>> in just a few hours results will start coming in from today's republican triple-header caucuses in colorado, minnesota and a primary in missouri up for grabs. dozens of delegates, but perhaps more importantly momentum. the front-runner mitt romney's campaign is anticipating a potential setback as his rivals look for an opportunity. our jim acosta is in denver. >> reporter: we're going to turn around and look at this screen back here, because mitt romney will talk to us from his bus. >> reporter: with a snowstorm slowing him down, he ran about an hour later, so he skyped to the crowd, a sign that not everything was going his way on this caucus day. >> colorado has something to say about who our nominees will be, and i think i will be that nominee. a strategy memo was released. saying the campaign is anticipating possibly a loss. we expect our opponents to notch a few wins, too. the memo red cued newt gingrich's plans to -- boasting romney would triumph in the west, suggesting the campaign is prepared for a long haul to the nomination. >> our hope is that conservatives are stepping back, looking at the race. >> poised to win one of the day's contest, rick santorum decline to set expectations, but but predicted romney would fail to attract as many voters as he did in 2008. he under3r678d in nevada, he's underperformed in new hampshire. just go on down the list. the same thing in iowa. so he's underperformed from four years ago. i suspect he will again. >> both santorum and gingrich are trying to tie romney to the obama administration's decision to require catholic hospitals to cover birth control expenses for its workers. romney noted that it was -- for emergenciry contraception to rape victims. >> governor romney insisted that catholic hospitals give out abortion pills against that i religious belief. i think a massachusetts moderate finds it very hard -- >> the former massachusetts governor ignored the attack, instead assuring the voters the obama regulation will soon disappear. >> this kind of assault on religion will end if i'm president of the united states. >> reporter: as for the romney campaign memo, it also points out no delegates will be awarded immediately after tonight's contest. that will come later when state party conventions make those al occasions, but make no mistake, a romney defeat somewhere will sent home the message to a lot of republicans this race is not over until it's over. wolf? >> good point. jim, thank you. a look at today's republican contests. wlz at stake, our chief political analyst gloria borger is here. if romney were to lose one state, how much of a setback would it be? >> i think it would be a setback. they're saying, look, the opponents cannot chain the dynamics. in other words, it's already baked. but romney did win colorado and minnesota last time around. if he were to lose one of these states, particularly colorado, i think, a statement 1/2 some of his top campaign advisers are from that state, i think it will be a real problem, because people could make the claim, you don't have it locked up. by the way, you can't coalesce those most conservative voters around you which need to come out in a general election if republicans are to win. >> because all at least of these states -- minnesota, colorado and minnesota -- potentially battle grounds in a general election. listen to what santorum said today. >> i'm excited. we're kicking off the day in colorado. we have a big caucus tonight, and we'll head to minneapolis, and they have a caucus, and same thing, we're going to missouri half that. we'll be in st. louis tonight. and at least if you look at the polls, today could be a very good day for the conservatives. >> he needs to win at least something, i think. >> he does. >> is it make or break for him? >> i think it is. he kind of blew off florida, nevada, to come to a place like minnesota, where the most conservative people come out to participate in these caucuses. and i think right now, what he's saying is, look, there's an opening for me. i am the conservative in this race, not newt gingrich. we'll be looking to see, will newt gingrich be third? fourth? but rick santorum needs to win one and really two of these contests this evening to show he's got the juice to continue, not only with conservatives, but he's got to start raising money, and the only way to do that is actually put another one in the win category. >> and i wouldn't be surprised if ron paul in these caucus states does well, too, because he has an ardent group of supporters. >> he'll be a competitor. >> gloria will be with us through our coverage tonight. we'll have complete coverage beginning at 6:00 p.m. eastern, right after "the situation room," a special edition of "judge kin usa" and complete coverage of all the results will begin at 7:00 p.m. eastern right here on cnn. let's go to washington where there's big news. this afternoon the rule forces religious organization to offer birth control and health insurance plans, hospitals, universities and other institutions. let's bring in our white house correspondent brianna keilar. she's got more on what's going on, what apparently seems to have changed today, brianna. what's going on? >> more than anything it seems like a softening of a tone and reaching out an olive branch to certain catholic voters who may be concerned. about 2 1/2 weeks ago they put in place a rule that will go in effect this summer, a rule saying employers just provide birth control, the employers must provide that by this summer. there was an exception for churches to provide that but the sticky issue had to go with charities, universities, hospitals, there was a delay put in this ruling for them, they had an extra year to comply, but it still created quite a firestorm, particularly with catholic leaders who were very upset. the development today is the white house kind of softening its stance, signaling it's open to working with the religiously affiliated employers in this amount of time. lit -- >> the president's interest at a policy level is in making sure this coverage is extended to all women the other side is concerns about religious beliefs and convictions so we will in this transition per seek ways to implement that policy that allays some of those concerns. >> the white house trying to thread a neatle here, still insisting that women who are employed by these religiously affiliated employers have that insurance access. we did reach out to planned parenthood, even though this is just develops not too long ago. planned parenthood doesn't seem concerned, they're not alarmed. at least one spokesman said, but there have been in catholic leaders who still very much are. the general council for the u.s. conference for catholic bishops saying implementing the policy as is are mutually exclusive. if they want to allay concerns, they need to change the policy. nothing less will do. what do voters think about this policy? >> there's a study that just came out by the public religion research institute. a lot of folks are pointing to it. it shows that roughly 6 in 10 catholics think employers should be required to provide this kind of insurance coverage. among catholic voters, which is obviously very important, it's slightly lower, but i think you're seeing the white house realized it may be different or possible to allay some of these concerns of, say, the catholic bishops, but they're softening the stand, certainly trying to extend an olive branch. >> brianna, thanks very much. we're going to be talking about this in our "strategy session" later this hour. ari fleischer and donna brazile are standing by. praise and criticism are pouring in after an important court ruling on gay marriage in california. it sets you said what could be the final chapter of a very long fight. what could be next. we'll stand by for that. also we'll have the united states ambassador to the united nations, whether the world is going to stand by and allow syrian forces to pulverize a rebellious city. plus a man who says he's uncovered what officials don't want you to know about the afghan fighters that are supposed to take over once u.s. troops leave afghanistan. you'll want to see this. stay with us. you're in "the situation room." have i got a surprise for you! a mouthwatering combination of ingredients... i know you're gonna love. 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[ woman announcing ] beneful healthy fiesta. another healthful, flavorful beneful. how they'll live tomorrow. for more than 116 years, ameriprise financial has worked for their clients' futures. helping millions of americans retire on their terms. when they want. where they want. doing what they want. ameriprise. the strength of a leader in retirement planning. the heart of 10,000 advisors working with you one-to-one. together for your future. ♪ will be giving away passafree copies together for your future. of the alcoholism & addiction cure. to get yours, go to ssagesmalibubook.com. jack cafferty is here with "the cafferty file." jack? >> indeed, another election day and with it another day of bad news for newt gingrich. in this it looks like three more losses. >> plus rest polls shows him in third place in both colorado and minnesota, which is probably why gingrich isn't in any of those states today, choosing instead to campaign in ohio. newt's future doesn't look too bright at this point. there are two more weeks before another debate. at the end of the month come arizona and michigan romney is favored in both of those, and super tuesday on march 6th. gingrich has given up on giving up on the ballot. when gingrich took a thumping. he seemed to ignore the results. he held a bizarre news conference where he vowed to, quote, find a series of victory which, by the end of the it can it can 3r50i78ary will leave us at parity with romney. say what? former candidate mish bachmann says she thinks the race will be over soon. dib armey says gingrich is a lost cause for those voters. meanwhile, just one more sign that gingrich is losing touch. wikipedia says that gingrich's communications director has made or requested dozens of ed illustrates on gingrich's behalf. these including factual references to his marriages and ethics charges brought against him while speaker of the house. is newt gingrich kidding himself at this point? go to cnn.com/caffertyfile, post a comment or go to our post on "the situation room's" facebook page. not looking good for the newt-er, wolf. >> i'll be speaking with him live, so will have a chance to question him. thanks very much, jack. a big ruling on california's ban on same-sex marriage occurred today. lisa sylvester is monitoring that and other stories. what's going on? >> a federal appeals court says california's voter approved gay marriage ban is unconstitutional. the manual made its decision saying the ban known as prop 8 served -- expect an appeal that could go all the way to the u.s. supreme court. we are learning more about the disturbing murder/suicide in washington state. police say josh powell attacked his two little boys with a match et before setting the house on fire, killing himself and his children. in the minutes leading up to that rampage, powell called family members and left this message, quote -- i'm not able to live without my sons and not able to go on anymore. he says that on tapes obtained by abc news. filled -- the 85-year-old former president apparently spent six hours at a book launch party talking about current events and taking a swipe at the united states saying no one's interested in the gop primaries. and that gritty chrysler ad about detroit's comeback, well, it turns out it wasn't actually filmed in detroit. new orleans and los angeles serve as stand-ins for the motor city as clint eastwood reflects on halftime in america, according to "the weekly standard." and the only video that is actually from detroit turns out is stock footage, wolf? >> a lot of publicity thanks to that video for chrysler and clint eastwood. a lot of debate going on. thanks very much for that, lisa. today we're seeing new records of syrian gunners shelling homes in a rebellious city. in a minute i'll ask ambassador susan rice if the world can find a way to shop the bloodhe shed. >> assad is off the as being armed. we'll take a closer look at how much political damage president obama has caused with a large very important group of religious voters. stay with us. ♪ my sunglasses. 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[ horn honking ] ♪ ...all through the night [ man ] maybe that's why we go to so many memorable places. ♪ [ male announcer ] the subaru outback. love the road you're on. shells and rockets continue to rain down on a city of a million people, now the epicenter of syria's revolt and brutal government crackdown. op sips groups say at least 25 people have died today. in damascus, the regime rolled out the red k57d for russia's prime minister a group of arab nations have followed the u.s. lead in recalling their am bass endorse some damascus, our lisa sylvester is following the hairoing accounts of slaughter that are emerging on a daily, sometimes hourly basis. what's the latest? >> that's right, wolf, an estimated 6,000 people have been killed in syria. the city of homs has been hit heart. we are seeing images of civilians caught in the violence, women and children, schools and homes have been bombed. we're learning more how activists are getting these pictures out to the rest of the world. >> smoke rises above the city of homs. images of the destruction, including a bombed-out school. cnn cannot independently verify the authenticity of the videos, but the clips posted on youtube and other social media are one of the few ways the world can see what's happening there. syrian officials have only allowed a handful of journalists inside the country, limiting their access. this man who only wants us to identify him as adun, pleaded with us. >> the entire world should be ashamed of what's happening here. everybody is sighants, looking at us as being slaughtered for every moment, for no reason. we're just asking for our freedom. we are getting killed every moment. we are not able to even get basic medicine to injured people. church you now really hungry. i swear, children are hungry. no power, no fuel, it's so cold. it's too much. for god's sake, this is too much. >> social media gives a window to the rest of the world, but it comes at a great price, activists risking their lives. only about 18% of syria has access to the internet, but there are enough people with smartphones in key cities to have an impact. an activist who now lives in the united states explains there are various ways they're getting information out. people taking pictures on the phone and using youtube, but the syrian government has knocked out the internet, so they're using a cell phone a. p p that allows them to immediately stream them on live. >> it's actually recording. i can take this and record you -- >> anything. and it goes directly to the website. i would e-mail my channel and say i'm going to be live streaming from 5:00 to 6:00, say. >> activists say it's important to tell the world what is happening inside of syria why is it so important that the rest of the world sees these images. >> because the government keeps lying about what's happening. without those images and considerable we cannot prove they're lying. >>. >> as mentioned, russia and china vetoed a u.n. security council resolution that would have demanded al assad stop the violence. they're slamming what they call the collective massacre and unicef also reports there have been deaths and injuries of hundreds of children, wolf. >> what a story, horrible, horrendous story unfolding. lisa, thanks. our coverage continues next. the u.s. ambassador to the united nations, susan rice, has a tough message directly for syria's leader bashar al assad. >> your days are numbered, and it is past time for you to transfer power responsibly and peacefully. >> my one on one interview with susan rice. that's coming up next. an army officer risks his job, breaks his silence to tell cnn what he's really seeing on the front lines of afghanistan, what he says the pentagon doesn't want you to know. as we've been showing you, thousands are dead, tens of thousands wounded, many more have simply disappeared, along with the shocking images of slaughter. there are desperate appeals to the outside world for help. but will the world answer? joining us the u.s. ambassador susan rice. thanks very much. i want to get right to syria i want you to listen to what senator john mccain said today. he's outraged. listen to this. >> i think we should consider all options, including arming the opposition. the blood-letting has got to stop. >> is the obama administration ready to start arming the opposition in syria? >> we are all outraged and very much frustrated by the fact that two countries only, russia and china, following their own narrow interests blocked a very important resolution at the security council that would have given hope to an arab league mediated peaceful resolution of this crisis. despite that we are committed to seeing this resolved, and we think that's very much possible. we are looking very active at what senator -- a form of contact group we're looking at ways to ramp up the economic pressure on asat, who is already feeling the economic squeeze confide potently, so the pressure becoming unyielding. >> and certainly consulting with our partners, the arab states that had been leading in initiative about appropriate next steps. we believe this can and should be resolved. >> the russians keep arming the regime, so i guess, is the notion of the u.s., the europeans, the arab world arming the opposition, is that something you would support? >> well, wolf, i think we want to certainly have the opportunity to explore a range of options, but our strong preference is not to fuel what has the potential to become a full-blown civil war. assad is off the reservation. perhaps others, the armed opposition as opposed to the civilian opposition is increasingly resorting to violence in self-defense that is not in the interests of the people of syria. we very much want to ensure that we have exhausted the political and diplomatic means at our disposal. i want you to listen to this. >> the world should be ashamed. it's not just it is russians and the chinese. their shame is obvious to the rest of us, but there's also so much abdication elsewhere. abdication by the turks nearby, by the arab league, there's abdication in washington. >> he's saying washington could be and must be doing a lot more. what also realistically can they do to stop the slaughter? >> i didn't hear him make any specific suggestions, but wolf, we think that the assad regime is on its last legs, that the pressure is increasing, the economy is crumbling defection shuns are increasing, so we're interested in accelerating that process of economic and political pressure, such that assad stops the violence and gets out of the way and gets out of power. we do think there are additional steps that we can take along that dimension that are -- that have yet to be undertaken, and we're going to do so, but not every situation is identical. this is not a situation which unlike libya, where the arab league called for military intervention, where there was brought -- and frankly even the people of syria, the opposition themselves are not making that the centerpiece of what t