had made its own nuclear fuel rods domestically for the first time. it was loading these into what it said was a reactor for medical purposes, not for nuclear weapons. but this is going to be watched very closely here in washington and in israel, of course, because the question is whether this development, this announcement of them being able to make their own nuclear fuel rods is actually the real deal. can they do it? do these fuel rods work? how good is the quality? is this another step potentially on iran's road to potentially making nuclear weapons? that's the key question for intelligence agencies right now. what does this all mean? iran's had a lot of problems with its nuclear efforts. are they really successful at this? have they made the decision to go forward. c.i.a. director david petraeus says one of the things he's watching very carefully is whether they're going to make that move to go for highly enriched uranium. that would be a significant step on the road to nuclear weapons. the u.s. doesn't believe iran's made that step just yet. >> is there a feeling that if that step may have been made, that there was some cooperation or real help from another nation? >> reporter: well, that's an intelligence dilemma, again. they have had problems in iran with the quality control on their nuclear effort. some people say it's due to a computer virus inserted perhaps by western intelligence agencies or their own lack of precision engineering. so if they are successful this time, if what they've unveiled today in these nuclear rods really works and works well, are they getting help from the outside? have they overcome some of the technical and engineering problems that they had? if they did, who is helping them? what country out there, whether it's sponsored openly by another country or maybe they're buying the expertise on the black market or bringing scientists in undercover from abroad. the question is, is it successful and how have they done it? >> all right. barbara starr from the pentagon. thanks so much. >> reporter: sure. well, it is a huge source of pride for iran, but should it be a source of worry for the west? we'll talk more about this story at 9:30 eastern time with security expert from m.i.t. now we turn to syria. a nation teetering on the brink of civil war. this morning embattled president bashar al-assad announced syrians can vote later this month on a new constitution, but at this point that gesture is unlikely to tamp down the uprising. this video posted on youtube claims to show civilians forced into service as human shields. rebels say government troops positioned themselves near tanks and artillery positions so the opposition forces won't fire on them. cnn cannot verify the claims because syria bans most international reporting, but our arwa dam man and her team has slipped into the city of homs. this morning the city is covered by a thick cloud of smoke that you see from an overnight explosion. >> reporter: that smoke you're seeing rising is from an oil pipeline that is believed to have been hit. what we heard was three explosions at around 6:30 in the morning. shortly thereafter that thick plume of black smoeblg began covering the skyline here. this is not the first time that we have seen these types of images emerging from the besieged city of homs. that pipeline has been hit on at least two other occasions. the syrian military has really intensified its defense here, especially in another neighborhood. activists have told us they believe the syrian government is on the campaign to flatten every single neighborhood where there has been some sort of opposition, some sort of effort to try to stand up to this government. >> as early as today the united nations is expected to vote on condemning the government crackdown. it would become the u.n.'s strongest statement yet on the violence. now reaction from around the world. max foster joining us in london with more information on this. >> lots of analysts are looking at what's going on in syria and talking about a tipping point, a turning point about what's going on there. certainly a lot of newspapers trying to question what's going to happen next. the globe and mail in canada, headline is bashar al-assad listening. talks about the sheer number and weight of various diplomatic initiatives now in play indicating that politics rather than fighting on the ground will determine the outcome of what is a low intensity civil war, at least at this point. the china daily is saying that beijing's middle east policy is justified. given the facts, it says, it's not surprising that the u.s. and its western allies find fault with china's policy. china faces criticism because it refuses to be a pawn in the wheeling and dealing of the west. china, of course, not getting involved in any u.n. resolutions at this point much to the anger of western countries. the daily telegraph of the u.k. an economic blockade can defeat assad. some might be concerned that ordinary syrians would suffer hardship as a result of a total economic embargo. that cannot be denied but would be preferable to all the bloodshed that would be part of a protracted civil war. there's a will really, fredri a fredricka, to do something where they can't work out what to do and what indications it means for foreign policies of countries like america and the u.k. >> max foster. keep us posted on any developments there. here in the u.s. funeral preparations are underway for whitney houston as family members and friends of the late singer struggle to come to grips with her sudden death. cnn's susan candiotti is outside the newark, new jersey, church where the funeral will be, new hope baptist church. the church, susan, where she first sang in that junior choir and now a return home on this good-bye. >> reporter: that's right. that's why it's not surprising that we see so many momentos left behind here, balloons, flowers, candles, personal messages left to whitney houston. this is a church, after all, where the area here first came to know her and certainly in this particular community because we've all seen that home video by now of her singing in this choir before this church and the congregation when she was just a little girl. so she is beloved, especially in this congregation. and that's why her family says they wanted to have the funeral here. and, of course, officiating at the service is pastor joe carter. in addition, the eulogy will be delivered by marvin wymans. he's a famous singer gospel singer. we were talking with a historian at the apollo theater and he remembers when whitney attended a concert with them in the past years. and even reverend carter here at the church says that he remembers -- he's only about five years older than whitney houston, and he remembers being in awe of her when he first met her. >> i was trying not to be star struck, but it was an amazing moment. i actually met her in church on an easter sunday morning singing in the sanctuary. i'll never forget it. >> reporter: you know that there are 1500 seats in this church, and, fredricka, every one of them is expected to be filled. >> susan, anything more about whether there will be a camera there? whether there will be some large jumbo tron screens outside because clearly such an outpouring of the community wants to be there and is likely to be there whether this is a service that remains private or not. >> reporter: that's right. as we all know of course by now, it is going to be a private service, invitation only. we don't have any definitive word yet on whether there will be that big screen set up outside here so that all the fans who come won't be disappointed and can at least hear and/or see a bit about what's going on in the church. so we're still waiting for official word on that. certainly we do know some of the people who will be invited. for example, reverend jesse jackson tells us that he will definitely be here. singer chaka khan will be here and so many others. we're waiting for that guest list now. >> susan candiotti, thanks so much there in newark, new jersey. now let's turn to some presidential politics and the fight for the republican nomination. today a new poll and new punches being traded. cnn political editor paul steinhauser in washington. paul, it looks like the ad wars are beginning to ramp up again. tell us all about it. >> reporter: you got t. they're back, fred. remember last month in south carolina and florida, we saw an explosion of campaign commercials? many of them attack ads. they kind of disappeared. we didn't see them in nevada which romney won. we didn't see them in the february 7th contests that santorum swept. this is from restore our future, the pro-romney independent super pac. they're going after santorum. take a listen. >> rick santorum actually vote? santorum voted to raise the debt limit five times and for billions in waistful projects, including the bridge to nowhere. in a single session santorum -- >> reporter: part of the romney and the super pacs attempts to poor trap santorum as a washington insider and big spender. this ad's running in michigan, arizona which have contests on the 28th and in ohio. wait. the santorum campaign up with a brand new ad in michigan that goes after romney for going negative. take a listen. >> i'm rick santorum and i approve this message. >> meet romney's negative attack machine is back on full throttle. this time romney's firing his mud at rick santorum. romney and his super pac have set a -- >> reporter: the santorum campaign having a little bit of fun here, fred. the ad wars are back. we have a lot of big stakes voting in the next two to three weeks. you'll see an explosion of ads. >> oh, my goodness. meantime, paul, there's also a new poll from the battleground state of ohio. what's it saying? >> you need more proof of that santorum surge since his big wins last week. check this out, this is in ohio as you mentioned, one of the sup err tuesday states. look who's on top now. rick santorum seven points ahead of mitt romney. there's newt gingrich and congressman ron paul at 9%. another example of how santorum has surged in the polls. he's also going after president obama. take a listen to what he said last night campaigning in idaho. >> don't you see how they see you? how they look down their nose at the average americans? these elite snobs. >> reporter: there you go. santorum is trying to portray the president and his administration as know it alls and elitists. i think the white house will take issue with that one. we've been seeing that message the last couple of days from santorum. >> paul steinhauser, thanks so much from the political desk in washington. we'll have our next political update in an hour. reminder, for all the latest political news you know where to go, politics.com. people can't seem to get enough of whitney houston's music and movies right now, and her death could mean about a billion dollars in revenue. we'll talk to an entertainment lawyer all about that. a rare sight for tucson, arizona. snow. we're checking stories right cross-country after this. you know when i grow up, i'm going to own my own restaurant. i want to be a volunteer firefighter. when i grow up, i want to write a novel. i want to go on a road trip. when i grow up, i'm going to go there. i want to fix up old houses. 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[ female announcer ] discover what's next in your life. get this free travel bag when you join at aarp.org/jointoday. ♪[music plays] ♪[music plays] purina one beyond. food for your cat or dog. checking stories cross-country now. penn state says it has paid out nearly $3.2 million in fees linked to the jerry sandusky child sex abuse case. penn state's website says the university will not use alumni donations, student tuition, or taxpayer dollars to cover the costs. the university is counting on insurance to pay. the feds have cited a michigan nuclear power plant for three safety violations. the nrc says worst of the violations happened last september. half of the control room indicators were lost because of an electrical room fault. they will be keeping a closer eye on the plant. a rare snowfall for parts of tucson, arizona. the valentine's day snow came down hard for a short time but then, poof, it was gone. >> whitney houston has the number one song on itunes right now, and she has seven of the top ten albums on amazon. her death has given interest in her music in a very huge way. james walker is an entertainment attorney and author of "the business of urban music." good to see you. >> good to see you. >> you talk about whitney houston and her rise to fame extensively in your book. >> yes, i do. >> this has happened after michael jackson, it's happened after a number of great stars. they die, posthumosly they're able to enjoy giant proceeds from sales. do you see that records will be broken in the case of whitney houston already. >> i definitely think so. first i want to say my prayers go out to their family. i've met them through my own clients. my prayers go out to them first and foremost. to answer your question i think sony is going to see about a billion dollars. i wrote an article for rap rehab that deals with the urban music industry. i focused on the fact that when you look at her movies, "the body guard" did over 4 million. "preacher's wife," her movies have done over 1/2 billion dollars. what's going to happen here is sony is holding up right now and they're figuring out, we're going to put out the "sparkle" movie out later this year. we are pea going to time it so we put all the producers, cast members out on the floor marketing the movie. simultaneously we'll release the sound track and we'll release certain best of, greatest hits, love songs by whitney, dance songs by whitney. you can release 20 or 30 different records. >> the expectations were pretty high with "sparkle." now with her passing it's going to be a lot of people's last view of her work and so clearly it will appeal to an awful lot more people than they ever expected. >> clearly, fredricka, if you look at "the body guard" the movie did $440 billion at the box office. sparkle is not an average movie, i went out in the final week, that was the last time i saw whitney. >> what did you observe? >> i observed that we were all obviously tired. every night you're working until 3:00 in the morning. i was a casual observer learning the film game. what i observed is she nailed the part. what i observed is she was trying to come back. the closing night of the movie she did a prayer, the closing night of the set she did a prayer about 2:00, 3:00 a.m. every eye was tearing up. we all knew her journey. this will be her first movie in 15 years. you can bet sony will see about a billion dollar between the 3 to 400 billion between the movie, dvd z, merchandising. she's a superstar artist so her estate will see a royalty rate in the $1, $1.50, $2 range. >> her estate is going to enjoy the benefits of this posthumos earnings just like the songwriters, the movie makers. apparently she was already in talks -- terry mcmillan wanted to talk to her about or had been trying to convince her to do yet another waiting to exhale type of movie. she was going to be on board with that. >> yeah. the movie did well the first one did well over i believe 80 million, about 81 million. part two would have clearly been a comeback for her and what's telling is that you look at all of these people who are buying her music. when she toured she struggled as a touring artist, believe it or not. so it's interesting now to see the response, the outpouring of love because on the tour circuit she struggled at times domestically. over seas she was big. "the body guard," sales overseas were huge. i wish we could have told her how much she was loved in her lifetime. >> so sad. james walker, thanks so much. good to see you. >> thank you. >> the book is "the business of urban music." thanks so much. this saturday night cnn will be looking at whitney houston's rise to fame, her fall from stardom, and the investigation into her untimely death. cnn prends "death of a diva," saturday night 8:00 eastern time. the ceo at apple responding to concerns over working conditions at chinese plants. that story and a market preview right after this. 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. sure. what flavor? mm, one of each. lemon burst, hm, cherry orchard, blackberry harvest... my daughter's grabbing some yoplait. pina colada, orange creme. i can't imagine where she is... strawberry cheesecake. 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[ zipper, heavy breathing ] ♪ [ male announcer ] linens and duvet washed fresh for every guest. real value. from your friends at hampton. heart disease is the number one killer in america, but it isn't just diet and lack of exercise that are factors. it also can be contributed to the air we breathe. senior medical correspondent elizabeth cohen joining me now. i don't know why i never thought of this. i think air pollution, i associate that with your lungs, the damage of that organ, but certainly not your heart. >> i think a lot of people do that. they think the air you breathe can give you asthma, lung cancer, but you don't think of the heart. this study as well as many others show that people who are exposed to lots of pollution are more likely to have a heart attack and what this study adds that's so interesting is that you don't have to live there day in and day out necessarily. there is some suggestion of a week of exposure to pollution. what they found is that they tracked the pollution rates and when they were bad for a week, heart attack rates went up. >> oh, my goodness. so what does the pollution do to your heart? what's happening? >> it does several bad things unfortunately. it causes inflammation all over your body which can damage your blood vessels. the second thing pollution can do is it can make your blood thicker and more likely to clot. it can make your heart rate go up. it acts on several different levels. what you're breathing in can act on several different levels. >> sometimes in some cities you see people wear masks. >> yeah. >> you're thinking about usually they're doing that because of their asthma, etc., allergies. is that something that would help you out in this case? >> masks might protect you to some degree, but here's what you want to think about. if you have an option when you're looking for a place to live, try not to live next to that intersection with lots of traffic because you're breathing in all those fumes. try not to live right on the interstate if you can help it. try to live as far away from those sources of pollution as possible. there is some good news here. while pollution is bad and you want to stay away from it, other things are even worse for you. so before you get too, too worried think is my weight where it should be? that's way more of a risk factor than pollution. is my blood pressure nice and low? control what you can control in your life. >> what's my diet like? >> exactly. if you live in a city where it's bad everywhere, unfortunately you don't have many options. >> now we know to make that association. >> make that link. >> elizabeth cohen, thanks so much. >> thanks. and then there's this pr headache for apple. there have been allegations of extremely long working hours, underage emplo