it's decision day in florida. the polls open in two hours. it is an ugly fight to the finish. >> and a prestigious college has fudged some s.a.t. scores for some of the incoming freshmen. why would they do that and admit to it? um find out. 911 calls from the crash in florida. >> he's coming too fast. >> here comes another one. see, there he goes. that was a bad one. >> we'll be talking to someone who was in the middle of the wreckage, sandwiched between two semis. a tennessee state senator is on the hot seat in a way. he is sponsoring some anti-gay legislation, but you will not believe what he's saying about homosexuals, homosexuality on the radio waves. you'll hear the transcript and you can decide for yourself. >> the fight for florida officially begins in about two hours. even before the polls open, the gingrich camp is back pedaling here. if the polls are right, florida appears locked. romney with a very healthy double-digit lead there. gingrich is lowering expectations for the next two contests, michigan and nevada. but the former speaker says he's in the race for the long haul, he's not getting out. the two candidates tearing into each other right until the end. >> you have an article today in the wall street journal. no difference between romney care and obama care. the packet is, i don't believe the republican party is going to nominate a liberal pro abortion, pro gun control, pro tax increase, pro gay rights. i don't think romney can raise enough money to sustain the falsehoods that are the base of his campaign. >> i know speaker gingrich is not happy, not feeling he can sighted these days. i know. it's sad. he's been flailing around a bit. you watch it and shake your head. it's been kind of painfully revealing to watch. but i think the reason that he isn't doing so well is because of the last two debates, don't you think? >> this is surprise in florida. 50 delegates, winner takes all. paul steinhauser is live from tampa florida. we were talking about the fact that romney ahead in two polls but the gingrich took him in the national polls. what a difference a day makes. >> really a big difference in the national polls. the national polls are catching up sdplordzoraida, polls. five major polls in the last 48 hours to indicate the same thing. romney with a double digit lead. came out yesterday morning, late morning. this is from quinn pie yak. newt gingrich 14 points back in the survey. 29%. you can see rick santorum, the former senator from pennsylvania, the congressman from texas pretty low out of running here. they have moved on. i think it's obvious, romney, gingrich, maybe not so much -- so happy with each other. it's gotten uglier. this was a tough campaign, no doubt about it. it wasn't like it was pleasant in iowa, new hampshire, south carolina, but things have gotten tougher and rougher in florida. we're zoraida, talking about big money. the romney camp an the independent super pac that supported it is outspending the gingrich campaign. a lot of nasty ads here in florida on tv. this is new yesterday. the gingrich campaign catching up to the romney campaign with a new website. tales of mitt.com. it calls mitt romney a flipflopper. the romney campaign has their own website attacking gingrich. it's been up for a while. the gingrich campaign catching up on this one. so much at stake as you mentioned. 50 delegates, the biggest poll so far. winner take all, zoraida? >> paul, i know you follow the pauls carefully. they're up, they're down. what do you think is causing this surge for romney? is it the super pac ads, all the money he spent in florida? >> that is contributing to it. romney's strategy, he got beat in south carolina. gingrich started playing defense. the two debates including the cnn debate, romney had good performance, gingrich did not perform well. this all matters. this is contributing to the lead by romney. zoraida. >> paul steinhauser, live in florida for us. i love your energy at in hour of the morning. you can keep it on cnn now through november for the best political coverage. on starting point, this is cnn exclusive. soledad o'brien goes one-on-one is republican senator marco rubio. the coverage of the florida primary begins with a special edition tonight at 6:00 eastern. at 7:00 eastern, join wolf, anderson, erin, candy and the best political team on television as they guide you through the florida results. want to get you up to speed on syria this morning. we've been bringing you a lot of stories about syria but things are ramping up there. our secretary of state, hillary clinton, is expected to urge the u.n. security council to support a resolution for peace in syria to boot bashar al assad out of power. look at your pictures. the violence escalating in the streets. cnn showing you both sides saying the government has been cracking down day after day. yesterday, alone, 100 people died. the government saying for it part, these are all terrorists. arwa damen is live. >> the u.n. resolutions don't have a lot of effect when it comes to this typically. this particular resolution doesn't have a lot of teeth either. it's not about sanctions economically and it's not about military might. does anybody think this will make any difference in syria? >> first of all, we have to see if that resolution goes through. bearing in mind that russia so far is putting forward every single indication that it is going to veto it. what the resolution does which is perhaps different than other ones, it calls for the implementation of this arab league proposal that came out recently that would see president -- that would pave the way down road for free and democratic elections. if that does in fact take place, it could possibly result in some sort of change on the ground. because at least in that case, the syrian government would be getting a signal that its long time international ally, russia, might be beginning to change its position. one has to remember that the syrian government, by and large, still believes as if it is in a position of power. if they're clinging to that belief, they won't be inclined to ease up. >> other than russia and its potential action at the u.n., does syria have any friends at this point? it seems as the arab league speaks about what's going on in syria as a block and they speak negatively about it. many are calling for al assad to step down. does this country have friends next door? >> well, you have to remember they have a very, very powerful friend in iran and that alliance is very strong and very deep and very historic. you must also remember that this is not the first time that syria has been relatively regionally isolated and has managed to weather that in the past. it also enjoys a healthy and fairly strong relationship, by and large, thanks to and as a by product with it relationship by iran and iraq and nuri al maliki. it's remained silent saying it's not getting involved in syria's affairs because it's extremely and understandably concerned about potential spillover effects. so it does have some alliances in the region. but what we have been seeing is that up uprising in syria is not just polarizing the nation itself. it's also polarizing the region and to a certain degree the international community as well, ashleigh. >> arwa, we'll keep an eye on things. thanks very much. i'm glad to see you're in lebanon and not in syria. i hate to say it. we're always worried when you head into syria. thank you, arwa. minding your business this morning, u.s. markets closed lower across the board ned. the dow, nasdaq and s&p lost less than half a percent. futures looking up this more than. christine romans is here to mind our business and mind yours too. they're optimistic about europe today. you sent me a note saying they didn't resolve the ush us of greece. >> no. they didn't. they agreed to a permanent e.u. bailout fund. that's at least is what investors are hopeful for. this is going to be three steps forward and two steps back with the european issue. all year we'll be talking about their political moves towards fixing their problems. there's a lot of headline risk when you talk about market. be careful. today at least you have futures up. we'll see if that -- >> bailouts. we'll be talking approximate that again. how he can sighting is that. we'll talk about airlines. full disclosure on things, right? how many times have you gone to buy a ticket and it's $59 one way or $129 one way and then it's $312 when you get the bill. now there are new rules. the department of transportation will not allow the airlines to just post base fare and at the end of your checkout you realize there are taxes an fees. there's always an asterisk that there's adding taxes and fees. there's going to be for clarity. the airlines don't like it. it's not their taxes and fees that make their airline look higher but the government taxes and fees, right? >> they say they were never hiding anything. they were showing what their airfare was. the other thing, hotels, car rental companies, they don't have to put in the taxes and fees either. >> they're being singled out. >> right. that's what they say. the department much transportation says, look, people want to know what it's going to cost to fly. spirit airlines has a warning on its website. the government is trying to hide its fees and taxes and bury it in this number. the government says that's not true. they could put every kind of fee added in there, itemize it if they wanted, but bottom line here for you guys, if you get a ticket today, it will look higher. but it won't be higher. it's just going to have everything wrapped in it. >> i like that. i like the finger pointing. it's not us, it's them. we'll put it in writing for you to see. you know who to be mad at, right? >> there's a congressman in georgia who wants to fight this. i see what you're saying. i see -- for the average voter, they'll be livid about that. >> he wants to say it's not fair to single out the airlines and he wants to reverse it. mostly, it's consumer groups, the department of transportation, they're like, look, you need to know what you're paying. but why not hotels and rental cars and everything else we use in. >> i don't know. >> we'll have to see. christine romans, good stuff. every morning at this time. give or take 30 seconds at 5:12. we like to alert you to news that's happening later. things developing now that will be big tonight. >> just a few hour from now, we could find out some of the people behind the money attack ads that have flooded the primary state. today is the deadline with the federal election commission for super pac spending. another big election takes place in oregon today where disdprased former congressman's seat is up for grabs. woo resigned last year after an 18-year-old woman accused him of making unwanted advances. getting ready for the super bowl media circus. 5,000 press credentials were issued this year. the crowd of reporters around quarterbacks brady and manning are expected to go 30 to 40 deep today. >> excitement builds. parts of the country getting a taste of spring today. other parts of country can't feel a thing. they're only thinking about super bowl. rob marciano shall i don't know which one you are. you're in atlanta. >> the forecast interesting pour the super bowl. they're playing in a dome i know that. they may get snow in indianapolis. if you're knowing. >> could affect the commute. >> pack your gear. you're right, warm temperatures will be making their way north and eastward today. so the cold air that you're feeling in new york and the cold air you felt yesterday, it will be short-lived. the heat pump will move things your way. as far as florida is concerned, breezy. a shower near the coastline. upstate new york, 32 inches in fulton, new york. national weather service a bit of a surprise with lake effect snow showers. not almost three feet. they're buried there and digging out. still snows up here. the taper off throughout the day. the warmer air will move up from the south. houston and new orleans, we're looking at developing storm system here. rain across parts of southeast texas. they'll take any rain they can get. if you are traveling in new york, cleveland, boston, chicago, those are the problem spots. houston, thunderstorms with a high in the lower 70s. it will be 56 eventually in new york city. almost warm enough to water-ski. that's what they're doing. it's summertime there. in australia, the world record for water-skiing behind one boat was broken during australia day. they tied up 154 skiers and pulled them out in and about 145 made it. they went a full nautical mile behind that boat and that my friends is a new world record. >> can you imagine the swell behind that boat. holy moly. >> a nice rooster tail. >> what about the people who fall, they get to flail around? >> they get a t-shirt that says you're a loser. >> what a picture, rob. >> they tried. >> honestly, never seen anything like that. this is going to sound stupid. have they done this before? did i miss the last one? >> apparently so. apparently the record was 140 and change. and these guys blew it out of the water so to say. >> a nice surprise, nice treat. it is 5:15 in the east. time to check the stories making news this more than. the candidates have done all the talking. now, it is the people of florida who get to have their voices heard. polls open in just under two hours in the sunshine state. the latest polls have mitt romney with a double-digit lead over newt gingrich who is lowering expectations the next could two contests, michigan and nevada. a pardoned mississippi killer may be coming back to face the authorities in mississippi after police track him down. he was in wyoming, he was living under an assumed name and he was served with papers. the papers that ordered him to appear at a court hearing later this week to determine whether his pardon was legal. still a bit questionable whether he's going to bother acknowledging that. mississippi's governor is -- haley barbour pardoned -- 76 applicants after accepting them, then recorrecting them. >> really had. >> the school blames a computer error for sending the acceptance letter. they will reimburse the $65 for the application fee. the school says they're going to try to help the students who withdrew applications from other institutions. >> how do you do that? >> what about the pain and suffering. i smell a civil suit. that's a bummer though. >> how do you help them with applications that they pulled? >> i don't want to confront their parents. i'll tell you that much. start of california college, admits to taking s.a.t. scores. find out why they did it. that's up next. a tennessee state lawmaker sponsoring some anti-gay legislation and if you think that's a little on the harsh side, some people don't, some people do, wait until you hear his radio interview and why he got booted out of a restaurant. all that come next. homicide of young people in america has an impact on all of us. how can we save these young people's lives? as a police chief i have an opportunity to affect what happens in a major city. i learned early on if you want to make a difference you have to have the right education. university of phoenix opened the door. my name is james craig, i'm committed to making a difference and i am a phoenix. it's 5:19 in the east. we're getting an early read on your local news, what's making national headlines. we have papers from virginia and california. we'll start with the virginian pilot. virginia is expected to pass a bill requiring pregnant women to undergo ultrasound before they have an abortion. the bill requires women get a chance to review the ultrasound image before the procedure. pro choice advocates call it a tactic to make abortion more costly and inconvenient. there are seven states that require ultrasounds with an abortion. there's a senator in that area upset about this. janet howell. she says she was dismayed enough by the progress of the bill so men seeking medicines for viagra would be required to undergo ee rectal exam and a cardiac stress test. >> and would they have to see their exam. is this the kind of thing you're given the chance to see it or clockwork orange where you have to see the things. seems creepy, doesn't it? >> it does on both ends. >> on both sides of the argument. let go to l.a. and get you the l.a. times, my friends. in fact, if you pick up the l.a. times today, you have to kind of squint because -- that's the top fold. the bottom field has something way down here in the itty bitty tiny print. can you see it? it says college boosted s.a.t. exam scores. it turns out that claremont mckenna college admitted to inflating a lot of the scores for the incoming freshman class. i thought wouldn't it be the student who wants to inflate the scores. it turns out the college wanted to inflate so they rank higher on the u.s. news and world report annual college ranking that everybody waits for. >> so wrong. >> they're admitting to it. it's embarrassing. i think at this point, they may have somebody -- senior official is going to resign taking responsibility for it. they're inflating it not just a little, like ten to 20 points. >> i never took the s.a.t.'s. >> this keeps on happening over and over again. >> hopefully not. hopefully after this it won't. it's 5:22. the man behind the tennessee don't say gay bill to prevent teachers from talking about homosexuality in the classroom is under fire again. he's under fire about gays and the origins of the aids virus. he was kicked out of a popular restaurant in downtown knoxville. that's the least of his worries. he made the comments on michelangelo sirius radio show. the host joins us now on the phone. are you there? >> caller: good morning. >> good morning to you. we're going to listen to some of the interview because there are so many different things that he said on here. we're first going to start with the issue of how you can contract aids. let's listen to that and you tell me how he justified some of the positions. >> my understanding also is that virtually, not completely impossible is it's virtually impossible to contract aids outside of blood transfusions through heterosexual sex. it's virtually impossible. >> we know statistically that's not through. the national center for health stat particulars says 27% of new aids infections are from heterosexual sex. it's not -- this is not the only thing he said. he compared homosexuality to bestiality. can you tell us what he said? >> he seemed to really be going off an enormously outdated dat that he had from maybe 30 years ago. he is intent on proving that homosexuality is dangerous and harmful and, therefore, we should do nothing to protect people who are gay. so he just began distorting all kinds of figures about aids. he is the one who brought up aids. i didn't ask him about aids. i was talking to him about the don't say gay bill. he said homosexuality is dangerous, gay men die at an earlier age which is a false statistic. then started saying that aids made homosexuality more dangerous. that it started with gay men and then he told an outlandish story about an airline pilot having sex with a monkey and that's how aids began. and then it spread through the gay world. which is completely false, of course. around the world aids is an epidemic among heterosexuals in africa, india, china and elsewhere. >> let's get prospective. he's the sponsor of a bill in tennessee nicknamed the don't say gay bill. it would prohibit teaching any form of human sexuality other than heterosexual. this is in the public schools k-8. how are people reacting to this bill? >> caller: this bill has been something he's been spearheading for years. i actually spoke with him three or four years ago when he first began pushing this bill. and it never got out of