afghanistan. protests grow in the wake of a u.s. soldier's alleged attack that killed 16 civilians. >> i have directed the pentagon to make sure that we spare no effort in conducting a full investigation. plus gunfire erupts at a memorial for the victims and more people are now dead. the homeless as walking high phi hot spots. supporters say it helps them earn a living. critics argue it's just plain demeaning. we will hear from homeless folks themselves to find out what they think. and the jet pack pilot who took on a race car. election alert. first from fox this tuesday night. the first polls close just 90 section ago in the g.o.p. southern showdown. less than an hour now until all the voting is complete in mississippi and alabama and right now here's what we know. it is an interesting night for mitt romney in the state of mississippi. according to fox news exit poll, the top issue for republicans is electability. and mitt romney is leading among republicans who say he has the best chance to beat president obama. but mitt romney is also trying to prove he he can win over conservatives. and according to our exit polls in mississippi, he is not doing too well on that front in mississippi or alabama. alabama is a state that's tailor made for rick santorum. he has been doing very well in the polls there all along and tonight, our exit polls show rick santorum is being helped by voters who say they are looking for a true conservative. and a candidate with a strong moral character. newt gingrich it's candidate he basically stakedmpaign on sue south. newt gingrich is in but romney has already moved ahead to missouri looking to this weekend's caucuses. rick santorum is in louisiana which doesn't vote until a week from saturday. hawaii and american samoa are also holding caucuses today it all adds up to 107 delegates up for grabs in all four contests. we have team fox coverage tonight. james rosen is more on our exit polls, first to campaign carl cammeron. i mexico add lot at stake for former speaker tonight. i remember distinctly his campaign calling these two states must wins. >> and the speaker himself has said that he has to do well in the south in order for his campaign to be considered viable and to restore his momentum and to put some real fundraising capacity back into his campaign. he is just barely in the black. gingrich comes into these alabama and mississippi contests with the polls up until today suggesting virtually a three-way tie. these would be -- these two states for gingrich to prove that he can expand his win, expand his reach across the country, not just in the south but he would actually double the number of states he has won from two to four it is a very very big deal for newt gingrich. he has said that he has to win here and, yet, if he doesn't, he has always said, particularly, of course, over the course of this weekend that no matter what happens, he will be campaigning and going forward. in fact, he will be in illinois, which comes up in another week, and campaigning in missouri and elsewhere. so, regardless of tonight's outcome, he desperately needs big numbers but says he will continue to campaign anyway. shep? >> shepard: for conservatives in the south who say they want someone other than mitt romney they have a problem. newt gingrich and rick santorum have been canceling each other out. how long can they go at this like this? >> well, santorum believes any further is really damaging the conservative movement within the republic party. rick santorum has said he will not openly and publicly ask newt gingrich to drop out. but he is sparing absolutely no punches and mincing no words saying that he thinks that gingrich should get out and points to the results in michigan and ohio. and potentially soon pointing to here in alabama and mississippi. that gingrich and santorum splitting the very conservative vote, the tea party vote more than 60 to 70% of the republic voters in these two states are self-described evangelical voters. with them dividing between santorum and gingrich, it lives romney a lot of room to move and possibility of continuing to win these states, not necessary whether i auto% of the vote but with pluralities because santorum and gingrich not necessarily canceling one another out but certainly taking away conservative votes that could be the anti-romney alternative. >> shepard: which brings us to mitt romney. carl, i have heard a lot of conservative pundits say today if mitt romney actually wins one of these two states today for all intents and purposes this race is over. >> well, you have got to talk a little bit about the strategy and tactics leading up to this. it has benefited mitt romney. he he has won the majority of the stakes has happened so far. momentum coming out of super tuesday. yes rick santorum pulled off a victory in kansas. romney is the candidate who leads in national polls. he is dominating the national news as a consequence of that romney pulled to a statistical dead heat in alabama and mississippi in the past with it days. momentum and the fact he has outspent his rivals once again by better than a to 1 when you pull the super pac ads romney has ability to pull off victories here that noun noe one has expected and this was down played. saying he were happy to pick up delegates. were he he to victories it would be hard for rick santorum and newt gingrich both to sustain the argument that there is room for another. for gingrich and santorum to fight out romney loves that they are tied against him. >> >> shepard: carl cammeron, thanks. the exit polls tell us so much on these primary nights. they tell us which issues voters found most important today. james rosen is following those and continues team fox coverage. the first waves have come, in james. what do we know at this hour? >> quite a bit, shep. good evening. >> we are seeing different groups of voters break for different candidates. it can have as much to do with their views on religion or the economy as with the views on the federal government. let's start with alabama where evangelical christians make up a majority of g.o.p. primary voters. this group is splitting three ways between santorum, gingrich and romney. as in previous southern primaries such as south carolina, religion is playing a critical role in voting patterns. many folks say it matters to them that a candidate shares their religious beliefs. santorum and gingrich have the advantage among those voters. romney leads among those who field shared religious faith doesn't matter. another voting block we have been tracking closely this primary season is tea party supporters for whom did these folks cast their ballots? alabama's tea partiers split evenly among gingrich and santorum. while those who opposed him tended to pull the lever for romney. here is what we see in your home state great state of mississippi. unemployment exceeds 10%. fourth highest in the nation. primary voters say the economy is the issue that matters most in their decision are breaking for romney. yet, other issues also ranked high on mississippians agenda. important to many g.o.p. primary voters that the nominee should be a quote unquote true conservative. among these voters rick santorum is winning big with 48% followed by gingrich at 36%. romney trails on this measure with a mere 11% and ron paul captures just 5%. finally, most mississippi primary voters today are unhappy with the performance of the federal government. indeed, four in ten say they are angry about it these angry voters split with 33% voting for gingrich, 33% for romney and santorum capturing 25%. the polls close at 8:00 eastern time. we have more exit poll data throughout evening, shep? >> shepard: look forward to that james rosen, thank you. it was a super tuesday on wall street. your 401(k) is having its best day of the year. and for the nasdaq, the very best day in a decade. the nasdaq today closed above the 3,000 mark for the first time in nearly 12 years. last time we saw this, bill clinton was in the white house. the dow also closed at a four year high of 218 today alone. and well above the 13,000 milestone it hit last month. then there is the s&p, up 25 points today. tech companies helped the nasdaq surge. apple stock way up on strong presales of that new ipad. along with rumors that an iphone 5 may be on the way. add to that some good news from the federal reserve. today it confirmed it will keep current low interest rates into the year 2014. the fed released this optimistic statement saying labor market conditions have improved further. the unemployment rate has declined notably in recent months but remains he will elevated. the fox business network peter barnes is live with the news from d.c. this all started on promising news on retail sales. tell us. >> that's right. shep. that's what kicked off this big day on wall street. it's a big night for politics, too. we want to let you know we will keep rolling our exit poll information at the bottom of the screen throughout the show. according to this report on my ipad, shep, stocks began soaring after retail sales? february, rang up their biggest game in five monthsing you suggesting that consumers are feeling more confident about the economy and will spend more on things like ipads. that's one reason the nasdaq hit a new 11-year high today. it's heavy with tech companies like apple and unlike in the.com bubble, technology companies today have real and massive profits, shepard. >> shepard: we got breaking news this afternoon, peter, the fed announced that four major banks failed so-called stress tests. what does that mean for all of us who use those banks. >> yeah, the fed looked at 19 large banks and 15 of them passed its latest round of stress tests. four did not. the test try to forecast whether the banks would continue to operate and lend in a depression-type economy. even worse than in a financial crisis in 2008 to see if they would have enough capital to survive and to keep lending with a 50% drop in stock prices and a 13% unemployment rate, for example. the fed found that four financial firms might have trouble doing that. ally bank, citigroup, sun trust bank and metlife. they will all have to submit new plans to the fed to beef up their capital. right now in this economy, the feds said that their capital positions are strong and that their customers do not have to worry about them. shep? >> shepard: peter barnes live in washington. bank stocks by the way today, bank of america, jp morgan chase, all the big ones up 6% or 7% on today's trading alone. more political coverage ahead on this primary night as we await the results in mississippi and alabama. it has the makings of a very interesting evening and we're tracking it moment by moment for you. plus, that soldier accused of murdering innocent afghan civilians, was he doing some drinking before witnesses say he went door-to-door with his goggles on and opened fire? we will see what military officials are now revealing from the journalists of fox news, this is a tuesday fox report, election day in mississippi, alabama, and hawp. snrsh bo i make real italian ravioli. small tender macaroni pies, filled with hearty italian seasoned meat, smothered in vine-ripened tomato sauce. and absolutely no preservatives. so delicious. bon appetito. chef boyardee's legacy of quality ingredients is still in every bowl. real great food. from a real great chef. 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[ male announcer ] maxwell house french roast. always good to the last drop. forty years ago, he wasn't looking for financial advice. back then, he had something more important to do. he wasn't focused on his future but fortunately, somebody else was. at usaa we provide retirement planning for our military, veterans and their families. now more than ever, it's important to get financial advice from people who share your military values. call now for our free guide and tips on planning for your retirement this tax season. >> shepard: fox news monitoring the results of two very important contests tonight. fox news exit polls reveal in mississippi mitt romney and rick santorum are leading among voters who only recently decided which candidate to support. newt gingrich trailing among those voters more exit polls come up inside fox report. dramatic developments tonight in the alleged master in afghanistan. one u.s. official is telling fox news we can now, i should say we have reason to believe alcohol may have been involved in the killings. a u.s. army staff sergeant is accused of leaving its outpost in kandahar on sunday to gun down 16 afghan civilians. villagers loaded the bodies of those victims into trunks after the attack. three women, nine children among those dead. and witnesses say 11 of the victims come from one family. >> the united states takes this as seriously as if it was our own citizens and our own children who were murdered. >> military officials now say the suspected shooter is not talking with investigators and generally not cooperating. they say he wants an attorney but they don't know yet whether he he has retained one. we also saw the first major pro-est veelted to these killings. students in eastern afghanistan marched through jalalabad shouting death to america. this comes over the wake of the bloody demonstrations over the burning of koran that left six service members dead. the latest incident could lead to more violence. for news on this return to jennifer griffin at the pentagon tonight. back to the report that drinking may have been involved. what do we know here. >> there was video imagery from the air that captured it this accused soldier on his belly crawling near his base then standing up. two tell us it's unclear whether the suspect was drunk or whether alcohol was found in his living space at the base. also in terms of the traumatic brain injury. we understand from officials it was a mild injury from when his vehicle turned over in iraq. >> shepard: memorial for the victims and it's my understanding there was more violence. >> that's right. gunfire when residents karzai went to kandahar to visit relatives of those who were killed. two relatives of karzai were fired at, we're told. defense secretary leon panetta suggested that the death penalty could be invoked in this soldier's case. war is hell. these kinds of events and incidents are going to take place they have taken place in any war. they are terrible events. and this is not the first of those events and probably won't be the last. >> both he and the president say that this recent shooting incident won't change the president's withdrawal time line. >> jennifer griffin at the pentagon thanks. before he became the secretary of energy steven chu said that gas prices should be higher. now his past is coming back to him on capitol hill. ahead how he answered some tough questions from lawmakers. plus, outrage after a company hires homeless people to become human wi-fi hot spots. you might be surprised who is coming to the company's defense. that's next. abe a cohd. i toog nyguil bud i'm stild stubbed up. 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[ baby crying ] ♪ what started as a whisper ♪ every day, millions of people choose to do the right thing. ♪ slowly turned to a scream ♪ there's an insurance company that does that, to liberty mutual insurance. responsibility. what's your policy? ♪ amen, omen >> shepard: continuing coverage of primary night in the south. first, need a wi-fi hot spot? just look for a homeless person. that's the message that south by southwest in austin, texas a music and tech conference there the marketing agency is turning homeless people into human hot spots carrying wireless transmitters said to work within 30-foot radius. the company's ceo says they pay the workers a minimum of 50 bucks a day plus the donations people make to log on. the company calls it a charitable experiment. critics say turning people into antennas is exploitation. as for the homeless themselves, they are happy to get the cash. >> this is a job opportunity to get out oof the situation we are in. it's a good thing. >> how difficult it can be when your entire world as you know it is absolutely changed in a split second? that's -- it's very difficult. >> everythere says he lost his job and his home after a violent mugging left him in a coma for weeks. the fox business network's gerri willis is with us here in the studio tonight. a lot of people thought this was a publicity stunt, you know, of course it's a publicity stunt. that's exactly what it is. the u.s. marketing company that put this together getting allot of attention for. this i'm jerry a 4 g hot spot. these folks would attract other folks this was austin southwest music and internet conference. lots of attention, they got paid 20 bucks upfront and 50 bucks a day. that is minimum wage in texas. this you are thinking it's demeaning in some way these people made money. >> shepard: do we expect them here soon? >> no, no. we are talking about it, right? maybe some other company out there will try to do this soon. >> shepard: wouldn't surprise me. >> me neither. >> shepard: gary, thank -- gerr, thank you. >> how about those bank stocks today? >> they were impressive. you probably already own them. >> shepard: republic candidates are duking it out in dixie tonight. fox news poll shows this could be a very close finish. rick santorum claims it would be a much different fight if ted ginn jr. would just get out the way. that's coming up on this special primary night edition. it's the top of the hour coming up and the top of the news. 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[ cheering ] [ tom ] i wanna see that again. ♪ >> shepard: for some reason we still don't have personal jet packs for commuting. some lucky people do have them. in melbourne, australia. a person in a jet pack decided to race a car. awesome. part of a promotion for a race there but since the jet pack guy can only go about 60 miles per hour, the car won. notable, the car was a reknow and the jet pack guy is sponsored by ren. >> it was fantastic. all i could see was this massive rocket coming right up behind us in the car and really loud noises and trying to look out the roof. and then it was over. >> i wonder if she is drunk? whatever. we need jet packs. somebody make that happen. i'm shepard shepard smith. this is the fox report. it's the bottom of the hour. time for the top of the news. and a half hour until the final polls close in the south. rick santorum calling for voters in mississippi and alabama to make this a two-person race. he claims that will help him defeat mitt romney at the republic convention. today mitt romney's camp called that pure fantasy. back up pars of santorum's argument. they show he and newt gingrich are splitting the votes of conservatives, evangelical christians and strong supporters of the tea party. john roberts is at santorum's primary night rally in lafayette, louisiana, hey, john. >> hey, we are looking forward to a primary a couple of weeks from now. not only would santorum like to get gingrich out of the race and stop flight sma conservative vote. he would also like to stop splitting the al person delegates. difficult for rick santorum to get to a majority of 1144. he may be able to prevent mitt romney from getting to 1144 and taking this thing to the convention. he told me yesterday if this happens he would welcome a floor fight in tamp pampleghts it would be an open convention. the delegates would go there and make a decision. and i think what i know is the republic party is a conservative party. they will nominate the most licking countiable conservative and i think that will be us. >> about the only candidate who doesn't want this to go all the way to the convention is mitt romney. he would probably like gingrich to stay in and keep splitting that conservative vote because it allows him to run right up the middle. his supporters are warning this thing cannot go on forever. bob reilly is the former governor of alabama and he is romney supporter. listen to what he told me. >> well, governor romney, senator santorum, the speaker everyone now has to make a decision how far are we going to carry this? are we going to carry it to the point that we really do practically and functionally hurt our nominee? >> he says this could go on for a while. longer it goes on more detrimental to the party. get a clearer idea where these things go it here. if newt gingrich were to lose mississippi and alabama. it would be awfully difficult for him to say is he a viable candidate going forward. and watch for santorum supporters to turn up the heat on him to get out. shep? >> shepard: you know they would. general roberts live tonight in lafayette, louisiana is it possible mitt romney could have a successful night in the southern states? let's ask this man, veteran g.o.p. political consultant ed rollins, a former member of the reagan administration. he ran the campaigns the president presidential candidates fox news contributor. >> my pleasure. >> shepard: the highlight would be tonight? >> we watched that jet pack. romney jet packed as a yankee into the deep south and did very, very well. talking cheesy grist and trying to say y'all. i was embarrassed for him. >> he may come out with the delegates and may have a win. if he has a win he is on his way. santorum and gingrich are splitting that vote as people have annualized here until one of them gets out it's going to be hard to stop romney. >> if newt gingrich losing both states tonight. if he doesn't win in mississippi and alabama, what's his argue. >> long ways to go. that he still is the true conservative here. he still thinks he has the best opportunity to put forth ideas and i don't think at the end of the day if they like each other. and i think for that reason he will stay until the bitter end. >> how much of it is with the casino magnet who is financing this campaign almost single handily who has said some not so good things about rick santorum. >> if santorum and newt gingrich both funded by super pacs, romney would have won this thing a long time ago. >> true. >> that's what kept them both alive. >> as long as there is money coming in and as long as they can still run with the super pac. they will both stay. >> in there is discernible difference in that newt gingrich's super pac man and his wife who run a casinos and supposedly don't like some the social sayings of rick santorum. if they can with just their money keep that one candidate in and split the conservative vote they can keep rick santorum from doing anything. >> when you are multibillion mayor and allowed to put all the money in the world in there, you are going to see this is just not the first time. it will be the pattern in the future. >> shepard: i wonder, it's spring break down south in mississippi people are down in the riveria where i used to go as a kid. a lot of them won't vote as a result. i wonder how much is this because of that. >> low across the board the last several weeks. you know, my sense is that this is going to be very close. all three will come out with delegates. but end of the day the guy who basically probably gets the momentum out of it is romney because the yankee, again, he wasn't expected to do well in either mississippi or alabama. >> shepard: there are a lot of ways to judge enthusiasm. one of the ones that i look at sometimes is how much people are paying attention to the process. and the television ratings and the web site numbers are not what anybody thought they would be, i just wonder how much of that is about enthusiasm and what it is that might create some enthusiasm within the republic base. >> as long as this continue thins on at this level. even the most die hard fans aren't sure carry the ball. we are not sure who can do the most effective job. the longer it goes on o, probably until we get to a convention or get one person that looks like they are going to win it, i think it's romney, not going to be any enthusiasm. >> how dangerous is it through all of this that they beat each other with millions and millions and millions that barack obama hasn't had to spend any of his millions? >> barack obama is spending his millions but spending on organizational efforts which is gigantic. we are not able to do that. so, there is no question is he going to get a leg up on us here and we have a lot of catching up to do. >> predictions tonight. >> my prediction split. romney one, santorum another and gingrich third in both places. >> should he go. >> he should but he he won't. >> because? >> he's a tenacious guy wants to keep going. >> not about allegedson.ned a delson. >> that's what i meant his fight with mitt romney. >> shepard: david cammeron today kicking off a series of diplomatic talks but with march madness in the air. the two leaders first taking some time to catch a little hoops. so what's on the agenda for the prime minister's three-day visit? we will get a live report ahead. plus, a nose dive at the world's busiest airport. why did this delta jet go rolling down a hill? that's just ahead. 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[ male announcer ] help your family stay afloat at aflac.com. plegh! >> shepard: new polling numbers, the polls are about to close in mississippi and alabama. numbers coming up just moments from now. first an issue that's been fueling debate on the campaign trail. gas prices. today the secretary of energy steven chu says he no longer wants gas prices to go up. he has been a lightning rod for republic outrage because of comments he made long before he joined the administration. the year was 2008. he then said the united states should push gas prices up to the levels seen in europe so that alternative fuels wouldn't seem so expensive. today testifying in senate energy company an about case. >> you no longer share the view. >> i no longer share the view. the price could say effect the come back of our economy and we are worried about that. of course, we don't want the price of gasoline to go up we want it to go down. triple arts reports the price for regular gallon of unleaded $3.80. rising prices taking a toll. a a.a.a. phone survey says they have made 84% of americans change in one way or another their driving habits. president obama today welcomed britain's prime minister for a three-day visit. their diplomatic talks expected to cover the rising tensions with afghanistan, iran, and syria. before getting down to business, the mayor made time for some basketball. the president took the british prime minister david cammeron to a march madness matchup in dayton, ohio. the p.m. became the first foreign leader to travel with president obama on air force one. which was a very big deal in great britain. the white house says the trip highlights the special relationship between the u.s. and that country. but some republicans are trying foul is he the president should focus on more important issues, not hoops. it's worth noting the joint visit to a sporting visit hardly unprecedented. president bush took hosni mubarak to a baseball game in 1999. before that president eisenhower treated elizabeth and philip to a college football game. ed henry is live on the north lawn tonight ed, the president having a great time watching some hoops, i'm guessing? >> look the republicans have criticized him before for not allegedly not developing a good relationship with david cam rob and his predecessor gordon brown. so now he tries to do that at a basketball game he gets criticized anyway. is he fully aware of the fact that gas prices are fueling look at this poll basically saying that 54% of americans believe the president can have a big impact on lowering gas prices. dangerous for the white house. because it's the opposite of what they have been saying. the president has been saying there is no silver bullet. it's not easy for the president to effect prices. this poll suggests otherwise. in the president's favor a new national journal poll suggests he has a 12 point edge against congressional republicans 44% to 32%. interesting when the president's motorcade reached the dayton arena tonight they passed a bp gas station. gas prices there $3.81. a penny over that national average you mentioned, shep. >> shepard: tomorrow it seems front and center for the british prime minister and our president will be the escalating tensions and the big trouble in afghanistan, ed. >> no doubt about it the koran burnings making the situation more difficult. then this situation with the u.s. soldier allegedly killing about 16 civilians including children, afghan civilians there was a "new york times" story today suggesting that mr. were several option that the administration is considering to speed up the exit now from afghanistan. jay carney though shot that down and said there is no rush for the exits, take a listen. >> the pace of that withdrawal has not been decided. and i think it's important to understand in piatt of recent events the strategy is a broad based strategy that looks at the achievement of our objectives and the fact that this president is committed to ending the war in afghanistan responsibly none the less, everyone will be parsing the words very closely tomorrow. just after noon eastern time when these two leaders have a joint news conference in the rose garden to see whether or not there is any door open now to pulling out of afghanistan any quicker, shep. >> shepard: ed henry. joining forces with japan and the european union to try to pressure china over its export restrictions on the so-called rare earth minerals. they are critical in the manufacture of cell phones. flat screens tvs even advanced weaponry. china produces, get, this 97% of the world's supply lately it has seriously cut back on eximportance. having hard time getting hands on rareeth mets metals and paying more for what they do get. president obama china's poem not fair. u.s. japan and european union asking the world trade organization to take action. investigators in great britain have arrested six people in the ongoing tabloid hacking scandal there that word from the reporting of the "wall street journal." rebekah broongs is among those arrested. she is the former editor of the news of the world newspaper. news corporation closed down that paper last year in the wake of the hacking scandal. investigators had accused newspaper staffers of breaking into the voice mail accounts of people they were covering. police have arrested rebekah brooks once before before. but they later released her and so far no reports that they have actually charged her with any crime. stirrian opposition firefighters today killed 22 government troops but they are no match for assad's brutal regime. of the forces recently took the city of homs. a french surgeon who has operated decades called the scene the most horrific he has ever witnessed. syrian troops have retaken a northern city. where a woman said syrian troops killed her husband and two of her young children. gunfire. the word is there is still pockets of opposition firefighters in that northern city but they have little fireplace and no support from the outside. the united nations now reports the syrian government's year long crackdown has killed more than 8,000 people while 3,030,000 have left. human rights watch. syrian troops have planted hundreds of land mines near the borders with turkey and lebanon. escalating tensions in the fox report's correspondent jonathan hunt is following late developing news. the mining of borders. clearly aimed at least the refuse guys. >> certainly that the view of u.s. officials, shep. the u.s. ambassador to the susan rice treated the following when the news broke. she said only one reason why syria would plant anti-personal land mines at its borders to murder civilians trying to escape it. truly horrific. adding to that one reason of keeping refuse guys. in another reason keeping foreigners out, journalists who want to report and record the violence being per at this traited by the syrian army and humanitarian workers who want to get relief to the civilians trapped in there. so, a couple of reasons, couple of motivations, one results, shep, the maiming and murder of innocence. >> shepard: western leaders keep saying president assad will go. that his days are nourished. that his regime is crumbling. can't find the signs of it? >>. no very few signs of it, in fact, because rush sharks china and iran continue in varying measure to give diplomatic and military support to the assad regime. then you add to that the idea that his main inner circle is not deserting him at all. we have seen a couple of low level defections from the army and from lower levels of the government. but his real inner circle stand by him. that according to michael hamlin of the brookings institution is crucial. >> the overall set of developments reaffirms in assad's mine, i'm sure, that he thinks he can survive this. and he doesn't think he is losing and doesn't think he has to lose. >> and add to that he also has the example of his father, assad who murdered so thousand in 1982. the west did pretty much nothing. he remained in power until his death, shep, some 18 years later. jonathan hunt, thank you. the battle over contraception that recently took center stage in washington almost unbelievably is now heating up on the state level. wild report on new front line from a politically charged issue coming up. we're getting very close to the polls closing in alabama and mississippi might would he be able to make a call just 12 manipulates from now? continuing coverage just ahead as fox reports live tonight. ok! who gets occasional constipation, diarrhea, gas or bloating? get ahead of it! one phillips' colon health probiotic cap a day helps defend against digestive issues with three strains of good bacteria. hit me! [ female announcer ] live the regular life. phillips'. >> shepard: we're keeping a very close eye on mississippi and alabama and important political night in america. in alabama, just more than a third of voters subscribe themselves describe themselves as very conservative. for the most part those voters are splitting between santorum and gingrich. mitt romney winning among moderates. remember the last polls are set to close just 8 minutes from now. bret baier will interviewpoint republic can indicate newt gingrich later tonight. check out our exit polling information at the bottom of this screen throughout the birth control plays out nationally one state is tackling the controversy on its own. republic lawmakers in the state of new hampshire of all places are trying to change a state law which requires ensurers which offers prescription coverage to include contraceptives. the state house passed a measure to exempt employers are religious exemptions to bitter control. the state senate expected to vote on it next month. supporters of that measure says it violates employers religious freedom. critics say it puts between women and their doctors, molly line is in concord, new hampshire tonight. hell loy, molly. >> exactly. shep. as this battle plays out in washington between women's rights, representing just rights and contraceptives, it's also playing out here in new hampshire where republicans are trying to alter this law that's been on the books for over a decade. essentially forces ensurers that have prescriptive coverage to also cover contraceptives. what the republic speaker of the house william o'brien wants to see ask s. a change religious employers to exclude. here is the speaker. >> we have never said to people who hold long established religious beliefs that they have to be subject to law that cause them to violate those beliefs new hampshire law shouldn't provide for that that's why we are putting in a religious exemption to the statute. >> the bill passed the rub dominated house by a very decent margin and now it heads to the republic heavy senate as well. we spoke with senate democrat leader sylvia larson she said her constituents are mystified by. this they would rather that the lawmakers here focus on the economy not battles that have already been won over the last decade. she says it's about equality. >> you look at it in terms of equality as well, when viagra and vasectomies are covered but we are told as women some of our personal choices are not covered. it makes you wonder what's gk gone on in erms of it quality on these issues. we also spoke with legal expert professor albert shore who says he believes this is mostly a symbolic gesture on the part of republicans because federal law, the federal mandate would ultimately church what happens here at the state level. republicans think they have a shot here because as parts of obama care head to the supreme court, they think ultimately they will have legal ground to stand on, shep? >> shepard: molly line our new england correspondent live in concord, thanks. remember all those hours as a young people going through the encyclopedia brie -- britannica goes on and on? guess what's going away. a passenger jet rolled off a taxiway earlier this morning at the world's busiest airport. a delta airline spokesman says mechanics at jackson international airport in atlanta were testing the plane's engines when they had trouble with the breaking -- braking system. no passengers were on board at the time. cranes later righted that jet. delta spokesperson says the 747 has significant dang. already headed off to miami. kidding. bet baier will be back up at the top of the hour. polls close in just a few short minutes. and then there is ensoak low media brie tan nicca. who would have thought it after 244 years. every time a local business opens its doors or creates another laptop bag or hires another employee, it's not just good for business, it's good for the entire community. at bank of america, we know the impact that local businesses have on communities. that's why we extended $6.4 billion in needit to small businesses across the country last year. because the more we help them, the more we help make opportunity possible. hi, i just switched jobs, and i want to roll over my old 401(k) into a fidelity ira. man: okay, no problem. it's easy to get started; i can help you with the paperwork. um...this green line just appeared on my floor. yeah, that's fidelity helping you reach your financial goals. could you hold on a second? 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