CNN 2012-03-24

 First up, results from Tuesday’s Republican primary in Illinois, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt 1 Romney came in first place there, and he picked up at least 41 of the state’s 54 delegates. That added to his lead among Republican candidates. What you’re looking at here are the latest delegate estimates from CNN. You can see it takes 1,144 delegates to win the Republican nomination 2. Governor Romney had that in mind after Tuesday’s win. 

 
“Each day we move closer, not just to victory but to a better America. Join us. Join us. Together, we’re going to ensure that America’s greatest days are still ahead.”
 
Former Senator Rick Santorum finished second in Illinois. He’s also second in the delegate count. He said Tuesday night was a good night for his campaign. 
 
“We did very well. We picked up a lot of delegates tonight in a very tough state, one that nobody had any expectations for us to win in. You know, we did what we had to do. We got the delegates that we could get, and you know we’re feeling good.”
 
The likely Democratic nominee 3, President Obama, is taking about energy policies this week. Today he is expected to make an announcement about an oil pipeline 4 that was the subject of some controversy 5 late last year. It’s called the Keystone XL pipeline, and it would stretch 1,700 miles from Canada all the way down to the U.S. Gulf 6 Coast. Environmentalists protested against the pipeline in the past. In January, the president denied a permit for it. But today he’s expected to change course to announce plans to push for a permit for the southern half of the pipeline, the part of the pipeline that would start in Oklahoma. That’s where a lot of oil from the Midwestern U.S. gets backed up while it’s being transported to the Gulf of Mexico. This is part of the pipeline would help out with that. 
 
Protests across the Untied 7 States, a petition with more than 800,000 signatures, it’s connected to a Florida teenager who was shot and killed last month. You might have heard about Trayon Martin on the news or seen something about this story on social media. This is what we know. Trayvon Martin, who was 17 years old, was walking home after going to a convenience store. George Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch leader, was patrolling the neighborhood that Martin was walking through. Zimmerman called 911 and reported what he described as a suspicious person. A few moments later, other neighbors reportedly heard a commotion 8, then there were cries for help and a gunshot. We know Trayvon Martin was killed. We know George Zimmerman fired the gun. He told police he shot Martin in self-defense. Police haven’t arrested Zimmerman because they say they don’t have any evidence that contradicts what he said. Part of this is a Florida law called “Stand Your Ground.” It says that if a person thinks he or someone else is in serious danger, he can meet force with force. What’s not clear is what exactly happened in the moments leading up to Trayvon Martin’s death. Now this is an ongoing 9 story. There’s legal proceeding 10 scheduled for next month. We’re going to bring you more details on it as we got them. 
 
We have reported recently on an NFL investigation 11 into a bounty 12 program being run by the New Orleans Saints. The league discovered that for three years defensive 13 players were paid for knocking opponents out of games. Yesterday, the NFL announced punishments for the New Orleans Saints. Head Coach Sean Payton, who was aware of the bounty program, was suspended for the entire 2012 season. That’s just the start. The Saints were fined half a million dollars. They lost draft picks. The team’s general manager was suspended for 8 games, and former defensive coordinator 14 Gregg Williams who ran the bounty program was suspended indefinitely from the League.