, italy, portugal and spain by two notches, and the ratings agency says european governments haven't done enough. stocks closed lower. and it is a momentous day in the words of hillary clinton. for the first time since 1988, the u.s. will exchange ambassador with myanmar. the move comes after the asian country released more than 200 political prisoners. the u.s. downgraded its diplomatic mission 24 years ago when the country underwent a violent military coup. the international space station will reboost to avoid a two-inch piece of satellite debris. it will change the orbit by about a quarter of a mile, even though the debris is tiny, nasa isn't taking any chances. the crew will also close all the window covers, wolf, just in case. >> better to be safe than sorry. the ousted president of pakistan is getting ready to go home. it could cost him his life. my interview with pervez musharraf. and a teenage girl in the running for the top price. sdploor despite the firing of the defense machines tore and a controversial investigation into a memo allegedly asked for u.s. help reining in the military. it's all as pervez musharraf gets ready to go back and attempt to return to power. it's a move that could cost him his life. >> it could cost him, as you know, he survived tess -- his's taking a huge risk now. things are very different now. >> cracking down willingingly and often on militants, but also leaving u.s. officials questioning where his loyalties were. as pakistan's president for nearly a decade. he survive several assassination attempts. he's not willing to risk another. >> i can do it if i'm there, to lead from the front. >> reporter: musharraf is planning to return to pack stage later this month from his exile in dubai, and put together a possible run for parliament. it could lead to an assent back to power in his country. >> what's his real motivation, his angle? >> musharraf, like many politicians in pakistan is very proud, very confident, very stubborn. he believes in this narrative that he can essentially be this man that just swoops in and rescues the country. >> reporter: rescues it from a civil yang government scene by many as inept and corrupt. >> some say he will be promptly arrested. one prosecutor says an arrest warrant has already been issued. >> musharraf and his saying there's no basis. analysts say there's no guarantee that pakistan's powerful military will support musharraf this time around and they say some voters are gravitating toward a glamorous wildly popular cricket star who's eyeing a run for the top office. i asked her if he beats the odds, would he be a better partner for the u.s. than the current government? >> he would have to accept the same positions that khan is looking at. that's not going to happen, right? the two countries are not april. musharraf may have to accept the position not to continue supporting the u.s. war on terror, a significant turnaround for musharraf and one that won't sit well with the americans. >> it's not guarantee that they'll support musharraf. what's changed? >> he rose through the ranks of the military. >> analysts say, look, the military is always concerned about its image. they know a lot of his moves are still very, very deeply unpopular in pakistan. for instance, as one analyst, he seemed to have researched out the pakistanist army. still the military is colony ant of all that. >> brian todd, thanks very much. i spoke exclusively with the former pakistani president just a little while ago. joining us now from dubai, the former president of pakistan general pervez musharraf. mr. president, thank you very much for joining us. are you still plans on going back to pakistan at the end of this monday? yes, indeed i am. >> is there a specific date? >> i said i would go between the -- i haven't fixed the day as of yet. >> why are you going back? >> because i feel the country needs me. that it's high time we bring about another political alternative that can produce a government to the majority of the people, with someone who can run pakistan, instead of doing politics only. i think i have -- >> they say they're going to arrest you as soon as you walk off the plane? isms there is a danger of that, yes. >> i have to take that risk. >> there's another risk, that someone might try to kill you. how worried are you about that? >> well, more than myself, my family and my friends, my well-wishers, are worried about that, much more than myself. ifr face the such threats, and that threat remains also. i need to make proper security arrangements of my own. i also expect the government to give me security as authorized as an expresident. >> this reminds me of a conversation i had with benazir bhutto back in 2007 when she told me she was going back to pakistan. i told her i thought it was a bad idea. listen to this little exchange i had with her on cnn. listen to this. you're a relatively young woman. how scared are you. osama bin laden and other terrorists, they have attacked you in the past and would clearly like to go after you now? >> yes, of course they would like to go against me. there's a lot of threat. under military dictatorship, a situation has developed where the terrorists and osama have exploited. they don't want me back. >> your family has a tragic history, unfortunately, of assassination. >> i not the past has been trag tragic. i am an optimist and put my faith in god. i feel like it's for a good cause, for a right cause, to save pakistan from extremists and militants and build regional security. i'm prepared to takes those risks. are you prepared to take those risks? >> frankly i'm pretty worked about your, your safety, if you go back to pakistan. >> well, yes, i am prepared for the risk. i have to be prepared for the risk. you take security measures, as much as you can, but then 100% security cannot be guaranteed. so therefore an element of risk is always there. that's where i believe in destiny, and that is i believe where i believe that we have to leave everything to got almighty, once you have taking steps for your security 6. >> how worried should we about about the ambassador in washington? i spoke with his wife, a member of parliament a couple weeks ago. she's worried about the safety, not that he's not allowed to left. is he in serious danger of his life? >> jong so. i think unnecessarily they are creating a hype and overblowing this, as if everyone is out to kill him or something. that is the no the reality. i don't think it is real at all. however, he's not leaving the country there's a case against him in the supreme court, and that has to be tried, therefore he's not being allowed to leave the country. i don't think -- i don't think that is a real danger. >> the other great concern is the nuclear arsenals of pakistan and some loose nukes, if you will, getting into the hands of al qaeda or other terrorists. >> i know the most senior u.s. officials dr is that a legitimate concern? >> well, if the condition goes down and gets into the hands of religious extremists as a country from the government, and then only is it possible that all the arsenal then belongs to them, but i don't see that as a possible, i don't think any religious party today is capable of winning the elections, so the other way is that take them -- i don't think that's a possibility again with the military garbleding it. mans and guarding all these -- and very dispersed, i don't think it is a possibility. >> is the u.s./pakistani relations right now back at another low? you remember what it was like before 9/11. is it at that poor level right no? >> very poor level. i don't think this was at this level even before 9/11. i don't think i had -- respect around if the world, but not they certainly are at the lowest, and it is extremely disturbing to inwho understands. i only wish that they move forward, which is in the and the united states. general musharraf, good luck over there, be safe. we'll stay in close touch. thank you very much. >> thank you, wolf, as always. >> i write about general musharraf on my blog. check it out. christian conservatives admit they're not thrilled with mitt romney, about you insist the secret meeting isn't about bashing the front-runner. what's going on? we ordered a gift online and we really need to do something with it... i'm just not sure what... what is it? oh just return it. returning gifts is easier than ever with priority mail flat rate boxes from the postal service. if it fits, it ships anywhere in the country for a low flat rate. plus i can pick it up for free. perfect because we have to get that outta this house. c'mon, it's not that... gahh, oh yeah that's gotta go... priority mail flat rate shipping starts at just $4.95. only from the postal service. a simpler way to ship and return. one candidate could get the blessing of christian conservative leaders this weeke weekend. a meeting only seems to be happening because mitt romney is the current front-runner. ed lavandera joins us with more. what's going on? >> reporter: hey, wolf, with about 150 christian conservative leaders getting together at a small ranch near britainham, texas. we asked if we could go along. the owner of the ranch said we weren't welcome. in fact he said you'll be sorry if you bring that video truck down here. after winning in iowa and new hampshire action mitt romney may have a clear path to the gop nomination. more than 150 evan yell cal christian leaders, including james dobson, tony perkins and gary bauer are gathering at the ranch of paul pressler in tiny britainham texas. they warned the media to stay away. >> it's not a bash mitt weekend, but having said that, it's clear this meeting wouldn't be taking place if social conservatives were comfortable with mitt romney. >> tony perkins helped organize the meetings. >> every campaign has been given the opportunity to provide a surrogate to sp el to the group. it's a desire to not see what happened in 2008 repeated, and that is conservatives were kind of segmented. >> reporter: four years ago divided social conservative vote paved the way for mccain to win the nomination, a candidate they weren't crazy about. 2012 it's deja vu, split between rick santorum, rick perry and newt gingrich. >> these kinds of meetings have occurred before in previous presidential elections. sometimes they've been able to coalesce around a particular candidate, sometimes not. >> reporter: john green is a political scientist from the university of akron. >> sometimes it takes weeks or month, so whatever they might come up with in their meeting might not be enough time. >> reporter: those resources, boots on the ground, robo-calls, phone lists, or, as some political experts suggest, these leaders with the help of wealthy donors could form a super pac. the meeting itself isn't sitting with el with everyone. president of the family leader in iowa was invited to the meeting, but says it's too late. he's backing santorum and says the other leaders need to pick a side. >> instead of going to texas, i tell them to cancel their plane tickets or cancel their charters and get to south carolina, where they can help out. >> reporter: wolf, clearly you can tell not to expect any kind of consensus, a fanfare where they announce their support. instead you'll probably see some leaders announcing endorsements, or interestingly enough may urging some candidates to get out of the race. >> thanks etch have. an important meeting under way in texas. let's dig deeper. candy crowley is joining us. state of the union with her on sunday mornings. you spoke with bob jones iii. he endorsed mitt romney in 2008. not yet this round. >> and it doesn't sound as though he is. i spoke to him for our show on sunday just asked him that exact question. why have been you endorsed miss romn romney. here is what he had to say. >> in 2008, he was very solicitous of the evangelical vote. if he is that today, i am unaware of it. i certainly have had no contact with him so i don't know whether he feels he needs it or wants it, whether he considers it a plus or minus for him. that was a different dynamic then. the other players in the republican primary frighten me greatly. >> and by other place he means john mccain who went on to win in south carolina. both brad atkins, who is head of the south carolina baptist convention, about 600,000 members, and bob jones, say that they believe this evangelical vote is still very much up for grabs. >> you saw this new poll in the american research that came out of south carolina, lightly republican candidates primarily voters romney 29, ging arrive 25, ron paul 20, perry 9, santorum 7, huntsman 1, undecided 7. you know south carolina, what goes through your mind? >> well, you know, one of the things i think is interesting, when you talk to evangelical christians in the framework of this election, there's one word that comes up -- electability. they really want barack obama to be a one-term president. i think there are colliding things here. i think there's still some residue of mormons not being a krissial religion, so there is certainly a battle for the hearts and minds of evangelicals going on here, but one of their primary goals, they said, yeah electability counts. >> sunday morning account a.m., we'll be watching. >> thank. we now mitt romney grew up in michigan, but there's another place that begins with "m" that may surprise you. ♪ ♪ baby, baby, come along ♪ baby, baby, come along with me ♪ [ air horn blows ] ♪ i love you and i need you ♪ just to hug and squeeze you ♪ baby, why can't you see? [ female announcer ] the space of a small suv. the fuel efficiency of a prius. ♪ well, baby, can't you see the all-new prius v from toyota. ♪ come along with me mitt romney is looking beyond the next primary in south carolina. the republican contest in florida right at the end of the month. the latino vote is a huge factor in florida politics. romney has a little known connection to the hispanic community. lisa sylvester is looking into his family roots. tell us about it. >> this is not something he talks about much, but romney's dad was actually born in mexico. his grandparents and father lived there for more than a decade, always maintaining their american citizenship. on top and under scrutiny, mitt romney's history and background are under a microscope. one little known fact, george romney, was actually born in mexico. >> my dad was born in mexico of american parents living there. >> reporter: his great grandfather, who a wave of morm who moved to mexico after the u.s. congress passed the edmonds tucker act in 1887 which cracked down on polygamy. >> it disincorporated the church because of its practice of polygamy. all of its property was confiscated. people had to take an oath that they did not support polygamy. >> mitt romney writes in his book no apology that the family stayed there until 1911. when mexican revolutionaries threatened. other relatives stayed. the television network univision tracked down several people who say they are his second cousins. [ speaking spanish ] >> the former massachusetts governor, mitt romney. >> romney's heritage would probably be just another political footnote but the gop front-runner is headed toward the florida primary. romney's positions on issues like immigration haven't won him favor among the latino community. he opposes the dream act that would give undocumented students the right to stay in the united states and favors tougher control on illegal immigration. >> we're not going to have an amnesty system that says people who come here illegally get to stay the rest of their life legally. >> in a poll by the pew hispanic center, only 23% support romney in a head to head match-up with obama. in an irony considering his family ties to mexico. >> cnn contributor says romney faces a tough climb winning the latino vote. >> whether or not he was born, from mexico, from mexican stock or not, doesn't help him with latino voters because he has done such a terrible job dealing with tim grags issue. he has soured them on his candidacy and there is no feasible way he can do well with them come a general election. >> he said historically, republicans needed about 30% of the vote to win the white house. right now romney has about 23%. so we may hear him talk more and more about his latino roots as we go forward. >> we'll see what he says. thanks very much. this just in to the situation room. we just got our hands on some video of our top story. the iranian navy boats provoking military ships. three iranian speedboats carrying guns, getting just a few hundred yards from the uss new orleans in the strait of hormuz last friday. this time the speedboats are chasing the u.s. coast guard cutter near kuwait. again, no shots were fired. imagine you're a teenager attending a prestigious school. once leave class you have nowhere to go. a young woman in new york knows this scenario all too well. stand by. her amazing story is coming up. 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they all congregate with each other. >> she spent years studying muscles and how they protect themselves. at new york's brentwood high school, she's learned some lessons of her own about being tough when the odds are stacked against you. this week she was chosen as a semifinalist as a prestigious talent search. but samantha got the exciting news at a homeless shelter. her family has been living there since being evicted from their home december 31st. >> it's worrisome, you know? it's really worrisome. you think, where i am a going to be? if something doesn't come through, am i going to be in a homeless shelter? >> reporter: her parents were both injured in a car accident last year which caused them to fall behind on bills. as the family struggled, samantha said she got her inspiration from school and her science teacher, rebecca, a two-time breast cancer survivor. >> she told us her story. i thought, wow! that is amazing. and i took that from her. >> how does it feel to hear this? >> it works both ways. what i take from sam is her humbleness, her ability to reach out to others, to give effortlessly. >> reporter: samantha's story grabbed the attention of new york's suffolk county. they are now providing the garvey family with public housing. >> this is the most amazing thing you could ask for. we're all in tears here. like we can barely compose ourselves enough to speak. >> reporter: with the tears there was disbelief from samantha's mother olga. >> i break in tears. why did this happen? yes, this is happening. >> reporter: samantha's father said his daughter has always been a fighter, weighing only two pounds when she was born. >> she's gone from one little tiny thing to a giant. a giant of a woman. >> reporter: the garveys hope to move out of the shelter into their new home within the next two weeks. samantha meantime is waiting on word about whether she'll be accepted to brown or yale. >> i wonder which one she'll go to. i accepted she'll be accepted by all those schools. this has become a really big story in new york and the new york city area, hasn't it? >> reporter: it truly is. to see a 17-year-old with such poise and determination, to really fight against those odds. her parents were saying that she has been telling them that she has wanted to buy a home for them and want to take care of them. all while she is studying so hard in school. >> whatever college she goes to will be lucky indeed to have her. what an amazing young woman. mary snow, you're amazing as