22nd. and kyra, this is going to be fascinating, because there has not been a debate since january 26th, that was our debate in jacksonville, florida. we've seen how the debates have had fireworks, kyra? >> you are never in a bad mood, are you? you are always excited about everything. >> this is primetime for us, primetime. >> but wait, there's more. >> but wait! >> next two hours, suzanne malveaux. >> i can't top that. >> it's hard. coming off that paul steinhauser energy, you have to bump it up a notch. >> live from studio 7, i'm suzanne malveaux. i want to get you up it speed for this thursday, february 9th. at least 126 more people have been killed in syria already today. now, that is according to opposition activists on the front lines. this is the day five of the

government's brutal onslaught in homs, day five, where neighborhoods are now raging battlegrou battlegrounds. a doctor there said bodies began coming in before the sunrise and says everyone is waiting to die. an activist echoed that earlier on cnn. >> what keeps you going? >> we have no choice, no other choice. we are dying slightly, and we tried to save each other at least, i mean, to keep somebody alive. because we believe we are all going to die here. >> with the death toll rising by the day, the u.n. is expected to take up an arab league proposal calling for a joint monitoring mission in syria. neighboring turkey, which has been critical of the crackdown in syria may offer to host a conference on what to do next. republican senator john mccain wants to help the syrian rebels. >> we can work with other

countries to provide assistance in a broad variety of ways, and by the way, military equipment should not be an option, it should not be -- is an option that should be considered but maybe not directly. we can give them communications, they need equipment and medical help very badly. >> this is about the children. we're talking about -- we're talking about -- >> the california school at the center of a shocking child abuse scandal that sparked angry protests by parents reopens today with an all-new staff. the los angeles school district replaced everyone at miramonte elementary, including the principal, teachers, administrators, and janitors. a former teacher is accused of taking bondage photos of more than two dozen students. a second teacher is charged with lewd acts with a young girl. the brother of tyler clementi says he is still grieving.

clementi was the rutgers university freshman who killed himself after his roommate allegedly taped him with another man. the suicide brought attention to the struggles of gay youth. the brother says the death did not need to happen. >> i just think about, you know, the epidemic that suicide has really become amongst gay youth and it breaks my heart. every child i've seen on the news since and before my brother's death, he's one of many, unfortunately, and this needs to stop. this is not the answer. >> same-sex marriage is on the verge of becoming legal in washington state. lawmakers there have passed the bill that the governor promises to sign. that will make washington the seventh state where gay couples can legally marry. if your home is in foreclosure, you could see some relief paid for by the banks. several states and the federal government just signed on to a $26 billion deal with five of the largest home lenders.

at least $17 billion will go to reducing the principle owed by home owners. the settlement comes after allegations of improper foreclosures and robo signing without the required paperwork. the house just moments ago passed its version of the stop act. the bill bans members of congress from trading stocks learned from insider information on the job. they went along, the house bill approved by a vote of 417 to 2. that's the city of homs. this is now the fifth straight day of brutal attacks by syrian government forces. watch those pictures. a young activist there, he has been risking his life by sending

these videos from the front line. just listen. >> that was another rocket landed over there. see, this is happening every day. this is happening -- where's the u.n., where's the humanity, where's america? >> we are calling him, danny, for his own protection, he joins us via skype from homs. danny, thanks for joining us again today, you and i talked yesterday, and when we did, you were surrounded by snipers. we could hear gun fire in the background. have you moved, are you in a safe place? >> no, i'm still in the same building. there's not one safe place in this area. the army is surrounding us. surrounding us in big numbers. lots of tanks, lots of foot men, lots of troops, anti-air tanks, bnb tanks, they are hitting us with rockets non-stop from 4:00

a.m. the same building i'm in, they hit it with a rocket. three women they killed, they werelw4åf'=1 pieces. that was 7:00 a.m., we had to take them -- put them inside and take them, bury them. we don't know how many causalities we have got. i am sure there's 93 people dead. we have their names, but there's more than another 100 underneath the destruction of the buildings. they have helicopters over this area, hitting us with helicopters, and they are using human shields in their check points, so the free armies can't hit the check points. we don't have any medication, we have only one filled hospital left. we have only about six doctors now. and that's not enough. >> danny, we saw you, that video clip of you on the street there, can you tell us what you saw, what you were experiencing, when you actually left your building and went outside? >> look, anyone who walks the

street is in a risk he might get hit by a rocket or tank shell. anyone who goes out in the street will be hit by a sniper and rocket, even if you sit in your house you're not safe. you might get hit by a tank shell or by a rocket. the syrian army is surrounding this area. the free army cannot fight that hard. the syrian army is getting really close. we expect the syrian army will be in the area and arrest lots of people. it will kill people here. we have no idea what to do. we cannot leave this area. no one can come in, no one can go out. they've shot all the ways. >> danny, i understand the building where you are now was actually fired upon, there are parts of your building that are crumbled. is that true, can you tell us what happened to your building? >> more than -- more than ten rockets, 15 rockets and tank shells landed on in the street i

live in. this street is only about 50 meters long. the building, my building, was hit by tank shells by rockets. underneath my building were three women were killed. we found them in pieces about 7:00 a.m. four guys in the same house as me were injured. the situation is really bad. >> where have those -- where have your friends been taken, are they getting any kind of medical help? you say these women died in the building and now your friends are injured as well? >> yes. the women died. children died. we have more than 30 children dead from four days ago until now of the we have loads of children injured. my friends are in a hospital. i hope they'll be okay. lots of them have been hit by fighters yesterday and until today just because of trying to cross the street, snipers hit women, children, men, kids, doesn't matter. the syrian army -- i'm not going

to call it the syrian army, they have no humanity in them, they kill anything in front of them. they are hitting civilian houses. >> danny, do you think the arab league can do anything to help you? they are calling for a joint mission, monitoring mission, inside where you are. do you think they can save you? >> we don't want the monitors anymore. they sent the monitors last time, and we did not get anything out of it. we wanted the u.n. to take this case. we wanted the u.n. to interfere in this. if we get the airplanes here, bombard the regime. we want someone to do something about this. we're going to get killed. i'm sure i'll get killed tomorrow if the army gets in here. no one's doing anything about this. we don't want the monitors or the arab league. they are going to do nothing about this. we want the u.n. to interfere, the u.n. to do something. >> and danny, finally -- >> all these people are being killed. >> can you tell me how you are

living, do you have food, do you have water, clearly, you are in a building, so there is some shelter there. >> there's no water, there's no water. they hit all the main water tanks. we have some bread, the bread is hard. we have some -- what do you call it, lunch meat, some boxed lunch meat, some -- what do you call it -- lunch meat, bread. that's it. we don't have that much food here. if it stays like this for another two days, our food resource is finished, medication is finished. >> danny -- >> the army gets in here tomorrow, there is over. no one house have been hit here. all of the houses have been hit here. not one house has survived the attack. >> danny, we certainly hope you remain safe, and we appreciate your courage, as always, to talk

to us and take us to the ground where everything is happening where you are in your community. we're going to keep up with you and find out how things are going. danny, thanks again. we appreciate it, as always. we are going to take a look at possible solutions for syria, you know, that's going to happen at the bottom of the hour, we're going to have a live report from turkey on what the leaders there, what they want to do, what they plan to do, as well as efforts underway at the u.n. vacations are always wasn'ta good ideaa ♪ priceline negoti - - no time. out quickly. you're miles from your destination. you'll need a hotel tonight we don't have time to bid you don't have to bid. at priceline you can choose from thousands of hotels on sale every day. save yourself... some money

brad needs car insurance, but, uh, brad doesn't want to spend too much. who's brad? this is brad. ahh! well, progressive has lots of discounts for a guy like brad. brad's intrigued. paid in full, safe driver, multi-car, going paperless -- all can help brad save a bunch. sign brad up. cool! jamie will ring you up. show brad the way. who's brad? oh, here we go again. discounts that everyone can use.

now, that's progressive. call or click today. delicious gourmet gravy. and she agrees. with fancy feast gravy lovers, your cat can enjoy the delicious, satisfying taste of gourmet gravy every day. fancy feast. the best ingredient is love. here's a rundown of some of the stories we're covering.

first, the prisoners pardoned by mississippi's governor may not stay that way. the state supreme court is hearing challenges right now. outrage over a video on youtube. a father reports his 4-year-old son running almost naked in the snow. he says he's trying to toughen him up. a judge gives a bizarre sentence to a man accused of domestic violence. >> he's going to get a card, he's going to get flowers, and then he's going to go home, pick up his wife, get dressed, take her to red lobster, after they have red lobster, they are going to go bowling. >> the roles are catching up with the reality of women serving in combat roles in the military. the pentagon is lifting some of the restrictions on what women can and cannot do. policy bans them from directly in combat, but the definition of the front line has changed. women are already serving close to combat action and putting their lives on the line.

the pentagon says more than 140 women have died in iraq and afghanistan. more than 860 have been wounded. so it brings us to our talk back question, should women in the military be allowed to serve closer to the front lines? the move is getting mixed reactions, this does not dismiss the sexual tension issues, nor does it dismiss the difference psychologically between men and women in terms of cardiovascular finance, but a family former marine captain said the rule changes do not go far enough and still prevent women from getting promoted to the highest ranks. a woman who is with the service of women's action network says qualified women should be able to serve in full combat roles. she said it's time military leadership establish the same level playing field to qualified

women to enter the infantry, special forces, and other all-male units. what do you think, should women in the military be allowed to serve closer to the front lines? leave your comments at facebook.com/suzannecnn. we'll air your responses later in the hour. now, a mississippi state supreme court is hearing arguments about those controversial pardons made by the former governor, haley barbo barbour, during his last days. those he pardon included four convicted killers that worked at the governor's mansion in an inmate program. david gatlin shot his wife in the head. anthony mccray was also convicted of killing his wife. charles hooker was a middle school teacher accused of murdering his school principal and joseph azmat shot to death a store clerk. others convicted of rape, drunk

driving, robbery. mississippi attorney general calls the pardons a slap isn't the face to everyone in law enforcement. martin savidge joins us live from outside the court in jackson, mississippi. i understand the arguments underway, do we expect a decision? >> reporter: we do expect a decision at some point, but it suspe isn't going to happen today. it's clear the judges had read in well, they understood the questions and what is at stake here at this case, and there is a lot at stake. it is simply not just whether the pardons are valid or not. it goes to the heart of the constitution of the state of mississippi. it also goes to the power of clemency for the governor of mississippi and could it possibly be overruled. it gets into the fate of ten people, now, who were convicted and their freedom is at stake. it also goes to 173 other people

who were pardoned, their records were expunged. it also goes to the victims' families who have suffered as they fear the punishment was not just in this particular case, so a lot is on the line, which is why even though the judges are probably going to render in their heads a verdict, we won't get it for probably a couple of days. >> martin, have you seen any of the victims' families in the courthouse today, is there a gathering? >> reporter: they are there. some of them got there long before the proceedings actually began. they are the ones who really feel they have been victimized again. there was a tremendous amount of public outrage, especially pertaining to the murders you talked about there, many families felt they got the favor, they won over the heart and mind of the governor, when in fact they didn't deserve to be pardoned at all. that's why the families feel heavily invested. they are waiting to find out what happens, as is everyone else, and should these pardons be deemed invalid, then the next

question is what happens next, do you rearrest these people, and if they've already left the state, how do you find them, could they be on the run once more? >> martin, thank you so much. appreciate it. this guy, he calls himself eagle dad. a chinese businessman forces his 4-year-old son to run outside in the snow in new york wearing only his underwear. the father captures this on video and posts it online. he said in his quote "no pain, no gain." picking up the story from beijing. >> reporter: a video of a chinese boy crying while running in the snow has sparked a firestorm here in china. a father who calls himself eagle dad for his tough parenting skills shot and posted a clip of his 4-year-old son running nearly naked in freezing weather in new york during the family's lunar holiday. the father told the exercise where the parents instruct the

boy to lie in the snow was meant to toughen up his son as part of an intense training regimen he designed. the video is reigniting debate here about how chinese should parent their children, after a controversial book about tiger mothers raised questions about chinese parenting skills. on china's version of twitter, one user says i can't agree with this educational style. it's so cruel and sensational. eagle dad might publish his own book, shame on him. another writes, why don't we have a law against abnormal behavior, before long, there will be all sorts of lion dads and snake moms who feel justified abusing their children. the father told us he and his wife ensured their son is happy and that their parenting philosophy is no pain, no gain. cnn, beijing. an estimated 1 million u.s.

home owners are underwater. find out if a settlement will free up billions#mvdollars toh&% help. everybody says i've got a friendly disposition and they love my spinach dip. 5 foot ten. still doing a little exploring... on it. my sign is sagittarius, i'm into spanish cheese, my hairline is receding but i'm getting a weave. (falsetto chorus) getting a we who wants some ronald tonight!? geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more.

8% every 10 years.age 40, we can start losing muscle -- wow. wow. but you can help fight muscle loss 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! some relief for struggling home owners, a multi-billion deal with some of the nation's biggest banks. i want to bring in allison kosik at the new york stock exchange. what's this do, who's it going to help? >> it really helps three groups of people, we broke it down to make it easy to understand. first of all, it helps those

people who are underwater and late on their payments, i'm talking about their mortgages. these are the people that are going to get the most relief. the 1 million home owners that owe much more on their homes than their homes are worth. these people are going to get about $17,000 in a reduction on their principle in their mortgages. there's a second group of people this settlement could potentially help. 750,000 other home owners who are also underwater but current on their mortgages. they are going to be able to finance lower rates, so there's going to be a savings there. there's a third group of people that this settlement helps, and these are people who were wrongfully foreclosed on. they are going to get cash payments of $2,000. an administration official does say that banks are going to be figuring out a plan on how to contact people who are eligible in this settlement, suzanne? >> $26 billion, a lot of money there. is this deal as sweet as it

seems? >> it's interesting, i talked with one securities attorney, he said wait a minute, i'm taking a critical view on this plan. he says it's a bad deal for consumers, winds up being a great deal for banks and gives a nice headline to regulators, because his problem with it, he says it doesn't do enough for the people who were hurt the most. that $2,000 goes to people who were foreclosed on, some of those people lost their homes, yet they are only given a $2,000 check. he also said this plan helps 1 million of the 11 million underwater on their mortgages, and the biggest problem he says it doesn't provide enough of a deterrent to keep banks from not doing this again. without a criminal indictment, he says it's worthless. keep in mind, states can still pursue criminal investigations even though they've entered into this agreement. >> how are the markets doing today? >> markets are flat.

there was word a deal was in place, talking about a debt deal with greece. now there are some headlines that that deal between politicians may be breaking down, so at this point investors are hitting the pause button, stocks not moving much. the dow down literally 2 points, dow and s&p mixed right now, not much moving in the markets as everybody keeps an eye on the events unfolding in greece. >> alison, thank you. fewer adults than ever before have jobs today. only 54% of people between the ages of 18 and 24 are actually employed, 46% are not. many of them are in college, but even so, the unemployment rate for this age group is about double than the rest of the population, but here's the catch, young people haven't lost their positive outlook. 88% say they expect to earn enough to lead the kind of life they'd like in the future. good for them. from doing a little salsa to

a new trend called bradying. how nfl players, like victor cruz, are winning over fans off the field. before that, time to get to travel insider as we often have the inside scoop on great places to go. reynolds wolf traveled about an hour north of atlanta to georgia where he found one of the oldest -- thank you -- oldest gold mines in the country. check it out. >> reporter: at first impression, you see this beautiful building in the parking lot, but it's what's below ground that really captures the imagination. you know, this wasn't dug just yesterday, it's been around since 1898. and this is the general manager of the mine. dee, how long have people been digging for gold? >> 1828, in one year, over

15,000 people showed up all looking for gold and it became the first major u.s. gold rush. >> what type of mining is this? >> hard rock goal mining. >> there are other types too. >> absolutely, we can head out to the rivers and streams. fill it up with water, heavy gold is falling to the bottom. if you do your job right, you should find right there -- >> gold, check it out. i've got sand. >> better keep your day job. >> unbelievable, d, thanks for your time. >> come back. >> we have to hit the road. copd makes it hard to breathe,

so i wasn't playing much of a role in my own life, but with advair, i'm breathing better

so now i can take the lead on a science adventure. advair is clinically proven to help significantly improve lung function. unlike most copd medications, advair contains both an anti-inflammatory and a long-acting bronchodilator, working together to help improve your lung function all day. advair won't replace fast-acting inhalers for sudden symptoms and should not be used more than twice a day. people with copd taking advair may have a higher chance of pneumonia. advair may increase your risk of osteoporosis and some eye problems. tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high blood pressure before taking advair. if you're still having difficulty breathing, take the lead. ask your doctor if including advair could help improve your lung function. get your first full prescription free and save on refills at advaircopd.com.

here's a rundown of stories. death toll mounts in syria. we're going to have a live report from istanbul. a judge sentences a man to a

date night after being accused of abusing his wife. and later, doing the salsa like victor cruz and being dejected like tom brady. copying the moves of the nfl, our jeanne moos, she tries her hand. everyone is waiting to die in the syrian city of homs, that statement coming today from one of the few doctors who is still there. homs is being pounded with bombs and shells for a fifth straight day. cnn's ivan watson is joining us from neighboring turkey. ivan, the death toll is astounding, really, when you see what is taking place there. turkey is now holding this conference about the crisis. the u.n. wants it take up another arab league mission. what is happening on the ground, what do the syrians feed from

turkey? >> reporter: they are furious right now. the syrians continue to die as foreign governments talk about possibly sending another observer mission to syria or arranging some kind of a conference that the syrians i've been talking to that are living in siege conditions in the city of homs where more than 90 people have been killed just today are saying we don't need observers, we need food, medicine, blankets. in some cases they are saying they need guns to protect themselves from the syrian army, which for more than 10 months has been killing its own people, according to the united nations high commissioner for human rights who's repeatedly accused the syrian government of crimes against humanity. >> what is turkey trying to do now? >> reporter: the turks have called for some kind of a new initiative on syria to bring countries together. what's clear is that from my

diplomatic sources, many say the united nations security council is a dead end after russia and china vetoed a resolution saturday to put more pressure on syria. now the turks are trying to reach out. they've reached out to the russians, we know that other western governments want to do something, the arab league wants to do something. one of the scenarios being proposed is some kind of group, perhaps a friends of syria group that can start to gather, perhaps even this month, perhaps somewhere in north africa to talk about new measures, perhaps new sanctions, but this is still in the drawing stages. meanwhi meanwhile, the people in syria continue to bleed and die. >> ivan, are people in syria fleeing to turkey, is there a group in turkey trying to organize and live their lives? >> reporter: this is not a new problem. there have been around 10,000 syrian refugees living in camps

along the turkish border for the better part of a year now. also, the turks have been hosting a number of exiled opposition groups that are constantly shuttling around the region and holding meetings and coming up with statements denouncing the syrian government. so that's taking place now. more substantial help so far, i talked to one syrian activist in jordan, another one of syria's neighbors. he said they are trying to get a container of blankets and medicine into syria and the jordanian government stopped it from going, so they are resorting to smuggling basic things like medicine across borders. one doctor we talked to in the besieged city of homs today, he said he didn't even have antibiotics to treat people with wounds from falling rockets and mortars lobbed into a densely packed residential neighborhood by the syrian army.

>> serious problem, thank you so much, ivan watson in neighboring joined live by our own nick robertson, he's on the front lines with the activists in syria. >> reporter: the level of anger and passion is absolutely palpable. we're a few miles from the central damascus, this crowd here -- this is a crowd here of perhaps several thousand people. this whole area, they've put rocks in the road to prevent police coming in here. >> an on the ground look with nic robertson in the next hour. i wanna show you something... it's my shocked face. [ gasps ] [ male announcer ] get a retirement plan that works... at e-trade.

should we be letting him p-l-a-y with our t-a-b-l-e-t? [ mom ] i think it's fine. it's the new element from at&t so it's w-a-t-e-r proof. cool. what else does it d-o? it's fast. it's 4g lte. what's l-t-e spell? nothing. w-h-y? hey, can we stop spell talking now? ok. a-y. [ male announcer ] buy a waterproof pantech element for $249.99 and get a 4g burst smartphone free. only from at&t.

...we inspected his brakes for free. free is good. free is very good. my money. my choice. my meineke.

tim tebow, tom brady, victor cruz, whether they win or lose, the on the field moves of these high-profile nfl players inspired a nation of fans off the field. jeanne moos, she's got the story. >> the salsa of victory.

the mockery of defeat, the super bowl may be over, but the patriots and the giants left behind two moves we can't quite move beyond. giant's wide receiver victor cruz celebrated touchdowns with the salsa. now the salsa is spreading like an internet virus. ♪ it infected a weatherman in michigan. >> i'm going to do my salsa dance right off the stage. >> even madonna wasn't immune. she volunteered a demonstration. >> this is madonna with the silk city salsa, i'm going to say, she's rooting for the new york giants, i have to say it. >> but the most courageous salsa was performed by a giant's fan surrounded by patriot's fans at what turned out to be a near riot. just a few seconds of salsa, then as the dancer continued to taunt the crowd, he got sucker punched.

the guy had to be rescued and danced right out of there. the giant's super bowl victory party is a safer place to salsa. >> we all come on! >> this cruz t-shirt with how to salsa steps on the back sold out. don't even think of using me as a dance floor. but salsaing has given way to bradying. bradying is the new tebowing, you know how everyone was mimicking the prayerful attitude of bronco's quarterback tim tebow, even in snow, but there was nothing grateful about patriot's quarterback tom brady after he was decked by being intercepted at the super bowl. imitation is not always flattery. there is bradying on top of a table, bradying in the dog house. it's easy to be depressed and dejected anywhere. even a sports anchor can be

reduced to bradying. >> i was really unhappy with my performance at the show at 6:00. >> it's enough to make you want to drown your sorrows in salsa. >> move your hips a little bit, feel the latino inside you. >> jeanne moos, cnn, new york. >> that's a fun one. country music legend bids farewell to fans, a conversation with glenn campbell. needs more energy. where's it going to come from? ♪ that's why right here, in australia, chevron is building one of the biggest natural gas projects in the world. enough power for a city the size of singapore for 50 years. what's it going to do to the planet? natural gas is the cleanest conventional fuel there is. we've got to be smart about this. it's a smart way to go. ♪ i took some steep risks in my teens. i'd never ride without one now.

and since my doctor prescribed lipitor, i won't go without it for my high cholesterol. why kid myself? diet and exercise weren't lowering my cholesterol enough. now i'm eating healthier, exercising more, taking lipitor. numbers don't lie. my cholesterol has stayed down. and here's another number you might be interested in. lipitor may be available for as little as $4 a month with the lipitor co-pay card. terms and conditions apply. visit lipitor.com for details. [ female announcer ] lipitor is not for everyone, including people with liver problems and women who are nursing, pregnant, or may become pregnant. you need simple blood tests to check for liver problems. tell your doctor if you are taking other medications or if you have any muscle pain or weakness. this may be a sign of a rare but serious side effect. [ man ] still love that wind in my face! talk to your doctor. if lipitor has been working for you, stay with it. don't wait. lipitor may be available for as little as $4 a month. get your lipitor co-pay card today at lipitor.com.

defense department isnotifying congress today, it's going to open up more military jobs to women and put them closer to combat. you've been sounding off on our talk back question, should women in the military be able to serve closer to the front lines. if they are qualified, absolutely, however, we also can't start lowering the physical qualifications to accommodate unqualified women in these duties. craig says, they should have the same rights and responsibilities as men do. if that means being in combat, then i have no problem with that. when you're in a fox hole taking fire, you don't ask the gender of the person next to you, do you? lonnie writes, if like men they can make it through the training, they should be allowed to be navy s.e.a.l.s. alvin writes women do not belong

in combat, they don't have the mental capacity to kill somebody. keep the conversation going at facebook.com/suzannecnn. this sunday the grammys honor glen campbell, but that career now coming to a close following a diagnosis of alzheimer's. ♪ >> reporter: last summer, glen campbell made a stunning announcement. >> what did they diagnose he as? >> alzheimer's. >> alzheimer's, what's alzheimer? >> you start losing your memory and your ability to reason. ♪ some days i'm so confused ♪ my past gets in my way >> reporter: this isn't campbell's first bump in the

road, he's weathered career ups and downs and successfully battled drug and alcohol addiction. >> i was forgiven for being a dummy, literally. >> reporter: but now after five decades as a music icon, the 75-year-old entertainer says he's calling it a day. ♪ in august, campbell released his final album, "ghost on the canvas." now he's in the midst of a tour that features three of his kids, including daughter ashley. >> he looks at me sometimes when he's confused and i just smile at him and make him feel like he's surrounded by people that love him on stage. ♪ i am a lineman for the county ♪ >> reporter: the recording academy is honoring campbell with a lifetime achievement award and he'll be performing at the grammy telecast. >> i'm flattered. i really am. all i wanted to do ever since i

could remember is play by guitar and sing. don't cry over spilled milk, get up and be a man and do what you got to do. >> reporter: michelle turner, cnn, los angeles. >> we wish him well. conservatives from near and far converge on the nation's capitol. we're going to get the latest buzz from the race of the republican presidential nomination and whether the party can come together. [ deep beetle exhaust ] ♪ [ door creaking ] [ dog whimpers ] ♪ ♪ get up offa that thing ♪ and dance till you feel better ♪ ♪ get up offa that thing ♪ and dance till you -- sing it now ♪ [ dog barks ] [ deep beetle exhaust, dog barks ] ♪ you feel good [ male announcer ] back.

and better than ever. the all-new beetle. [ dog barks ] ♪ get up off... hey. did you guys hear... ...that mary got engaged? that's so 42 seconds ago. thanks for the flowers guys. [ both ] you're welcome. oooh are you guys signing up for the free massage? [ both ] so 32 seconds ago. hey guys you hear frank's cat is sick? yeah, we heard. wanna sign the card? did you know the guys from china are in the office... [ speaking chinese ] [ male announcer ] stay a step ahead with the 4g lte galaxy s ii skyrocket. only from at&t. ♪ only from at&t. we want to protect the house. right. but... home security systems can be really expensive. to save money, we actually just adopted a rescue panther. i think i'm goin-... shhh!

we find that we don't need to sleep that much. there's an easier way to save. geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more. it could be very abrasive. if the surface gets abraded, it's just the environment that bacteria likes to nestle into and they can cause the odor. your denture needs to be cleaned gently on a daily basis. i like to recommend polident, it kills the bacteria without causing any abrasion. when my patients follow my instructions, their dentures feel clean and fresh. they look forward to putting them in their mouth and smiling. o0 c1 ah, welcome to hotels.com. i get it...guys weekend. yeah! if you're looking for a place to get together, you came to the right place. because here at hotels.com, we're only about hotels. yeah! yeah! noooo. yeah!

finding you the perfect place is all we do. welcome to hotels.com conservatives from around the country have converged on washington. conservative political action conference. a lot of folks there are important fork folks, what are folks saying about the potential of who's going to take the lead?

matter what. listen to what center jim dement of south carolina had to say earlier this morning when he addressed the conference. >> i just hope whoever our nominee is recognizes every one of these four canned at that times have large followings because they're saying very important things and we need to pull all of these things together. we can't ignore any of them and it's good to see them all doing well at different points because it scares them all and it makes them all realize that that other by has got something i don't have. and when we bring that together as a party, we'll have a good president. >> reporter: optimistic assessment from senator demint, basically saying that the primaries are making candidates better, marco rubio said something similar. privately, they're concerned that it will take on too negative of a tone. but we haven't heard that yet from the speakers.

they're cheer leading for the conservative cause here today. >> and tomorrow is the main event. what are we watching for? >> reporter: tomorrow is a big, big day here. mitt romney, newt gingrich and rick santorum just a few days after santorum had that sweep. they're all speaking here. remember four years ago, mitt romney came as the conservative alter may have it to the establishment frontrunner john mccain and romney got a very warm reception here. he dropped out here after giving a pretty good speech. now, this time of course mitt romney is that establishment, sort of moderate centrist frontrunner with two conservative insurgents, three, rather, on the side. so it will be interesting to see in this kind of conservative petry dish how they're received. >> i love that. we'll be watching out for all those speakers.

thank you, peter. so how far can the momentum of this week's victories carry rick santorum? he'll tell john king tonight at 6:00 p.m. eastern. and for the latest political news, cnnpolitics.com. so a man is accused of domestic violence. the judge's solution, take her to red lobster and go bowling. that up next.

>> he'll be out of jail by 3:00 today and he's going to stop by somewhere and he's going to get some flowers. he's going to get -- hold on. hold on. he's going on get a card, flowers, and then he's going to go home, pick up his wife, get dressed, take her to red lobster and hen after they have red lobster, they're going to go bowling. all right? >> in lieu of posting a bond, right? >> right. do you understand that? >> yes, sir. >> paul, explain to us why the

violence situation, you set off a whole set of things that can happen including your spouse going to jail. and sometimes on aman mandatory basis. and i think what judge hurley has done here, because he has so many of these cases, i was looking at the stats, over 2,000 of these cases come trhrough pam beach every year. and i think he said it's a pretty minor incident, so he was a little inventive with his sentence, buy her flowers and take her to red lobster and go bowling. and she's happy, the husband is happy, and he avoids the expense of sending somebody to prison.

is it legal, that's another question. >> and those are things that she said she actually wanted and she likes. so that's why he put that out there. >> yes. >> is there any risk of him looking like he's not really taking domestic violence charges that seriously? >> there is that risk. he's not the first judge to do this unusual sentencing. junk ju judges have gone outside the book. but is it legal so? it's probably not legal. you're supposed to abide by the law. the judge is supposed to dismiss the charges or impose a sentence, but you know what the sentence is in florida, it's a mandatory five days in jail even if the woman wants to drop the charges. so the judge is left with a really difficult situation when a woman comes in and said, you know, i didn't want him to be arrested, i never out it was going to escalate to that. when i was a prosecutor myself,

we used to see a lot of cases like this, but we had a lot more discretion. >> and the judge also required the couple to go to marriage counseling. i suppose that he is trying to make sure this couple deals with their issues here. do you think this was a miscarriage of justice? >> i don't think it was in this case. i think probably this is what the couple wanted. it's probably going to work out for them in the long run. i do get back to your question, does it send the wrong message on domestic violence. is there somebody out there who will think i can beat up my wife and the judge will tell me to take her to red lobster. the reason these laws changed by the way was because women were brutally beaten and when they would get into court, they would drop the charges and hthen hela. so finally the law changed. this judge has gone out of the statute book and taken a different approach. >> we'll be following the sorry. thank you, paul.

>> just about an hour ago, a huge mortgage deal was announced to help homeowners. it elements to $26 billion. the money comes from a settlement with five of the largest banks. these are some live pictures from the white house. this is where the president will talk more about that deal, it's happening in about 15 minutes or so. we'll take his remarks. serving in combat roles in the military. today theonnect 1200

it would make washington the sefbt state where gay couples can legally marry. and the rules are changing for women in combat roles in the military. the pentagon today is going to announce changes to its current policy that will put women closer to the front lines. and the reality is that women are already putting their lives at risk. the pentagon says more than 140 women have died in iraq and afghanistan, more than 860 have been wounded. this woman knows about this firsthand. in manch rch of 2003, she and several soldiers within captured and held as prisoners of war. she's joining us from el paso. first of all, it is an honor to have you with us here today. we appreciate your service. you made history. what is your reaction, your initial reaction to the pent gone now announcing it will ease some of the restrictions for women in combat? >> well, i wonder what took them

so long. the restrictions are just silly at this point. no matter what job you have in the military, when you're in a war zone, there's always a danger of you being injured. you being killed. or captured. i'm proof of that. >> and when you joined the military, your mission was to be a chef, not a soldier caught up in combat in iraq. what do you think it says about how women's roles in the military are changing? >> i think it's a sign of our society. as women progress, whether it's politics, business, entertainment, it's going to slowly rick kell down to everything else. and now it's finally hitting the military. when i joined the military, i scored high enough on my asfab where i mentally qualified for every job in the military, but i was restricted from five because of my sex. now as we go forward, young women don't have to worry about

that hopefully. they are mentally capable of doing the job, then they can do it. >> and tell us about what happened to you in iraq. remind our viewers exactly what happened. >> well, it was three days in to the conflict with iraq. my convoy with my company was ambushed. 11 of my fellow soldiers passed away. it was six of us captured. myself, four males, and jessica lynch. obviously something that's still very much in my mind and affects me today. i was very blessed to go through my captivity unmolested, you know. i was injured during the ambush, but i was not raped. and i know that's something that jumps in to people's mind when they think of women in war.

but at this point, women in the military are more likely to be raped by their fellow soldiers than to be killed or captured on the front lines. so what we should be looking at is not whether these women in combat moss jobs will be injured, but how we as a society treat our women. >> you bring up such a good point there. the idea about that because we have learned that rape in the military certainly happens. what are some of the other challenges specifically that women in the military are facing? >> i think all of the challenges come back to attitudes towards women. we have progressed with technology to the point where some of the physical issues that were brought up years and years

ago when they first started letting integrated military come out are not the same issues. so it all goes back to attitude and how we as americans view this change. >> thank you so much for your perspective and again your service. we appreciate your coming on with us. thank you. >> thank you very much. brings us to the talk back question today. should women in the mill area be allowed to serve closer to the front lines? the move is getting mix reactions. retired army lieutenant mcginnis tells "time" magazine this does not dismiss the sexual tension issues. nor does it dismiss the difference physiologically between men will and women. but a pea mail former marine captain says the rule changes do not go far enough and still prevent women there getting promoted to the highest ranks.

she says qualified women should be able to serve in full combat roles. it's time military leadership establish the same level playing field to qualified women to enter then infantry, special forces. what do you think, should women in the military be allowed to serve closer to the front lines? facebook da facebook.com/suzanne cnn. here's a run down of some of the stories we're covering. first live pictures here from the white house where the president will talk about the largest mortgage deal for homeowners ever. and how do you learn to have stronger will power, self-control? i'll talk to an and you who are who knows all about that. and this will -- back up, guys. >> all right. meet the teenager who got the president to shoot a marshmallow gun at the white house. and how americans could learn a thing or two from him. [ female announcer ] lactaid milk is easy to digest.

it's real milk full of calcium and vitamin d. and tastes simply delicious. for those of us with lactose intolerance... lactaid® milk. the original 100% lactose-free milk.

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. ♪

whirn children and women are dying. civilian homes are being shelled. we'll talk to one off you are reporters who has been inside syria as the government crackdown intensifies. and we're also going to go live to the white house just moments away from president obama speaking about a mortgage settlement deal that affects and impacts many people whose homes are under water. that up next.

in just a few minutes we'll hear what the president has to say about the largest mortgage settlement ever, the nation's top five banks have agreed to pay $26 billion. the money will help homeowners who are underwater or in foreclosure. want to bring in jessica yelli.g what do we expect the president will announce? >> reporter: he'll announce the settlement and tout the fact that this will in the administration's view help improve the housing market and move the whole nation a accept closer to a healthier housing market. this relates in specifics to victims of robo signing which is the practice of allowing foreclosure papers to be processed by auto pen without real people reviewing the

documents themselves. so some homeowners may have been foreclosed on without actual human beings deciding whether or not that was the way it should have gone down. and they created a deal whereby they're letting the banks off of liabilities in exchange for creating this pot of money. that's the most controversial category within this settlement. >> okay, jessica, thank you vich. we'll get back to you. we'll bring you the president's remarks on the mortgage settlement live after the break. remarks on the mortgage settlement live after the break. [ kyle ] my bad.

[ roger ] tell me you have good insurance. yup, i've got... [ kyle with voice of dennis ] ...allstate. really? i was afraid you'd have some cut-rate policy. [ kyle ] nope, i've got... [ kyle with voice of dennis ] ...the allstate value plan. it's their most affordable car insurance -- and you still get an allstate agent. i too have...[ roger with voice of dennis ]...allstate. [ roger ] same agent and everything. [ kyle ] it's like we're connected. no we're not. yeah, we are. no...we're not. ♪ the allstate value plan. dollar for dollar, nobody protects you like allstate.

the syrian city homs is a war zone. women and children are not being spared the brutal bombardment by government forces. this is the fifth straight day of relentless attacks on

civilians. a young activist i spoke to earlier from homs described it. >> rockets and shells landed in the street. the street is only about 50 meters north. under my building were three women that were killed, we found them in pieces. pour guys in the same house with me were injured. the situation is really bad. >> where have your friends been taken? are they getting any kind of medical help? you say that these women died in the building and now your friends are injured, as well? >> yes. the women died. children died. there's more than 30 children dead from four days ago until now. we have other children injured. my friends are in the hospital. i hope they'll be okay.

they hit children, women, men, kids. doesn't matter. the syrian army -- they kill everything in front of them. >> we're getting these accounts every day now.ç[6p want to bring in nic robertson. . you were there just a couple weeks ago. i want to watch your report and see what you reported from the ground. >> reporter: anger and passion here is palpable. we're just a few miles from the center of damascus and the crowd here -- this is a crowd here of perhaps several thousand people. they've taken over this whole area. >> what is happening there and why is it seemingly getting worse? >> it's getting worse because

assad's regime has stepped up the attacks. they've had this heavy artillery in reserve and now they're actually bringing it to bear where we saw all the syrian army military hardware, it wasn't firing on the town then. it is now. and homs is the same.ç assad has ratcheted up the fire power, to seal these areas off so they can't get medical supplies in and support themselves. >> are these reports from people and what you saw on the ground about hundreds of people being killed, are they accurate? >> we're not there and we can't verify the number of people that are being killed. what we see on the video that seems to be shot on cell phones is maimed people. some of the pictures i've seen, i've been in this business for a long time, some of the worst i've seen. there was a young child with everything below his nose

missing. children that are killed. there's no doubt that there is she willing that is causing civilian casualties that is damaging houses, that appears to be damaging hospitals. and we also understand targeting the places where this video is being fed out of homs. it is a siege. >> has it come to a crisis point, are they close to a crisis point where all hell breaks loose? >> not being there, it's hard to gauge. but when you listen to the desperation in people's voices and you see the way that they're talking and the terms they're characterizing it in, yes, the situation is desperate. they say they're running out of medical supplies. doctors are using secondhand sutures to stitch people up. they don't have anesthetics to give to people. the survival rate is negligible. the young man who lost his face, he died for lack of treatment, nothing else. bread is in short supply.

assad is trying to crush the will of the rebels, of the opposition here, so that they will give up, so that they have no other option. he's also trying to put the international community in a position whereby whatever the international community does through its desire to so that this humanitarian -- not disaster because it's manmade, to stop it will perhaps play in to his hands. the idea of humanitarian help. >> you mentioned the notion that perhaps monitors on the ground or people can help them out, but it plays in to assad's hands? >> we've already seen it. they were monitoring what was supposedly assad pulling his troops back. but he didn't comply. they don't have weapons. they have no way of imposing their will, if you like, on assad's forces. they can't stop them shooting. the notion that they could sort

of get in between the opposition and save them from the tank fire is a preposterous proposition. the only reason it would stop would be because assad decided to tell his army to stop firing and stop shooting. and he appears to be nowhere near that kind of decision. >> all right. nic, thank you so much. conservatives are rallying the troops at the cpac convention in washington. we'll go live to ask ralph reed about the line between god and country. but first, dr. sanjay xwgupta talks to a man who has made it a mission to get kids and adults to make anything. >> we're just going to make a mess. what every kid wants to do. >> are you calling me a kid? >> so here is a model.

we've put two pieces of the conductive play dough in between an insulator. we'll put a battery on. so we're able to -- >> that it's pretty amazing. >> we can plug that in anywhere. this is an rc robotic claw. my high school science teacher made me what i am today. our science teacher helped us build it. ♪ now i'm a geologist at chevron, and i get to help science teachers. it has four servo motors and a wireless microcontroller. over the last three years we've put nearly 100 million dollars into american education. that's thousands of kids learning to love science. ♪ isn't that cool? and that's pretty cool. ♪ 8% every 10 years.age 40,? we can start losing muscle -- and that's pretty cool. wow. wow. but you can help fight muscle loss 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!

whwheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! whwheeee! ! whwheeee!! whwheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! ahah h heaeadsds u up. whwheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! evevererytythihingng y youou l , nonow w momobibilele.. dodownwnloloadad t thehe n nep totodaday.y.

. we're back to cpac kicking

off today in d.c. and with us, we have ralph reed, former leader of the christian coalition. thanks for joining us. i know that you will be speaking before this group, it is the largest cpac ever. and we've heard a lot about this idea of a culture war in our country. despite the fact that many people say the economic situation in their life is the most pressing. i want you to hear what some of the candidates have been saying lately. >> remarkably under this president's administration, there is an assault on religion. >> this is accentuated by the obama administration to basically declare a war on the catholic church. >> this administration as you can tell from my reaction has been hostile to people of faith particularly christians and specifically catholics.

>> so ralph, do you agree, is there a resurgence of will culture war that is happening in our country today? >> well, i don't know that i would use the term culture war. i think a military metaphor is probably less apt than a strong disagreement in a free society, whether government decisions by either judicial fiat or executive fiat should be allowed to force people of faith, of any faith, to violate hair ctheir conscience. and most of the clips that you played leading up to this were specifically about the department of health and -- hea services directive that catholic hospitals, school universities, be forced to provide health insurance that provided both contraception that violated the

conscience of those organizations. so i think what it showed was at a minimum political tone deafness and a maximum either incense different or outright hostility to the deeply held religious values of millions of americans. >> let's talk about the ideology a lot of the people that will be before cpac there. the idea of a culture war, it's a theme that's very familiar to me when i covered the bush slash chain any re-election campaign. they were pushing the controversy over same sex marriage to get voters riled up and turning out to the polls and it worked. but privately the bush white house was much more gay friendly. which candidates do you think are the real deal when it comes to their conservative beliefs and who do you think is playing politics? >> well, i don't want to relitigate the 2004 campaign, but i worked on that campaign and in fact what happened was the massachusetts supreme court redefined marriage and that's what caused it to become an

issue. we can't pudidn't push the issu. >> they certainly used to their political advantage. >> no, i -- look, suzanne, again, i campaigned in 33 states for the president. okay? i was there. all right? and we were running on the issue of growing the economy, creating job, cutting axes. and winning the war on terrorism. what happened was -- >> with all due respect, i was there, as well. but i don't want to relitigate that. >> and i worked on the -- i worked on the campaign. but let's fast forward to 2012. the california ninth circuit federal appeals court ruled just this past week that california had to accept same-sex marriage in spite of a vote by the people to the contrary. i think it would be naive to assume that that's not going to be an issue in the campaign. as is the issue that you and i just talked about. so i think in terms of who, i certainly think rick santorum

has been one of the biggest champions. i think newt gingrich has a lot of street cred because he's made christian values a big part of his message. and i think mitt romney has demonstrated especially in iowa and that that he can get his fair share of the voters. so it's very wide open, very fluid and i think everybody will be able to make their case. >> i know you'll be addressing the crowd there. thank you so much for your time. so how far can momentum from this week's victories carry rick santorum in the race for the republican nomination some don't miss john king usa cnn 6:00 p.m. eastern. and this kid put some serious fire power in the science fair project. it land him a wlis it visit to e house. we'll talk to joe about his invention and we'll get bill nye the science guy to take a look, as well.

president obama giving some states a pass to fix their schools, ditching the no child left behind act. so many schools are failing under no child left behind. teachers and schools are being evaluated based on test scores. ten states will how have the option to waive mandates from no child left behind and develop tests geared to college and career readiness. moving beyond test scores towards parents, student and peer reviews. 28 other states also plan to create ways to close achievement gaps. these changes will start this year. other states have two more weeks to apply. check it out. this project, right, amazes the

president at this week's white house science fair. all right. now, that arizona eighth grader, joe hoodie, he's joining us live to show us his extreme marshmallow cannon and how it works. we've also brought in bill nye the science guy. bill, i'm sure you're just as impressed as the rest of us. joe, let me start off with you. you can tell us how works? >> so basically it's also called an air ten. it works on compressed air. everything that's orange is the tank and that holds the compressed air. you press this button and it opens this valve and when that valve open, all the compressed air will rush out and it will shoot the marshmallow.

>> can you shoot one for us? >> yeah, sure. >> how fast does that marshmallow travel? >> i don't know. we get that question asked a lot, but we haven't really figured out how to tell. >> that's okay. the president was pretty impressed. he seemed very surprised. what did you think about meeting the president? >> it was fun. it was really exciting, nervous, too. >> we could not tell that you were nervous at all. you had a huge smile on your face. and did the secret service, did they get a little nervous when they saw that marshmallow stuck to the wall? >> it never stuck to the wall, it just bounced off. >> did it hit anybody? >> no, it didn't. >> okay. i want to go to bill. bill, obviously, i mean, joe's so impressive and you were there. you saw this science fair. how do we get more kids to be like joe, get them involved in

math and science. because we're doing so poorly in this country. >> not doing as well as we used to. >> i think we're 23rd when it comes to around the world ranked? >> oh, yeah. >> what do we need to do to create more -- >> this is part of it. this is part of it. celebrating achievement in science especially academic achievement in almost anything is very worthy thing. the president will have the winner of the super bowl, the winner of the final four of the college basketball tournament to the white house. so the premise of the bit as we say is to have the winners of 40 different science competitions come to the white house to celebrate their achievement. joe's can monday non is cool. it's big fun. there were several fantastic projects, really sophisticated stuff. and the other on thing i'll just tell you, we need to invest in

basic research. just changing the subject ever so slightly, monday the nasa budget comes out. nasa budget's been cut, space shuttle program finally tapered off. it was a billion dollars a flight, finally closed that. the intellectual treasure will trickle up, i say. when you invest in basic research, the country does better. and this goes back to the founding fathers. >> sorry to cut you off, but we got to go. we're running out of time. >> science rules. good morning. >> what's next for you, joe? >> well, i'm working on an eo program, so it will be able to -- you'll be able to program

this to light up -- to light the wire up. >> wow. okay, that's a lot more than sophisticated than what i can wrap my head around. you let us know when you finish that project. joe, thank you so much. >> and he made it out of a pipe and a sprinkler valve. it's pretty cool. >> thank you both of you. thanks for joining us. >> good morning, good morning. we've got another science experiment for you, this one also dealing with marshmallows, but this time it's about having the power to resist them. iprisel has been working hard for their clients' futures. never taking a bailout. helping generations achieve dreams. buy homes. put their kids through college. retire how they want to. ameriprise. the strength of america's largest financial planning company. the heart of 10,000 advisors working with you, one-to-one. together, for your future.

♪ together, for your future. a mouthwatering combination of ingredients...e for you! i know you're gonna love. [ barks ] yes, it's beneful healthy fiesta. made with wholesome grains, real chicken, even accents of tomato and avocado. yeah! come on! [ barking ] gotta love the protein for muscles-- whoo-hoo! and omega-rich nutrition for that shiny coat. ever think healthy could taste so good? [ woman announcing ] beneful healthy fiesta. another healthful, flavorful beneful. [ roger ] tell me you have good insurance. yup, i've got... [ kyle with voice of dennis ] ...allstate. really? i was afraid you'd have some cut-rate policy. [ kyle ] nope, i've got... [ kyle with voice of dennis ] ...the allstate value plan. it's their most affordable car insurance -- and you still get an allstate agent. i too have...[ roger with voice of dennis ]...allstate. [ roger ] same agent and everything. [ kyle ] it's like we're connected. no we're not. yeah, we are. no...we're not. ♪

the allstate value plan. dollar for dollar, nobody protects you like allstate. my son and i never missed opening day. but with copd making it hard to breathe, i thought those days might be over. so my doctor prescribed symbicort. it helps significantly improve my lung function, starting within 5 minutes. symbicort doesn't replace a rescue inhaler for sudden symptoms. with symbicort, today i'm breathing better, and that means... game on! symbicort is for copd, including chronic bronchitis and emphysema. it should not be taken more than twice a day. symbicort may increase your risk of lung infections, osteoporosis, and some eye problems. tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high blood pressure before taking it. [ whistle ] with copd, i thought i might miss out on my favorite tradition. now symbicort significantly improves my lung function, starting within 5 minutes. and that makes a difference in my breathing. today i'm back with my favorite team. ask your doctor about symbicort. i got my first prescription free. call or click to learn more.

[ male announcer ] if you can't afford your medication, astrazeneca may be able to help. at meineke i have options... like oil changes starting at $19.95. my money. my choice. my meineke. forget having money or good looks or a college degree. there are two things that predict success in life better than anything else. intel against and will power. researchers have pound these two variables to have a direct affect on your job, your marriage, even your ability to drop those extra pounds. so how do you increase your canses of living a successful life? you can't do much to raise your i.q. score, but you can increase your will power. the co-author of the best selling book, john tierney joins

us. love the book. great read. and it makes some pretty big claims. but you back it up with science. first of all, you sit down a group of kids and you give it them a choice. they can have one marshmallow now or if they're willing to wait, they can have two marshmallows later. so tell us what the study was testing for and what you found. >> that was done in the '70s to test kind of how kids manage to defer gratification. but they were surprised to find by accident later that when they followed those children and they just happened to get in touch with some of them later, that the children who were able to re60s that marshmallow right away, who could defer gratification, the kids with that kind of will power did so much better in school and if life. and that finding has been replicated. there's been much bigger studies. they did better in life, their marriages, their children, their grades, their income.

their savings. in so many ways, will power really does predict success. >> and what is the muscle that's exercised when you actually use your will power? is it something that you can change, something that you can grow and improve on? >> right. it's like a muscle in that it gets fatigued as your it. but it's also like a muscle in that over time you can increase its stamina by working out. in the book we talk about how david blaine managed to train himself not to eat for six weeks. you don't have on question to that extreme, but there are little things you can do. just sitting up straight, there was an experiment that my co-author did where he said try to practice sitting up straight for this week. and when they came back, they not only had better posture, they were able to do other tasks that involved self-control better just by exercising that will you power muscle. >> and what happens? because you describe this in your book when you're making lots of decisions throughout the

day and he at the end, you're exhaust exhausted, your will power is just depleted and k3 haexhauste. >> it causes ego depletion and the more decisions you make, the more you you exercise will power, the less you have later on and you start giving in to temptations and start taking short cuts in decisions and you make silly decisions. you think why not tweak that picture of myself in my underwear. that kind of thing happens as you start depleting willpower. >> what is the solution to that? because you talk about glucose and diet and how that's related to willpower, as well. >> the source of the mental energy is glucose that you get from your diet and when they do experiments, they give people just a quick drink of lemonade with sugar and if the sugar in it actually gives them back some of the self-control, increases their willpower, that's a short term solution. for the long haul, you want to give healthier foods that doesn't give you the quick

spike. people with the best self-control are the people who don't use it so on which during t often during the day. they structure their life with habits and routines. they avoid temptation. >> and you go on to talk about having stronger willpower is actually a better indicator of success in college than say even s.a.t. scores. >> obviously it's important to be smart, but you have to have the discipline to do the study, you have to have the basic self-control skills which are to set realistic goals, on monitor your progress and then to strengthen that willpower muscle. >> all right. thank you so much. >> thank you. to hear more of my interview and find out what the oprah effect of willpower means, go to facebook.com/suzanne malveaux. and you've been sounding off. should women in the mill tar be allowed to serve closer to the front lines? melissa says woim should be allowed