in northern florida, interstate 75 is closed after a string of crashes overnight that killed at least nine people. officials tell us the highway will be closed in that area for most of today. the sheriff s office says visibility was poor because of smoke from a nearby brushfire. all right, in just two days, florida s primary, most delegate rich contest so far. and candidate newt gingrich is heading into it with a new endorsement. i hereby officially and enthusiastically endorse newt gingrich for president of the united states! will herman cain s backing influence primary voters in the sunshine state? a live report straight ahead. and now to the campaign trail, extending beyond florida. ron paul spent the weekend in maine where several towns are holding caucuses over the next several weeks. rick santorum did some fund raising in washington, d.c. yesterday, but skipped appearances today in florida to be with his young daughter who is being hospitalized in philadelphia.
border. we ll tell you why. plus, we could be seeing the highest gas prices of all time here in the u.s. $5 a gallon, really? we ll explain where your money is going. i hope you re sitting back getting a little r&r this morning. we re going to start with the campaign trail in florida. newt gingrich and mitt romney have events coming up this morning. gingrich has been in stewart, florida, attending a lincoln day breakfast. it serves in about 30 minutes. as for mitt romney, he ll be holding a rally in pensacola in about an hour. florida is the biggest prize so far. it s anyone s ball game at this point. paul steinhauser is going to break it down for us here. good morning, christi. just three days away now from florida s crucial primary. it s a winner take all primary. 50 delegates at stake. that is the biggest haul so far in this primary and caucus season. you ve got former massachusetts governor mitt romney and former speaker newt gingrich campaigning in the state all we
continue to go head to head, ronald reagan has become the talk of the campaign. ed rollins is here with analysis, as we are less than a week away from the sunshine s primary, coming up next. oo-ay-ow. savings. savings. savings? progressive was the first to offer online quoting. you can do better. first to show comparison rates. ding! the name your price tool. oh! gosh, don t mind if i do. who was the first to offer pet injury coverage? we were. and when did you know you wanted to sell insurance? i said i wouldn t cry. um. whee! it s flo time. now, that s progressive. call or click today. lord of the carry-on. sovereign of the security line. you never take an upgrade for granted. and you rent from national. because only national lets you choose any car in the aisle.
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early start, i m ashleigh banfield. and i m zoraida sambolin. we are bringing you the news from a to z. it s 5:00 a.m. in the east. let s get started here. this was a good one, guys, if you missed it. the tarmac in arizona got hot. it wasn t about the weather. it was about the president and the governor. jan brewer and barack obama getting testy on the tarmac and brewer even pointed her finger, shaking it, wagging it at the president. what was this all about? why did they have an issue and have they resolved it? just five days left until the florida primary. there are four folks out there. we re talking gingrich and romney in a dead heat. can someone land a knockout blow at tonight s cnn debate? that s debate number 19. if you re counting. and we are. we are. also, this amazing story of the rescue of the these two aide workers in somalia. here are the graphics but boy is there a story behind these graphics. if you like blackhawks, you like rescue do we have