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 ? 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>> 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,