army staff sergeant accused of the unthinkable. walking off base and executing 16 civilians, nine of them children. the sergeant is a qualified sniper trained to hit and kill people at a distance of eight football fields. let's go to chris lawrence. what else do we know about this accused gunman? >> he's a combat veteran that did three tours in iraq. on the last tour in 2010, his vehicle rolled over. he suffered a traumatic brain injury. the army treated him for that. he was diagnosed and declared fit for duty. he's a married man, a father of two. over the weekend, the military moved his family, his wife and kids on to the military base in the state of washington for their own protection. now, as to what happened here, he left the base, his combat outpost at 3:00 in the morning. the afghan guards noticed he was gone. noticed him leaving. they called their american counter parts. it raised alarms. the americans put a search party together to search for the soldier. at the same time this is going on, afghan civilians start coming to the gate carrying the wounded saying there had been a shooting. before the search party could get out and locate the soldier, he came back to the combat outpost, walked in, gave himself up. as far as we know from an official we spoke with, he refused to talk about what happened. janua john? >> he's an alleged gunman has every right to due process. could he face execution here? >> he could. president reagan instituted capital punishment for the military. he could face the death penalty. the method is lethal injection. no service member has been put to death in more than 50 years. it's unlikely. and, even if the court recommends it after a court-marti court-martial, president obama himself would have to personally sign off on it and approve it. in fact, the last time this happened, president bush actually signed an order approve ing the execution of a soldier back in 2008. that soldier is still going through the appeals process, though. get this, the soldier he signed off on was for offenses committed well over a decade before. by the time the soldier goes through the process and exhausts the appeals, it could be beyond 2016. this may be something that a future president would have come before his desk. john? >> chris lawrence, thank you. while the obama white house promises this won't interfere with steady progress in afghanistan, the taliban is vowing bloody retaliation. we are in afghanistan covering the anguish and vows of revenge. a quick caution, the video in this report is disturbingly bloody. >> reporter: not far from a u.s. military outpost, a disturbing scene. a dead toddler with a blood-stained face lies sandwiched between two dead men in the back of a pick-up truck. in another truck, a blanket reveals charred remains of more people. they are a few of the victims of the shooting rampage. one guy came in and pulled a boy from his sleep and shot him in this doorway. then put the gun in the mouth of another child and stomped on another boy this mother says. u.s. officials, including president obama expressed their condolences and sadness. that has little meaning to the families. one family alone lost 11 family members in the incident. look at these bodies. they are all belong to one family, this villager cried. men wept openly barely able to speak through their tears. they picked up shell casings. the evidence something terrible happened. overwhelming. the floors and walls of the homes stained with blood. as the day went on, the sorrow was replaced with anger at american forces. this base told us to come back to our villages. they said we won't bother you. this is your land. this is your own village. then those dogs come and grab us another mother shouted. some of the villagers claim there was more than one soldier on the ground when the massacre happened around 2:00 in the morning sunday. the international security assistance forces refute that saying this was the work of a single soldier who walked away from base acting alone. now afghan lawmakers called on the u.s. government to allow for a public trial on afghan soil. there has been a response to that by the pentagon. spokesmen say this is indeed a u.s. soldier who committed these acts. the soldier would not be tried in the afghan judicial system. john? >> how much does that complicate the trust and anger here? if the afghans want a public trial, how convinced are they the soldier will receive a trial? he would be held accountable if he's found guilty. >> reporter: not very i think is the way to answer that. there is a lot of suspicion. there's a lot of worry that someone is going to get off with a quote, slap on the wrist. what they don't want to see is to have this person end up back in the united states and not have what they believe would be justice served. what people are calling for is this to happen swiftly. a lot of times, the investigations take some time and they will look at all the different angles. we are hearing reporting from barbara starr who spoke with someone in the department of defense that he suffered a traumatic brain injury. this could be a long process. if that's the case, there may be reaction. the taliban are saying they are going to take revenge. we'll have to see what the villagers in the area do in the coming hours and days. >> this is a traumatic and horrible story. thanks so much. we have word of a massacre in syria. 45 women and children stabbed to death. some of the women were raped and strangled. the children's throats slit. arwa damon will have the story. tomorrow, 110 delegates at stake. gingrich leads romney 34% to 31% in alabama. another tight race in mississippi, romney a two point lead over gingrich. again, it's too close to call. candidates are down to their closing arguments. >> i just want to say thanks for your generosity, your warm reception and hospitality. we are going to win tomorrow. [ applause ] >> the reason i'm running is i'm the one candidate with a clear, consistent track record of working with reagan and clinton getting large scale change. >> i know the values of the people of mississippi are in line with us. they need to go out and vote for the person that best represents their values. >> a chief political analyst is with us in the cnn election center. too close to call. one of the big questions, one of the criticisms romney can't prove himself. he can't be a republican nominee unless he can win in the base of the party. >> i think they have a point there, by the way. people in the romney campaign understand there's a big psychological hole, if nothing else in the middle of their campaign that says this is where the core of the party is and you ought to be able to win. the polls are too close to call. it's closer than we have a right to expect it to be. that's probably because gingrich and santorum are splitting the voters they have been splitting throughout the entire process. you know them. the conservative voters, tea party voters. as long as they continue to do that, romney does all right. one other thing, his campaign believes he's gone back to the basics on the business experience message. they believe it is helping in the south. >> you forwarded me earlier in the day, a memo from the santorum campaign. gingrich campaign leaked. the santorum campaign said no, no, we can win, we can win. when they do that, they are worried and trying to get good blog postings. >> to me and 500 other reporters, right? >> santorum has a mathematical point. he does. romney said gingrich and santorum would pick up delegates and get to the convention with no nominee. >> if we go to the convention, we are signaling our doom replacing president obama. we need to select someone to become the nominee and get focused on president obama and get him out of the white house. >> i'm not sure he's right. an excited brokered convention might be good for the republican party. maybe, maybe not. governor romney is sending a message to republican voters, get it over with. >> by the way, that rick santorum memo didn't talk about a brokered convention. it said romney can't do the math roperly and that, in fact, they will get delegates at state conventions because they are more conservative and gave a complicated rational for that. look, in theory, it's a great thing. it might get some conservatives riled up. if you think the debates were good for republican candidates with independent voters, how would a brokered convention be with independent voters? >> good for journalists. thanks. we'll see you later. president obama has his own problems. how rising gas prices are taking a toll on his approval rates. later, a stop sign for a texas law. critics say it's a sign to scare away potential voters. 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. fancy feast. oh dear... oh dear! ohh dear... i'm not sure exactly what happened here last night. i was out helping people save money on their car insurance. 2 more! you're doing it! aren't they doing great?! hiiiiiii!! come sweat with me! keep going richard. keep sweating!! geico. fifteen minutes could save you sweat! sweat! fifteen percent or more on car insurance. in here, the landscaping business grows with snow. to keep big winter jobs on track, at&t provided a mobile solution that lets everyone from field workers to accounting, initiate, bill, and track work in real time. you can't live under a dome in minnesota, that's why there's guys like me. 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[ door opens, closes ] the obama white house don't blame me for higher gas prices campaign is in full swing as the pain at the pump is taking toll. they conducted interviews with eight stations today. seven of them in 2012 swing states. the average price is up to a national average of $3.76 a gallon for regular unleaded. it's 29 cents higher from a mon ago. two-thirds of americans disapprove with how the president is handling prices. he is weaker against republican candidates from a month ago. if gas prices dropped, it would probably help the president politically. can he count on that. patrick can gasbuddy.com is with us. can he count on that? when people are thinking of how to vote in september, october, down or up? >> well, you know, john, gas prices are only going to go up. any politician that promises lower gas prices should be dealt with skepticism. there's not a lot that can be done. unfortunately, higher prices are here to stay. ramifications not only from iran, but the upcoming driving season is putting pressure on prices. there's not a lot that can be done. it doesn't mean there's nothing that can be done. a lot of folks think it's a simple issue when it's not so simple. >> is the president, in some ways a victim of the recovery? it's good for a president and american looking for work. as people get optimistic, are they consuming more gas and driving prices up or something else? >> well, a little bit of that. demand is down compared to last year. we can trace it back to the higher prices. in an economy like this, we saw it in 2008. less in 2008 because we didn't realize we were in a recession until the collapse of wall street. it happened with president bush. gas prices went up when the economy started to improve. really, the only thing to slow down an upward trend in gas prices is slow down the economy. that will not really help but it will slow people down in how much they travel. that will, in turn, lower demand for gasoline and prices will ease up a little bit. >> all the politicians know people are grumpy when they are paying $3.76 and many parts over $4. if you buy premium, you are spending over $4 already. the politicians all say trust me. listen. >> you can't just drill our way to lower gas prices. >> the right course ahead for america is drill our oil and gas. >> it's essential to establish the goal of being the most productive oil producer in the world. >> 60 billion barrels off our coast the president says no. >> is there anything, patrick, a president could do today or tomorrow that would bring down the price at the pump a week or two from now? >> well, that's real quick. there's not a lot. we tried the strategic petroleum reserve. nobody is putting oil in their car. it's not refined gas ready to pump into our cars. a short-term solution, well, shake hands with iran and things would probably happen. that's not likely the situation. i think one of the bigger things we can do that may take long er in a week or two is get the united states on one blend of gasoline for the entire year instead of localized different types of gasoline that meet different air pollution standards. get on one standard so we don't see the seasonal rise in prices. i believe the rise in prices has to do with the seasonal switchover. >> appreciate your help. thanks so much. >> thanks so much. tonight, texas is the lathest battleground. they are trying to present fraud. critics say it's not the real reason. whitney houston's daughter tells what happened in the month since her mother's death. what's this? 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[ female announcer ] discover what's next in your life. get this free travel bag when you join at aarp.org/jointoday. welcome back. here is kate baldwin with the latest news you need to know. a texas law requiring people to show a photo id before they vote. they say it stops fraud. >> pacific gas and electric will pay $70 million to settle claims from a 2010 gas pipeline explosion. i'm sure you do not forget these images. it killed four, injured at least 50 and destroyed 57 homes in san bruno. it's on top of replacing ageing gas pipes. if you are on linked in, think carefully before opening e-mail attachment that is appear to come from trusted sources of colleagues. officials said fishing attacks snared several top u.s. government officials. whitney houston's daughter, 19-year-old bobbi christina brown is doing as well as she can. it's been a month since her mother died. >> i can hear her voice talking and telling me, keep moving, you know, i'm right here. i got you. >> i got ya. that's what she said all the time. >> yeah. she's always with me. i can always feel her with me. >> is that what you hear in your head, i've got ya? >> that's all i hear. that's all i hear. >> this was the first interview she did with oprah. it's the first interview since her mother passed away. so sad when you see it through the eyes of her daughter. >> we wish her the best. kate, see you in a bit. one night to go before alabama and mississippi vote. how it could change the republican race for the white house, just ahead. you were there the day the priceline negotiator went down in that fiery bus crash. yes i was. we lost a beautiful man that day. but we gained the knowledge that priceline has thousands and thousands of hotels on sale every day. so i can choose the perfect one for me without bidding. is it hard for you to think back to that day? oh my, this one has an infinity pool. i love those they just... and then drop off, kinda like the negotiator. in here, the landscaping business grows with snow. to keep big winter jobs on track, at&t provided a mobile solution that lets everyone from field workers to accounting, initiate, bill, and track work in real time. you can't live under a dome in minnesota, that's why there's guys like me. [ male announcer ] it's a network of possibilities -- helping you do what you do... even better. ♪ 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 new credit to small businesses across the country last year. because the more we help them, the more we help make opportunity possible. will be giving away passafree copies of the alcoholism & addiction cure. to get yours, go to ssagesmalibubook.com. in this half hour, reaction from the washington state base that was once home of an army sergeant accused of mass killing. dozens in syria were killed by government forces. plus, the truth about mitt romney's religion among the conservative voters in the south. the white house says progress in afghanistan will not be compromised after a soldier went on a rampage killing 16 people including nine children. republican candidates are campaigning on the trail. here is romney moments ago. >> the actions of a der ranged person are not going to shape foreign policy. that being said, we should, on a regular basis reassess what's happening in afghanistan and any place where we have con neckic activity going on. >> newt gingrich says it may be time to get out. >> there's something profoundly wrong with the way we are approaching the region. i think it's going to get worse, not better. i think we are risking the lives of young men and women in a mission that is not doable. >> in this case, the afghan people deserve an apology. >> it's not a mistake. it's not something that was inadd ver tant. it was deliberately done by a soldier. it's something that the proper authorities should apologize for. >> we are learn iing new detail about the alleged shooter. as we reported at the top of the hour, he was diagnosed with a brain injury in 2010 but fit for duty. his wife and children were moved to washington state for their safety. that's where we are live tonight. this base has a troubled past, does it not? having technical issues with casey. we'll get back with him when we can. the situation is growing more desperate. here is what we saw last week. >> i was horrified by the destruction i saw. no building was on touched and there was clear evidence of the use of heavy artillery and tanks. it was almost desserted. a few people in tears as they tried to salvage a few possessions. >> the stories of slaughter keep getting worse. at least 45 women and children killed in cold blood in homs yesterday. the youngest, 5 years old. arwa damon is follow iing the story from beirut, lebanon. >> reporter: activists are saying government thugs rounded up sunni families in the flash point city of homs. they then separated the men from the women. the men were tortured for two hours, shot at and horrific images online showing burnt corpses. some of the corpses were then set on fire. the women and children murdered as well. some of the children had the side of their face blown off. others their throats slit. there are reports some of the women were rape d before they were then