trump. he's always outspoken, and his old possible presidential ambitions. he still has some. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." let's get to breaking news. a chilling sense of da ja view. reports of shots fired, campus lock down, virginia tech university earlier this afternoon. it brings to mind the 2007 rampage by a student that left 33 people dead. today's incident was a shooting during the traffic stop by campus police. two people are are dead. brian todd is monitoring the developments for us. what is the very latest? >> as far as we know, a man hunt the still underway. officials say one of the people killed was a virginia tech police officer making a routine traffic stop in the parking lot of the sports complex. the second body has not been identified. they say the shooter fled on foot and a search is underway. the campus on lockdown. here is what one eyewitness told a local station. >> i was coming out of the gym and i was just walking to the sidewalk to go home to my dorm and i saw the police car sitting there, the unmarked one, because -- and i thought he was responding to a call here because i heard a bunch of sirens coming from the distance and then, so i kept walking towards his car thinking i'll get around it before the rest of the police get here, then the police pulled up and they opened his car door and when they opened it, he just fell out towards the ground and then they immediately started reviving him and then -- two cops took off with some sort of automatic weapons i guess, started running opposite direction after the gunman. and then -- and then i've been standing since here then i guess the officer didn't make it because they just covered him with a sheet. >> now, a post on the virginia tech twitter feed said this afternoon that the suspect is described as a white male wearing gray sweat pants, a gray hat with a neon green brim, a maroon hoodie and backpack. a spokesman said offers are searching all buildings and public areas outdoors and indoors. officials have told anyone to secure themselves and shelter in place and no one should enter the campus. the university knocked down what it called unfounded reports of additional gun shots, saying there are no new reports of suspicious or criminal activity. final exams scheduled for tomorrow have been postponed. >> good idea. there's going to be a news conference from authorities this hour. we'll check in and see what the latest is. brian todd with that. other news we're following including major political news. the rivalry between the front-runner, mitt romney and newt gingrich, getting rather personal with a new romney ad hitting at what could be a vulnerability for gingrich. his three marriages. jim is joining us with details. what's happening between newt gingrich and mitt romney? >> wolf, mitt romney is fading in the polls and does not have time for a campaign reboot between now and iowa. that leaves just one option. an old fashioned mud fight with his new rival, newt gingrich. >> i've been married to the same woman for 25-excuse me. >> call it operation get newt. sarting with this ad this sends a not so subtle message to voters. romney is a family man. guess who isn't. near nearly all of washington saw it as a shot across the bough at newt gingrich, who's now on his third marriage with his wife, a former staffer he was having his affair with in the '90s. >> pundits are going to say what they will. i'll tell you, this ad is about romney, his values and what's important to him and what he would take to the white house, which is a commitment to his family, faith and this country. >> i'm going to stay positive. >> no problem, says team gingrich. >> do you think is it a veiled attempt to -- >> only a cynical reporter would ask a question like that. >> the romney camp denying that it's an attack on -- >> as they should be. doesn't appear to be one. >> still, the times is curious. >> my 42-year marriage to my wife, ann. >> debuting the same day romney touted his marriage and before chris christie praised the governor's heart in iowa. >> he loves his wife, his children and he has absolutely no hesitation in showing that affection. openly. >> and one day before a conference call with reporters held by former u.s. senator and romney secu romney surrogate, jim tal ork n. gingrich is now a threat to romney's main strength of electability. the latest quinnipiac poll shows that while he edges, gingrich can nearly claim the same thing. sterling marriages aren't always the best indicators of presidential success. regarded by historians as an accomplished president, reagan was divorced. nixon ranked near the bottom, wasn't. gingrich told wolf blitzer his personal life is in a different place now. >> i have a very strong marriage to calista, i'm very close to my daughters and my grandchildren. >> the offensive continues tomorrow. the former governor's wife or pardon me, that's right, the governor's current wife i should say, will be on the campaign trail in iowa where she will attend what's being dubbed a women r for mitt event, wolf. >> his only wife, we should point out. mitt romney's only wife for 42 years. is that right? >> that is absolutely right. >> thanks very much for that. while gingrich is surging in the polls, his support among former colleagues, only luke r warm. in my interview with him yesterday, the former house speaker acknowledged some lawmakers weren't always comfortable with his style. >> i wasn't there in a job. i was there as the leader and my job was to drive through change on a scale that washington wasn't comfortable with. if you're a genuine outsider forcing change, you're going to leave some bruised feelings. >> cnn congressional correspondent, kate bolduan, is joining us now. what are congressional republicans, especially those who worked with gingrich speakers, saying about the potential republican nominee? >> many republicans up here seem pretty hesitant to weigh in on newt gingrich, but we did find some, especially some who have severed with newt gingrich, who say he has some pretty serious baggage to overcome. even with newt gingrich's recent surge in the polls, most republicans on capitol hill have shied away from endorsing the man who once ran the place. >> i've had a standing rule not to comment on the republican campaign for president. >> do you think newt's time as speaker of the house, is it helpful or hurtful to his candidacy. >> listen, newt's been a long time friend, but i've spent a lot of time this year avoiding getting the bulge and picking winners and losers in a presidential contest. >> privately, republicans are more candid, with some telling cnn they had serious concerns over his discipline. other describe his chaotic tenure as house speaker as a potential liability in a race. peter king was one of the few who would speak on campaign. >> four years were like a roller coaster. this wasn't because outside prices. these were self-inflicted wounds. >> gingrich helped engineer the republican takeover of the house in the mid '90s. >> today, we're not just offering promises -- >> but he was also caught up in a number of controversies. his clashes led to two government shutdowns and after leaving the fight to impeach clinton, he later revealed he was having an affair with his now third wife. gingrich was also the first speaker rep remanded for ethic's violations. he stepped down from his post when republicans lost seats in the '98 election. >> within two and a half years, his ovwn people were trying to overthrow him. that just says everything about him. because it was just contant turmoil. >> but his supporters defend his style and sometimes brash personality and say he's the type of charismatic leader the republicans need to take back the white house. >> who's the quarterback who can really get the job done and maybe it's not perfect. maybe everything's exnot executed the way you want it on paper, but at the end of the game, your team is winning or you get something accomplished. and newt has that ability. >> now, gingrich's supporters up here, they really down played the lack of support among congressional republicans, suggesting it may end up helping gingrich in the end in an election where no one wants to be viewed as the washington insi insider. >> good point, kate. thanks very much. he's inserted himself into the presidential campaign in an unprecedented way and he says he still may eventually decide to run for president. in the next hour, donald trump joins us. he talks bluntly about the current candidates, president obama, the controversial debate that donald trump will be moderating and a whole lot more. my interview with donald trump. gays in the military school, rick perry touches on that and more in a new ad taking broad swipes at president obama. and did politics trump science in a decision on the so-called morning after pill? 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[ female announcer ] to nurses everywhere, thank you, from johnson & johnson. religion is at the heart of a new ad by rick perry. it's aimed at evangelical christians, especially in iowa, and takes some broad swipes at president obama, but are all of them fair? joe johns is joining us with a reality check. tell our viewers about this ad. >> if it likes like a lot of people don't like the ad, but it's targeted at a very specific audience that just might like it. you can even go as far to say that in the last month before the iowa caucuses, perry is making a very direct pitch at republican evangelical voters. his ad is running on tv in iowa, but also posted on youtube tuesday and went viral. almost 750,000 views by thursday afternoon. >> i'm not ashamed to admit that i'm a christian. >> it throws issues near and dear to social conservatives and evangelicals straight at the viewer and blames president obama and liberals for everything. >> you don't need to be in the pew every sunday to know that gays can serve in the military, but our kids can't openly celebrate christmas or pray in school. as president, i'll end obama's war on religion and fight against liberal attacks on our religious heritage. faith made america strong. it can make her strong again. >> whoever posted the ad allowed viewers to vote on it. by thursday afternoon, more thumbs down. over 205,000 dislikes, just over 4,300 likes. whatever the true reaction, perry said the ad was really about things the commercial made no mention of whatsoever. when wolf blitzer asked him about it. >> when you talk to the bishops of the catholic church, there is clearly an agenda by this administration to go after those catholic charities offering health care. doing work for trafficking of individuals. the administration is clearly sending messages to people of faith and organizations of faith. that we're not going to support you with federal dollars. >> but antireligion? it's confusing to some because the president clearly participants in christian customs, like celebrating christmas for example. >> merry christmas. >> via skype, we asked richard lamb of the southern baptist convention. >> i think that what he's doing, if i were writing that script, i wouldn't have done that. but i think what he's doing in a short time period ad is he's pushing buttons. evangelicals are very upset about the repeal of don't ask don't tell, about the obama administration's refusal to defend the defense of marriage act. >> and perry's ad is very much playing to his strength. a poll released last month showed strong support for perry among white evangelicals. >> the evangelical christians are waiting to find that individual they're really comfortable with, that has their values. i fit their mold quite well. >> we reached out to the obama campaign for comment. they did not get back to us. it's not surprising given their response to an attack ad by romney created a much bigger story than the obama folks probably wanted. >> you're right on that. thanks for that. the politics of abortion in a decision by the food and drug administration about who should have access to the so-called morning after pill. brianna keilar has some details about what's going on. give us the background, what this decision is all about. >> this is about the drug, plan b. it's called the morning after pill. it's sort of like a heavy dose of the birth control pill, but it can be taken days after intercourse rather than before to prevent a pregnancy and there are some who say it's a form of abortion. because of that, had the fda allowed greater access to this drug, it might have left president obama open to some criticism from republican opponents. now, president obama called this decision a common sense one, but privately, there are some in his own administration who are upset saying that politics trumps science. the fda says plan b is safe and effective for women of all ages, but in a rare move, health and human services secretary, kathleen sebelius, overruled the agency, scrapping its plan to make plan b available over the counter without age restrictions. president obama said he was not involved in the decision, but endorsed it. >> the reason kathleen made this decision was that she could not be confident that a 10-year-old or 11-year-old going to a drugstore should be able alongside bubble gum or batteries be able to buy a medication that potentially if not used properly, could have an adverse effect. i think most parents would probably feel the same way. >> the decision means current restrictions on plan b stand. women 17 and older can purchase the pill over the counter. those 16 and younger need a prescription. the right is applauding the call. the left says it's pure politics, a move that allows president obama to avoid criticism from republicans in what's shaping up to be a bruising re-election battle. >> it is sure ly not a scientifc decision. >> one of the critics is susan wood, who resigned from her fda post in 2005 because of restrictions on plan b by the bush administration. >> the secretary's rationale is one very similar to the one used in the previous administration to block plan b going over the counter. it is not supported by data. this is a very, very safe product. it needs to be taken right away. to be effective. and to help young teens or older women, there needs to be no barriers to access to this very safe product. >> now, the fda decision that was overruled by hhs could have put the morning after pill in the aisles of the drugstore, sort of the way that aspirin is. now, with the age restriction, it means it stays behind the counter, so a woman would have to have a pharmacist hand it over. that's why some say you have people who are supposed to have ready access to this drug and they don't. >> thanks very much. will the assassination of osama bin laden provide president obama with ammunition to use against his political opponents? >> ask osama bin laden and the 22 out of 30 top al-qaeda leaders who have been taken out the field whether i engage appeasement. >> just ahead, the president backs up his tough talk with results on the battlefield. will his best offense be a strong offense in the next election? lots of news happening today right here in "the situation room." why did we build a 556 horsepower luxury car with a manual transmission? because there are those who still believe in the power of a firm handshake. the cadillac cts-v. manual or automatic, that's entirely up to you. we don't just make luxury cars, we make cadillacs. 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[ cheering ] i wanna see that again. ♪ the latest on the penn state child sex abuse scandal. lisa sylvester is monitoring that. >> jerry sandusky is out of jail again. he paid a $250,000 bail. sandusky was arrested wednesday on new child sex charges involving two more alleged victims. he's under house arrest. quote please be reasonable while both sides are hurt. jerry has had the opportunity to prove his innocence, unquote. and the rate of traffic deaths are at an all time low in 2010. the department of transportation reports fewer than 33,000 people died on the roadways last year. this despite the fact that americans drove more than the year before. experts say the decline in traffic deaths is due to safer cars along with programs to change driver behavior. and a major league contract for the best player in baseball. the los angeles angel ls are reportly paying $254 million for a ten-year contract with albert pujols. pujols has spent his entire career with the st. louis cardinals. he's led them to two world series titles, a two-time mvp winner and has hit 445 home runs. a big, big payday for him. >> huge, but he's great. thanks, lisa. mitt romney and his campaign so far, they've largely laid off the other republican presidential contenders. that was before newt gingrich put a scare into his campaign. now, the claws are beginning slowly but surely, to come out. we'll have details. and president obama has faced a flood of insults from candidates, but one accusation set him off and led him to fight back. an accident doesn't have to slow you down. with better car replacement, available only from liberty mutual insurance, if your car's totaled, we give you the money to buy a car that's one model-year newer... with 15,000 fewer miles on it. there's no other auto insurance product like it. better car replacement, available only from liberty mutual. it's a better policy that gets you a better car. call... or visit one of our local offices today, and we'll provide the coverage you need at the right price. liberty mutual auto insurance -- responsibility. what's your policy? here are some of the stories we're working on for our next hour. donald trump is going to speak his mind. my conversation with the prov provocative tycoon. that's coming up at the top of if next hour. also, an embarrassing admission from jon corzine, the former senator, the former governor. he makes a less than pleasant return to capitol hill. and hollywood loves revenge fantasies. now, the movie studios are stirring their own drama, taking on pirates on the web. stand by. you're in "the situation room." but first, let's get to our strategy session. first, the democratic strategist, maria cardona and republican strategist, alex. guys, thanks very much for coming in. maria, let me start with you. all of a sudden, mitt romney and his campaign, they're going, beginning a little bit, to get tough with newt gingrich's poll numbers are skyrocketing right now. is it about time? too early? too late? what do you think? >> it might be a little bit too late, wolf, but as we know in politics, a day is a lifetime, so anything can happen. the romney campaign reminds me of those mirrors that you have on the side of your car that say objects appear closer than they are. i f