a new front in the battle for the republican presidential nomination, nevada, which holds its caucuses this coming saturday. mitt romney is there along with newt gingrich and ron paul. instead of relishing his victory, a huge victory in the florida primary last night, romney and his team are now in full damage control mode after something romney said right here on cnn. our senior congressional correspondent dana bash is in las vegas with us. she's watching what's going on. what's going on with mitt romney, dana? >> reporter: well, wolf, i think we've auld had something like this happen to us. you say something, it doesn't quite come out like you mean it, but when you're the front-runner in a presidential campaign, you can't afford to be the one who trips yourself up. making the morning show rounds, mitt romney inadvertently handed opponents an eight-word give on cnn -- >> i'm not concerned about the very poor -- >> reporter: to be clear that made for a bumper sticker line was only part of what romney told soledad o'brien. here is the full context. >> i'm not concerned about the very poor. we have a safety net there. if it needs repair, i'll fix it. i'm not concerned about the very rich they're doing just fine. eye concerned about the heart of america, the 95%, 99% of americans that are struggling. i'll continue to that mistake. >> reporter: the problem is that context feeds too the rich guy narrative woven by competitors and democrats. on the blogosphere, conservatives cringed and the obama campaign quickly com piped a list of quotes, "the daily standard" calling it the most stunningly stupid remark. "the national review" asked what is wrong with this guy? and rush limbaugh said he comes across as the prototypical rich republican. cnn has told the romney camp recognized right away they had a potential problem on their hands, what they call a pro-middle class message would be what one adviser called could be lost and distorted by opponents. he even tried to clean it up. >> you've got to take the whole sentence and then change it just a bit, it sounds very different. my focus, my concern, my energy will be devoted to helping -- we have a safety net for the poor in the condition and if there are holes in it, i will work to repair that. >> reporter: mull pat strategist is say they worry, because this isn't the first verbal gaffe of this kind, easily taken out of context. remember this? >> i like being able to fire people. >> reporter: you may have noticed in that piece mitt romney when he was speaking had a big of a sparkle in his hair. it wasn't a new kind of product, wolf. it was because he was glitter-bombed in and out once, but twice while speaking in minnesota, just a short while ago. and he basically made -- he had an event that many, many people have had before him, and he tried to make light of it. take a listen. >> there's the guy. wave your hand over here. there he goes. hi there. how are you? hi there. how are you? good to see you. there we go. oh, i've got glitter in my hair. that's not all that's in my hair. i glue it on every morning, whether i need to or not. >> reporter: but in all seriousness back to the remark mitt romney made this morning, wolf, i've talked to several republicans, those who support mitt romney -- verbal gaffe, and one republican who is advising the romney campaign said they definitely are going to have to work harder on his focus, which is helping middle-class americans in context. the good news is he's on his way to nevada. and this is a good territory for him. this is a high mormon population, which should give him a good -- four and he did pretty well in this state. >> some views probably don't know what glitter-bomb means. explaining it to us. >> reporter: basically it's what we seed happening across the country, many times as part of the occupy movement. in this particular case, it was occupy minneapolis that did it. i have seen it with rick santorum and other candidates, that people glet close enough to the candidate, to the person they are tried to make their message about, and they throw glitter. and this one obviously got pretty close, not once, but twice to mitt romney. >> it's an act of protest, obviously. dana in las vegas. let's get more on what's going on in the republican race for the white house. our chief political correspondent candy crowley is joining us. she's the host of "state of the union" which airs sunday mornings. he's coming off a huge win, trying to keep expectation, i assume, down a bit. what does he need to do in the next few weeks? >> well, first of all, he needs to stop saying things that might trip him up. he doesn't need a day when he's explaining perfectly explicable, but awkwardly phrased message. so he needs to not trip himself up. but he also needs to do a bit of what he did in his speech last night in florida, which is go after president obama as hard as he can. we saw that romney had a resurgence in florida from those two debates when he showed some muscle. when he went after gingrich, went after the president, but at the same time he has to still keep newt gingrich's driving -- driving newt gingrich's positives down and his negatives up. so there's a time and a place for everything. last night they clearly thought here's a big nationwide audience. we'll go after the president, show that mitt romney can go toe to toe with the president. when we look at those polls, you know what we see electability. that's a primary concern of a lot of these republicans, and it's where mitt romney scores best. he needs to underscore that as much as he can. >> newt gingrich, let's talk about him for a second. he says he's staying in until the end if necessary. how does he plan on trying to turn this around following the huge setback he suffered in florida? >> look. he has to first of all keep some of those rich friends who are willing to put money into the outside grupsz so they can help on the air waves. it only gets more expensive as we go on. at the same time there's this big sort of lull in there. we've had debate after debate and debate, which is what fueled the gingrich campaign when it was low on money. there isn't a debate now until the 22nd of february. somehow newt gingrich needs to get on the air. can you do that on local tv, but he also needs to penetrate to a broader audience as he moves state after state after state. the thing is what gets him on the most is when he makes those really aggressive statements that then his opponents say, see, he's unstable? he has to find that sweet spot where he's aggressively pursuing mitt romney, so he can take advantage of some free media. he has resources, but he does not have the resources of mitt romney. >> certainly doesn't. ron paul and rick santorum, both told me last night they're in this under the end, they're staying in, not going anywhere. what is the latest on that front? >> well, both of them i think everybody's signaled what they're trying to do here, what rick santorum wants to do is to be standing there when newt gingrich implodes. he wants to be the conservative alternative to newt gingrich without the baggage. so you see him now in his ads out west going after newt gingrich, as not a conservative, trying to, again, sort of go at his nearest opponent, which is newt gingrich. ron paul, you know, pretty much wolf, ron paul will have the wherewithal to go all the way to the convention. whether he believes in his heart whether he can turn this into a nomination win, i suspect he doesn't, but he does know there are places he can win. i asked him last sunday where do you think he'll have a breakthrough moment? he said, maybe maine. he needs to one one, but that doesn't mean he can't go all the way to the convention. beer in this place where we're -- they apportion out these delegates, not as much winner take all as it was in florida, so paul can continue to pick up these delegates and have some real power when he gets to the convention if he wants. >> which he wants to do. thanks very much. the nevada caucus is this saturday. the main caucuses wind up a week from saturday. let's go to jack cafferty right now. he's got "the cafferty file." three marriages and two divorces later, it turns out that newt gingrich might have a real problem with women. go figure. as part of the beating he took in florida last night, gingrich was abandoned in large part by women voters. exit polls in the sunshine state showed romney got 52% of republican women voters, compared to only 28% for gingrich. that's a 24-point difference. it was also a big turnaround from south carolina, where gingrich won the women's vote. florida exit polls also showed that romney led gingrich among married women by more than 20 points, but among male voters gingrich only trailed romney by five points. appears to be a bit of a gender gap, doesn't it? no secret he's been saddled with this personal baggage. he's been quick to own up to it. he says he's done things in the past he regrets, it's all in the past now. he talks about making peace with god and likes to describe himself these days as a 68-year-old grandfather, but at the end of the day maybe women voters can't make peace with an adulterer who left his first wife who was being treated for cancer, then left his second wife who is fighting multiple sclr rods for his third wife. hi second ex-wife told abc news he had asked her for an open marriage, but in the end south carolina voters brushed it off. but now that the women in florida have spoken out loud and clear, it remains to be seen if women in the rest of the country are going to give newt gingrich a pass. here's the question -- does newt gingrich have a problem with women. post a comment on our blog or go to our post on "the situation room's" facebook page. wolf? >> jack, thank you. meanwhile, a new plan to help with the housing crisis across the country. details of what president obama wants to do to help millions and millions with their mortgages. also why some u.s. catholic church leaders are outraged at the president. will their anger cost him cast lick votes. look who is bursting into song on the campaign trail again? ♪ america ♪ america ♪ got shed his grace on thee [ female announcer ] if whole grain isn't the first ingredient in your breakfast cereal, what is? now, in every box of general mills big g cereal, there's more whole grain than any other ingredient. that's why it's listed first. get more whole grain than any other ingredient... just look for the white check. home mortgage rates are at historic lows right now, but millions simply can't refinance, because they owe more than their homes are worth. president obama says he wants to change that. >> there are actions we can take right now for new york city who have been responsible, done the right thing and making their payments on time. >> let's get details from ali velshi. what is the president now proposing, and can it really make a difference? >> here's the thing. you would think people who have had trouble with their mortgages, the one great thing about the economic environment now is mortgage rates are as low as anybody can ever remember them being, but those very people who need that break the most have not been able to take advantage of it, because if you are under water in your house, mean your house is worth more than -- you owe more than your house is worth, you haven't been able to take advantage of it. the president is proposing a plan that goes further than the previous two plans than the last three years. this one allows people with mortgages not held by fannie or freddie, but just by a private bank to be refinanced, even if you're under water and allows people to go down from rates that might be above 6% down to this prevailing rate of about 4.25%. so the average saving would be $200, $300 a month, about $3,000 a year and would costs the banks $5 to $10 billion. that's the tricky part. the white house wants this plan to go through, it has to be passed by congress, but they've got to get the money from somewhere. president obama sort of suggested a tax on banks, a levy, very small one that would help play. he wants banks to take a haircut, write down some of the loans so if you're over by 40% in your mover, maybe you're only over by 20%, it makes it manageable. it goes further than the previous plans, this is the latest in a series of plans that he's championed. none of them really has worked all that great so far, so a lot of skeptics are saying why should this one be any different? >> in the past they passed programs -- one was the home affordable mortgage program, it was designed to help about 4 million people, probably helped about 910,000 people. that was in february of 2009. the next month, march of 2009 they introduced h.a.r.p., the home affordable refinance programs, ended up helping less than a million, but the argument the government puts forward, before those plans, the banks were not doing anything on their own to refinance mortgages. they didn't have the staff or the systems. they caused them to refinance more homes on their own outside the programs, so the numbers aren't as dismal. but the idea is this one spreads to more people, more people should qualify for it, and those savings of about $3,000 a year the hope is the people are not paying that money to the mortgages, but paying it toward the economy, spending it, maybe even creating jobs. that would be a big still his if you gave every family that much money. not only will more people qualify, but they'll constitutionally end up stimulating the economy in the process. wolf? >> and american airlines announcing plans to cut 13,000 jobs. what's going on? >> it's huge. american airlines declared bankruptcy in november, went into bankruptcy protection. that allows them the ability to restructure certain contracts. they are going out there telling staff they cannot continue unless they are able to cut a lot of jobs. most are maintenance jobs. the other thing is they want to pass on the responsibility for their underfunded pension to the government, the government which does take over unfunded pensions from companies that go bankrupt has said american hasn't provided us enough information to show us they have to do this. they're still talking to the unions, but 13,000 jobs it looks like they want to cut. wolf? >> all right, ali, thanks very much. you may expect rowdy behavior at sporting events, but what happened today in a soccer stadium in egypt is certainly unlike anything we have seen before. we're going to have the story from that soccer stadium coming up. the catholic church is not happy with president obama now. we'll tell you why. new information is coming in. stay with us. you're in "the situation room." white meat chicken. the way i always made it 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? [ male announcer ] progresso. you gotta taste this soup. when we were determined to see it through. here's an update on the progress. we're paying for all spill related clean-up costs. bp findings supports independent scientists studying the gulf's environment. thousands of environmental samples have been tested and all beaches and waters are open. and the tourists are back. i was born here, i'm still here and so is bp. not quite knowing what the next phase was going to be, you know, because you been, you know, this is what you had been doing. you know, working, working, working, working, working, working. and now you're talking about, well you know, i won't be, and i get the chance to spend more time with my wife and my kids. it's my world. that's my world. ♪ i want to fix up old houses. ♪ [ 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. [ female announcer ] at aarp we believe you're never done growing. thanks, mom. i just want to get my car back. [ female announcer ] discover what's next in your life. get this free travel bag when you join at aarp.org/jointoday. lisa sylvester is monitoring other top stories, including one of the worst sporting event tragedies of all time. lisa, what happened? >> that's right, wolf. at least 73 people are dead, at least 1,000 injured from a soccer riot in egypt. it occurred in the northern is it city of port sigh yield. and we'll have more details at the top of the next hour. important news for women on birth control. pfizer is recalling a million packs of birth control pills after sdovg that some of them contain the wrong amount the ingredients. the tablets also may be out of the sequence, which needs to be corrected for the pills to be effective. they are all marketed by akromac pharmaceuticals. and the first annual profits since 2005. 6 the company says it earns $183 million last year, a gain of over $800 million from the previous year. >> good news on that front. thank you, lisa. mitt romney's campaign is reeling is bit from an unfortunate remark he made on the poor this morning on cnn. but it's a series of gaffes. we'll talk about that in our "strategy session." th covergirl. our biggest brush meets our fiberstretch formula for a blast of volume and length. lashblast fusion. from easy, breezy, beautiful covergirl. my sunglasses. people say i'm forgetful. ( car honking ) maybe that's why we go to so many memorable places. the subaru outback. love the road you're on. a little bird told me about a band... ♪ an old man shared some fish stories... ♪ oooh, my turn. ♪ she was in paris, but we talked for hours... everyone else buzzed about the band. there's a wireless mind inside all of us. so, where to next? ♪ when bp made a commitment so, wto the gulf,? we knew it would take time, but we were determined to see it through. today, while our work continues, i want to update you on the progress: bp has set aside 20 billion dollars to fund economic and environmental recovery. we're paying for all spill- related clean-up costs. and we've established a 500 million dollar fund so independent scientists can study the gulf's wildlife and environment for ten years. thousands of environmental samples from across the gulf have been analyzed by independent labs under the direction of the us coast guard. i'm glad to report all beaches and waters are open for everyone to enjoy. and the economy is showing progress with many areas on the gulf coast having their best tourism seasons in years. i was born here, i'm still here and so is bp. we're committed to the gulf for everyone who loves it, and everyone who calls it home. i'm wolf blitzer. here are some of the stories we're working on for next hour. mitt romney heads to minnesota, home of congresswoman michele bachmann. will she endorse him or someone else? the former presidential candidate will join us live. planned parenthood loses funding, was political pressure a factor? stay tuned for the answer. and a new tape reveals the chaos following the president's death. the gut-wrenching audio is coming up. stay with us. you're in "the situation room." w50e6g9 some breaking news that we're working on. apparently the end of the u.s./nato combat mission in afghanistan, a decade-long war that's cost the u.s. dearly in blood and treasure, now the obama administration making a major decision to step up the end of what's called combat operation in afghanistan. let's go to barbara starr. the u.s. is supposed to have major combat operations in afghanistan through the end of 2014, another three years, but they're no saying it's going to stop a year and a half early. what's going on? >> defense secretary leon panetta arriving in a nato meeting this evening, told reporters the decision is now u.s. and nato combat operations? afghanistan will start wrapping up mid 2013, next year, and be wrapped up by the end of 2013. that is now the goal. that is the decision that panetta is announcing. there had been a lot of hints about this, but it hadn't been made official until the defense secretary said it. it was expected it might come out later this year. the 2014 date, that is when all u.s. and nato troops will be out of afghanistan. that is when they say that the training even will be done in large part for afghan forces, though it may go on for some time after that. so the key question now, will afghan forces really be able to deal with the taliban, be able to deal with the insurgency by the end of next year, but for the 89,000 u.s. troops serving in afghanistan and their families, certainly welcome news after more than a decade of combat in that very trouble part of the world. wolf? >> it comes at a time when france says it's getting ready to pull its troops out. a lot of the troops -- a lot of the countries see no great future for maintaining a major military presence in afghanistan. is this also in part money related it costs u.s. tack pairs $2 billion a week to main tape that large u.s. military presents in afghanistan, more than $100 billion a year? is this a way to save money? >> i suppose it's up to the white house to decide if that's part of their calculus. i think it's very clear that the large land wars the u.s. has had for the last decade have essentially drained much of the defense budget. a lot of cuts coming in the u.s. military, so certainly they want to do what they can, but it was clear things we are headed in this dress. the karzai government doesn't want foreign troops on its soil indefinitely. really one of the points you just made, wolf, very key to all of this, the european allies already under tremendous and economic and financial pressure in their countries, in their home capitals, have made it very clear they cannot sustain this, and that certainly was an additional driver. wolf? >> i'm sure there's going to be a lot of criticism on this decision, not only from the right, from republicans who will say it's cutting and running and betraying the u.s. mission in afghanistan, but i suspect from the left they'll sea just get out right away, wee even spend another year and a half there and waste all that money? that would be the argument. we'll see the fallout. this will be a huge replied cal issue, no doubt about that. barbara, we'll go live to afghanistan in the next hour and get reaction from there on the ground. barbara starr reporting for us. other important news we're following. this is a big day after the big win for mitt romney. he's taking heat for a controversial comment he made it about poor people earlier in the day. listen to the conversation he had this morning with cnn's soledad o'brien. >> let me ask a final question, and theres a poll that came out of pew that says understanding the needs of average americans, and president obama rates at 55% in this polls. you come in at 39%, and the conservative writer, kathleen parker wrote about, you know, it's that romney can't connect with the people, as has been -- it isn't that romney can't connect with the people as has been pronounced repeatedly, it's that the people cannot can't with him. it also explains why newt gingrich can attract support against all reason. how do you fix that? >> you know, just let people get to know you better. the nice thing about what happened here in florida is i got a chance to go across the state, meet with people, they heard what i'm concerned about. they understand how i will be able to make things better. i think people want someone who doesn't just throw an incendiary bomb from time to time, but someone who knows what it takes to improve their lives, to get home values against, to make sure when soldiers come home they have a job waiting for them. to make sure people who are retired don't have to worry about what will happen at the end of the week. this is a time people are worried, they're frightened, they want someone who they have confidence in. i believe i can instill that confidence in the american people and by the way, i'm in this race, because i care about americans. i'm not concerned about the very poor. we have a safety net there. if it needs repaired there, i'll fix it. i'm not concerned about the very rich. they're doing just fine. i'm concerned about the very heart of america, who are struggling, and i'll continue to take that message across the nation. i've got to ask you you said i'm not concerned about the very poor, because they have a safety net. i think there's a lot of very poor americans who are struggling who would say that sounds odd. can you explain that? >> well, you had to finish the sentence, soledad. i said i'm not concerned about them that have a safety net, but if it has holes, i will repair them. we will hear from the democrat party, the plight of the poor, and there's no question it's not good being poor, and we have a safety net to help those that are very poor, but my campaign is focused on middle income americans. my campaign -- you can choose where to focus. you can focus on the rich. that's not my focus, you can focus on the very poor, that's not my focus. my focus is on middle income americans, retires, people who can't find work, folks that have kids that are getting ready to go to college. these are the people wlob most badly hurt during the obama years. we have a very ample safety net. we can talk about whether it needs to be strengthened or whether there are holes in it. we have food stamps, medicaid, housing vouchers. we have programs to help the poor, but the middle-income americans, they are the folks that are really struggling, and they need someone who can help get this economy going for them. >> let's discuss those controversial comments in our strategy session. joining us jamal system monies, and -- simmons, and alice stewart. jamal, what do you think? did he explain adequately what he meant by those controversial comments? >> no, he didn't at all. the problem for mitt romney is he's got both a political problem and is you could substance problem. on the subtans. they do, which mitt romney supports, by some estimates some $750 that are not medicare/medicare, but targeted toward the poor. that's a problem for him. and politically it includes a sound bite that the gives campaign ad makers rich material. right now -- let alone a goggle search. the guy has a lot of but if they need some repair, they'll work on it, but he wants to focus on helping the middle class. >> he certainly is doing everything he can to focus on the middle class, and he said that from the beginning of the campaign, but he's certainly not doing that at the expense of the lower income or upper-income americans. he's made it clear that his focus on the middle class. one distinction is that mitt romney has ideas and plans in place to turn the economy around, create jobs, put people back to work, and doing that, that will help americans of all income levels, lower, middle and upper income levels. jamal talks about how out of touch that mitt romney is on the heels of president obama in the google better view, where he was telling the woman who was pouring her heart about, he said that's interesting. to me that sounds a bit out of touch. >> is this the same woman he then tried to help her husband get a job? i'm not sure how that follows with alison's statement. one would think ha republicans would be focused on helping the children get into the mid 8 class and not mired into the poverty they find themselves in today. it's all around a bad statement. i think this gives people pause about mitt romney actually becoming president. >> i suspect, alice it's not going to hurt mitt romney so much sometimes out of context, will in fact hurt him in a general election if he winds up getting the republican presidential nomination, including some of these statements? i'll play a few of them. you know the democrats are getting ready to bombard him if he gets the nomination with these clips. >> i like being able to fire people and provide service to me. >> i'll tell you what, 10,000 bucks? >> it sort of makes him look like he's out of touch with real folks out there. i suspect you agree with that, alice. >> let me say, learning from experience in '08 with governor huckabee and this year with michele bachmann, whenever you're the front-runner, you have the target on your back. anything and everything will be used against you. sure, does he need to be more careful about what he says? definitely, but if you take the full context of what he says, he's stressing the point he is focused on helping the people in middle-income levels of america. he does not want to do that at the expense of upper or lower income levels. he plans to do that and plans to turn the economy around. with a favorability rating of 75% coming out of exit polls in florida and garnering the most votes last night, let me say he certainly connected with the people in florida. the most recent cnn poll with president obama, with a 51% disapproval rating, let me say it appears that governor romney had a bit better connection with the american people. >> i worked for al gore in 2000. he actual le never said he invented the internet, but he interpreted something he said to mean that, and for the next tense years, everybody jokes about it. we actually have mitt romney saying these things. i don't know that he'll be able to sidestep it. >> i remember that comment super al gore, since it was in response to a question i asked him in which he made the controversial remarks about the internet and it dogged him throughout that campaign, has ever since. and you're right, he said something a lot less specific, about you that's how it was interpreted it. it plagued him a lot. that's what happens when you're not precise in your language. it can happen to any politician. guys, thanks very much. . catholic church is outraged. we'll show you what all the uproar is about. plus superpac donors revealed. newt gingrich has just now blasted mitt romney for those controversial comments he made about the poor with cnn's soledad o'brien this morning. a powerful condemnation of mitt romney from newt gingrich just moments ago. we're going to cue up the sound bite. you'll want to hear this. stand by. mean wile super pacs are playing a huge role in this campaign. they're the ones behind many of the negative ads shaping the republican battles, and now we're learning where there's six and seven-figure donations are coming from. cnn's lisa sylvester is going in depth on this story. what are you finding out? >> that's right, wolf. the federal election commission just released the campaign fund-raising numbers. the story here really is the rise of soft money after the supreme court decision citizens united. super pacs, unlike regular political action committees can raise unlilted money with very few restrictions. one candidate clearly came out on top. the pro-romney super pac restore or future took in the largest haul. more than $10 million in the last quarter. romney's ties to wall street are evident in the campaign donations. big checks written by his former colleagues at bain capital. romney also is supported by household names by the chairman of the hotel chain bill marriott who wrote a check to the super pac. priorities usa action took in a much smaller amount, about $850,000 in the fourth quarter. keep in mind, though, the president doesn't have a primary challenger and his super pac isn't burning through cash like those of his potentially opponents. topping, is jeffrey catsen berg, who last year wrote a $2 million check to the president's super pac. winning our future only got started in mid december, but still took in $2 million aid i by a generous donation from harold simmons, who wrote a $500,000 check to the super pac, about a total of the quarter raised. bill alice son with with the night organizatisunlight organi. >> we're seeing a fee well-heeled donors by giving money to super pacs can fuel a candidate and keep them going long before they would have had to drop out in the past. >> reporter: but the money going to the super pacs that might only be a drop in the bucket to what political nonprofit groups can raise. like super pacs, they political nonprofits can raise unlimited sums of money, but they don't have to disclose the names of donors or file reports with the federal election commission, and they can give money to a candidate's super pac. >> we think it's important for people to know who is doing what to whom, who is supporting these campaigns or these organizations in different ways. >> we are also learning how strong the romney fund-raising operation really is. a center for responsive politics, they crunched the numbers and found by the end of 2011 romney had raised more than newt gingrich, rick santorum, and ron paul combined. wolf? >> that's a lot of money and certainly money talks in politics. lisa, thanks very much. a new obama administration rule could wind up costing the president votes. we have details, new information coming in on the controversy. ♪ ( whirring and crackling sounds ) man: assembly lines that fix themselves. the most innovative companies are doing things they never could before, by building on the cisco intelligent network. but proven technologies allow natural gas producers to supply affordable, cleaner energy, while protecting our environment. across america, these technologies protect air - by monitoring air quality and reducing emissions... ...protect water - through conservation and self-contained recycling systems... ... and protect land - by reducing our footprint and respecting wildlife. america's natural gas... domestic, abundant, clean energy to power our lives... that's smarter power today. all right. this just coming into "the situation room." only moments ago newt gingrich slamming his rivals over the controversial remarks that romney said, when he said "i'm not concerned about the very poor." he put it in context. we ran that whole slip earlier. now only moments ago newt gingrich reacting. >> he said this morning what his concerns were, and he said, quote -- i'm not concerned about the very poor. we have a safety net there. if it needs a repair, i'll fix it. then he went on to say in response to a follow-up question, quote, we will hear from the democratic party the plight of the poor. you can focus on the very poor. that's not my focus. now, let me say something here. i am fed up with politicians in either party divides americans against each other. >> that's just the start of what newt gingrich had to say. much more of his remarks and full analysis coming up in our next hour. meanwhile, church and state are on a collision course and the fallout could have major implications for president obama's reelection effort. the issue right now -- contraception. our white house correspondent briana keilar has more. what's going on between the president and the catholic church? >> wolf, it's no surprise that catholic leaders don't like this new government rule. it would require employers, including religious employers, to provide contraceptive measures like birth control. but the real question is what do catholic americans, millions of them, what do they think about this? it's an especially important question, because so much provided support to president obama in 2008. some folks with their finger on the pulse of the catholic rank-and-file think this could hurt president obama. catholic leaders took to their pull pits railing against a new government policy. it forces employers to cover all fda-3ru6d contrasippives. >> our catholic institutions that serve this nation well are being told you, who fund thinks things offensive, you must pay for them. >> some are firmly against the new rule. >> i don't believe we should have to provide contraception and abortions. >> reporter: while many catholics do not oppose the use of contraception, church leaders like cardinal don't wehree say this is an issue of religious freedom. >> we have never experienced this in our country. it's a violation of the basket rights of conscience and religious liberty. you need to know that and begin to speak up. >> reporter: that argument may be working. this professor at the catholic university has advised the administration in the past. he calls it a political misstep. >> i'm seeing in the pews something waking up, maybe a bit of a sense of catholic solidarity, which i think could carry over into the political activities. >> reporter: there are 70 million catholics in the u.s., 54% of those who voted in 2008 went for president obama, an important majority, when you consider where many of them live. >> they're located in places like ohio, pennsylvania, and colorado, florida, which are, of course, you know, critical states for whoever wants to be the president of the united states, so that vote really matters. >> reporter: in 2009 with a speech at notre dame, president obama extended an olive branch to catholics. >> maybe we won't agree on abortion, but we can still agree this heart-wrenching decision for any woman, is not made casually. it has both moral and spiritual dimensions, so let us work together, let's honor of the conscience of those who disagree with abortion and draft a sensible clause. >> reporter: but now the goodwill may be in jeopardy, especially for the way the obama administration rolled out the new policy. three days before tens of thousands of protesters, many of them catholic, came to washington for the annual march for life on the anniversary of the supreme court decision. >> there's nothing like opposition to rally the troops. i suspect that will happen here. >> reporter: this rule change goes into effect this summer. researchous groups or employers are given an extra year to comply. while you have white house officials like jay carney say this strikes an appropriate balance, one religious leader says this gives them an extra year to violate their conscience, so you can see the struggle between the two sides here. >> it will be a big political fight, no doubt about that. thanks very much. brianna. mitt romney heads to minnesota. will michele bachmann endorse him? the former candidate will join me live. jack cafferty answers your e-mail. the best part of any great meal? delicious gourmet gravy. and she agrees. with fancy feast gravy lovers, your cat can enjoy the delicious, satisfying taste of gourmet gravy every day. fancy feast. the best ingredient is love. ...we inspected his brakes for free. free is good. free is very good. my money. my choice. my meineke. jack cafferty is back with koich koich. >> does newt gingrich have a problem with women? exit polls yesterday in florida showed twice as many women voted for romney. >> the one i'm married to doesn't like and bob in new york writing, wrong question, jack. newt doesn't have a problem with women. he marries, them, dumps them when they get sick. >> i find his divisive hateful rhetoric compounded by a blown-up sense of self-importance to be repulsive. don in st. louis writes we sweat the petty stuff. a federal government, monumental debt, millions of people out of work. let's get the country back on track and we can consider the trivialities. if newt or any other candidate can work to fix the truly important issues in the country, but carries a few marital anomalies, i'm okay with that. nick in texas says we ought to let his ex-wives answer that question. but you know what? he's a pig. lloyd in north carolina writes south carolina women are more accepting of open marriage than florida equipment. they're used to husbands that go for long hikes on the appalachian trail. go to my blog and post a comment or post a comment on "the situation room's" facebook page. wolf? >> thank you jack. you're in "the situation room." stand by for a live report. why is the susan g. komen organization cutting funds. activists are outraged. she lost her family in a deadly pileup. now a teenage survivor in the united states illegally faces a very uncertain future. we have new information about her fate and whether she could be deported from the united states. we want to welcome our viewer in the united states and around the world. breaking news, political headlines and jeanne moos all straight ahead. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." we've soon violence at soccer matches around the world before, but usually not this big and this deadly. more than 70 people were killed today in rioting in a stadium in northeastern egypt. hundreds were injured. let's go to ben wedeman. he's in cairo with more. ben, what happened here? >> reporter: what we understand after this game that occurred this even in port sayeed, after the game 1/2 the team known as el masri played a cairo team, the supporters for the port sayeed team poured onto the field and started to attack the players and the fans. if you look at the video, it appears there wasn't much of a security presence at the game, and the few police who were there were incapable, completely outnumbers unable to stop the vile frns occurring. we understand from hospital sources that many of the dead and wouldn't the have injuries to the head caused by blunt objects and knives it appears they were unable to stop the entry of weaponry. we understand the military has sent two airports to bring back the injured to cairo and also to bring back the cairo team. here in cairo we understand outside the team headquarters there are hundreds of angry fans, many of these fans, wolf, in the past have played a key role in the clashes with the egyptian police here in cairo. over the last year many of them in a sense you have to realize under the mubarak regime many went to the mosque and many of the young and restless took out frustration on the government out on the police. so this is all coming to the forenow certainly cairo is bracing for a tense evening. >> so you're saying the 70 people who were killed and hundreds who were injured, some fans just took out knives and sticks and beat them to death because of this soccer game? is that what you're saying? >> reporter: yes, what happened the port sayeed team won. it's sort of a david and goliath. when the local team actually beat them, they went down to the field and took out their resentment and anger on them. it's not all together clear exactly what happened. the egyptian government is formling an untilant investigation into to look into the incident. the parliament will be meeting tomorrow in an emergency session to discuss the situation. we're hearing on all egyptian station, religious leaders, authorities are calling on everyone to calm down, keep their nerves under control, and to try to prevent this violence from spreading. egyptians aren't soccer fanatics. the majority will not expression their enthusiasm for soccer through violence, but there's a small hardcore that has a history of using violence against other fans and against the authorities. wolf? >> it doesn't look like a small hardcore there. it looks like a big mob, if you will. we'll stake on top of this together with you, ben wedeman. thanks very much. another huge story we're following, a major development on the front lines of afghanistan, where we're learns a potential end may be in sight for u.s.-led combat operations in afghanistan. the defense secretary of the united states leon panetta on a flight to brussels telling reporters just a little while ago the united states and its nato allies plan to end that part of the operation next year. cnn's nick paton walsh is standing by. >> reporter: still incredibly early day after that comment, but this accelerates the timetable. that's what many afghans will be feeling. they're conscious of the surge drawdown, and fears of an accelerate -- and comments like this will heighten those fears. of course, this process from counter-insurgency getting out there, fighting the insurgency. as they transition over to training afghans, and also just go off to the high-value target terrorists that have been in this country for some time. but suggesting perhaps it could come to a full end in 2014. what leon panetta really is doing today is greatly accelerating that timetable, putting that process that really puts u.s. forces and nato allies here at that final end state much, much earlier, and that will have many people thinks this is an accelerated timetable. and certainly it may also please some nato allies, like france for example, who were suggesting a quicker withdrawal from afghanistan, wolf, after a year. >> they want to get out as quickly as possible. also -- we're also learns, nick, about a secret nato report raising major concerns about pakistan's relationship with the taliban in the region. what does this report say? >> this report will come at it in many different ways. i think to clarify exactly what it is, this isn't nato's own assessment of how the thing is going. this is a digest of thousands of interviews that nato has done with insurgents it has in custody. they seem confident about how the war is going. they get major support from pakistan, their leaders are hiding out. they say they have a pretty strong chance of taking back control of the country when nato beginning to draw down, but they also seem a little confused. thinking a negotiated peace really isn't possible, so concerns this is a fractured insurgency coming to the forethere, but above all, it paints a picture of an insurgency very comfortable on its front foot. wolf? >> it looks like things are moving rapidly in afghanistan. nick, thanks very much. all right. this just coming into "the situation room." a new movie by facebook to take the company public. let's go straight to casey wian. what happened, casey? >> reporter: well, the long-rumored registration statement from the company facebook for initial public offering just happened within the last 15 minutes, the company waiting until after the stock market closed to fight that paperwork. actual trading won't begin in facebook's stock for several weeks while the securities and exchange economy makes sure everything is in order. some of that information has previously been private information. they'll have to disclose this information on a regular base if they're a public company. we have profit and sales information for the past year for the first time. the company earned $1 billion in profit last year on sales of $3.7 billion. also they disclosed that they have now 845 million active users around the world. that's an incredible number when you consider the fact in 2009, that number was 150 million. so many people believe this company has great prospects for future prospects, because they are growing so rapidly. some wall street analysts have speculated once the stock begins trading,ed market value could be between $75 and $100 billion. we won't know that until the stock actually starts trading in a few weeks. wolf? >> casey is over at facebook headquarters in california. casey, thanks very much. ron paul has been on a losing streak in the republican race for the white house. he says his luck is about to change in nevada. he's giving us new insight. much more coming up. 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. [ female announcer ] at aarp we believe you're never done growing. i want to fall in love again. [ female announcer ] discover what's next in your life. get this free travel bag when you join at aarp.org/jointoday. jack cafferty is here with koich koich. jack? >> thanks, wolf. the u.s. is on a collision course with financial disaster. that's not exactly breaking news. the congressional budget office, though, is out with a grim report that suggests the deficit for this year will top $1 trillion for the fourth year in a row. the cbo also gives a worst-case scenario in which congress extends all current bush era tack cuts and undoes the super committee's spending cuts. if those two things happen, which is entirely possible, you u.s. could add another $4397 trillion to the national debt over the next five years. we could be looking at a $20 trillion national debt by 2017, and some people think that's a rosy scenario. back now to that not so super committee. remember when the 12 members couldn't come to an agreement on cutting spending. that set in motion an automatic $1.2 trillion in cuts. not so fast. congress is busy right now trying to find a way to undo those spending cuts. politico reports that republicans and a handful of democrats have vowed to undo these cuts which would hit defense and domestic programs equally beginning next january. there are current measures aimed at doing just that. president obama said he'll veto any measure to override the automatic spending cuts unless congress can give him, quote, a balanced plan to cut the deficit. that will happen. it's really quite sad. our children's future being thrown into the garage, and no one seems too interested in stopping the madness, at least not during an election year. reelection always trumps the general welfare these days. here's the question -- should congress undo the automatic spending cuts? go to cnn.com/caffertyfile, post a comment on my blog or go to our post on "the situation room's" facebook page. wolf? will do, jack. mitt romney is looking to build on his big win he campaigned today, and now he's headed to las vegas. the nevada caucus could give the opponents the chance to shine at least potential cnn senior correspondent joe johns spoke with ron paul in los angeles today. >> what's different this year from four years ago for you and your campaign? >> the country has changed. the world has change. the housing bubble was there. the people are frightened. they're sick and tired of the wars. 9 whole country has changed, and this financial crisis, i don't think the others have addressed it. if they did, they would offer to cut something. either they don't think it's bad or they don't think cutting spending is an option, and i'm the only one talking about that. >> reporter: we're starting to see more older people, not just the college students, which i find very interesting. what is it that's attracting those older voters to you? >> i've noticed that, but i have to compliment you. you're the first one to have recognized it outside our own organization. i think it's very significant. you take the trillion i want to cut in spending. i don't touch social security. even though i know there's a problem with social security, we have to do something, but i want to get the economy going again and try to work our way out of it. outto attack the benefits of the elderly or medical benefits of those dependent on the government. that's not pure constitutional beliefs that i have, but i believe in working our way out of it. i think they're starting to recognize this, that i'm not a threat to what they really need and depend on. >> joe johns is joining us along with our chief political analyst gloria borgeers. ron paul, at least in that clip, he seems pretty optimistic about his past forward, even though he hasn't won one of these contests yet. >> that's for sure, wolf. he's energized crowds here in nevada, and he's also looking at the caucus states say this is the kind of place where ron paul is just fit to do well. i talked to him about that, too. listen. >> we're rewarded for organization, determination, enthusiasm, people who believe in something, and i think it offers us a chance to compete with mitt romney. it wasto compete with his money in florida. i mean, money talks. our financial report seasonal puny, but it's still not enough to advertise across, you know, a big state, and actually the whole way this process works, whether it was iowa and new hampshire, it gives a kaechbt, you know, like myself to be more competitive, and i think it's a facialer system. >> i think you do have to temper that optimism. the guy who won the nevada caucuses four years ago is mitt romney, and a lot say his organization is better now than it was then. >> stand by for a moment. rick santorum thinks he's the candidate who can go and you have way, a even though he did not do very well in florida. listen to this. >> if you look at the voters who voted for me and where they would go if i was not 2349 race, it would be divide d interestin enough, if newt is out of the race, almost all his votes come to me. >> newt is saying rick santorum should get out of race and santorum is say what we saw, that in fact santorum's vote would in fact be split he's presenting himself as the values candidate without the baggage and what he's doing, not unlike ron paul, as joe was just saying he's looks at those smaller caucus states, particularly a state like missouri, which is more a beauty contest than anything else, but he feels he has a chant to win there, because newt gingrich is not on the ballot there. even though it's a symbolic vote, he thinks it would give his campaign that momentum. >> romney, gloria certainly has the momentum. but he also has some challenges. >> first of all, he has to keep the pressure up on newt gingrich, and romney has to look like he's fighting to win this campaign, you know, northwestibility is not really a good campaign strategy. at the same time he's got to take a pivot and turn to barack obama, start attacking barack obama. so he's got to do that on two fronts. third thing, he has to quinn what i cause the base of the base, the most conservative people, the people who strongly support the tea party movement. he's got to convince those people who went for newt gingrich in the state of florida, despite romney's huge win, he's got to convince them that he can be their standard bearer heading into the general election, because, wolf, they remain very, very skeptical. he's got to make them become enthusiastic about his candidacy as el head into a general election. >> the race is by no means over right now. >> no. >> there's a long, long way to go. guys, thanks very much, joe and gloria. >> sure. we'll be right back here this saturday for complete coverage of the neff nevada caucuses. the coverage will begin at 6:00 p.m. eastern with a special edition of "the situation room" and our live coverage of 9 results begins at 7:00 p.m. eastern. michele bachmann hasn't endorsed any former rivals, at least not yet. is she ready to support a candidate now? and a 15-year-old girl lost her family in a car crash in florida. now her secret is out. she's in the united states illegally. we have new information about her fate, and fears she might be deported. hey. did you guys hear... ...that mary got engaged? that's so 42 seconds ago. thanks for the flowers guys. [ both ] you're welcome. oooh are you guys signing up for the free massage? [ both ] so 32 seconds ago. hey guys you hear frank's cat is sick? yeah, we heard. wanna sign the card? did you know the guys from china are in the office... [ speaking chinese ] [ male announcer ] stay a step ahead with the 4g lte galaxy s ii skyrocket. only from at&t. ♪ only from at&t. this was the gulf's best tourism season in years. all because so many people came to louisiana... they came to see us in florida... make that alabama... make that mississippi. the best part of the gulf is wherever you choose... and now is a great time to discover it. this year millions of people did. we set all kinds of records. next year we're out to do even better. so come on down to louisiana... florida... alabama... mississippi. we can't wait to see you. brought to you by bp and all of us who call the gulf home. vacations are always wasn'ta good ideaa ♪ priceline negoti - - no time. out quickly. you're miles from your destination. you'll need a hotel tonight we don't have time to bid you don't have to bid. at priceline you can choose from thousands of hotels on sale every day. save yourself... some money at least so far endorsements haven't made any difference, but the remaining candidates would certainly like michelle backman's support. she's joining us now from capitol hill. congresswoman, thanks very much for coming in. are you ready to help one of these final four? >> i haven't made a decision about endorsements yesterday. i may before the process is all concluded, but i am nowhere near right now. i know there was a lot of speculation earlier today. governor romney had gone to minnesota. people were putting out rumors that i was going to be endorsing. i am not. i'm not in negotiations to do an endorsement, so i want to make that absolutely clear. i have absolutely no plans to do that. >> you think you'll do do it before the people in minnesota, your home state, make their decision? >> no, i don't think so. that's coming up on tuesday. this saturday is nevada, and then tuesday is minnesota. notify plans to do it before then. >> do you ever look ahead and say i like to be a member of the congress, i might like to be a member of the cabinet? a running mate? do you think you might be interested? >> i didn't think about that at all. what i saw was the carnage, and i knew someone had to take bold decisive actions to stop it, because we've never seen this level of debt accumulation, we've never seen this level of out-of-control spending. that's trance lating into lower standards of living, fewer jobs and lower wages. that had to stop. that's why i decided to research for office, to actually made bold changes. i won't be the one that's on the ticket. what i did do last week is make an announcement i will be running again for my seat in congress in minnesota's 6th congressional district. i'm looking forward to that run. >> so you'll have your hands full on that front. >> let's talk about -- you have unine perspective. you were competing against them for a long time. >> they all have strengths and weaknesses. i don't know that i would be able to add to what people see obviously on the stage. i'm not here as a pundit. ultimately i want my role to be, quite frankly, wolf, one of being a uniter. what we're seeing is a f factionalizing in the party. i want to see the party come together, not only the party, but also independenting and disaffected democrats. this would be the most important election of our lifetime. i intend to be a uniter. i'm not taking sides right now, but looking at the field, as i encourage everyone to do. we will have an excellent candidate to take on barack obama. >> without endorsing anyone right now is the issue of electability in november, would that be the most important issue you would consider? >> that would be a factor, but what i will be looking for is who will be the person who will be willing to stand strong, not deviate and make the bold decisions that are required. right now that means cutting back on federal spending. i'm the chief author of both of those bills. i worked very hard, and i know the american people are with me on that issue. they want to see credit open up, they want to see positive health care that isn't costing them an arm and a leg. so i need to know our candidate will be absolutely committed to the full-scale repeal. the battle remains. i got into this because there was a battle. so i put my name in. i won't be fighting it at the top of the ticket. i'm all in, and i want to make sure our nominee succeeds. you're a key member of the house select committee on intelligence. yesterday there was testimony by some of the top officials in washington and they raised the specter of the possibility that iran might at some point plot terrorist operations on u.s. soil. what's going on here? it's highly concerns. i'm very atuned and concerned about the issues occurs regarding america's national security. when we have a nation like iran, who is currently engaged from all possibility efforts we see in obtaining a nuclear weapon, and when statements are made that they're seeking to plan an attack on u.s. soil, i think we need to take them very seriously. i do applaud the administration for putting some of these sanctions into place. i don't think they're even as severe as they will be even three to six months from now. the regime in iran is trying to have an reaction and i think they're doing in saber rattling, but at the same time we need to take this seriously. congresswoman bachmann, see you down the road. >> will do. thanks again. >> thank you. planned parenthood losing funding. was political pressure the answer? and a terrible crash in florida, and the uncertainly fate of a teenage survivor who lost her entire family. could she now be desupported? stand by, this is a story you'll want to see. a controversial move by a leading breast cancer research group. susan g. komen organization announced it's cutting funding for planned parenthood. some say political pressure is to blame. our mary snow is looking into this sensitive story for us. mary, what's going on? >> wolf, this is causing an uproared. planned parenthood blames bullying by the right. the organization says it's dismayed the actions are being miscategorized. with races like this around the country and with the support of major sporting events, the suitsen g. komen foundation has raised close to $2 billion to fight breast cancer. but a group that normally wins praise is now under fire for cutting funds for breast exams. the facebook is being swamped with furious messages. this woman writes -- the money i was going to give you is now going to a nonprofit that actually shares about women's health. shame on you. another post -- for women like myself without insurance, planned parenthood is a lifeline. tell me how your political decision serves women like myself. the president see seal richards says the group stands to lose 1e6r8 hundred thousand for breast exams. what was the reason you were given. >> they kept raising the fact there was a political investigation in congress. >> reporter: there's a republican-led congressional investigation into planned parenthood's compliance with federal restrictions on funding, the foundation decline a request for an interview. nancy brinker founded the organization after her sister died of breast cans. she died as u.s. ambassador to hungry and chief of protocol. in a statement, to safeguard donor dollars, adding it wants to be absolutely clear our grand-making decisions are not about politics. but richards argues otherwise. >> i think really what this is a result of is this very ugly and aggressive campaign by right-wing organizations to bully the komen foundation and keep them from working with planned parenthood. >> reporter: the foundation has been targeted by antiabortion groups, the livway christian resources for one pulled its cancer awareness bible that raised money for the charity because of ties to planned parenthood. the christian publisher now says we are very grateful susan g. komen foundation for the cure will no longer fund planned parenthood affiliates. there are also questions about the senior vice president for public policy. she ran as a republican candidate for governor in 2010, and during her failed bid, talked about cutting state aid to planned parenthood. we want to stress against the susan g. komen foundation did not respond to specific questions. more than 4,000 people have weighed in on the charity's facebook page, and meantime planned parenthood tells us tonight that it's raised more than $400,000 in the last 24 hours. wolf? >> but you're hearing a lot of the supporters of the susan g. komen foundation that they're angry right now because of this decision and they're threatening to cut off their aid, their funding, charitable contributions to the organization? that's what's going on? >> yeah, you're seeing support, all you need to do is look at the facebook page, people saying they'll cut their donations. we've heard from at least one affiliate of the foundation asking the national group to rethink this decision. >> i suspect the story is not going to go away. thanks very much for that, mary snow. more pain from a chain reaction crash on the florida interstate 75. the death toll has risen to 11. the fate of a teenage girl who survived is very uncertain. it turns out here here in the united states illegally. were the other members of her immediate family, all of whom were killed in the crash, a lot of people were concerned she might be deported. cnn's martin savidge has working the story. what are you finding out about the chance this young girl might actually be deported? >> absolutely not going to happen, according to federal officials we spoke to today. this triggered a huge amount of anger. i.c.e. came out, the immigration and customs enforcement agency and said any reports this young lady was going to be deported are absolutely false. however, the pain and suffering for her doesn't end there. at a small baptist church where he was pastor, picture of jose carmo and his family are on the bulletin board. >> it's like we were in a nightmare. >> pastor junior, as he was known, his wife and daughters letitia and lidiane, were returns from atlanta to from a church conference. that i van became engulfed and crashed into a semi. in an instant, a family was almost completely wiped out. >> people are suffering a lot. that was a tragedy we could not imagine such tragedy would come, and everybody is very devastated. the whole congregation. >> reporter: the only survive was 15-year-old lidiane, who is hospitalized in florida and has no memory of the crash. tuesday she was told of the news. >> she had a reaction -- i don't know, it could be worse, but she simply cried. we know she's trying to process everything, but she's doing well so far. >> reporter: she faces no -- more surgery, but she doesn't have the money. they don't have the money to pay for five funerals. they have to find another church for the services, because the church is too small for so many caskets. the sunday before he died. pastor junior spoke to his congregation in the native port gee. the subject was prophetic. >> he preached about the fact that we have to be prepared. he said god -- >> reporter: none of us know the time that god could call. >> he said god can call you anytime. as a church we have to be prepared. >> reporter: and, wolf, getting back to the immigration issue. lidiane's family came from brazil with a legal visa, but in that time since it has expired, and why the concern. but again federal officials stressing to us it's not going to happen. >> will not go back to brazil or anyplace else, she's staying here. thank you, martin. one of the most nerve-racking incidents in u.s. history, a glimpse into the horrifying moments right after president kennedy was assassinated. for the first time we're getting a shocking glimpse into the size of the sheer pandemonium after john f. kennedy was assassinated. thanks to fascinating new audio tapes that have just been released the brian todd has been going through them. he has the details. >> reporter: what you get is a real sense of the confusion as top officials disoperately tried to sort out what needed to be done. >> they were among the most anxious gut-wrenching hours in american history, the chaos following president kennedy's assassination. everyone, including top administration officials were scrambling for accurate information. newly released audio tapes offer fascinating insight into the confusion and the government's response. listen to this phone call from white house official admiral george berkeley, to army surgeon general on where to take the president's body. >> reporter: but it wasn't clarified. just minutes earlier, secret service head jerry bain had called another official with the president in dallas saying the remains should be taken to another military hospital. >> arrangements have been made for a helicopter for the bethesda naval medical center. >> reporter: the president was taken to bethesda. for decades critics sid his autopsy was incomply, mishandled, maybe even part of a conspiracy. >> the government had no protocol for having an autopsy of a president. just something no one ever thought would be necessary. >> reporter: the tapes were discovered by the rabe collection, they got them from the estate of general clifton, a top aide to president kennedy, then donated them to the national archives. the recordings were made by the white house communications agency, including radio traffic from the president's plane air force one. part of 9 recordings which are not new are still riveting like when a distraught lyndon johnson and his wife get on the phone from air force one to console president kennedy's mother. >> i wish to got there was something that i could, and i wanted to tell you we're grieves with you also. >> well, thank you very much. thank you very much. i know. i know you loved jack. >> we feel like -- >> yes, all right. >> we are glad the nation had your son for as long as it did. >> well, thank you for that, lady bird. thank you very much. good-bye. >> reporter: it leaves us all wanting to hear more, but some of the recordings we may never here. officials say at least two hours of the raw tape are still missing. wolf? >> brian, fascinating historic material. thanks very much. approaches the 50th anniversary of that tragic event. jack's question is coming up with your answers. we're talking about "the cafferty file," and jeanne moos with super lightweight super heroes taking over the skies of new york. ♪ an accident doesn't have to slow you down... with better car replacement, available only from liberty mutual insurance, if your car is totaled, we give you the money to buy a car that's one model-year newer... with 15,000 fewer miles on it. there's no other auto insurance product like it. better car replacement, available only from liberty mutual. it's a better policy that gets you a better car. call... or visit one of our local offices today, and we'll provide the coverage you need at the right price. liberty mutual auto insurance, responsibility -- what's your policy? but proven technologies allow natural gas producers to supply affordable, cleaner energy, while protecting our environment. across america, these technologies protect air - by monitoring air quality and reducing emissions... ...protect water - through conservation and self-contained recycling systems... ... and protect land - by reducing our footprint and respecting wildlife. america's natural gas... domestic, abundant, clean energy to power our lives... that's smarter power today. spending certainly a big issue in this election cycle. jack is back with your answers on that issue. >> the question, should congress undo the super committee's automatic spending cuts that were put in place last summer when the super committee was unable to agree on ways to cut the deficit. mark in new jersey writes "yes, jack they ought to continue to strive their complete that perfect record of doing absolutely nothing. if the military budget is cut as a result of a super committee, we might damage our position as having a larger military budget than all of the countries in the rest of the world come bind. along with probably the one with the most fraud and abuse and cost overruns and waste as well". russ writes "does it matter? the only thing the government pretends to cut are projections. they never cut actual spending." jenny in new york writes" no. they were put in place to try to force congress to pass legislation and they failed to do. so they can't just undo those cuts. they newt circumstances going in." rick in owner lynn park, kansas says "no. and when you say no one is willing to talk about it. have you heard ron paul or mitch daniels? the only people not talking about it are obama and his administration. where's harry reid, nancy pelosi and the president on his state-of-the-union address? pete in florida writes "of course not but they will while each party points its fingers at the other for their incredible dishonesty. incompetence and lack of character. what a charade." you want to read more on this go to my blog, cnn.com/cafferty file or through our post on the situation room's facebook page. >> thanks, jack. thanks very much. see you tomorrow. it's a bird, it's a plane, and no, they're people flying almost. jeanne moos is next. this is an rc robotic claw. my high school science teacher made me what i am today. our science teacher helped us build it. ♪ now i'm a geologist at chevron, and i get to help science teachers. it has four servo motors and a wireless microcontroller. over the last three years we've put nearly 100 million dollars into american education. that's thousands of kids learning to love science. ♪ isn't that cool? and that's pretty cool. ♪ will be giving awaycool? passafree copies and that's pretty cool. of the alcoholism & addiction cure. to get yours, go to ssagesmalibubook.com. the skies over new york city are being invaded with people. well, almost. here's cnn's jeanne moos. >> reporter: in a city full of odd ball sights, what's three more? prepare to launch flying people. look. up in the sky. >> it's a bird. >> it's a plane. >> reporter: it's a light weight foam. 3 1/2 pound, 6 foot person. >> this thing is basically a glorified toy. >> reporter: twice in recent days the people have flown flown over lower manhattan. spectators weren't remotely aware of what they could be as they sailed arn the brooklyn bridge and even the statue of liberty. you'd think in security-crazed new york city, the police might try to shoot down super heroes buzzing the statue of liberty. but the organizers had a permit. the stunt was dreamed up by a viral marketing agency called think moto, co-founded by james persale. >> we see ourselves as this kind of special ops of advertising. >> reporter: what they were advertising was a new movie in which three teens have super human powers. >> watch this. >> reporter: and they can fly. >> we can't screw around with this. it's too dangerous. >> reporter: which explains why the characters andy, matt and steve were airborne over manhattan. >> the hardest movement was the back flip. >> reporter: the flying people came from a one-man out fit in oregon called rc for remote controlled super heroes. greg tannis considered his creations to be flying sculptures. the kits sell for 340 bucks. but by the time the viral marketers assembled and sound them up, each one costs a few thousand. pilots practice for three days at an airport on long island before attempting the four-minute flights over new york. unlike superman, who lands on his feet, these guys land on their bellies. the goal was to create buzz with these ethereal light weight delicate objects. >> this is like flying three potato chips in the air. >> reporter: it remined us more of people disappearing in the rap tur. jeanne moos, cnn. >> fasting than a speeding bullet. >> reporter: new york. >> leave it to jeanne moos. she finds those stories. that's it. by the way, we just got the first pictures in from the other side of the moon. take a look at these. these literally within the past few minutes we're getting these pictures from the spacecraft that managed to go on the other side. look at this. this is the moon, the other