he visited a l pos precinct near orlando on the eve of the primary. he pledged to stay in the race. >> we'll beat a big lie campaign with a big truth campaign, beat money power with people power. we are going to go all the way to the convention and we are going to win in tampa, and we are going to be the nominee with your help of the republican party soinchts but if the polls are right mitt romney is likely to be the big winner, his healthy lead hasn't topped him from taking a few final shots. romney and his supporters have pounded gingrich the past week, a barrage of negative ads. he describes the campaign as desperate. >> i know the speaker is not real happy, speaker gingrich. i know, it's sad. he's been flailing around a bit you just watch it and shake your head. it's been painfully revealing to watch. >> a poll released what survey after survey has shown. mitt romney has a healthy lead in florida. in the american research group poll, romney is at 343% compared to 31%. rick santorum is a distant third at 13%. ron paul trailing at 9%. the two candidates bringing up the rear in florida have already moved on to some of the next contests on the calendars, so we're talking about rick santorum making one stop in colorado today before ledding to las vegas tonight. ron paul several stops in colorado today as well. he's also going to end up in nevada. the nevada caucuses are this saturday. colorado holds its caucuses on february 2nd, a week from today. so we're going to go beyond the headlines. here's what we're covering. our political insiders will give us their take on the race in florida. we're going to break down the makeup of the state in jobs. you're going to hear from real voters looking for work in florida. a couple who lost their jobs trying desperately to hang on to a piece of the american dream. the next contest, we'll fast forward to some of the states ahead and the delegates at stake. but first, a chance to talk back on a big problem facing this country. what is it going to do to take americans -- get americans to lose weight? card to the centers for disease control it cost americans $147 billion each year to take care of obesity-related medical issues. carol costello is joining us from washington with more. folks trying really, really hard to lose weight, but it's such a big problem in our country now. >> i know, and it's tough for -- it's tough for most of us to lose weight. if you want to change someone's behavior, scare the pants off them. that's the theory behind a new weight loss ad in new york. it's all over the web, but take a look, an overweight man who apparently lost his leg to type 2 diabetes, a condition associated with obesitobesity. this guy is an actor and according to "new york times" he has both legs, but that doesn't matter. the ad makers say the scary message does. diabetes can lead to a loss of your foot or your leg or your eyesight. will fear persuade people to diet? or will it lead to a backlash like so much other campaigns before it? i mean, georgia tried shame. >> i don't like going to school, because and you have other kids pick on me. it hurts my feelings. >> some parents despise these ads, they say they exploit children. movie stars try to set an example like, let's say jennifer hudson, but many fans were disappointed hudson no longer embraced her curves. the first lady michelle obama pushes healthy eating, but some consider her a food nazi. some governments try taxing sugary soda, but the big soda companies have very effective lobbyists. truth is, there are so many contradictions when it comes to obesity health and beauty. we're confused. dare i mention paula deen, queen of butter, type 2 de bites? "maxim" named her sexy chef of a couple months ago. approximately 17% of children and adolescents are not just overweight, but obese, so the talk back question today -- what will it take to get americans to lose weight? facebook.com/carolcnn. i'll read your comments later. >> you'll be inundated with comments on that one. when i was with my family this weekend we had a debate over the whole paula deen, whether or not she had a responsibility to share her type 2 diabetes diagnosis, and pushing the butter, the fat, all that kind of thing. everybody has a different opinion about this. >> yeah, you are right about that. i personally think she should have revealed that fact. she kept it, what, secret for three years while pushing that buttery, fattening food? >> but my lawyer sister would disagree. i was surprised. a lot of people are still arguing over that one a great question. thank you, carol. appreciate it. here's a rundown on some of the stories we are covering. first, in syria, the crackdown against protesters is getting bloodier. then dust off your telescope, big asteroid heading towards earth, and should you have to speak fluent english to run for city office? that question has one arizona town divided. >> i can speak english. a little maybe, but it's enough for the city council. 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[ male announcer ] enbrel. the #1 biologic medicine prescribed by rheumatologists. ...we inspected his brakes for free. free is good. free is very good. my money. my choice. my meineke. more now on newt gingrich's 'convenient ready to start in a minute. this is in lakeland, florida. jim, great to see you there. do we think that's possible? >> suzanne, funny you asked that question. i just had a chance to talk with him as he got off his bus a few moments ago, and of course hi still sees a path. he pointed to the latest national polls, which if you look at the way republicans are looking at this field those national polls shows him in the lead. so he's saying why would i get out now? i also had a chance to ask him what about the negative tone? there are any estimates that 92% of the advertising down here in florida has been negative. i asked him to talk about that. he basically accused mitt romney of running a dishonest campaign, so the rhetoric is not letting up at all. and it is getting hot down here and has nothing to do with the sunshine, though it is awfully nice. >> yeah. florida is great. how is his mood? her persona? >> i have to say he's not as jocular, perhaps, but he is in an upbeat move, and he has every reason to. if you look at the delegate total here in florida, 50 already awarded, most likely to mitt romney tonight, but if you go to some of these other states that follow, keep in mind florida was penalized for moving up is primary date, so the georgia primary now, for example carry more delegates than the florida primary. so they're looking at that math saying, hey, there's a reason to stay in. a lot of this may sound like deja vu, and if el couple that with this state, we may be able to pull together the total we needed. that's the phase we're heading into right now. >> it doesn't feel a bit like deja vu. i know that gingrich does pretty well in these debates. is he worried he has another three weeks or so before he goes to another debate and he's not going to have a chance to drum up support that way? >> i would think that has to be a worried. the fact is there's only one debate we know of between now and the arizona primary, that's not good news. having said all that, he does have -- if you look inside the poll numbers, that shows, you know conservative voters are lining up behind newt gingrich, not quite sold on mitt romney might beal reagan, son of the former president, is with newt gingrich. he -- obviously he's going to say this, but he's making the case that romney has not closed the deal with tea partiers and conservatives, and until he does that there's no motivating factor for gingrich to get out. >> thank you, jim. appreciate it. let's get you up to spiel on the other stories we are working on. opposition group is already reporting 17 people killed today. it's set to show army -- rebels say they are seeing heavy attacks by tanks and artillery on the outskirts of dao mass cuss. with the death toll rising in syria, so too are the calls for international involvement to get involved and step in. secretary of state hillary clinton is heading to the u.n. today. to support an arab league peace plan, which calls for the syrian president to step down. in yemen, three suspected drone strikes hit militant targets last night and this morning. yemeni security officers say the strikes killed at least nine people with suspected links to al qaeda. u.s. officials rarely do they talk about this controversial drone program, but president obama did just that. >> our ability to respect the sovereignty of other i countries and to limit our incursions into somebody else's territory is enhanced by the fact that we are able to pinpoint strike an al qaeda operative. >> an american aid worker and her danish colleague are being welcomed home by friends and family. that is happening today. the two were rescued by u.s. federal spores in a daring operation. that was last week, you may recall. they've been held hostage in somalia since october. police have now tracked down the pardoned killer joseph osmond in wyoming. he's been served with papers ordering him to appeared on friday. a judge is said to decide if his and others were legal. ozment was granted a full part by haley barbour. that movement, as you may recall, outraged victims' families. >> he got life plus 340 years, you know. and he served 18 of them? you know, my sister lived 20 years. it's ridiculous, you know. it almost makes you -- haley barbour obviously did not even open the case to look at the detective work and the things that were said. i mean, he actually told somebody before he came to do this that he was coming to kill her. >> we want to go back to syria now. the u.n. security council is going to consider whether to call on president bashar al assad to step down. protesters are not waiting for the world. arwa damon gives us a rare look inside. >> reporter: there are posters and other material hiding in a safe house, along with tiny leaflets to be scattered. demonstrators move in groups of two or three in order to avoid attracting attention. at the signal, the street erupp into activity. everyone has a duty. the leafletting rain down line conphettist. every night the protesters do this. their numbers are small, the determination is not. >> arwa damon had to get out of syria for her own safety. she's joining us from neighboring lebanon. first of all, we are happy you are safe. clearly you and these other organizers, you put your lives on the line here. here dangerous is it on the ground? >> reporter: well, when you're an activist going out there every day, it is fairly dangerous. that particular clip, that demonstration ended around ten minutes after it began, because the pre-positioned spotters that the demonstrators have sent up sent word back that security forces were closing in, but we continue to see this type of determination on a fairly regular basis, because the street activists are very aware of the fact that they are effectively the driving engine of the syrian uprising. the focus is not on them, it is it el united nations. many people waiting to see if the international diplomacy by western nations, by arab nations to try to put pressure on russia not to veto whatever u.n. resolution is put forward is actually going to materialize. while that may not immediately impact things on the ground, it certainly would send a signal to the regime that perhaps russia is not as unshakeable an ally as the regime believes it to be. >> and clearly they're not waiting to find out what will take place at the u.n. security council. what is happening there? do they field emboldened? empowered? >> reporter: well, by and large they've been feeling as if there isn't going to be any help on the way when it comes to the u.n. or the arab league for that matter. they have felt emboldened ever since they took to the streets. we keep talking about how barriers of fear have been broken, how more killing occur the greater of determination. we're seeing larger parts of the country no longer under full government control. we've been seeing a flash point city where fairly significant clashes were taking place. we were there last week on a government tour. one would estimate that -- in fact there's only within neighborhood they felt safe enough to take us. we've been seeing the fighting inches closer enough to damas s damascus. they're just a 15-minute drive. >> arwa damon, be safe, and thanks for your reporting, as always. an arizona woman decides to do her civic duty and run for city council, but her english proficiency becomes a big issue, and she says it shouldn't be. >> i do speak english. a little maybe, um, but it's enough for the city council. 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. for our free usaa retirement guide, call 877-242-usaa. now to arizona, where a woman who wants to run for city council can't. she's actually been disqualified. she says it's political, but others say it's because she doesn't speak ink lish well numb. they're's thelma gutierrez. >> reporter: in this small border town -- [ speaking foreign language ] >> reporter: alejandrina cabrera is somewhat of a political celebrity. >> they are my friends. >> the married mother of two made national headlines after her bit for a bid for a seat on the council was blocked by the mayor. >> he says i can't speak english, read and write. >> reporter: at issue her fluency. she's a united states citizen. she was born in arizona, but like many people in this small agricultural town who live and work on both sides of the u.s./mexico border, she is was raised in mexico. when she was 17, she came back to the u.s. to finish high school, but by them spanish was her primary language. she says no one in san luis had ever questioned her english skills until she decided to run for public office. >> she does not understand english. >> juan carlos, escamilla says they must be proficient in english. as a citizen, he filed a lawsuit against her and she was forced to take a proficiency test paid for by local taxpayers. she says this is reply call pay back because she spearheaded two recall campaigns. >> not a personal vendetta. >> not a personal vendetta, absolutely not. after a court hearing, she was disqualified. he attorney says her civil rights have been violated. >> she did not pass the proficiency test. >> what test is there to pass, though? there is no test in the statute. they're denying her the political process and let the people in the community decide if they want her on the council or not. >> reporter: what do you tell those people, but you're a citizen, you live here now, you're running for office, you need to speak english. >> i do speak ink leisure. a little maybe, but it's enough for the city council. >> reporter: she says she's taking her appeal all the way to the arizona supreme court. thelma gutierrez, cnn, san luis, arizona. it's primary day in florida. results could be a game changer in the race. i'm going to ask democratic and republican strategists, two of my favorites right there, where the candidates stand now as the clock is tickic down. and had them read it. no, sorry, i can't help you with that. i'm not authorized to access that transaction. that's not in our policy. i will transfer you now. my supervisor is currently not available. would you like to hold ? that department is currently closed. have i helped you with everything you needed ? if your bank doesn't give you knowledgeable customer service 24/7, you need an ally. ally bank. no nonsense. just people sense. my high school science teacher made me what i am today. our science teacher helped us build it. ♪ now i'm a geologist at chevron, and i get to help science teachers. it has four servo motors and a wireless microcontroller. over the last three years we've put nearly 100 million dollars into american education. that's thousands of kids learning to love science. ♪ isn't that cool? and that's pretty cool. ♪ next, floridians heading to the polls in the biggest primary so far. space lovers, pull out your telescopes. tonight an asteroid will make a close encounter with earth. later this hour, new rules force airlines to include taxes and fees in their advertised prices. why one politics is actually trying to stop it. it's a big state, 50 delegates on the line. everybody is talking about the resurgence of mitt romney. crystal wright, editor of conservative black chick.com, and jamal simmons, they're joining us. my favorites. >> good to see you. >> jamal, i want to start with you. the numbers now show romney leading gingrich, you and oembalma supporters, who do you want to see grab those 50 distill gas today? >> at this point, all of these republicans have dug themselves into such a hole that i think the platform they run on will be hard to win in a general election. obviously i think the longer this goes on, the better it is for the president and the democrats getting newt gingrich in there, but i don't think gingrich will pulled put it out today. that doesn't mean hi can't keep going. >> crystal, gingrich is your guy, you're a del great for gingrich we recently saw some backing from some pretty good folks there, including herman cain, sarah palin. is that going to be enough to make a difference? >> i mean, you know, it's never over in politics, so it won't be over under the last vote is counted, but we do have to consaid that romney has ran a great negative campaign. it looks like he'll -- money matters in florida. you know, romney has outspent newt $15 million to $3 million, i think. but i think the key is what would romney be without the soldiers of the establishment bashing newt. i think it's sleazy that romney is having his congressional surrogates crash newt events to bad mouth the candidates. at the end of the day, even if romney wins florida, there's a lot of delegates i play, and the real question is, why can't romney stand on his own two feet as a conservative candidate? it seems every other way we have george willed or somebody with this this establishment props up the candidate, and i think at the be problematic. >> looking beyond florida here -- >> no, she can keep attacking mitt romney, it's fine. >> no, no, we'll get -- >> i think we can attack obama's record pretty well, too, because it's awful. >> we've seen all of that accounts for less than 3%, right? of these possible delegates, whoever wins today. we are a long ways away from the 1,144 delegates needed to get a winner. so jamal, is this still anyone's game, do you think? >> the reality is there's -- mitt romney has a lot of money, a lot of organization, it's all across the country. if he wins today that will be a boost. the question is how much can he ray toss competitive. but there's a third factor. that's ron paul. while everybody else has been in florida, ron paul has been out in these caucus state states bringing people together, and i think in those states he may still pill out some of these proportional did the gate victories. that may cause a bit of a start. not sure what it means yet, but right now it looks like the primary is far from over. >> what would that mean for gingrich if ron paul decides he's going to cause a bit of a stir? >> i think ron paul will probably be in this under the bitter end, unfortunately, but at the end of the day newt gingrich and the national polls is still pulling ahead of romney and conservative voters, they prefer newt over romney at the end of the day. so i think we know in michigan right now it's a dead heat, this isn't over. you know, obama and his democrat friends would like to believe that newt can't pull it off. that's their biggest fear, frankly, so it's not over, and i think when you're the president of the united states and you're running on an awful record of the highest unemployment, you know, historic unemployment, black unemployment is at 16%, the highest since 1984, you really don't have a record to run on. >> jamal, jump in, because clearly crystal wants to talk about ointo mania. >> that's fine, she can have at it. when newt gingrich is the nominee we'll be happy to talk about his ideas, whatever else it is is out there. . >> whoa, whoa, where are all those jobs? i'm not see it. >> i'm going to let you guys go. next time you're back, we'll talk obama. >> good. >> we'll have a different kind of discussion. >> that works. >> have a good day. >> good to see you. cnn tonight all live on the primary kicking off at 6:00 p.m. eastern with a special edition of "john king usa" followed by complete live coverage at 7:00 with wolf blitzer, erin burnett, anderson cooper, candy crowley, john king and move. you'll want to see what's flying around in space today. it looks kind of like a jichbt potato, but it's actually a huge asteroid. it has never been this close to earth as it is today. 6 this new at&t 4g lte is fast. hey. did you guys hear... ...that mary got engaged? 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[ major nutrition ] ensure. nutrition in charge! all right. in tennessee a restaurant owner takes a stand against what she sees as bigotry. she is furious about comments a state senator made on the radio. now he's trying to explain himself. owner martha boggs kicked republican senator stacy campbell -- campfield out of her restaurant over the weekend. she says recent comments he made about aids pushed her over the edge and she says his beliefs are downright dangerous. here's what she's talking about. >> my understanding is also virtually not completely impossible, but virtually impossible to contract aids outside of blood transfusions through heterosexual sex. it's virtually impossible. >> the restaurant owner said she had to take a stand in the gay community and that's why she refused to serve him. tons of comments on the facebook page. well, now the senator is trying to explain himself. here's what he said yesterday. >> first off, the guy can see me a bunch of questions, and i'll be the first to admit i'm not a historian or anything -- i started to ask about my bill and i to do him what i thought i knew. i did make any claims i'm any authority. >> in a blog posting titled more fun than a barrel of monkeys campfield said that -- temperature still supports segregation of thought. is. it's the dream act, a controversial measure. it allows those to become citizens who came to the united states as children. both mitt romney and newt gingrich have taken a tough stand on the issue, which directly affects thousands of folks in that state. our brooke baldwin is live in tampa with one family's story about how this impacted them. hey, brooke, good to see you. >> reporter: hey, sigh sand. nice to see you. we talked to latinos, it is sort of a litmus test to who they want to vote for, a quick history really, there have been difficult iterations that have been introduced in congress, but here's what you need to know. when think of the different versions introduced and an idea that certainly president obama has supported, if you're a young person you're brought into this country not of your own volition, multiple provisions you have to meet, including good moral character and perhaps going through a four-year college, maybe serving two years, but when you hear from these republican candidates specifically mitt romney and newt gingrich, they say, okay, we support the dream act, but only if you're a young person and you serve four years in the military. so yesterday here in florida, i spent my evening with a 20-year-old florida student who was here illegally, and i posed that idea to her. take a listen. >> they want you to serve the country for four years in a military position. do you think that's fair? >> honestly, no. i feel like there are other ways to serve this country. just being a doctor, being an attorney, those are just as important ways to serve our country just like the military. i feel like students should have the option of going to college. we should have that pathway, especially when some of us already do have four-year degrees and are already graduating. you know, we're ready to jump into the workforce. why would you waste that investment? as a child of immigrants, as an immigrant myself, i feel like my role has always been to go to school, work really hard and have a career. that's what i want to do, but it's so difficult when you don't have a legal status to do that. >> reporter: obviously suzanne, this issue is very emotional for myra. briefly her history is she was 6-month-old. she's originally in costa rica. she considers the united states home. her two siblings were brought up here by her parents. she came here ly-- they originae here legally on a tourest visa. and her three siblings are now here legally, and she wants to become an immigration attorney. space watchers, is hurling toward us right now, okay, kind of looks like a giant potato. it's not. it's an asteroid. never been this close to earth as it is today. the best part of any great meal? delicious gourmet gravy. 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. your doctor will say get smart about your weight. that's why there's new glucerna hunger smart shakes. they have carb steady, with carbs that digest slowly to help minimize blood sugar spikes. [ male announcer ] new glucerna hunger smart. a smart way to help manage hunger and diabetes. let's head to the florida primaries. mitt romney is at an event in tampa, florida. let's listen in. >> hopefully that will serve me well here. i would like to spend more of our time focusing on president obama. that's ultimately what's essentially to taking back the white house, but i'm not going to stand back and allow another candidate to define me as comments most recently attacking me have been quite sad and painfully revealing about the speaker and what he's willing to say and do to try to take the nomination. so i just can't stand back and let millennium say those things without responding. how important is florida? today is the most important thing in the world to me, all right? i obviously want to do really well here in florida and get the support of people in florida and take that to the next state and then to the next state. florida has the biggest cache of delegates of any of the states so far, and of course it's a being states. in some respects florida is a microco., because people retire here, it has a large hispanic community as well, so doing well in florida is a good indication. for me, florida is big, but new hampshire is big, too, and i'm hoping as i go to nevada and minnesota, and missouri, colorado, and arizona. the list goes on and on that i will get a lot of support, in part because of the response here of people in florida. >> i would love to understand how it is that speaker gingrich characterizes himself. i balance the budget all four years i was in office and did so not by growing government fast and hoping that the internet bubble would provide funds. in that we cut spending and we grew spending at less than the rate of inflation when i was governor. the agency that reported to me, we reduced employment at those agencies. i have a record of making sure that english immersion was brought into our schools. i have a conservative record, and that record is one i'm willing to stand by. even with regard to social issues, i was at a state where being a social conservative was not easy. a bill came to my desk calling for cloning of embryos, and i said absolutely not. there was a bill at my desk providing greater access to the morning-after bill. i vetoed that bill. i have a solid record. so, you know, i'm happy to debate that, but when people say thing about my report that aren't accurate, that will create a impression that i have to work hard to correct. >> mitt romney there in florida looking rather casual taking on his main own newt gingrich, who is the true conservative. this is an asteroid that is zooming around the earth. it is coming closer than ever. it is still about 16 million miles away. chad, talk a bit, why does it look like that? it looks like a big potato? >> because we have sent a satellite there before. back in the year 2000, so it does look like a potato. these are the best pictures we've ever had. if you have a telescope, you can see it up to about february 10. coming in around the time of valentine's day. there's your baked potato. a golden russ et flying around with that point on there. it is still very far away. there will be no issue with this at all, but it's bright, because it's called the albedo, it's really, really bright. >> and how long will this last? >> about two weeks. >> i'll have to check it out. thanks, chad. >> you bet. florida has one of the highest foreclosures rates in the country. i want you to meet the freemans, an accountant and preschoolteacher, who are fighting to keep their home. in the school play. good. you like trees. well, i like climbing them, but i've never been one. good point. 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( announcer ) fly without putting your life on pause. be yourself nonstop. american airlines. more than 900,000 floridians are out of work, and the reason why the economy is issue number one for today's primary. florida has the highest rate of long-term employment in the entire country. 53% of floridians who don't have a job have been out of work for more than six months. joining me now is one of those folks who's out of work and his wife, marcus freeman. you're an accountant. you were laid out of last year. kate, you're a preschool teacher. you have two sons. your home is now in foreclosure. thank you for joining us. i mean, clearly, this is a difficult time for both of you. how did this happen? >> well, marcus, do you want to -- >> well, i was at work, i was a staff accountant, and we had, i had got in an auto accident, and as time had gone on, it actually got to where i was immobile for a little while. and through that, i lost my job. well, about that same time, we had just bought our home. and so as we started falling off and falling behind on payments, we were looking for help and tried to do some modifications to get it straightened out and we just couldn't get anywhere. everything was going the wrong way, so ever since then, we have been struggling, trying to make ends meet and trying to save our house, any way we can. >> and you guys have done something that is really pretty extraordinary. but, you know, like a lot of folks, just trying to make ends meet, you're now selling chili, is that right, on the streets to try to bring in some extra cash and save your home. >> yes. >> that's correct. we're -- marcus is in a business class now, and part of his class he needed to do a business plan, and we thought, well, what a great opportunity to try to market his chili. >> how's it going? >> it's going really well. we've been doing for about three weeks. you know, it's kind of scraping by to get the stuff that we need to make it and, you know, we make some money, and then we're able to kind of make it through for the week. but, you know, we had some repeat customers, and that was pretty exciting. so hopefully, you know, hopefully it will be able to take off a little bit. >> now, both of you, i understand, will be voting today in the primary. marcus, i know you're a conservative, you're undecided so far. what are you looking for for these candidates to say or do to lend your support to them in light of your -- what's happening with your family? >> i think i would like to see them offer some kind of help. you know, i don't understand, if there's so many people who are losing their homes and not able to stay and work and stuff, i don't understand what is actually being done. i just -- it seems like all i'm hearing about and how, you know, somebody's doing something wrong as opposed to what needs to be done to help people out. people in our situation, we just want a chance. that's all we're looking for. we just want a fair chance to be able to keep our home and move on. and we just want to hear how they're going to do that. >> have you heard from anybody who said, okay, i'm going to support today? >> not quite yet. getting closer. >> you're still undecided, huh? well, keep listening. we're listening as well. and how do we get that delicious chili? i know you guys are trying and you're struggling there and you're selling it. and i understand it's pretty good. >> it's very good. actually, that's my favorite part, when people taste it. i love their facial expressions. but we are on the corner of banana road and u.s. 98 north. and we are going to be getting a website going that we can start shipping it out, too, pretty soon. it should be within the next couple of weeks. >> all right. well, i wish you the best of luck, with your chili sales as well. i hope it all comes together, you're able to save your house and make a decision. make a decision on who you're going to vote for so they can help you out a little bit. thank you very much, marcus and kate. >> thank you. >> thank you. you've been sounding off on the "talk back" question. what is it going to take for americans to lose weight? carol costello is joining us from washington with more on this. and you know, i mean, carol, we all struggle, right? i'm not hating. you can't blame people. it's a tough thing. >> it's hard work. and he's speaking of chili, that's a really healthy thing to eat, if you put turkey instead of beef. >> in moderation. >> made with a tomato-based product and tomatoes are great for you. so chili is good. >> that's a pretty good endorsement for their chili, i think. >> i know, they were so cute, though. >> they're trying, they're trying. got to do something these days. >> i liked them, marcus and kate. going back to our "talk back" question, though, what will make americans lose weight. this from steven, "scaring people is not the answer. it doesn't work. they've tried that with smokers for years. not happening. until we become a health food nation and not a fast food nation, americans are going to stay fat." this from adam, "americans need to walk more than. only in america will you find someone driving what is only a five-minute walk down the street to the grocery store." "the only way to ignore weight is to ignore the false weight loss scams and do it the simplest way you can, just keep your mouth shut. self-control is saying no, as they say." "tax on unhealth food like cigarettes would double the price -- that would do it." "i'm 100 pounds overwigt. first of the year, my wife said she was concerned for my health. since then i have lost 17 pounds to date. only took the love of my life to wake me up." oftentimes, that is all it takes, just support from someone who cares. keep the conversation going, facebook.com/carolcnn. we'll be back. >> we support you, carol, we support everybody. moderation. moderation on the chili. we'll have more after break. cou. that over time, having high cou. cholesterol, plus diabetes or high blood pressure or family history of early heart disease, can put them at increased risk for plaque buildup. and they'd see that it's more important to get their cholesterol where their doctor wants. and why for these patients, when diet and exercise alone aren't enough, i prescribe crestor. adding crestor lowers bad cholesterol by up to 52%. and is also proven to slow plaque buildup. >> announcer: crestor is not right for everyone. like people with liver disease or women who are nursing, pregnant or may become pregnant. simple blood tests will check for liver problems. tell your doctor about other medicines you're taking or if you have muscle pain or weakness. that could be a sign of a rare but serious side effect. >> is your cholesterol where your doctor wants? ask your doctor if crestor is right for you. >> announcer: if you can't afford your medication, astra zeneca may be able to help. okay, team! after age 40, we can start losing muscle -- 8% every 10 years. wow. wow. but you can help fight muscle loss with exercise and ensure muscle health. i've got revigor. what's revigor? it's the amino acid metabolite, hmb to help rebuild muscle and strength naturally lost over time. 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[ major nutrition ] ensure. nutrition in charge! time to check in on wall street. what's got the stocks sliding. felicia taylor is joining us from the new york stock exchange. hey, felicia, what's the latest? >> hey, suzanne. well, we did have a higher open this morning, but that did an about-face after we got some down beat economic reports. consumer confidence, which was a surprise, fell in january, coming in well below expectations. we also had a regional manufacturing gauge that came in weaker than forecast. earnings also cutting into gains. we saw exxonmobil posting a fourth quarter profit, but analysts wanted even more. exxon isn't producing enough natural gas and crude oil to improve analysts and its profit margins have been hurt by the slow economic recovery. exxon shares are down right now about 1 2.5%. european leaders did agree to set up a new rescue fund and a fiscal pac that's designed to keep governments from racking up unsustainable debts like greece did, but there's still no deal to settle greece's debt with its creditors and that continues to hang over the marketplace. suzanne? >> felicia, thank you. top of the hour. i'm suzanne malveaux. it's primary day in florida. mitt romney is the man to beat. a poll just released today confirms what survey after survey has shown. romney has a double digit lead over newt gingrich and the rest of the republican field. in the american research group poll, romney is at 43% compared to 31% for gingrich. rick santorum, a distant third followed by ron paul. gingrich campaigns in plant city, florida, this hour. he promises to stay in the race, all the way to the republican convention. brutal crackdown against syrian protesters is getting bloodier. an opposition group is already reporting 17 people killed today. this video posted online is said to show army defectors in a street fight with government forces. rebels say they are seeing heavy attacks today by tankses and artillery on the outskirts of damascus. the occupy movement not going anywhere, that is the message of protesters in washington. that's what they're pushing after defying a deadline yesterday to pack up the tents and move on, despite a tense standoff with police. no one was arrested. tents are still standing. tracks have parked down convicted killer joseph osmond in wyoming. he's been served with papers ordering him to appear in a mississippi court on friday. a judge is set to decide if his and other pardons were legal. ozment was among 200 convicts granted full pardons by hailey barbour before he left the governor's office, that happened earlier in the month. a grieving mother spoke to our own anderson cooper about the governor. >> he didn't think about my daughter, being gone, and none of us will ever be able to see her or hear her or talk to her ever again. he didn't think of any of that. you would have thought that being a father, that might have crossed his mind. >> in the florida everglades, pythons are eating all the animals they can find. we're talking about rabbits, foxes, raccoons, bobcats, deer. in an area where burmese pythons have invaded, those animal populations have now dramatically dropped. and here's something to ask your doctor next time you get a checkup, take my blood pressure in both arms. a new study says a difference in blood pressure between the right and the left arm could mean you have an increased risk of dying from heart disease. and the fall of home prices continues, according to the latest s&p case-shiller 20-city report. prices dropped 1.3% in november, meaning they are now down 3.7% from just a year ago, and off 32.8% since they peaked in the summer of 2006. all right. the accusations, negative ads, name-calling. today the voting in the florida primary. newt gingrich, he is down in the polls, but determined to stay in the race. jim acosta is at a gingrich campaign stop in lakeland, florida. so, jim, you actually spoke with gingrich earlier today. tell us a little bit about his conversation, the mood he's in, is he optimistic? >> reporter: i wouldn't call his mood optimistic, suzanne. he came out of the bus with his wife, callista, into a scrum of reporters and supporters here in lakeland, florida, and wae had chance to fire off a few questions to the former speaker, asked him how things are going down here in florida. and he basically said that he still feels confident that he can win the republican nomination and he singled out mitt romney's negative advertising in the state as, perhaps, the reason why he will lose this florida primary, at least the polls show that he may lose this florida primary. here's what he had to say, just a few moments ago. mr. speaker, do you still see a path to the nomination after florida? >> oh, sure. of course. >> reporter: how do you see that happening? >> you unify the conservatives. win the delegates. then you have the nomination. >> reporter: did you let your guard down to mitt romney, would you say? >> no, i would say when you're outspent five to one with ads that are dishonest, that it's a challenge. >> reporter: would you say he's run a dishonest campaign? >> well, that's what "the wall street journal" and the "national review" said. >> reporter: and gingrich has called the campaign run by the former massachusetts governor as a campaign of big lies. but this is going to go on, suzanne. newt gingrich said earlier this morning that he sees this campaign going on for another six to eight months, all the way to the republican nomination. and they do see a chart, a path to the nomination, going through states that are perhaps more favorable, like states in the south on super tuesday, and you know, a lot of folks are saying, look, let's watch and see what happens out in nevada, because nevada is a big tea party state. there is a huge foreclosure crisis out there as well, and the romney campaign is already signaling they're going to go after newt gingrich on freddie mac one more time. but that's going to be an interesting dynamic to watch, suzanne. how the tea party vote breaks down out there in that state, which, of course, has its caucuses on saturday, suzanne. >> and jim, it was interesting to watch that exchange with you and newt gingrich, because a lot of times, candidates, sometimes they ignore reporters. you got in there and got a lot of tough questions to him there. is it in his benefit now to go ahead and answer those questions and to deal with you and the other guys who are out there now? do you notice a difference in how he's even dealing with the media? >> reporter: yeah, you know, a lot of postmortems are going to be written about the florida primary here in the next couple of days, and you know, it's almost like csi:florida, maybe not csi: miami, but csi: florida. to go after mitt romney on negative advertising, that may not go over all that well with a lot of republicans, because after all, newt gingrich has gone negative against mitt romney. and what a lot of conservative and tea party voters want to see in this campaign is that alpha dog. someone who's just going to go after president obama and this is the sort of warm-up for that. so mitt romney sort of won that contest here in florida after losing in south carolina, but i've got a feeling newt gingrich will not take this lying down, suzanne. >> i've got a feeling you're right, jim. thanks again. cnn tonight, all eyes turning to the florida primary. kick off our coverage at 6:00 p.m. eastern with a special edition of john ki"john king, u followed by live coverage at 7:00 with erin burnett, candy crowley, john king, and more. here's your chance to talk back on a big problem facing america and facing a lot of us. what is it going to take to get americans to lose weight? according to the centers for disease control, it costs american $147 billion a year to take care of obesity-related medical issues. carol costello is joining us from washington with more on this. carol, you know, it's a tough struggle for many people to stay in shape, to take good care of yourself, and obesity, it's a big problem. >> it is a big problem. but, suzanne, if you want to change someone's behavior, why not scare the pants off them? that's the theory behind a new weight loss ad in new york. it's all over the web, but take a look. an overweight man who apparently lost his leg to type 2 diabetes, a condition associated with obesity. never mind the picture has been altered. this guy is actually an actor, and according to "the new york times," he has both legs, but that doesn't matter. the ad maker says the scary message does. diabetes can lead to a loss of your foot or your leg or your eyesight. but will fear persuade people to diet? or will it lead to a backlash like so many other campaigns before congresswomen mean, georgia tried shame. >> i don't like going to school, because all the other kids pick on me. it hurts my feelings. >> some parents despised the ad, said they exploited the children. movie stars try to set an example like jennifer hudson, but many fans were disappointed she no longer embraced her curves. the first lady, michelle obama, pushes healthy eating, but some consider her a food nazi. some state and local governments tried taxing sugary sodsoda, bu the big soda companies have very effective lobbyists. truth is, there are so many contradictions when it comes to obesity, health, and beauty. we're confused. dare i mention paula deen, queen of butter, type 2 diabetes? i'll just say "maxim" magazine named deen sexiest chef a few months ago because of her love of slippery butter. there's no denying this, though. about one third of american adults are obese and approximately 17% of children and dleadolescents are not just overweight, but obese. so the "talk back" question today, what will it take to get americans to lose weight? facebook.com/carolcnn. i'll read your comments later this hour. here's a rundown of some of the stories we're covering over the next hour. first, something that's not going to help americans to cut out the pounds, the weight. it's a new app that rewards you minute by minute for sitting in front of the television. and then a look at the new face of food stamps. and to syria where the crackdown against protesters is getting bloodier. you know, because you been, you know, this is what you had been doing. you know, working, working, working, working, working, working. and now you're talking about, well you know, i won't be, and i get the chance to spend more time with my wife and my kids. it's my world. that's my world. ♪ in your breakfast cereal, what is? now, in every box of general mills big g cereal, there's more whole grain than any other ingredient. that's why it's listed first. get more whole grain than any other ingredient... just look for the white check. get more whole grain than any other ingredient... i've tried it. but nothing helped me beat my back pain. then i tried salonpas. it's powerful relief that works at the site of pain and lasts up to 12 hours. salonpas. it's winner take all in florida's primary. the contests, we're going to give you the winning candidate -- it will actually give the winning candidate a whopping 50 delegates, double the number of from south carolina. the primary is also a good indicator of how the candidate will do nationwide. it has a diverse population, about a quarter of voters are hispanic. unemployment, 9.9%, which is higher than the national average. also, floridians have been hit hard by the foreclosure crisis. they've got the fourth highest foreclosure rate in the country. florida leaning heavy for mitt romney, right now, newt gingrich is staring down a long road ahead. four more contests in the next week alone. the winner today will gain a major foothold in the battles to come. john avalon, senior political columnist for the daily beast, joining us from new york. john, you're watching the numbers here. it shows romney with a pretty big lead over gingrich. the polls don't close until 7:00, so maybe something could change here. but do you think, at this point, we have a clear winner? >> well, look, as you know, the only poll that matters on election day, people voting right now, the polls up today, they're just measuring trends, but there's no question that mitt romney, through a barrage of ads that have been blanketing the state, has been able to stop newt gingrich's momentum outside of south carolina. he's been able to bring his numbers up and looks in a very strong position. but, again, the voters of florida get to decide, and they're doing that right now. one extraordinary thing about this race, suzanne, the unprecedented, literally unprecedented nature of negative ads in this state right now. i spoke to the president of cma cmac, an organization that measures campaign ads. 92% of the ads in the last week in florida have been negative. it's never been that bad in the past. so it really is a sign of what the campaigns are doing and a question of how that not only can change trends in terms of popular support, but also whether that has an affect on turnout. might alienate people and say, i just don't want to bother with this mess. >> absolutely. i want you to listen to florida senator marco rubio, what he told soledad o'brien earlier this morning. >> i'm not going to speculate as to who's going to win. we're going to find out here fairly soon. here's what i'm comfortable saying. i think that the winner of florida is in all likelihood going to be the nominee of our party. and rightfully so. florida, as you just said, is a mini america. >> all right, john, are you willing to back that? could florida be the kingmaker? >> i'm shocked that the senator from florida would say that his state is determinative. i mean, look, in all seriousness, every state in this january primary gauntlet, we see this. the no nominee of the party since 1980 had ever lost south carolina. well, we'll see about that. but marco rubio's making an important point. in that january gauntlet, this is the final day of the month, final day of that gauntlet, of iowa, new hampshire, south carolina, florida, florida is the state that is by far the largest, it is the most diverse. and it is a very good test of general election electability. it is a close primary, so independent voters can't vote today like they could in new hampshire. but the state is mammoth, the fourth largest in the nation, and it's a very good general election test. >> romney, real quick leer, moving ahead, upcoming contests in states that he won four years ago. you're talking about colorado, michigan, maine, nevada, can gingrich in any way make up the difference in the south? >> well, you know, that's what he's hoping, clearly. you've got super tuesday and then we've got to start a lot of states in the south starting to vote in early march. so it's really a matter of getting through this february gauntlet. and, look, newt gingrich could win. a lot of these states are proportional. so, thereby, you know, anyone who's on the ballot can start siphoning delegates away. here's forthe important thing. before today, they have about 2.6% of the way towards getting the necessary 244. this is a delegate game, not just media and momentum and money. so for the candidates who are saying they want to go in and run through all these primaries, i say, good for them. give the people a chance to vote. they should decide who ultimately gets this nomination. it could be a long road ahead. it's tough. if mitt romney wins florida, he'll have the big mo on his side, that money and organizational advantage. but newt can look to states in the south and states with proportional representation and say, i can make a case up to the convention about why i'm the more conservative nominee. >> you know, the big mo could go either way, because you're still talking about just about 3% of what's needed to win the delegates, that total you mentioned there. all right, john, thank you. almost $49 million, that is how much money super pacs have spent so far this campaign season. today is the deadline for super pacs to file their annual support of donors. we're still waiting for the information. they have until midnight tonight to let us know. the u.n. may tell syria's president he's got to go. >> his forces are pounding protesters. the death toll is now rising, but the opposition is not giving in. we're going to give you a rare look at the movement in a live report. i've been in your shoes. one day i'm on top of the world... the next i'm saying... i have this thing called psoriatic arthritis. i had some intense pain. it progressively got worse. my rheumatologist told me about enbrel. i'm surprised how quickly my symptoms have been managed. 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[ male announcer ] enbrel. the #1 biologic medicine prescribed by rheumatologists. an afghan man has allegedly strangled his wife for giving birth to a daughter instead of a son. it's the couple's third child, all girls, and police are looking for the husband. they've arrested his mother for allegedly helping to beat the wife before strangling her. the mother insists her daughter-in-law committed suicide out of guilt. activists say it's yet another example of how women there continue to suffer, despite overall progress since the fall of the taliban. they say that the government does little to enforce laws to protect women's rights. well, the escalating crisis in syria, front and center at the u.n. today, the security council is going to discuss whether to call on president bashar al assad to step down. but protesters, they're not waiting. cnn's arwa damon gives us a rare look at the activists in action. >> reporter: there are posters and other material hidden in a safe house, along with tiny printed leaflets ready to be scattered. demonstrators move in groups of two or three to avoid attracting attention. at the signal, the street erupts into activity. everyone has a duty. the leaflets rain down like confetti. every night, the protesters do this. their numbers are small, their determination is not. >> arwa damon is now out of syria. she's joining us live from neighboring lebanon. arwa, you were there. you realize just how tense the situation is on the ground and a lot of these activists putting their lives on the line. give us a sense of what it is like when you are there, to be there. >> reporter: well, that particular clip you just showed, that demonstration only lasted for around ten minutes before pre-positioned spotters that the opposition sets up at various entryways into these neighborhoods sent word back that the security forces had arrived. and that caused everyone to scatter. that demonstration lasted ten minutes, suzanne, but that was still considered to be a success. and the activists really have this down to a science. they pretty much know in which neighborhood, approximately how long they can demonstrate for. and they do realize that albeit short, albeit small in numbers, these types of street demonstrations are really the engine that is fueling, that is propelling the syrian uprising at this stage. >> and yet, so many of those activists get killed. the numbers are staggering. what is next for them? i mean, will they continue to be out there in the streets, demands that the president step down? >> they will, suzanne. and they say that every single death that takes place only fuels their determination even more. i was speaking with an activist from the flash point city just a few days ago and asking him that very question. and he said he had to keep doing it very simply for the families of all of those who had died. because the only thing that kept those families going was the knowledge that other people were taking up the fight and vowing to fight until the very end. there's also a growing realization amongst the activists that they simply cannot let up the pressure, because they will all be massacred. but they're growing incredibly weary. there's a sort of hope that somehow, some sort of intervention will take place, but at the same time, there's very little belief that that is going to come anytime soon, suzanne. >> arwa damon, thank you very much. be safe. mitt romney hitting the right notes with a lot of florida voters. ♪ oh, beautiful, forspacious skies, for amber waves of grains ♪ >> that's not too bad. romney leads in the polls, but how would he do in a singoff with president obama. ♪ america, america 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. for our free usaa retirement guide, call 877-242-usaa. delicious gourmet gravy. 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. with my vial and syringe. me, drawing my insulin dose. and me the day i discovered novolog flexpen. flexpen is pre-filled with your mealtime insulin. dial the exact dose, inject by pushing a button. no vials, syringes or coolers to carry. flexpen is insulin delivery my way. novolog is a fast-acting insulin used to control high blood sugar in adults and children with diabetes. do not inject if you do not plan to eat within five to ten minutes after injection to avoid low blood sugar. tell your healthcare provider about all medicines you take and all of your medical conditions, including if you are pregnant or breastfeeding. the most common side effect is low blood sugar. other possible side effects include reactions at the injection site. get medical help right away if you experience serious allergic reactions, body rash, trouble with breathing, fast heartbeat or sweating. with flexpen, vial and syringe are in the past. ask your doctor about novolog flexpen, covered by 90% of insurance plans, including medicare. here's a rundown of some of the stories we are working on. next, a new look at the new face of food stamps. and then, are there benefits to being an introvert? some say there are. and at 12:50, a new app that rewards you by the minute for sitting in front of the tv. all right. we're talking bare-knuckled brawl in florida, final round. days of attacks, negative ads, voters heading to the polls in the florida primary. polls show mitt romney leading newt gingrich and the rest of the pack by double digits. wolf blitzer here to talk about that and much more. great to see you, wolf. >> great to see you, as usual. >> let's talk about florida here. 9.9% unemployment, a large hispanic population. what are people looking for when we take a look at those statistics in terms of how that's going to play out in the republican race? >> in florida, they're looking for everything they're looking for all over the country, which is the economy, improvement in the economy, and creation of jobs. they're worried about their homes, their housing. these are problems that, obviously, face a lot of folks. maybe more so in florida than in other parts of the country. but it's the same problems that we saw emerging all over the place. florida is much more representative of the rest of the united states than iowa, new hampshire, or south carolina was. so this will be a real indication of what the national mood is, because, you know, you spent a lot of time in florida, the northern part of florida is like the south, the southern part of florida is like the north. so it's a state that's very much like the united states. >> and in central florida, particularly, because you've got tampa, you've got orlando. president obama captured that. but before then, george w. bush, twice before, was able to capture central florida. i imagine we're going to spend a lot of time in the general election on that particular part of florida. >> we certainly will. that i-4 corridor is really, really important. and president george bush did well with the hispanic and latino vote. and that helped him, obviously. and we'll see if mitt romney or gingrich or whoever gets the nomination can capture that vote. it's a big part of the electorate in florida. >> all the polls show that romney is ahead of gingrich in significant numbers. is there anything that we could see happen today that would reverse that, change that, anything? >> probably not, if you believe all of these polls. it's a whole bunch of polls that show at least an 8 or 9, sometimes a 12 or 13-point spread. and about 2 million people have voted, when all the polls close tonight, more than 2 million people will have voted. it's unlikely that gingrich can dramatically narrow it. but if he does, that will help him. he says he's going on. he doesn't have a lot to look forward in february, but super tuesday, march 6th, if he's still there, he could do well. a lot of southern states that may be more attuned to his kind of electorate. >> wolf, i want you to listen to, this was president obama before, he was singing a little al green, and now we're hearing from mitt romney. take a listen to. >> all right. ♪ o, beautiful, for spacious skies, for amber waves of grain ♪ ♪ for purple mountains majesty ♪ above the fruited plane ♪ i'm so in love with you >> oh, no contest. >> it's not even close. that's an unfair competition. the president of the united states has that down. he's strong. have you heard some of the other songs he's done? we've done a whole comp litigaticomplation of the major hits he's performed. >> i know people who have that on their ring tone now. >> that's really taken off. >> i can't imagine the romney ring tone will happen anytime soon. >> a lot better than i could do. >> good to see you, wolf. >> thanks, suzanne. >> thanks. 50 delegates on the line in florida, but how much is that number going to matter in the grand scheme of things in the primary race? john king will break it down for us. hey, john, good to see you, as well, in atlanta. so tell us how the system works. the delegate system and how this is going to play out. >> that's the question. we all lived through 2008, the obama/clinton marathon. we have florida up now, but let's switch maps. you and wolf were just having an important conversation about where do we go from here. here we are today. let's assume those polls are right and mitt romney gets the delegates out of florida. he starts to pull up a little bit, pulls slightly ahead. you have to get all the way over here, 1144 it takes to win the nomination. no one will crack 100 tonight. let's assume that mitt romney runs the the table in february. nevada, colorado, missouri, maine, then you get down later in the month, arizona and michigan. let's assume he runs the table again. gingrich supporters are saying, wait a minute, ron paul supporters are saying, hey, we could win maine, i know, this is a hypothetical. romney would be around 240 and gingrich around 50. but you need 1144 to win the nomination. this would be momentum for romney, would be an impressive-looking map, but wouldn't get him anywhere near the nomination yet, which is why gingrich says he would stay. we go from february into march, first the washington caucuses. this is a state ron paul could win, a caucuses state like that. well give this one to ron paul for this hypothetical. then you move on, super tuesday, look down here. this is when the map turns south and this is where gingrich thinks he'll be strong. i'll assign these states to either gingrich or romney. ohio is a state, maybe santorum plays there, we'll leave that blank for now. you see romney starting to pull ahead, just to save time, i'll flip through the list. wyoming, let's say we split them, go through the month of march, alabama, hawaii, mississippi, why does gingrich want to stay in? he thinks he can win down here in the south. we'll give him those. missouri, we'll give it to romney. that could be a hotly contested state. i'm doing this for the hypothetical to get you here. after puerto rico, ohio, northern state, i'll give it to romney. louisiana, bang, let's say gingrich. and here's why we wanted to do this, district of columbia and texas, perry endorsed speaker gingrich. gingrich will want to stay around until april. if we got that scenario, romney's ahead, but gingrich is within striking distance. he thinks he can stay in for the long haul. that's the question, is it a momentum race after florida or is it a delegate chase? >> wow, very interesting, john. great to see that. so we think april's the time when we're actually going to be able to see that the delegate count will make a big difference? >> just remember, clinton and obama went to june. >> how could we forget? thanks, john. so are you an introvert or an extrovert? your answer actually says a lot about you, but it could also say the way presidents make decisions. we'll talk about the power of shyness. it's in our new segment, "bookmarks." [ male announcer ] this...is the network. a living, breathing intelligence that is helping business rethink how to do business. in here, inventory can be taught to learn. ♪ in here, machines have a voice... ♪ [ male announcer ] in here, medical history follows you... even when you're away from home. it's the at&t network -- a network of possibilities, creating and integrating solutions, helping business, and the world...work. rethink possible. until the end of the quarter to think about your money... ♪ that right now, you want to know where you are, and where you'd like to be. we know you'd like to see the same information your advisor does so you can get a deeper understanding of what's going on with your portfolio. we know all this because we asked you, and what we heard helped us create pnc wealth insight, a smarter way to work with your pnc advisor, so you can make better decisions and live achievement. time for a new segment we call "bookmarks." it's the big ideas from the best sellers that are driving the national conversation. so, do your hands tremble when you speak in public? or would you rather stay home alone than go to a big party? if so, you might be an introvert. by some estimates, almost 30% of people have that quieter personality type. it includes a lot of ceos, rock stars, even presidents. it's the topic of "time" magazine cover story this week, "the power of shyness." brian walsh from "time" magazine, he's joining us now. you're a senior writer. you served as "time's" tokyo bureau chief and you describe yourself as an introvert. you write that you with sometimes find yourself at cocktail parties, hiding in the bathroom, to avoid awkward situations and conversations. so, brian, i don't know if you're introverted or extroverted today for us, but how is it possible to be so successful and painfully shy, introverted? >> well, you know win me, i mea you're talking about painfully shy, that would be something who's truly so anxious that they can't really go out or it fills them with so fear, they can't go out. an introvert, they can do that sort of activity, but they find it sort of taps their energy. the real difference between introverts and extroverts is that energy system, where an extroverted person, they love the social sphere, they love those activities, it energizes them. where someone like me, a little more introverted, they can do that, but find they need a little break afterwards, and they may have to surrender to the bathroom to take that break. >> in your article, you say introverts live in an extrovert's world. and our society for the most part demands people be bold, be outgoing. what are some of the advantages to being an introvert? >> it makes you a little bit more cautious. and i think we know that someone who's risk-seeking, which many extroverts tend to be, that can get you into problems. in the crash of 2008, there have been studies that have shown that many traders have very extroverted characteristics. they go looking for risks and we know what happened after that. the introverted person may be less likely to get into that kind of situation, less likely to get into accidents. >> covering bill clinton, he was a fun president to cover. he used to go back in the plane, just to chat us off, off the record, of course, but for hours, he would talk about everything, so much to the point that we'd sometimes pretend that we were sleeping, so he'd go back to the front of the plane. what does that make him here? >> well, he's -- bill clinton is probably about as extroverted as you can get. that's really the case of someone who draws energy from those crowds, whether it's in that one-on-one interaction with a reporter or in a rope line. he's someone who could do it and to it over and over again. >> the first time i met george bush, off the record, he cried, in the white house. very emotional guy, very passionate, playful, entertaining. what kind of leader, george bush? >> i think he's also definitely an extroverted leader. i mean, in terms of people who study personality in politics, they place him in that way as someone who likes to get along with people, likes social events, sort of outgoing, but also someone who doesn't really have the patience, necessarily, to spend time on his own, focusing on facts. and that's where we can see where t where the extroverted personality might be a problem. >> and president obama, wildly inspiring, but privately, he was much more reserved, measured, and runs in a very small circle. >> that's a very classic introverted temperament. he's someone who, again, is not shy, i mean, you couldn't run for president and be shy, but he's someone who has a history of being a writer, and writers need to spend lots of time alone. clearly, he's someone who likes doing that, can do that kind of solitary work, and he's not that interested in those big crowds, or necessarily, in those washington social events. >> all right. let's talk a little bit about the candidates that we're see on the republican side. mitt romney, newt gingrich. mitt romney seems to be powerfully introverted kind of guy. doesn't seem to be kind of even very comfortable in crowds. how do you read him? >> i do read him in that way. he's someone who is a bit introverted, from what we've been able to read about him. clearly, you know, the feeling you get from him, i think, is someone when he's out in those situations, you can feel it's a bit forced. and someone newt gingrich, much more on the extroverted end of the spectrum, someone who's a supernova when it comes to generating attention and getting attention. he's a little bit more of the traditional politician, i think, in that sense. >> all right, brian, really nice to talk to you. "time" magazine's brian walsh. thanks, brian. >> thanks. >> so are you an introvert or an extrovert? "time" magazine has a quiz you can take to find out. you can find the link on my facebook page, facebook.com/suzannecnn. he goldd in anti-aging. clinically proven to give 10 years back to the look of skin. nothing's better than gold. [ female announcer ] roc® retinol correxion deep wrinkle night cream. that's going to have to be done by a certain date. you always have homework, okay? i don't have homework today. it's what's right here is what is most important to me. it's beautiful. ♪ ♪ ♪ 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. all right. i'm not sure if this is one of the greatest or worst apps ever invented. a new app congratulates you for being a couch potato. you can redeem gift cards. chad's here to explain it. this is the app right here. i called this one up, because ." that's the only thing i watch besides news stuff. >> you get two points per minute, plus the 250 bonus points for watching. and when you get to 7,500 points, you get a $5 gift card. >> how much time is that, chad, in front of the tv? these are all the programs. >> these are the bonus programs. these are the biggies. these are the ones that give you extra points for watching. >> do you know who that is? >> i know who that is, but i don't know her name. >> snooki. >> how does it know that you're watching? >> i'm going to check in and see how that goes. how does it know? >> how does it know? it's listening to us now on tv. if it hears our voice and recognizes that you and me, on tv, it knows you're actually watching it, and it's giving you points for having this on your ipad. >> and so they know that we're watching these shows, so here is what we get. what kind of good stuff are we talking about here? gift cards? >> for 7,500 points, you can get a latte. so in three weeks, watching three hours a night, you can get a coffee. >> how can that be worth it? >> go up. >> burger king, i guess you are a couch potato. >> the funniest one is the kindle. you can get a brand new kindle for 175,000 points. we're really thinking, if you have a kindle, how much reading are you going to be doing, because you already have 175,000 points, how did you get there in the first place? >> this is good, amazon, okay, score big, banana republic. can we get some points for "cnn newsroom"? >> we already did. >> are you serious? >> we watched it for a minute and got 15 bonus points. 1,500 just for logging on. >> that going to get me a latte? >> i can get you a tall, black coffee. that's all i can. >> we have a lot more watching to do. but we're not going to be couch potatoes. we'll be doing this and doing push-ups and situps and jumping jacks while we watch. >> that's one of us. >> this is kind of cool. "cnn newsroom." got to watch "cnn newsroom." we're getting a lot of responses from today's "talk back" question. we asked, what will it take to get americans to lose weight? we have responses up ahead. time now for the help desk, where we get answers to your financial questions. joining me this hour, a personal finance expert and lynnette is the founder of askthemoneycoach.com. appreciate you being here. first question comes from chris. he writes, "i'm about to retire. i contributed to a 403 account while i was working. i have been told it would be to my advantage to roll that money into an i.r.a. account. is that true? >> so a 403 is simply an employer-based retirement plan, similar to a 401(k). the reason that i personally like seeing people roll them over into an i.r.a. is it gives you more choice. you can choose the financial institution at which you want to open that account. i like to see people have a lot of options for low-cost investment opportunities, depending on the original plan sponsor, some of the investment options offered to you may actually be taking a pretty good chunk out of your return in terms of fees. if you're in an i.r.a. that you rolled over, you have complete control over that. so my vote, roll over. >> roll it over. all right. lynnette, erin wrote in, "i will turn 18 in a month. i have a part-time job and save around 40% of my wages each week. how should i start investing?" >> i was thinking, heaven help me if i had started at age 18. first of all, kudos for being able to save 40%. i'm assuming he's still living with mom and dad and that's why he's able to sock away so much money. mutual funds is a great place for him to start. index mutual funds, if he wants to start saving and investigation for the long-term. you know, somebody like this is probably going to be one of those, you know, millionaires in the making, who's saving in their 20s, just a little bit every single month. and it's done -- if you do it with mutual funds, it's a low-cost way to get diversification, professional money management, and it makes you not have to worry about picking individual stocks. >> and the average person who tries to play the market -- >> they just don't do as well as the indexes, generally. >> great advice. if you have a question you want answered, send us a question anytime to cnnhelpdesk@cnn.com. they didn't take a dime. how much in fees does your bank take to watch your money ? if your bank takes more money than a stranger, you need an ally. ally bank. no nonsense. just people sense. when newt gingrich called president obama the food stamp president, people either got mad or they gave him high fives. well, now it's in his campaign ad. >> only newt gingrich can beat obama. >> more people have been put on food stamps by barack obama than any president in american history. >> joining us is jim chenoweth with the food bank, north florida's second harvest. jim, there's been a lot of criticism coming from the republican candidates about the administration being what they call an entitlement administration. that the government help they give to people is a drain on the economy. you make the opposite case. can you explain? >> absolutely. we really look at food stamps or s.n.a.p., as the program is now called, as an investment in recovery. these are dollars that are being sent on to el visible individuals, it's a very rigorous process, and spent at businesses. this is a great way for tax dollars to help people in need and help local economies. >> for every dollar worth of food stamps, how much of that is a stimulus in the economy? >> well, the department of agriculture statistics show that $1 of food stamps is equal to $1.80 of economic impact. and that's because how those dollars then allow other people to keep their jobs and their suppliers and contractors, all through the whole food system, that really benefit from those dollars being put to use. >> i want to break out the numbers here. 45 million people are enrolled in this food stamp program, it is 14% of all americans. millions signed up during the worst recession since the greae depression. now, beyond the numbers here, describe for us who are the people who need food stamps, who are on food stamps, has that profile changed? >> well, i think, frankly, the stereotype exists that it is a person who is unwilling to work or perhaps a homeless individual, but from our work, helping sign clients up for the program, we've found that most of the clients are working families. a lot of them are people who have lost their job in the recession. i was just talking to one of my workers this morning, and she was telling me about two individuals who worked at a bagel shop, and they had gone into work one more and the doors were closed and attorney had to have made the decision to close his business, and they were left without work, so the s.n.a.p. program was there for them and they were able to get groceries as they looked for another opportunity. these are people who want to work. that's a common thread throughout all of this, as far as who they are. >> sure. i'm wondering if there are some people who qualify for food stamps who aren't receiving them? >> well, that's really one of the things we're looking at. we run a program to sign up. currently, according to our data, only 64% of people who are potentially eligible for the program are enrolled. so there's a large opportunity. as we look at the potential economic impact, if every one of those 3,000 plus households signed up, that would be more than $20 million that would be spent in businesses in flagler county in the course of a year. that has potential to be hugely significant. >> jim, thank you very much, i appreciate you breaking down the numbers and putting a face to it. thank you. you've been sounding off on the "talk back" question. what is it going to take to get americans to lose weight. chris says, "nothing. you have to want to work out and lose weight. there is nothing the government can do nor should it do. it is on you if you want to lose weight." more of your responses, up ahead. 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. until the end of the quarter to think about your money... ♪ that right now, you want to know where you are, and where you'd like to be. we know you'd like to see the same information your advisor does so you can get a deeper understanding of what's going on with your portfolio. we know all this because we asked you, and what we heard helped us create pnc wealth insight, a smarter way to work with your pnc advisor, so you can make better decisions and live achievement. 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[ kyle ] it's like we're connected. no we're not. yeah, we are. no...we're not. ♪ the allstate value plan. dollar for dollar, nobody protects you like allstate. you've been sounding off on the "talk back" question. what will it take to get americans to lose weight? carol costello is joining us from washington. hi, carol. >> hi, suzanne. here are couple of answers from you. this from hansel, "we should take a drastic but very real approach to get this under control. obese people should have their private medical premiums go up, just like when you have a car accident. you're costing money to care for, therefore you should pay more. forgive the rhyme." this from janet, "the problem is that fast foods are more affordable than fruits and veggies from the grocery store." joe, "get out and move for 30 minutes a day." >> "people will lose weight on a whole grain,