fighting for third. in the 19th debate of the season and the last before florida votes next tuesday, the front-runners tangled over investments and campaign rhetoric. much more in fair game. a day after the captain admitted that he made a mistake and wrecked the ship, $14,000 is being offered to the passengers. but this ordeal is far from over. a 16th body was recovered on tuesday while another 16 passengers are still missing. the rescue operations chief says crews are trying to open up new passages so rescuers can access more areas. a surreal experience to be condemned to die. those were the ominous words of joshua komisarjevsky before a judge sentenced him to death less than two hours ago. he was convicted in october for brutally raping and killing three people and dr. william petit managed to escape from the basement. he said, i miss my entire family. i had 26 years with jennifer, 17 with haley and 11 with michaela. we were robbed of this for what? money. we will hear more of his words in court in a few minutes. twitter played a critical role but they could soon be sense what exactly does that mean? twitter will begin deleting users' tweets in country that require it. until now, if twitter deleted your post, it would be erased globally, meaning nobody could see it in any country. if silly string teaches you anything, let it teach you to do not do this. a boston bruins fan and bosses from the tampa bay lightning got wind of it and according to the tampa bank time rge the woman got for this but the silly string incident wasn't the only reason for firing frank. cnn has calls out to frank but we haven't yet heard back. we all know the x-games are extreme but what happened in aspen left many horrified. before we show you this, be warned, this is a freestyle jump on his snowmobile when, just watch, amazing stuff. moore is okay and walks away. not only that he advanced to the finals and won the gold. set your watches because colton moore will be speaking with brooke baldwin at 2:50 p.m. about the crash and his win. the breakup of heidi klum and seals seemed shocking. many asked seal about their separation. >> how can two people who have it all as i described, have their careers, the love for each other, the beautiful family, have the respect and the honor and the friendship for each other, how can it all of a sudden take a left turn? so, no, it doesn't really make sense. >> you can catch piers entire interview at 9:00 p.m. eastern time. a picture of perfection, or are they? we'll ask the author of the new book, jodi kantor. plus, she dishes on what it's like inside the white house. an amazing story of the community coming together. a hardware store came under hard times and was on the brink of closing after more than 150 years. that all changed after a resident posted an online rallying cry, asking members of the community to come to the store and spend at least $20. he called it a cash mob. it saved that store. not only did people flood in, so did calls to all those who gave, you are today's rock stars. when you have tough pain, do you want fast relief? try bayer advanced aspirin. it's not the bayer aspirin you know. it's different. first, it's been re-engineered with micro-particles. second, it enters the bloodstream fast, and rushes relief to the site of your tough pain. the best part? it's proven to relieve pain twice as fast as before. bayer advanced aspirin. test how fast it works for you. love it, or get your money back. when it comes to the first family, americans really only get to see the exterior, the polished presentation and perfection, it so often seems. in fact, life inside the white house is not only ridiculously demanding, it can be downright grueling. author jodi kantor joins me from new york. nice to have you on the program. read the book. really interesting read. i understand that you interviewed 200 people, many who surprised you most about the obamas in your research? >> he will well, i think the most interesting thing is watching these two interesting people from chicago but turn themselves into president and first lady of the united states. i really wrote the book to answer voter's questions that they had coming up to 2012. what has the effect been on them of being in power, of living in the white house? what is their true experience and behind the scenes adjustment been like? >> and in the book you describe the obamas as pretty much isolated, introverted in a way. they don't socialize very much. why do you think that is and does that surprise you? >> well, part of it is the effect of being in the white house. president obama revolutionized ab ou online campaigning and michelle obama used to be a real neighborhood person. now her moves are so restricted. when she went to a beautiful art museum, she was shocked to discover that it's only a block from the white house because she doesn't get to walk around the neighborhood. >> how would you say their relationship has changed? >> well, i think what is interesting is their relationship means so much politically. when i talked to them in 2009, i said, we see all of these beautiful images together. are you in any way marketing your marriage for political gain and they really pushed back. they really disagreed with even the premise of the question but a year later they are sitting in a meeting in the oval office and the president's approval ratings are way down, the mid--term elections in 2010 were very tough for democrats and they are basically told democrats love seeing you together and it has a positive effect on elections. >> there is no question the president has the toughest job in america but if you look at the first lady, that can't be easy either. i know you write a little bit about how michelle obama struggles with that. >> the scrutiny is incredible. the first summer they were in office, they went to the grand canyon, a typical thing to do and they were told to dress very lightly for safety. so michelle obama wore a pair of shorts, just a remember pair of mom shorts and an uproar ensued, days of video commentary and pictures and debate about whether it's okay for a first lady to wear shorts and she actually went to robert gibbs and she was very contrite. she was worried that she had caused days of negative headlines simply by wearing shorts. he assured her, no matter what you do, people will pick you apart. >> i've seen mixed reviews. some are positive and some are quite negative. you've been shocked by what you call tabloid treatment of this. >> well, maybe not shocked but a little bit surprised. the book reviews have been very good. the thing that i've been surprised by is i have been covering the obamas for a long time, oftentimes writing sensitive stories. what i think that has never happened before is this story really blew up and there was a lot of tabloidy sensationalized treatment. there were statements that were skewed, the facts that i reported. as an author i don't want to complain about attention but that was a little strange to write. >> this story got me. there is this window that laura bush pointed out to michelle obama. where is it? >> it's upstairs in a private residence and it's a little inconspicuous window. laura bush took michelle obama there after the 2008 election and laura bush said, my mother-in-law, barbara bush, showed this window to hillary clinton who showed it to me and i'll show it to you and one day you'll point out to your successor. she used to stand slightly to the side so nobody could see her and look out. to me it was such a powerful metaphor for what first ladyhood is. these women experience the presidency so intensely yet they are hidden in a way as well. >> have you heard from the president or first lady since the book came out. >> reporters almost never do. sometimes you hear through aides and ind immediate areas. >> thank you so much. >> thank you, jodi kantor. appreciate it. he's been convicted of killing two young girls and their mother before setting the house on fire. but what drove him to commit such a horrible crime? the latest about joshua komisarjevsky and from his sentencing. .'scuse me... ...or a big steak... ...or big hair... i think we have our answer. geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. joshua komisarjevsky convicted in a brutal home invasion in connecticut was sentenced to death just a few hours ago. he killed jennifer hawke-petit, then tied up her two young daughters and set them on fire. dr. william petit said in court today, i lost my wife, my family, my home, my partner. for what? money. why did komisarjevsky do it? i got some insight when the murders first happened in 2007 from one of komisarjevsky's friends. >> reporter: a hint of violence, a disturbing prediction of what might come buried in this letter from prison. >> i need someone like you who knows a little bit about my past to keep me grounded in the future when my criminal demon wants to wander. >> reporter: days after the attack, we interviewed this woman who told us she was a close woman. she shared the letter he says he sent her from prison years before. >> prison was a hard pill for me to swallow. there isn't a day that goes by that i don't get angry or the pain of being taken from my daughter. >> reporter: he writes about his dreams of becoming a real estate developer. >> my daughter needs me and i can't accomplish my goals when i am locked up. >> reporter: police say komisarjevsky followed mrs. petit owe one of her daughters from the grocery store and chose him as his next victim. they are hardly strangers to crime. in fact, between the two of them, they have been arrested nearly 50 times. on hayes' rap sheet, 27 arrests, including possession of a firearm and burglary. komisarjevsky's past is just as ugly. burglary and larceny. police say he sometimes used night vision goggles. both have served time in prison but it was here at the halfway house in hartford, connecticut, where they first met. they were roommates for four months. what might have driven them to sexually assault and strangle jennifer hawke-petit and leave her two beautiful daughters to die in a fire that they set? a forensic psychiatrist has studied cases like this. >> they were consumed with the unfairness of their lives, so to speak. >> reporter: komisarjevsky was adopted as an infant. his grandmother, a well-known modern dancer. a family friend says his parents had trouble controlling him. his friend told us that just five days before the murders komisarjevsky was distraught over a breakup. >> he was really, really depressed. she said if he did kill jennifer and her kids, he snapped. >> he put the terror into these poor girls hearts and he was the person that he spent the last hours in fear of their lives and left them to burn. >> reporter: a senseless act, not even a history of crime can explain. now let's go straight to the connecticut court where komisarjevsky was sentenced our brian vitagliano was there. i can hardly imagine what that atmosphere was like in that courtroom today. can you tell us? >> yes, randi. hi. the courtroom ran high with emotion. it was a very somber hour and 45 minutes. joshua komisarjevsky at 10:00 a.m. was led into the prison in an orange jumpsuit and shackles. he had to sit there and listen to jennifer hawke-petit's father, mother, and sister speak video for the victim impact statements and then dr. petit got up and spoke and it was extremely, extremely emotional. afterwards dr. petit and the entire petit family and friends left the courtroom. they did not want to hear anything that joshua komisarjevsky had to say. and he did in fact speak for roughly about eight minutes. he said that he, quote, was honest in my confession, then and now, and knew the result is the same one that he did it and he was going to spend his life in prison. he didn't want to look innocent when he died and didn't need 12 people to tell him what his motivation was. i covered the steven hayes' verdict as well and it was extremely emotional. when you sit in court and listen to a judge basically say your fate is now in the hands of others, may god have mercy on your soul, it's extremely powerful. >> do you think the family -- i don't like to use the word closure and i know dr. petit didn't. but this is sort of finally coming to an end for them. how much would you say that means to this family? >> i think it means a lot. they have had to endure two trials now. and sit through evidence and horrific testimony about what happened to his wife and daughters and keep photographs of the remains of charred and burned bodies and that is taxing on anyone and, you know, during last october when dr. petit came out, someone asked him about closure and he says, quote, it's not clear to me that time heals all wounds but you form some form of scars. so, you know, there is a sense that he's moving on. he just recently did get engaged over the holidays. so, you know, he seems to be moving on. but this, by no means, will ever be forgotten for the family or the people in connecticut. >> certainly not. not a crime that brutal. brian vigtaliano, thank you. we've been talking about the impact of concussions all week. coming up, we'll discuss how brain injuries are detected. dr. sanjay gupta is even going to put me to the test. you'll see it live next. police in a suburb of pittsburgh are investigating a high school accused of putting football ahead of students' safety. coaches at peters township pressure students to play hurt. the district disagrees and no one has been charged with anything. getting hit in the head hard can cause some serious problems. dr. sanjay gupta has reported on those risks. all day we are talking solutions. my first question to you is, how can parents continue to let their kids play sports while still protecting their brains? is it possible. >> the athletic trainers need to be on the side of the kids' safety and at let trick trainers are one of the solutions. they can diagnose and recognize concussions so players don't get back into the game hurt. if someone has a second concussion while healing from the first, it can turn into a terrible, catastrophic problem. you think about practices, just so many repetitive head injuries in practices because of the drills. coaches and staff alike saying, do we need to be having a kid hit their head that meantimes in practice in football, soccer, or lots of different sports. also, you watch football. the three-point stance. you have your head down and that was designed to move people to quickly with their headfirst. focus on a two-point stance first. your chest and arms and hands to do the tackling. a lot of people focus on helmets, for example. and they are important but request also be a false sense of comfort. these cannot prevent concussions necessarily. if you think specifically about what a helmet does versus what is happening to the brain when someone takes the hit. the brain is moving back and forth within the skull and that's what really causes the concussion is the brain stretches and twists and a helmet can't prevent that from happening. that is a way to address this problem. >> is it possible that some players don't even know when they've been hit hard enough? is it possible for the coaches to know for appearance? >> yes. and this is an important point. because the players themselves may not be the best judge at the time. they have just had a brain injury. and even if they do know, there is plenty of evidence to suggest that because of the culture of football, they want to get back into the game. more than half of the players lie about this to get into the game. they have been trying to do a lot of things to try and standardize the playing field. they do these cognitive exams and if someone has a head injury, they can test them again. everybody else watching at home as well, if you take a look -- we have a list of words -- just take a look at that list for a few seconds there, randi. this is part of what a cognitive test would be like. you try to remember those and keep in mind if you had a head injury or playing concussion or you say, look, i'm fine, everything is resolved, i'm good to go, they may put you through you through these exams again. >> do you remember those words? >> that was a long time ago. mirror. >> this is a list of more words and now pit out the words that you see there on the list. >> this is easy. ladder, parent, mirror, forest, stove. >> you did go. they have the word hot in there so people will confuse the word hot with stove. tree and forest. this is a much more sophisticated. that is a trend in terms of trying to not only give the player the benefit of the doubt but really rather test them. >> yeah, it's frightening because obviously they want to keep playing. i understand that. it's scary that the parents and others may not have any idea unless they gave them a test but may not know to give them a test. >> right. and hopefully 35 states and the district columbia are taking these tests. hopefully it will be more common. >> thank you for the great reporting on such a serious issue. big hits, broken dreams airs this sunday, 8:00 p.m. eastern on cnn. definitely tune in for that one. the gloves were off in last night's debate. gingrich took most of the hits. is the battle for the hit gingrich's last stand? that is fair game next. but, first, a political junkie question. which party won florida when the state voted in the first presidential election in 1848? a long time ago. i'll give a shout out to the first person who tweets the right answer to me @randikayecnn. 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[ male announcer ] great tasting tap water can come from any faucet anywhere. when bp made a commitment to 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. before the break i asked which party won florida when the state voted in its first presidential election in 1848 and the answer is the whig party. congratulations to charles from columbia for tweeting the right answer. newt gingrich was outperformed in the debate last night. take a look at this poll. mitt romney has opened up a nine-point lead over gingrich, according to a quinniac poll. joining us is roll land martin and will cane. >> hey, randy, what if we had the we party. >> that's a good idea, roland. >> you had your time. >> i'm going to start with will here. to you first. this new poll that we showed before roland chimed in there doesn't bode well for beginning ric gingrich. >> i think last night kind of exposed him as a fancy boxer with the glass jaw. he really got whooped last night. that's just plain and clear. >> roll laand, i know you want say something. >> whoever was his debate coach needs to give them a serious bonus for cooking them up with the performance last night. here's the piece. this is only the fourth state. it might be a tough month for newt gingrich but the key is going to be what happens on super tuesday, march 6th and then wha