repeatedly, shelling, tank fire, nearly 100 civilians have reportedly been killed and now a russian official is in damascus to meet with the regime. we are going to figure out exactly how that will play out in the effort to end the carnage there. we have new information about final moments for josh powell and his two little boys. what the coroner says he did to his two little boys before he set the house on fire. >> and on the political front, a lot of delegates, up for grabs. 70, in fact, in the states that are actually offering them up. three states at play tonight. is rick santorum sitting a lot prettier than he has been in states past? we'll let you know. the dark side of camelot. this is an explosive new memoir. it claims that john f. kennedy had an affair with a teenage intern. he was in his 40s, she was 19. first up, we want to get to the situation in syria growing so desperate by the hour. take a look at the video and hear the sounds. it's remarkable. these are scenes that have been playing out over and over by the day, by the night. government troops slaughtering civilians. because it's so difficult to report from that community and from that area we can't independently confirm this. but we can tell you this, the united states has yanked the embassy staff back and shut down our embassy in that country. the brits have pulled their ambassador out as well. though not permanently but they have made that move. the anti-government activists are getting on any set of airwaves they can, begging for an end to this blood bath. have a listen. >> the entire world should be ashamed of what's happening here. everybody is just silent and looking at us being slaughtered every moment. for no reason, just asking for our freedom. >> this is too much were for god sake. this is too much. >> wow, that is difficult to listen to. arwa damon is live in beirut, lebanon. arwa, russian's foreign minister just arrived a short time ago to visit syrian president al assad in damascus. what's the very latest you can tell us? >> reporter: we don't know the exact details, although the foreign minister is said to be carrying some sort of a message to president bashar al assad. and if you look at the images emerging from state television, they show massive clouds celebrating the arrival of the russian foreign minister. these images could not be in greater contrast to the other images we have been seeing activists uploading to youtube, just showing the sheer devastation and horror people are going through in parts of the country, especially in that flash point city of homs where the syrian government appears to have launched what activists are describing as a full-out assault on them. and no one has been spared the violence. these images that we've been looking at of intensifying attacks are showing adults being killed, children as well. parents begging for help in utter anguish over the fact that they either have not been able to save their children from harm or they are having to sit by and watch them continue to suffer. as you were mentioning there, a lot of disgust and a lot of anger at the international community, especially russia and china. but at the international community as a whole, for its failure to unite on syria. because as long as global nations remain divided, many say they remain emboldened. >> how effective will this visit be? because russia is the one who voted against, you know, potentially stopping this bloodshed there. >> reporter: look, russia holds a lot of cards. russia can put pressure on the assad regime should it choose to do so. they have been pushing to are a political dialogue for reforms to be implemented, reforms that the government promised to be implemented immediately. the issue right now is that the situation is escalated to such a degree that the opposition is not going to sit down at a negotiating table that is going to include president bashar al assad, nor do they have faith in reforms that this current government, as it exists, is actually going to implement. so no matter what, the russians accomplish on the ground, it is highly unlikely it is going to be sufficient to bring about a true and genuine end to the bloodshed. that is the dilemma that syria is facing right now. the situation inside the country is so fiercely polarized and it is polarizing on the global scale as well. bringing these various sides together, at this point, many people are telling you it's not going to take place. that window for dialogue, it closed a long time ago. >> it is just horrific to watch all of these images. arwa damon, live from beirut for us. thank you. we have new and very disturbing developments this morning in washington state. police saying that they have new evidence that backs up their theory of a murder/suicide that played out in a house fire that killed josh powell and his two young sons. we showed you the pictures and now we have more details. this one is difficult to even talk about but the county medical examiners have now said that those two young boys had, quote, chop injuries on their head and neck and they recovered a hatchet from the scene as well. not only that but they found 5 gallon cans of gasoline near the bodies and the pierce county sheriff's spokesman told cnn's john king their father, josh powell, sent out several good-bye e-mails before this happened. >> these e-mails weren't sent out days in advance. it appears they were sent out minutes before it happened. it was very calculated and very planned. he had gone and given books and toys to local charity and dropped them off at a store. he was making arrangements to leave this place. he had some knowledge of what he was going to do. >> of course, the back story on this, susan powell, two years ago, disappearing. her husband claiming he was out camping the night before in winter weather with two toddlers. he's long been the suspect in her disappearance. so this death essentially ends an entire family. we should tell you as well that her parents, the coxs family lawyer says their son, one of their sons drew a picture of his mother in the trunk of the family vehicle. >> they said those little boys were finally talk. there's a candle light vigils for the boys, 5-year-old braden, 7-year-old charlie, held outside the powell home. we're talking to the sister-in-law of josh powell. denise cox is the sister of susan cox powell. she believes josh powell killed her sister. what is next for that family. >> an absolutely brutal story. i will be interested to speak to them. there may even be civil litigation issues here as well. we'll explore that in the next hour. let's move on to the business news this morning. there was new overnight news. bp, the oil giant, remember the big spill, made a big announcement of profit, $7.7 billion in the fourth quarter last year. it signals a pretty nice bounce back from the gulf spill. that is probably pretty shocking to a lot of people to hear that. >> that's $85 million in profits. >> is that an entire profit number? >> they were raking in $85 million a day, a total turnaround in the gulf for them and a real -- look, these big oil companies are cash machines because we're addicted to oil, right? the world is addicted to oil. they make a lot of money. >> they've been spending money, too, in the cleanup. i see the commercials every day on our network, other networks, saying we're committed to enclooing the gulf. i think people may feel differently about that. >> they're spending a lot of money for their investors eighth shareholders. they raised their dividend. if you are one of those buy and hold bp holders, they're paying you to hold their stock, too. that was something that got investors excited. today we're watching bernanke, the fed chief. he will be speaking today. last week he was talking about how he'll keep interest rates low. we'll find out today after the jobs report if he's upbeat about the direction of the u.s. economy. i'll be honest with you, 2011 was a year that burned a lot of economists and even people like ben bernanke who were hoping for the seeds of recovery to take root. we kept -- it was false starts a lot last year. we'll see if ben bernanke is more confident today about the direction of the u.s. economy this year. >> all right. big jobs report last week. but there are concerns about greece. i was trying to understand grease and somebody said to me, they're that big. why do they have so much of an effect? why are we constantly talking about them? >> they do. one big reason, greece has europe in a tizzy right now. >> are you allowed to say greece is the word? >> i was doing a lot of terrible greece puns. my new year's resolution is no more greece puns, no more p.i.g.s. puns, which is poland, ireland, greece and spain. we don't know what the affect would be if greece had a disorderly default, if it was kicked out of the eu. it could be dangerous to the banking system. it's interconnected. europe is america's number one trading zone. trading partner. if greece were to really bring down europe or cause a recession in europe, that would be felt here. this is why this little tiny country is so important to the rest of us. what they're really talking about now in greece, i think there's optimism that greece will get its act together. there are 15,000 public sector job cuts that they promise by the end of the year. they have to sell all these austerity measures to the people. >> who are striking today. >> greece has to show that it's not just doing the right now, that it's completely remaking its economy. where it is transparent, people pay taxes, you don't retire at 50 with all of these benefits. they have to remake their entire economy to grow or we'll be in the same position again. it's important to everybody. >> okay, christine, thank you. i don't know what it's like in your neck of the woods to quote al roker, it is so warm, zoraida wears sleeveless and i don't know what month it is. it's been a heat wave, right, rob? >> don't kiss winter bye-bye just yet, ladies. >> okay. >> here it is on the map. pretty quiet. mild, a little bit breezy across the northeast. cold front, this one is fairly weak. there's another one coming down thursday, friday that we'll have to watch. showers across parts of florida. decent storm system heading into the west coast. from san francisco to san diego, a little bit of light rain, they need mountain snow as well. it's going to be windy along the coast, also a gust of 55 miles an hour in spots. we have wind advisories and wind watches that have been posted. traveling san francisco, los angeles to san diego, those are spots that will see delays because of the weather. light snow moving through chicago. midsection, i forgot to mention that. miami and orlando, also some light showers. 37 chicago. that's cooler than it has been. you'll continue that cooling trend as we go through the next couple days. 48 in new york city. why not wear short sleeves? and across the panhandle of florida, temperatures in the 70s. cool picture floating around twitter. this shot taken on sunday by the gentleman that runs the panhandle helicopter company. he took this shot in the morning. fog rolling in and buildings kind of lifting like mountains would lift. >> yes. spectacular picture, rob. >> condensing those clouds. some would call these helm holtzholtz waves but not quite. >> they look like waves. >> where is this again? >> panama city. >> panama city. those are some of the most beautiful beaches. you can't even see them. >> the crystal white sands. >> in the mornings people don't always watch every moment because they're off doing their routines. if you didn't see that, you've got to go tivo back. those pictures are remarkable. thank you. >> i'll tweet it out if you missed it. >> that would be terrific. thank you. >> i'll follow you. i think i do, actually. still ahead on "early start," questionable money moves. and it is perfectly legal. we're talking about congressional earmarks. there is a big outrage over a new report, dozens of members of congress are funding projects right next to their own homes. there is a list of their names and the projects. >> i bet rick santorum will want to hear this one at some point. he's had to answer to that a lot on the campaign trail. also, we have a big ruling we're expecting in california. the whole gay marriage story in california is complicate the. proposition 8 is what it's all about. today we may finally get a ruling on whether you can or can't marry a same-sex spouse. and a tell-all book from a grandmother who says she was a mistress of jfk in the white house. she was 19. he was in his 40s. you are watching "early start." 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. [ female announcer ] ensure muscle health has revigor and protein to help protect, preserve, and promote muscle health. keeps you from getting soft. [ major nutrition ] ensure. nutrition in charge! how they'll live tomorrow. for more than 116 years, ameriprise financial has worked for their clients' futures. helping millions of americans retire on their terms. when they want. where they want. doing what they want. ameriprise. the strength of a leader in retirement planning. the heart of 10,000 advisors working with you one-to-one. together for your future. ♪ i like yoplait. it is yoplait. but you said it was greek. mmhmm. so is it greek or is it yoplait? exactly. okay... [ female announcer ] yoplait. it is so greek. 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. our producer has a particular affinity for my musical tastes. i went off about "hotel california" and the eagles. >> happy tuesday just for you. >> we'll talk prop 8 later. good morning, san francisco, nice tower cam shot for you. 52 degrees, rain, clouds and 57 later on. >> better than here. >> 17 minutes past the hour. time to check the stories that are making news this morning. nearly 100 more civilians killed overnight by syrian forces in homs. the foreign minister of russia just arrived in damascus. the last hour to urge president al assad to end the violence there. officials in washington state say josh powell attacked his children with a hatchet before they died of carbon monoxide poisoning. police telling cnn powell used 10 gallons of gasoline to set his home on fire. the u.s. army grieving the loss of 49-year-old brigadier general terrence hillner. he died of natural causes over the weekend. 70 delegates and pretty critical momentum. that's what's at stake today as republican candidates compete in caucuses in colorado and minnesota and this weird nonbinding primary in missouri. also, the new york giants will be honored today with a good old-fashioned ticker tape parade in manhattan's canyon of heroes. expected to happen later this morning. this of course, unless you were under a rock, is because they captured their second super bowl victory in four years over the patriots. randy travis is apologized for being arrest ed yesterday. he was caught in front of a church with an open bottle of wine. headlines this morning, papers from washington, d.c. and los angeles. i have the "washington post" here. don't you want to look at my headline? this is much better than looking at that. this say huge investigation that's going on, folks. 33 lawmakers spent 300 million in taxpayer money on local projects. examples that we have? >> i've heard this story a million times before. >> now it's detailed out. so the specific projects with the name, alabama senator 100 million to renovate an area right near his office. georgia congressman, 6.3 million to replenish a beach near his vacation home. listen to this. the chambers of commerce have different standards here. in the senate, members must certify that neither they nor their immediate family members have a financial interest in the earmarks. in the house, only lawmakers and their spouses are covered, not children or parents. i'll put this on facebook for you. i was looking through the different states, including illinois, to show how egregious. >> if you put your house in your children's name, you can earmark all you want and it's legal? >> in some places. >> it might be legal but it didn't campaign well. let's get to the "l.a. times." you probably heard about the elementary school where two teachers have been arrested, one for lewd acts and another one for horrifying photos, bondage photos involving 6, 7-year-old kids. now comes a sweeping move. there's a detailed article about all of the staff, the entire staff of this elementary school getting wiped out. they're gone. they're not going to work at this school again. doesn't mean they're being fired, though. they're being adjusted, moved around. >> the article said they may come back. they have to launch a full investigation and decide who actually comes back. some people have permanently been removed and others are in a temporary location. >> i am fascinated by what kind of investigation they're going to do on these teachers. these complaints from kids go back to 1991. if there were two that are unrelated at the same elementary school, you know, is there a possibility of more? >> it's a horrific story for parents in particular when you trust. you drop your kids off -- >> you don't want to think there's anything more than just the coincidence with the two teachers. you've got to be safe. all right. it's the opening salvo in the supreme court battle over immigration, pitting the state of arizona against the obama administration. the lawyers for governor jan brewer file an opening brief with the high court. brewer is appealing the federal court ruling that is blocking key elements of the state's incredibly controversial immigration law. it's giving police broad new powers to crack down on illegal immigrants. >> so the supreme court is going to hear these arguments, not till april. in the meantime we have senior cnn legal analyst jeff toobin to break it on down. you're the man we like to say wrote the book. you literally wrote the book called "the nine" on the supreme court. let's talk about the decision they have to make, the nine. what's at stake here, constitutional rights of immigrants or the right of a governor to govern as she sees fit? >> there's actually a third interest at stake in this case, which is the right of the federal government as opposed to the state, to conduct its on foreign policy. the main argument here by the obama administration is not so much that the immigrants' rights are being violated, it's that arizona by passing this law, is interfering with the federal government's right to run foreign policy, immigration policy and in the language of the law, that this law is preempted by federal law. that's the heart of the issue in front of the supreme court. >> jeff, as you menti