alison, everyone is noting that this is just a part of the trend. >> right. well, first of all, don, it is an encouraging report, especially when you look at the trend here. when you look at the trend, 1.6 million jobs have been added in the last year. the unemployment rate is at 8.5%. so, yes, things are getting better. the dow is down and nasdaq is mixed. not so overly impressed. as things improve, the expectation is rising and the fact is these numbers just didn't blow away expectations. the economy at this point is kind of like an economy that's had its training wheels taken off but we still haven't moved into the fast lane and wall street wants to see if the economy is picking up steam. >> and when you break up these numbers, it's not equal among everyone. >> it's not. the unemployment rate didn't budge for african-americans. in fact, the black unemployment rate in december was 15.8%. compare that to the rate for whites at 7.5%. you know what, economists say, it's nothing knew. the black unemployment rate has been double that of whites since the government began tracking this 40 years ago and education is one key reason fewer blacks have college degrees. don, i have good news for you. the jobs picture for black men is improving but for black women it is worse. most public sector jobs are filled by mine north. >> thank you, alison. jim acosta is next in manchester. mitt romney is already gone. he's in south carolina? >> that's right. don, it makes perfect sense for mitt romney to be in south carolina if you consider where he stands. there's going to be a race for second place right now with rick santorum, jon huntsman, ron paul and newt gingrich. all the of the candidates have to look at what is coming out at orc. it's really kind of shocking when you consider how things have changed down in south carolina, which is a critical state for all of these un-romney candidates. you can see the surge that's carried into south carolina but it's not strong at the moment. these polls are snapshots. at the moment he doesn't appear to be taking over mitt romney. all of that could change with the debate coming up this weekend but one of the game changers, if you will, that sort of came out today were the positive job numbers which is a good thing for the white house. rick santorum was asked about this earlier today and he didn't exactly poo-poo the numbers, if i can put it that way. here's what he had to say. >> despite of president obama's numbers, the jobs market is picking up a bit and there is optimism that the republicans are going to take the white house and maybe that's spurring people to take some risks. >> reporter: the reason why i wanted to play that sound for you, don, it opens up a window into this difficult situation that the republicans are going to be in if the economy keeps doing this, keeps chipping away at the unemployment rate, and knocks it down below 8%. what do the republicans then do when it comes to the issue of the economy, don, that's going to be interesting to watch. >> he was saying that in gist, i'm sure. was that a joke? >> reporter: no, it wasn't. >> come on. >> reporter: i think that's really the message from all of these candidates that, yes, the economy is improving but if we can get what they call obamacare off of our backs and so forth, they are going to continue to make those comments and it's going to be up to voters, obviously, to make up their minds themselves whether or not this argument is going to win the day. but it is -- you can sort of tell how this is putting them in this box as to how to take on the economy. if it's slowly but surely improving, don. >> all right. thank you, jim appreciate it. >> you bet. next up, jessica yellin with the political side of today's jobs news. again, the jobless rate down to 8.5%. hi, jess. >> hey, don. let's talk first about what the president talked about. he emphasized the growth in the job economy and the real engine of the economy is revving up. listen in and then we can talk politics. >> obviously we have a lot more work to do. it's important to recognize that we've added 3.2 million private sector jobs over the last two months. nearly two million new jobs last year alone. and the manufacturing sector is also adding jobs and we're making progress. >> he went on to press congress to pass the full-year extension of the payroll tax cut but, john, i want to pick up on something that you were sort of dismissive of what jim acosta was saying there and the unemployment rate remains high when it's at 8.5% but the reason it's meaningful that the rate would be there, the reason it's make the case during the campaign that the agenda is working and the economy is moving in the right direction and the whole thing is don't change horses midstream that he had a vision to improve over time so stick with obama going forward. while 8% wouldn't be good for americans at that snapshot of in time, it could be over time given that it is showing improvement. >> yeah, it was just a matter of time before when the numbers came out we were wondering how both sides were trying to take credit for it. now we know basically it starts very quickly. thank you very much, jessica yellin. appreciate it. that's today's reporter roulette. one of the men who wants president obama's jobs suddenly under a big microscope and critics are saying rick santorum is part of the problem in washington. cnn did some investigating and we got the facts on santorum's time in office plus, bloody clothes, surveillance video, and a confession. >> did you kill stephany tatiana? >> yes. >> joran van der sloot in court accused of murder. also, a new twist in the case of a young mom who asked 911 if she could shoot an intruder. we now know why the suspects wanted to break into her home. and if you're going to steel someone's identity, you may want to think twice about targeting a guy in the white house. stay right there. if it is happening right now, you are about to see it. rapid fire, let's go. a deadly day in syria. at least 20 people killed. a suicide car bombing in the capital of damascus. outside the city and clashes between security forces and protesters trying to remove syria's leader. this video that you're looking at is from youtube. various accounts say more than 5,000 people have died as the government cracks down on civil unrest. an american teenager who was deported to colombia is back on her way to the united states. jakadrien turner was deported after giving authorities a fake name. military prosecutors are charging three air force academy cadets with sexual assault. the cases are not connected. they come on the heels of a report finding a sharp increase in such attacks at the military academies. the court documents show that two of the cadets tried to take advantage of two victims who were intoxicated. a senior white house official with secret service protection was a victim. investigators say this was the i.d. thief. he used the official's social security number to get a credit card. >> he's not a terrorist but a child surfing the internet and got this. >> it was a lot bigger and my fear is if that number is on the there what else is on the internet that people can get to. >> in a scene right out of the movies, thieves break into a virginia store and steal more than $2 million in jewelry to bypass an elaborate steel doors, trip chains and a smoke producing alarm system. it is right out of the movies. it wasn't the first time that the store owner gary baker has been hit. baker and his brother shot and killed two would-be robbers. he says he may just close down the store. two children were among four people rescued off the coast of australia. did you hear that? clinging to an ice chest. the chopper crew dropped a life raft and a bliss boat quickly arrived on the scene. all four in good condition. good stuff. it is no secret that there is tension between iran and the u.s. this story involves pirates. i'll show you the video. plus, joran van der sloot facing charges of murder of a young girl but he seemed to be in court like it was an inconvenience. you've got to see more of that video. we just eat whatever tastes good? like these sweet honey clusters... actually there's a half a day's worth of fiber in every ... why stop at cereal? bring on the pork chops and the hot fudge. fantastic. are you done sweetie? yea [ male announcer ] fiber beyond recognition. fiber one. hey, i love your cereal there-- it's got that sweet honey taste. but no way it's 80 calories, right? no way. lady, i just drive the truck. right, there's no way right, right? have a nice day. [ male announcer ] 80 delicious calories. fiber one. an update on a story we told you about a few minutes ago. look at that truck in monticello, minnesota. the driver appeared to lose control and ended up in the ice. it's being pulled out of the ice now as we look at the live pictures right now but on the left side of the screen that's the tape. that's how it looking at its deepest. imagine being in that truck. guess what, the driver managed to escape as well. he's been released from the hospital. so all is well. we'll move on now and talk about iran. the u.s. navy lends a helping hand to iran. take a look at this video. it shows an iranian ship high jacked more than a month ago. they captured 15 suspected pirates, mostly somali, and arrested a rescued a 13-member crew. and before leaving the iranian navy thanked the u.s. for help. he's had more than a year and a half in custody and it's time -- a a lot of time to think about it, really, but today joran van der sloot told a peruvian court that he wants more time to reflect on his murder trial. he's long been the suspect in the disappearance of natalee holloway in aruba but he went on trial today for the murder of 21-year-old stephany flores. she was beaten and strangled in van der sloot's hotel room in lima, peru. his lawyer indicated today that he wanted to make a plea or at least plead guilt to this case. so what happened? >> that's what he told me this morning. he said, what we're going to do is pleetd guilty and then hope for leniency but then when joran van der sloot was in court and the prosecutors started listening to all of the charges and how serious they were and how graphic the description of the prosecutor was, he started nodding his head and apparently was not in agreement an it came time for the judge to ask him, so, mr. van der sloot, how do you plead? he said i would like to use my right to say a sincere confession but i do not agree with everything that the prosecutor is saying so i need time to speak with my attorney and after that then the attorney asked for a continuance and that's what happened today in court. >> let's take a listen. >> translator: i want to use my right to plead a sincere confession but do not agree with all of the aggravating factors that the prosecutor is charging me with. >> it's interesting, because he's sort of negotiating his own -- if you're going to confess, hey, i'm going ton confess but negotiate it, they say, hey, buddy, you just confessed. there are rules. is this common? >> it's not an official confession because he stopped right in the middle of it and then his attorney intervened so he did not finish the full confession. >> odd behavior in court. he's standing down, sitting up, yawning, and what's up with that? >> you know, the guy is in court facing murder charges and face as prospect of facing as many as 35 years in prison, i wouldn't do that. he was yawning, scratching his head, he -- you see him there, he seems bored. he was not paying attention. at one point the judge asked him, you've got to sit up straight and you have to respect -- >> he's going to go down for a long time, right? >> exactly. he made it a little bit better but still he was a little bit unfocused. >> and everybody is watching it. what's her name? casey anthony. up next on cnn, a stunning new poll. it suggests that mitt romney is up big in south carolina, which of course is a big prize in the gop race. this as rick santorum tries to play catchup on a wave of momentum. cnn is taking a look at his political past and is looking at his spending habits. dana bash is standing by. her report is up next. dana. w! from your house?! from the car. unh! ooh. 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[oinking] [hissing] [ding] announcer: cook foods to the right temperature using a food thermometer. 3,000 americans will die from food poisoning this year. check your steps at foodsafety.gov. welcome back, everyone. officials are taking a look at the iowa kaukds. as the spotlight gets bigger, the scrutiny grows. especially his history of earmarks. i'm going to talk to dana bash in a second but first take a look at what she discovered. >> we're in a financial crisis right now. >> stumping in new hampshire, rick santorum gives his prescription for reducing the deficit. >> we have to do it in the areas where the deficit has been created and that is spending. >> he's liberal. >> what makes him liberal. >> $1 million of earmarks, jay from ames. >> rick santorum? >> right. >> i have had a lot of earmarks. in fact, i've very proud of all of the earmarks. >> reporter: the reality is, it's hard to know if santorum really got a billion dollars in required to disclose that and commonsense says -- >> i think it's pretty clear if you look at the anecdotal evidence that he got at least a billion and probably much more. >> reporter: in 2005, pennsylvania alone received $483 million in earmarks for 872 projects and during his years in congress, santorum issued press release after press release bragging about bringing home the bacon like an expansion project and $50,000 for gateway fasteners, a career development program. and he voted for the infamous bridge to nowhere in alaska. >> to go against the bridge of nowhere was powerful with senator stevens. >> if he would have voted against the bridge to nowhere, bye-bye money for petition if he? >> absolutely bye-bye money for pennsylvania. >> when you go to congress, you make sure that when taxes go from your state to washington, d.c., you fight to make sure you get your fair share back. >> and to be sure he was hardly alone. until recent years, even for republicans, spending federal funds on folks back home was a path to re-election. but now in a gop primary it's fodder for opponents. >> i believe that earmarking is a gateway drug to corruption and senator santorum supported it and engaged in it as much as he possibly could. >> a gateway drug to corruption? now that is a sound bite. dana bash, there she is in washington. santorum doesn't sound apologetic for saying what he took was a billion dollars worth of earmarks does he? >> no, he doesn't. he's defending the fact that he took earmarks and basically what he says and not only does he say that it was constitutional and is constitutional which many members of congress say, he also points out that earmarks were very, very small percentage of the budget. less than 1% of the budget. so that is actually true, don. and what he's also saying on the stump is that what he wants to do when it kwcomes to cutting spending. >> the earmarks for pennsylvania generals and when he was back in 2006 he really started bringing home the bacon for himself, didn't he? >> there's no question about it. just on a personal level, as you mentioned, when he was in congress he made $162,000. that was his salary in the united states senate. when he left -- actually, when he was defeated from a pretty big margin, he went to make money for the first time in his life, big money. and he made $1.3 million, according to a financial disclosure that he wrote out when he started running for president. that was. >> 2010 and the beginning of 2011 and not just for working for a newschannel that we all mentioned but also from working for the interests that he helped back in pennsylvania. health care company and also an energy company. wasn't a lobbyist, never registered as a lobbyist, but the kind of work that we see a lot of former members do, don't have the l word, lobbyist, but they definitely help these companies get political intelligence information for their companies. >> yeah. i think he worked for msnbc or something like that. i'm just kidding. but you know, hey, making money is what everyone wants to learn a good living. you can't hold that against them. thank you, dana. >> absolutely he. i have two guns in my hand. is it okay to shoot him if he comes in this door. a young mom shoots and kills a man after calling 911 and asks for permission. someone has been charged with murder and it's not the person who pulled trigger. more than 80 decades, a narrow definition of rape until now. find out what has changed. sunny hostin is on the case. looking forward to it, sunny. see you after the break. a new twist to report to you in the story of a young oklahoma widow who took matters in her own hands when a man tried to break into her home. >> i have two guns in my hand. is it okay to shoot him if he comes in this door? >> you have to do whatever you can to protect yourself. you do what you have to do to protect your baby. >> that was sarah mckinly. she killed the intruder with a 12-gauge shotgun. investigators say she won't face any charges. but the intruders alleged accomplice, who ran away from the scene and turned himself in after he heard the gunshots, has been charged with first-degree murder. all right. sunny hostin, how does this work? the alleged accomplice was not allegedly armed. how did he get charged with murder? >> he's a co-conspirator. the underlying felony was burglary in the first degree because they devised a plan to go into that home and break in. apparently they were also druggdrug up on hydrocode don't. they were both addicted to hydrocodeine and this this planned. this led to the other person being shot dead. now, that means this guy, he's also responsible for felony murder. that's the way the law works. so many people have been tweeting me and face booking me saying this is justice. >> this was allegedly because of hydrocodone. so that's why. the alleged accomplice has been released from jail on bond. is he under any other restrictions? >> he sure is. he has a $50,000 bond. interestingly enough, he's also under house arrest, don. also, he has a gps monitoring system and he has to stay 2,000 feet away from mckinnley. so pretty strict rest