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for current and former military members and their families. get advice from the people who share your values. for our free usaa retirement guide, call 877-242-usaa. it's time for "end point." christopher john farley this morning. >> the story that stood out to me was that new rochelle high school last second shot. >> that's because you're from there. >> i always turn sportsmetaphor.

i love the public schools. i have a commitment to public schools. our kids go to public schools there. it was great to see them win in the last second shot. the guy who made the shot seems like a nice young guy. i hope he has success in life. >> me, too. >> i hope it encouraging other people to get excited about schools in new rochelle. >> we second that. great to have you today, daryl. thanks for being with us. we leave it here. cnn newsroom with christi paul starts now. see you tomorrow morning. see you tomorrow morning. hey, christi. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com happening now in the newsroom. sex, lies and videotape. >> he called her very beautiful. and they slept together. >> the explosive money for sex allegations against senator menendez. >> the bottom line is all of those smears are absolutely false. >> breaking new details coming out. was the whole thing made up?

also, drones over jfk. >> what tid you say? >> we saw a drone, a drone aircraft. >> alarming claims by a pilot this morning. the drone dangerously close to the airport. the faa now investigating. plus, nascar. and the nra. a marriage on the track. a first in the top series. and carol on the road in florida for spring training. one on one with justin verlander. >> do you think that we'll see a day soon when a player will be comfortable enough to come out as a gay baseball player? >> it's game time. you're live in the "cnn newsroom." good morning. happy tuesday to you. i hope the day's been good to you so far. i'm christi paul in today for carol costello. we begin with your money.

all right. this hour on wall street the dow opens within striking distance of a new milestone. the closing bell ended yesterday's trading less than 40 points from an all-time high. that record was set in october 2007 when the nation's economy wassi was hitting the skids. alison kosik is at the new york stock exchange. a good day to look at your 401(k) if you want to be in a better mood. >> it could be that day, the day the dow finally hits that record we've been watching for weeks now. if futures are any indication, not only will the dow hit it at the oping bell, it will blow right through it. i want to show you the number we are watching for. the dow right now is sitting at 14,127. when that bell rings, the number we're going to be looking for, for the dow to hit 14,164. just remember, if stocks hit it, it doesn't mean it can stay there. anything can happen during the day. what's really going to be key, christi, if it sticks. if it closes at that record high of 14,164.

all this really begs the question, because you look at how the major indices are doing. just this year they're up anywhere from 7% to 8%. not just the dow but the s&p 500. nasdaq as well. people are asking, is this justified? look at the last three months of last year. gdp pretty much stalled out. spending cuts, yeah, they went into effect late friday. the big worry there is that there could be a one-two punch to the economy. not just the economic growth, christi, but the jobs market as well which also is having trouble really gaining momentum these days. >> yeah. we wonder. we're so close to that number but how long will it last, is the question. alison, thank you so much. we appreciate it. we're letting you noaa wa this morning is watching a new threat from north korea. the government reportedly threatening to dissolve a truce with south korea that ended the 1950-1953 civil war between the two countries. here's what we know. south korean media says the move is in response to u.s.-led

efforts to impose new sanctions over north korea's recent nuclear test. the u.n. security council is expected to meet today to consider a proposal authorizing those sanctions. joining me now with more from beijing is cnn international's david mackenzie. david, what have you learned? >> reporter: what we've learned is certainly the side of north korea, south korea, a troubling sign of increasing tensions on the korean peninsula. as you say, north korea is making those saber rattling calls towards the south. the two sides have been technically at war obviously for many decades. on the other side, in the u.n. and the u.s., talks about pushing sanctions against north korea. obviously that third nuclear test happened recently in north korea. very worrying to both the u.s. and china and its allies. talk now potentially, i just must say potentially, of a deal

between the u.s. and china of some kind of push of sanctions against north korea. this is not confirmed in that the sanctions vote hasn't yet happened. but they might be able to push some new tough calls against the north korean leadership which has just ignored all calls to end its nuclear program in recent years. christi? >> thank you so much. we appreciate it. i want to talk about this high ranking politician. you probably heard a little bit about this. caught up in scandal. after he's accused of sex with prostitutes. now one of those women says, oh, no. i made it all up. i'm talking about senator robert menendez of new jersey. the target of e-mails accusing him of partying with hookers in the dominican republic. menendez strongly denied those claims to cnn and slammed his unidentified accusers. >> it's amazing me that anonymous, nameless, faceless individuals on a website can

drive that type of story into the mainstream. but that's what they've done successfully. now nobody can find them. no one ever met them. no one ever talked to them. but that's where we're at. the bottom line is all of those smears are absolutely false. and, you know, that's the bottom line. >> cnn's drew griffin went to the dominican republic to try to track down the source. a tipster who called himself peter williams. in the end, though, found nothing. >> reporter: a rundown brothel in santo domingo is hardly the place for serious journalism, and yet here we are knocking on its door. and finding yet another mysterious clue leading to another closed door. >> i can tell you from my sources in the dominican republic now that they still are not very close to finding out who is the quote, unquote, mastermind. who is peter williams. >> okay. and here's the thing.

one of the women allegedly shown here in this video that originally aired on the conservative website the daily caller says a local attorney paid her to accuse the senator. the daily caller is standing by that video. and its report. saying "the washington post" and others identified the wrong prostitute. joining me now is adriana houser. correspondent for cnn in espanol. what have you been able to discern from this whole chaotic scene? >> "the washington post" seems to base its article and affidavit similar to the ones we have. and we obtain those through a dominican attorney. his name is benicio castillo. he is an acquaintance of senator menendez and cousin of a doctor, a friend of menendez and political contributor. in those documents a woman says

she is the girl in the video. that she was paid to read a script saying that she slept with menendez. but that she never actually met menendez, melgan or castillo. santana asks that she never knew she was being recorded. castillo is sure she's the girl who appears in one of the videos wearing a yellow dress. he also presented another notarized confession, christi, from an attorney called miguel galvan who pins the blame on a third attorney. galvan says this attorney asked him for help with a divorce case by finding him witnesses who would make prostitution claims. cnn has tried to contact both attorneys. but we have not gotten a response yet. this is the latest turn in senator menendez's ordeal. he has repeatedly denied all accusations. and not just those that include prostitutes, but also improper use of his office to help some of melgan's businesses. christi? >> i think some unidentified flights, perhaps, is in that as well.

i want to get back to -- as i understand it, if you can clarify this for us, there was another document where the prostitute actually asked for legal protection? is that right? >> that's right. there is a third document that benicio castillo presented. that document showed santana and galvan filed for legal protection arguing they were tricked. that their actions were based on lies and that they were tricked. that court hearing will take place later today in the d.r. we'll be covering and we'll see if the court decides to grant or deny that request. chris christi? >> thank you so much. good to get your perspective. i'm going to get you other top stories this morning. have you heard about the faa investigating this report from an italian airline pilot who says he came dangerously close to a drone aircraft while he was landing at jfk? now, we're going to let you hear the pilot's conversation with air traffic controllers right now. this is from the website liveatc.net.

>> what did you say? >> we saw a drone, a drone aircraft. >> roger, what altitude did you see that aircraft? >> about 1,500. >> roger. caution, report of a drone on about a five mile final by the traffic that you are following. >> so drones are becoming more popular, as you know. not only among government agencies but even hobbyists. folks doing it for recreation. because of that the faa has been scrambling to set up new rules and tighten existing restrictions near airports. because, you know, god forbid there's a mid-air collision or any of those drones get sucked into -- into the engine of another commercial plane. online trackers have another great white shark to keep up with today. her name is lydia. researchers off jacksonville, fl tl, captured and tagged their third great white sunday. take a look at this. lydia's almost 15 feet long, weighs nearly 2,000 pounds.

she's the first great white to be captured. satellite tagged. then released in an area south of cape cod, massachusetts. we're learning this morning venezuela reporting the health of its president is failing. hugo chavez has been battling cancer, as you know, for months. the government says he now is facing a severe new infection as well as troubled breathing. what you're looking at here is the last public image of chavez that was released last month. those are his two daughters with him in the photo. just a heads up for you, too, if you live in the eastern united states. take a look. this storm has its eyes set on you, i'm sorry to say. in north dakota this morning motorists are being told, look, just stay off the roads altogether. high winds are creating, as you can see, whiteout conditions. in colorado, accidents littered roads and highways. blizzard conditions blamed for a 30-car pileup near vail. this morning we do know interstate 70 is once again open in both directions, though.

this morning, though, rough sledding in minneapolis. this is the morning commute for a lot of folks. some areas have seen seven inches of snow and they're still counting it. millions more americans waiting for the storm's arrival. cnn meteorologist jennifer delgado, in fact, has that story. >> reporter: here we go again. >> last week was practice. this is the real deal. >> reporter: another winter storm is gearing up and dumping tons of snow from the dakotas to the east coast. this is north dakota. a foot of snow fell on parts of that state. the roads there? >> they're a little icy. you can't tell, but they're icy. >> reporter: minnesota is seeing round two of a one-two punch. some areas there could also get a foot of snow. it's already caused plenty of wrecks. just look at this. you can follow the tracks from the road all the way down to where the car ended up

overturned. air travelers are caught in the middle of it. hundreds of flights have already been canceled for today. this man had the right idea when he left last night. >> getting out ahead of the weather. we're going to fly out to san diego and beat the snow. >> reporter: it's been a relatively mild winter so far in chicago. but that will change today. hi, christi. i can tell you now the snow is finally starting to come down in chicago. it's light right now. but as we go throughout the late morning as well as into the afternoon, this snow is going to be changing over to the heavier stuff. we're talking six to eight inches across the region. we potentially could see even ten inches in some locations. if you look, we're on the magnificent mile. you see the cars out there. they're moving smoothly. wet roadways. certainly as we get closer to the evening commute we're going to see gusty winds up to about 30 miles per hour. that is going to lead to travel delays for motorists as they're coming home from work and, of

course, flying out of o'hare, midway, christi, you know how that nightmare can be waiting around there. >> yeah. that's not going to be fun for those folks. the good thing about chicago is everybody there is used to it. they know how to handle it. so kudos to them. >> they are. they're pros. they're pros. salt is on the ground and they're ready for this. >> absolutely right. thank you so much for the report. good to see you. >> reporter: you're welcome. still to come here from the showroom to the courtroom. macy's takes on jc penney. and martha stewart is right in the middle of the whole thing. the american dream is of a better future, a confident retirement. those dreams have taken a beating lately. but no way we're going to let them die. ♪ ameriprise advisors can help keep your dreams alive like they helped millions of others. by listening. planning. working one on one. that's what ameriprise financial does. and that's what they can do with you. that's how ameriprise puts more within reach. ♪

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it's not what you think. it's a phoenix with 4 wheels. it's a hawk with night vision goggles. it's marching to the beat of a different drum. and where beauty meets brains. it's big ideas with smaller footprints. and knowing there's always more in the world to see. it's the all-new lincoln mkz. it is martha versus macy's, and we are waiting for her to arrive at court any moment now. the queen of home furnishings is taking the stand today as macy's rivals jc penney for multimillion dollar rights to a marsha stewart houseware line.

here's christine romans. >> reporter: it's been eight years since martha stewart left prison, serving five months for lying about a stock sale. good-bye, rap sheet. hello, cotton sheets. a deal with macy's helped her company rebuild. >> macy's was really important in giving her a leg up. and, you know, giving her a helping hand. >> macy's obviously recognized the brand and the value of the brand, the quality of the merchandise. >> reporter: now stewart is back in court. macy's is suing her company over a deal with jc penney. her defense? a contract loophole. quote, the macy's contract is written to allow martha stewart living omnimedia to sell a broad range of products at jc penney with no restrictions whatsoever in a store inside jc penney. but brand experts say the suit is trouble. >> she was married to macy's. but she went off and had an affair, i mean, and got in bed with a direct competitor, with jc penney's. i think it just shows really bad form. >> reporter: stewart's company is struggling, losing $56

million in 2012. it laid off workers. the shares are beaten down. last year the hallmark channel canceled the martha stewart show. these aren't exactly salad days for martha. neither was the insider trading case. >> i want to focus on my salad. >> now she wants to focus on retail. 29% of her company's revenues came from merchandise last year. you can find her wares at home depot, even petsmart. if she prevails, jc penney. >> i expect the court is going to allow jc penney a certain number of products that are going to go into their stores. whether they're branded by martha stewart or not branded by martha stewart. >> reporter: but at what cost? >> i don't think anybody, any other business is going to want to get involved with her in the future. i think she's really hurt her brand and hurt herself. >> reporter: very messy business dealings for the woman who

peddles perfection. so we've heard, christi, from the ceo of jc penney and the ceo of macy's. today it's martha stewart's turn. we're expecting her any moment. press gathered behind me. it's been nine years since her trial. a lot of familiar faces back there saying it's as cold today as it was the last time they were waiting for martha to come to court. very different deal. a civil case sitting in front of a judge. the judge has already told them i wish you guys would have settled this. they didn't. now we're here. martha's turn to testify today ab about the contract dispute. >> why do you think it is they couldn't settle it and it had to go to court? >> reporter: you know, there are high stakes for everyone involved here. very high stakes for jc penney which wants to put a martha stewart store within a store. jc penney has had a very difficult time with the new turnaround strategy from a new ceo. very high stakes for jc penney. very high stakes for macy's. the ceo of macy's says we have 8% revenue growth of the martha stewart branded products in our

store. we want to be the only big department store selling martha stewart brands. for martha stewart, too. as i said in the piece, she's been shuttering magazines. her hallmark channel show has been canceled. all three parties have very high stakes here. you know, on the surface, it's a contract dispute. but a contract dispute that means a lot financially for all three involved. >> but, you know, martha stewart, some people look at this and say martha stewart is everywhere. she has so much. why would she need jc penney when she's got such a lock-in on macy's? >> reporter: it's so interesting, too. because, you know, martha stewart's brand, i mean, is ubiquitous. jc penney says bath, cookware, bedding, that's our purview. martha stewart's people are saying we have a clause in the contract in case martha wanted to start her own store. there's a clause in the contract so martha could start her own

store. the question is, is martha stewart opening a store inside jc penney any different than jc penney just selling martha stewart goods. that's what this judge is going to have to decide. again, she's testifying here any moment. any moment she'll be here to testify. >> isn't that interesting. thank you so much for breaking it down for us. good to see you today. >> you're welcome. just ahead in the "newsroom" -- >> hotdogs, apple pie and tiger town. >> justin verlander was humbled? >> i wouldn't say i was humbled. i got a new respect. >> justin verlander, you're live in the "cnn newsroom." [ woman ] if you have the audacity to believe your financial advisor should focus on your long-term goals, not their short-term agenda. [ male announcer ] join the nearly 7 million investors who think like you do. face time and think time make a difference. at edward jones, it's how we make sense of investing.

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but then...it wouldn't be stouffer's mac & cheese. just one of over 70 satisfying recipes for one from stouffer's. so reporters are asking justin verlander if he wants to be the sport's first $200 million pitcher. who wouldn't want to be, right? well, of course. he's a five-time all star. won the mvp and cy young award of the american league. verlander tdid take a little tie from his spring training regimen to sit down with our own carol costello for, let's call it a

wide ranging interview. take a look. >> i'm here in tiger town. spring home of the detroit tigers. i got a chance to sit down with justin verlander to talk salary, golf and gay rights. i guess i'll start by asking about your golf game. >> i play a lot. you know, i used to think i was pretty good. then i went out recently and played in the at&t proam at pebble beach. got a new respect for how good those tour players really are. >> justinhumbled? >> i wouldn't say i was humbled. i got a new respect. >> $200 million, you would be, like, the first pitcher to ever be a $200 million pitcher. i guess at one point you said, yeah, that would be great. >> of course it would. what kind of question is that? things got taken out of context a little bit. you know, i'm not going to take back what i said at all. do you want to be the first $200 million pitcher? yes. absolutely. whether that will remain to be

seen, i don't know. i'm not worried about that. i'm worried about getting myself ready for the 2013 season. >> somebody did an interview with zach grak greinke. he admitted he would go with the most money. doesn't matter what the team was. do you feel that way? >> does it matter? >> i don't quite feel that way. you take a lot of things into consideration when you start talking about extensions and that type of thing. you know, we're at this place that as baseball players, we're very fortunate to be in this place for a reason. that's because former players fought extremely hard and even risked their careers to allow us to have free agency and allow us to make a lot of money. you know, i think you do a bit of a disservice to that if you don't -- if you don't honor what they did and use the system to your advantage. >> yeah. but $200 million. like, who needs that much? >> the team's bringing in a lot of money, too. >> i have to ask you about a gay player in major league baseball. a lot of talk about that in the nfl from this past season. are there gay players in

baseball already you think? >> i'm sure there are. you know, i think as with any sport, you know, a gay player would probably be hesitant to come out. you know, but, i mean, the sheer numbers say that there absolutely is. >> do you think that we'll see a day soon when a player will be comfortable enough to come out as a gay baseball player? >> yeah. i mean, i don't see why not. i think given the right situation, you know, and a team, you know, that's, you know, a family atmosphere. and i feel like we have that atmosphere here. i don't think one of our players would be scared to come out. you know, we got 25 guys. it's a family. our goal is to win the world series. what your sexual orientation is, i don't see how that affects the ultimate goal of our family. >> why do you think there's so much controversy about it still? >> i think it's a tricky subject because you start getting into locker rooms and, you know,

walking around nude or whatever. i think that would be more of a tricky subject than anything. you know, your life decisions and sexual orientation, like i said, i don't think that plays any effect into what we're trying to do as a team. >> you personally would embrace a gay player on the detroit tig ers? >> absolutely. i wouldn't mind it. >> what's your goal this season? >> win a world series. >> i was thinking more develop a new pitch or get a hit. >> thanks for that. you know, i've been saying for the last seven years that this is my year. so i'm going to go the other direction this year and say i'm not going to get a hit. who cares. i don't care if i get a hit. i'm going to do everything i possibly can to jinx it the other way. >> that's a good idea. so you just admit that -- >> i suck. >> you suck. yes! >> you might be the first person to ever hear me say that. >> as for what's new in justin verlander's arsenal? he's not saying. it's a secret.

>> all righty. stories we're watching right now in the "newsroom," you hear the bell. record highs in sight as they open up things on wall street. dow less than 40 points away from its all-time closing high that was set back on october 9th, 2007. ringing the bell this morning, portfolio manager for alps trust, michael achens, is who you saw there. i want to bring in alison kosik. as i understand it, look at that. 14,143. why are we getting so close so fast? >> that is really a good question. look at all the negative forces going on right now. those spending cuts. the uncertainty in washington. the uncertainty about where our own economy is headed. the strength of our economy. you think about economic growth in this country, right now it's pretty much stalling out. look at the last three months of last year. there's instability in europe. there's a lot of -- there's a lot of negative forces. but, look, we just surpassed the record high for the dow. it's now at 14,176. i don't see any confetti coming

from the ceiling. i didn't hear any cheers. this is still a milestone because look how far stocks have come. we're back to a level we haven't seen in more than five years. many are really kind of, you know, a little -- i think a little skeptical about this because the economic fundamentals. meaning the strength of the economy. it's not there. many are believing there's really a disconnect between what we're seeing on that screen right now and what regular americans are feeling. you look at the jobs picture. the jobs picture is pretty darn bad at this point. the unemployment rate is at 7.9%. more than five years ago when the dow was at these levels, unemployment was at 4.7%. so it's a very different world right now. there are 12 million americans out of work. and many are asking, is this really justified? why is it happening? the federal reserve has a lot to do with this. what the fed is doing is it's pumping billions of dollars of stimulus money into the economy every single month. what that is essentially doing is it's pushing interest rates lower. and it's making stocks basically

the best game or the best investment in town. it's basically creating this wealth effect that you're seeing right on the screen as we see the dow reach 14,190. you know, it's getting up there, christi. >> all right. you're right. okay. so i want to go to christine romans. 14,191 is what we're looking at here, christine. she was just talking about how the federal reserve is pumping all this money into the stimulus to try to create the wealth effect. how long can that last, christine? >> well, the fed says it's going to last for the foreseeable future here because the fed really is the only game in town. you have the sequester, forced spending cuts in washington. that's going to pull $85 billion out of economy over the next seven months. think of this. the fed is pushing $40 billion into the economy every single month. so the fed is really pushing this thing forward here or a big reason why it is. david kelly over at jp morgan, he calls it the tina market. t-i-n-a. there is no alternative. people are buying stocks and they're buying houses.

those are the two bright spots in part because the fed is keeping interest rates so low for housing as well. remember about stocks, it's very important. a lot of people say to me, look, why are you guys talking about highs in the stock market when people don't feel it on main street? and they're right. here's the thing. stocks measure the corporate success of the companies who make up those stock market averages. right? the companies within those indices. those companies, s&p 500 companies, for example, get, i think, 45% of their revenue from overseas. so it's a much more global picture. also, you've seen money managers and investors have been telling us for months now that they feel as though the dysfunction in washington, that's something that wall street is starting to factor in. they've got trillions of dollars on the sidelines in bank accounts. they're not necessarily hiring. they're not necessarily expanding. but they are, like, hoari ihoar cash and generating more profit with fewer people and less expansion and more overseas presence. so that's why there's this disconnect so many times, it

feels like, between main street and wall street, christi. >> all righty. thank you, christine. i want to get back to alison right now. alison, we just saw it hit 14,200. have you seen -- have we seen the high today already? >> it could be. you know what the key is really going to be, christi? the key is is going to be just because it's at these levels now doesn't mean it's going to close there. it could do a 180. and when that closing bell rings, we could be back below that record high. so the real key is going to be is it going to close. has it reached this level before during the trading day? yes, it has. but actually not at 14,200. it hit 14,198 to be exact. this really is sheer momentum. once again, there is that disconnect between what regular americans are feeling, lots of americans are out of work, yet we're seeing these record high numbers with the dow. i've got even a better explanation if we've got that story ready.

>> in 2007 you had big egos and lots of spending and wines and steaks with crab and hollandaise. >> dennis has the owner of the restaurant just a few blocks from the new york stock exchange for 15 years. he was here when the dow hit its record closing high. 14,164, on october 9th, 2007. >> a strong rally today on wall street. the dow jones industrial average soaring to a record high. >> reporter: but just months later, bankruptcies. bailouts. and government assisted buyouts. this time, barry, a wall street veteran and money manager, says it feels different. >> we're in a post credit crisis environment. it's not the usual recession recovery as we've seen historically. these tend to be very cloe, muddle through. >> reporter: dennis sees that caution, too. >> there's definitely more cautious spending.

people are watching their dollar. you know, they went through a hard time. i think this hard time really got to them. they're putting some money in the bank, i assume. or they just don't want to have as much fun as they did. >> reporter: despite the caution, we're still in a bull market. but the average bull market lasts more than 3 1/2 years. and we're past that. so the question is, does it have room to run? some traders are nervous. >> you know, you cannot see it forever. >> in my view it's a correction waiting to happen. >> reporter: ritholz says it depends on the federal reserve. policymakers have been pumping billions into the economy, keeping interest rates near zero. a policy they'll continue until the unemployment rate shows more meaningful declines. >> as long as the fed is accommodative and profits are reasonably good, there's no reason not to think that we can average historic returns this coming year. >> reporter: as for dennis, he's hoping the bulls keep running. and it looks like the bulls will keep running as long as the fed, christi, continues to sort of

keep the punch bowl open for everybody to kind of dip into. meaning if the fed continues these easy money policies where the fed keeps spending all that money pushing down interest rates, specially, and really moving investors to really invest in stocks in a big way, what we're seeing happen right now, christi. >> christine romans, want to bring you back into the conversation. she just made a great point in that piece about how we hit this high back on october 9th. and within months we had bankruptcies and buyouts and everything seemed to crash. what have we learned, if anything, this time around to try to avoid that? >> reporter: oh, that's a really good question. i mean, basically you've had a slow healing. we had a real crisis in the economy. for people who were -- for the people who were brave enough or solvent enough after those days to put money to work in stocks, there were a lot of opportunities. and those people have been rewarded. look at the ascension of the stock market since those lows hit after the financial crisis. it's been unbelievable. it's been, you know, the fastest

wealth creation for people holding stocks probably in our lifetimes, right? but at what cost? we lost so many jobs. we lost so many small businesses. it was a really wrenching time. so when you look at new highs in the stock market, a lot of people just kind of grumble and groan and say, look, this economy still is not working for me. there's an investing class that has been rewarded, but there's a working class that has not been. and that is still something that we need to figure out how to address here. that being said people with a 401(k), run of the mill 401(k), you had a good run here if you were still invested in even what we call dollar cost averaging all this way. so stock investors are feeling pretty good about things in their 401(k) or other accounts, mutual fund accounts. we know the beginning of the year, christi, there was a record amount of money rushing into stock mu chul funds. i think $81 billion into stock mutual funds. people are believing the stock market, which represents the prospects of corporate america

and multinationals, that they're doing better and they want to profit from that as well. look at some of the tech stocks. i mean, google. apple had a rough go of it lately. but some of the tech stocks have been doing quite well. in the investing class, people who are invested in companies have been doing pretty well. i'll say one thing, too, about warren buffett's letter to his shareholders this weekend. he said that too many ceos are too nervous. he sort of chided them for being so nervous. he said there's been uncertainty in america since 1776. there's still uncertainty in america. but we know we've got to deploy our money. we've got to invest in projects. and we've got to move forward. and that's what he's telling corporate investors to do and investors to do and that's certainly what's reflected right now in what's happening in the stock market with highs. >> christine romans, thank you so much for walking us through this whole thing. we appreciate it. right now the dow at 14,219, which has surpassed the high of october 2007 by -- it keeps going back and forth between 50, 60 points higher than what we

saw back in 2007. stay with us. we've got more after the break. i need you. i feel so alone. but you're not alone. i knew you'd come. like i could stay away. you know i can't do this without you. you'll never have to. you're always there for me. shh! i'll get you a rental car. i could also use an umbrella. fall in love with progressive's claims service.

political buzz is your rapid fire look at the best political topics of the day. three topics. 30 seconds on the clock. cnn contributor and former obama white house official van jones. jamie cramer, chairwoman of the tea party express. thank you both for sharing your time. >> good to be here. >> good to be here. >> first up, scandal threatens to take down senator robert menendez of new jersey. here's what we know. after he is accused anonymously, mind you, of paying for sex with prostitutes, now "the washington post" is reporting one of the women is recanting saying she was paid to make those claims. the daily caller website which posted a video of two prostitutes who admitted to sleeping with menendez says "the washington post" is confusing its ladies of the night, let's

say. bizarre turn in this story, too. as the conversation moves from a political career, you know, possibly -- will this alleged scandal even matter for senator menendez's political future? van, you start. >> well, first of all, nobody knows what's actually going on here. something fishy is going on. if these things are true he's in trouble and he should be in trouble. what i think is more disturbing is how we now have this shooting match between "the washington post," a respectable pulitzer prize winning outlet, versus the daily caller. which is, you know, a partisan organization. it's got a bad reputation for editing clips and this kind of thing. i think the way that these partisan alleged news operations pull us into these scandals is much more disturbing than any of the skacandals themselves. >> amy, go ahead. >> you know, i have to agree with van that we don't know all the facts. i'm sure there's more to come out.

if, in fact, he has done this, of course it's going to affect him. but, you know, at the end of the day think back to anthony wiener. when that story was breaking everybody said it wasn't true. as facts came out it proved to be true and he ended up resigning his congressional seat. i think we have to wait and see on this one. >> amy, thank you. let's go to day four f of those forced spending cuts we've been watching. so far the earliest impact may be felt at the white house. a new gal up poll shows president obama's approval rating is slipping falling seven points just in the last week. that comes as cabinet members are walking back on the dire effects of those cuts. among them we're talking about education secretary arnie duncan who said teachers were already been fired in west virginia. >> language is really, really important. i want to apologize for not being as clear last week. because i wasn't clear the spotlight was put on me. my goal here is to have the spotlight be on children and families. when i said pink slips, that was

probably the wrong word. >> it's amazing how semantics can really get you into hot water, isn't it? that school district tells cnn duncan was mistaken. it had yet to send out any official layoff notices. here's our question. could a lower approval rating and a reversal on some of these spending cut claims hurt president obama's ability to make a deal, amy? >> i have to say here the republicans are blamed for everything all the time. their approval ratings can't go much lower. so if there's any blame to go around, i think it is going to go on president obama. but, you know, it wasn't just his staff and his administration and cabinet officials that were making these false claims. i mean, he stood up at the podium at the white house and talked about janitors losing pay as well. so the american people are paying attention. and i do think this is going to eventually hurt him. and especially when we woke up and the sky is still there. and traffic lights are still operating. toilets are still flushing. >> yeah, yeah. some people are saying it just didn't have the effect we thought it would have. van, you kind of chuckled when

she mentioned republicans get blamed for everything. what were you thinking? >> well, i mean, i -- i think sometimes maybe deservedly so. here's the thing. i don't think that a wayward comment from arnie duncan is going to have much of an impact on the president's bargaining position. here's where the president has to be worried. it's not the stuff leading up to the deal. it's the deal himself he keeps talking about. he keeps saying he's willing to cut medicaid, medicare, social security. these are wildly popular programs. on both sides of the aisle. in fact, most americans would rather raise taxes than cut those programs. it's not these side comments. it's the deal itself the president is promoting. when the president sticks up for those programs he does well. >> all righty. thank you. okay. finally, the nra and nascar seem to be expanding their partnership here. the gun rights group is announcing that for the first time it's going to sponsor a top level racing event. >> nra members and nascar fans love their country and everything that is good and right about america. we salute our flag. volunteer in our churches and

communities. cherish our families. and we love racing. >> so the nra 500, so you know, takes place in texas next month. but with the backdrop of the current gun control debate, our question is, could the nra's increased presence there, could it hurt nascar, van? >> well, you know, probably not. i think there's a pretty decent overlap between the nascar base and the nra base. however, you know, the nra's brand is probably in trouble long term. most people still think the nra represents gun owners. it's turning out they actually represent gun manufacturers. they want to dump as many guns on the public as possible. with even restrictions -- i think nra is in more trouble than nascar. >> amy, what do you say to his assertion that the nra has some long-term heissues they're goin to be dealing with? >> i disagree with that. obviously these gun manufacturers are being supported. there's high demand for their guns and ammunition. at the end of the day these are

freedom loving americans just like the commercial said. and nascar, the brand, was built on a cigarette company, winston. so this is their base. there's no place more than texas where people love their guns and they love their racing. i don't think it's going to hurt their brand. >> all righty. amy kramer and van jones, thank you for your perspective. >> thanks for having us. boy, it is a shouting match in the alabama state senate. >> point of order, madam president. point of order, madam president. >> new legislation will give tax credits to alabama parents who move their kids from failing public skooms to private schools. we're taking a closer look at that controversy.

checking our top stories, most of the cardinals, cardinal electorals, i should say, but this phony father crashed the party on monday. apparently he had no problem getting close enough to greet church officials who already arrived. wow. officials in central florida are watching a new sinkhole, this one about three miles from that home where a sinkhole swallowed a bedroom and a man inside of it and presumed dead now. crews are trying to stabilize that sinkhole with gravel after they demolished his home. and back here at home, we're getting our first glimpse of casey anthony in nearly two

years. there she is, the first time anthony's been forced out in public since being acquitted of killing her daughter. you can hear people yelling "baby killer." a federal judge ordered anthony to court after she filed for bankruptcy back in january. take a look at these incredible pictures there near saturn's orbit. the unmanned spacecraft has been spending back pictures of venus as a single bright white dot. the mission is a joint space program with other countries. let's say that your child's in a failing public school. what options do you have to give them a better education? alabama lawmakers have come up with this plan. take your children out of public school, get a tax credit for putting them in a private one. the bill's passage followed a

shouting match in the state senate and now the legislation is expected to be signed by the governor. we have the executive director of the alabama school boards with us. ms. howell, good morning. thank you for being with us. >> good morning. >> i know that this bill in its present form is different from the one you initially supported. so how did it evolve? >> oh, it is drastically different. and it is a lousy way to make state public policy. the original bill was a school flex bill and it had the support of the school leadership community. and it would allow a local school board and superintendent with permission from the state board and state superintendent to ask for a waiver from state laws for innovative programs. we called it an innovation law or the flex law. its passed both chambers. and went to conference committee and at the conference committee level, a nine page bill became a

28 page bill and it still had the flex components, but then this whole new concept of a tuition tax credit program was added. >> i've heard you call this an anti-public education bill. but as i understand it and please correct me if i'm wrong, it's not just to send them to another private school. they could send them to another successful public school district, could they not? >> that is an option. i don't think i've used that term. i think that that is one of the criticisms of the bill. and let me tell you, we in the education community understand that we need to address the problem of low performing schools. and there were several other bills pending that would have addressed that. so we have problems with how this legislation was enacted, buts also we're not sure it's going to produce the results that the state also we're not s going to produce the results that the state leaders say it will. just because a parent removes

their student from a public school doesn't mean they'll get higher results in the school they chose. we need to make sure that those are quality schools that they're using. >> well, i understand that there are currently 75 failing school districts in alabama. so the first thing i think of is what's the problem and what would you say to parents who want their kids to have a solid education? >> well, we think that we need to come together as communities and at the state level to address those problems. usually those schools are located in communities that there are a number of issues that need to be addressed. and we already have several programs in place that are helping those schools improve. our alabama reading initiative program is touted across the nation. we're number one in testing. so we have programs in praise that are yielding result, they just haven't had enough time in place to fully get everyone up to speed.

>> sally howell, we appreciate you being with us. thank you so much. >> thank you. >> best of luck to you and all the folk there is. the next hour of cnn newsroom begins after a break. i know what you're thinking... transit fares! as in the 37 billion transit fares we help collect each year. no? oh, right. you're thinking of the 1.6 million daily customer care interactions xerox handles. or the 900 million health insurance claims we process. so, it's no surprise to you that companies depend on today's xerox for services that simplify how work gets done. which is...pretty much what we've always stood for. with xerox, you're ready for real business. the delightful discovery. the sweet realization that you have a moment all to yourself. well, almost. splenda® no calorie sweetener. splenda® makes the moment yours™. without freshly-made pasta. you could also cut corners by making it without 100% real cheddar cheese.

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we begin with breaking news. the dow is soaring and records are falling. alison kosik will tell us what's happening. christine romans and ali velshi will tell us what it means to each of us. it's not like we didn't expect this would happen, but it's still a big deal when it happens. >> it is. it's a great milestone if you think about it. the dow is not only surpassed the all-time closing high, it's at an all-time high. meaning we've never ever seen the dow at this level. what it essentially means as far as today goes is there is plenty of room for to lose ground and still most likely close beyond its all-time high of 14,164. and all the excitement despite the fact that the economy still isn't strong. you look at the spending cuts that happened on friday. there are worries that could cut into economic growth, cut in to jobs growth. there is uncertainty about where the economy is headed at this point. the u.s. has stagnant gdp. economic growth was plat, at

0.1%. that is the minimum positive amount for economic growth. and then don't forget about the instability in europe, as well. so what you're seeing is this run up fueled essentially by the federal reserve which is pumping $85 billion every single month, they're buying up treasuries and mortgage backed securities. that's essentially pushing interest rates lower, it's pushing investors to go into stocks because stocks are the best game, best investment in town. and it's not necessarily the economy that's the driver. but nonetheless, it's a great milestone it talk about. >> i love the way you say it's the best game in town because ali velshi, if i recall from your business show, you were spraining at length what tina means. i can't make money anywhere else, so why not. >> you can make money if you have time in housing, if you have good credit, enough money to put down on a house, but you can invest in the sock market with a few hundred bucks. so this becomes the tina economy. interest rates are low. the fed has kept them low in

order to promote economic growth, to allow people to borrow money to buy these houses. they do that by pumping $85 billion in on to the economy every month. and as a result, you can't say can't make your money on bond, you can't -- so where are you going to make money? you have to put to the sock market which leads shall people to believe this might be inflated. remember, as allison pointed out, the stock market is a little divorced from the economy. it's generally forward looking and priced based on the earnings of the companies contained therein. so the idea is these companies get a lot of their revenue outside of the united states, they're actually doing okay. they have a lot of cash on on hand. remember the dow is 30 companies. the s&p 500 doing pretty well, too. and that's what people are investing. they're saying these companies now how to make money, they will make money. separate it entirely from the fact that the economy is still sputtering along. so that doesn't mean you should ignore the market. you can acknowledge the fact that it's not the same as the economy. but you may still find the market your best opportunity to make money right now because of

tina. there is no alternative. >> and i understand when you say the market is forward looking, but when you don't have a job, you are forward looking because you don't have anything to spend in the future. let me bring in christine rowen mass. let's pop up the jobsrowenmass. let's pop up the jobs numbers. here is the gdp growth. it's a no-brainer when you see this. and then when you also see the jobs numbers coming up that we're still hovering around, what, 8%, right? still away 8% jobless rate? >> here's what's so interesting. >> i don't get the forward looking aspect when you still have a crummy economy. >> because something new is happening here and what's new is that companies are growing and moving forward without adding the jobs they used to. and there is this discussion going on among economists and people who cover the economy about could you have one percentage point growth in the economy, in gchltd chlgdp, and

all the jobs. so you have economic growth that benefits companies but it's not benefiting people and their jobs. and that's a product of globalization, that's a product of still the last vestiges of the financial crisis and technology and all these new things that are happening to the american labor market. some could argue that we're growing faster technologically than the american labor force can keep up, the kinds of jobs we're creating, ceos complain they can't find workers that can change hair skills fast enough to keep up, and ali is so much about how much money they have in cash. and just this weekend, warren buffett chided ceos for being too nervous, for sitting on their cash and not investing in new projects. because that's what moves the economy forwar so what's really interesting to me here is we've come to this high, but now what do you do if you're an investor, right? if you have money, do you start buying stocks right now? you know, the last leg of the bull market can be among the

most profitable, but, you know, you don't want to buy at the top. >> exactly. ali, button it up for me. is this a bubble? because we're 117 up right now today. because everyone's super thrilled about it. but is this a bubble, should home traders say back off for a bit? >> the stock market has done well in january and february. almost as well as we thought it was going to do for the entire year. so i was invest very carefully. i would have money aside to put in when markets go down because they always do this. but generally speaking, it is the only game in town. >> so watch the popping of champagne corks. christine, are you actually in downtown. keep your eyes peeled for the popping sham pain cochampagne c. you three, thank you very much. i want to turn to another show, something pretty alarming. a sight near one of the nation's busiest airports, this happened just this morning. the faa is right now investigating a pretty startling claim from an italian airline

pilot. he says his flight that was coming into jfk came perilously close to a drone aircraft. as he was landing at jfk. here's the pilot's conversation with air traffic controllers and this comes to us from the website live atc.net. >> we saw a drone, a drone aircraft. >> what altitude? >> about 1500. >> report of a drone on about a five mile funnel. >> miles o'brien is an aviation analyst. science correspondent for pbs news. and he joins us via skype from washington. and you could not be a more perfect person to ask this question of. it sounds pretty alarming to a layperson like me, but is it so alarming that a pilot would see something and immediately say it's a drone? >> well, yes. it's a little bit alarming.

you don't want your airliner coming in conflict or colliding with a drone really of any size because even a small radio controlled helicopter that you can buy at the store if it was ingested in to to the engine could cause the engine to shut down or perhaps worse. so it depends on on what kind of drone we're talking about here. the faa, law enforcement officials say they didn't have any sort of law enforcement drone in the air at the time at that location. controllers would surely have known about it if it was will if it was an official kroen by an official source. so most likely this is probably a hobbiest out there with one of those devices. you've seen them in the stores. you're only supposed to fly them up to 400 feet. and 1500 feet is a little too high. >> miles, you can buy drones and i even hate to use this homogenous term as drones. this is one we actually were

flying inside cnn. this is very similar. we were flying inside our offices. you can buy them at brookstone, you can get them online. but as you said, 400 feet is where you're supposed to stay. is will this teh this terribly this a hobbyist? >> yes, absolutely. also rules about flying them near airports, as well, for obvious reasons. it kind of reminds me the laser pointer scares we've seen in recent years. they're extremely dangerous. it causes night blindness, it can be more than just temporary. so people have to to use their heads a little bit when they play with these toys. >> does it make you -- >> these things can go very high. >> i'm sorry, i just -- i was going to ask you another question, but i have to cut this off because the house speaker is speaking at this hospital. we'll keep an eye on it. miles, good to to see you again.

thank you for your insight. obviofbviouslfbviously we want john boehner. >> -- both in the house and senate. lastly a report on friday once again makes clear that there is no reason for the keystone pipeline to be blocked for another day. the president and the president alone stands between these tens of thousands of american jobs and more north american oil for our refineries. and it's time for him to say yes. after four years of needless delays, it's time for the president to stand up for middle class jobs and we'll get that by getting the keystone pipeline under construction. >> good morning. as speaker said, we're going to bring to the floor this week a continuing resolution to, yes, avoid the government shutdown and to promote some type of

economic certainty. and at the same time, try and reduce the level of spending here in washington p. i think all of us on on both sides of the aisle have said the see decembquester is the not th way of accomplishing reduction in spending, but it seem like it's the only kind of reduction that the president lives with because he has, to it's the law. we remain committed to continue to try to reach some type of resolution where there's a balanced approach to managing down the debt and deficit, meaning balancing it in ten years in our way of looking at things, but also identifying where there are areas of waste. i think there are very few americans who wouldn't subscribe to the notion that there isn't some wails thste that you couldn washington. and that's what we'll do this week, next and beyond, trying to go about doing what everyone in this country has been forced to do in these tough economic times which is to tighten the belt and learn how to do more with less. i think that clearly from the

evidence of the gallup poll that was out lately about the president's approval rating, you know, i think that clearly people are tired of political gains in this town and they want to see resolution of some problems. we remain committed to trying to resolve problems. we remain committed to try to help those unemployed. we'll be bringing up the skills act next week, a bill that i think both sides can come together on and to provide some assistance for those who don't have the right kind of training or skills so they can access the unfilled jobs that are out there in many of the industry sectors. >> as just heard -- >> as we leadership with the gop leadership, many of us were thinking as kevin mccarthy cut him off, but the significance of this is that we're clearly in a very important week. not only are we dealing with spending cuts that are now about four days old, the likes of which we haven't seen before, the feelings of which we may not

be necessarily experiencing right now. dana bash is live on capitol hill. so the first thing i heard as we were coming into that news conference was the issue of the keystone pipeline which was not what i was expecting to hear about. maybe could yyou could put ever in context for us and the key headline they want to make. >> the key headline is talking of course about the budget. the hash tag says it all. and this is the weekly meeting that republicans have. today's meeting was republican leaders informing their members about several things, but most importantly what they will be doing this week and that is legislation to keep the government running through the end of the fiscal year, september 30th. right now the next looming washington drama, crisis, is march 27th, not too long from now, when the government runs out of money. so what they're trying to work through is legislation to keep it going, but also in the house republican legislation, they're trying to give some leeway to the pentagon to try to alleviate

some of the pain from the forced cuts. that is a real difference between house republicans and democrats who run the senate. they want to give a little bit more 4 more -- help the pain to domestic agencies, as well. but big picture we heard last week, they want to do their best both sides to avoid a government shutdown for a lot of reason, but mostly because they all know it's a political jump ball. >> dana, the average person out there would hear logic in saying give us the opportunity in the discussions over the continuing resolution to maybe take a fine scalpel when it comes to the cuts. these across the board slashes are painful. but at the same time, isn't that the democrats literally handing a victory on a silver platter to the republicans in which point they would say not so fast, it's not that easy? >> many democrats say yes. remember, the whole political reason the president agreed to

these cuts in the first place is because he didn't think they would happen and the reason is because he thought republicans would not allow these cuts to defense in particular because just goes against their dna. but he was wrong. the republicans did allow that. so now you're exactly right, for democrats to allow the republicans to kind of fix at least part of that would be giving them a political victory. but more importantly they think hurting many of the people that they say they fight for on a policy level, children, people who are helped across the board in domestic priorities and domestic agencies. >> the staring contest continues. and i'm not talking about you and me. thank you very much. dana bash live on capitol hill with a big day in front of her. when we come back, if you live in one of our 50 state, you may be getting a very big snowstorm. and i mean massive. [ female announcer ] total effects user kim scott still looks amazing. but with kids growing up fast, fighting seven signs of aging gets harder. introducing total effects moisturizer plus serum.

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and his overall condition remains very delicate. if you live in the eastern united states, bub kell buckle up. this storm is headed your way. this is the morning commute in minneapolis. what a drag. 7 inches so far. more on the way. no north dakota, up to a foot of snow is blanketing the ground there. how would you like to drive in that? zero visibility. high winds are creating whiteout condition. and inle colorado, accidents were littering the roads and highways. blizzard conditions being blamed for a 30 car pile up near vail, california. this morning interstate 07 is once again open in both directions but drive at your own risk. the national rifle association is going to spoken or nascar's sprint cup race next month in texas. it will be the first time the nra has sponsored a race for a

top level nascar event. more than 190,000 fans are expected to attend that race. washington is watching a new threat from north korea this morning. the government reportedly threatening to dissolve that truce with south korea that ended the 1950 to 1953 civil war between those two countries. and in is quite something. especially since we've just been talking about dennis rodman's visit. but this sounds very, very serious. what sparked this? >> as you know, we are used to fire and rhetoric coming out of north korea, but this is the first time they have threatened to scrap the armistice agreement which was signed in 1953, the end of the korean war. does this mean that there will be all out war on the korean peninsula? i think that's a little premature. but we do think that authorinora is pre-vok came difference and

like to grab the world's attention. a high ranking pisofficial camet and said that as of march 11th which is next monday when joint military exercises between the united states and south korea get under way, that is when they will scrap the armistice agreement. but let's have a listen to what the new u.s. secretary of state john kerry has to say about the latest developments. >> north korea keeps choosing to make belligerent and reckless moves that threaten the region, their neighbors, and now directly the united states of america. so it's very easy for kim jong-un to prove his good intent here, also just don't fire on on the next missile. >> we know that all of this has come as a result of the u.n. security council do to meet in less than an hour to talk about the tougher sanctions as a result of authority korea's nuclear test conducted last

month. now, i've spent many weeks in south korea in the last couple of weeks and i can certainly tell you that things are tense there. and will become even more so at the latest news. >> and it's not the first time that the u.n. security council has considered sanctions against north korea. it's hardly something that the ruling class or elite there ever feel. it's just the people that get hungrier and colder. what does anyone think that these new rounds of sanctions if they're approved would actually accomplish? >> on to be quite frank, absolutely nothing. that's the problem with these sanctions. we've spoken to analysts in south korea who say the time for sanctions is over. this has happened year after year and it absolutely gets nowhere. we know north korea wants to develop a nuclear weapons program. they have proven that time and time again. and it doesn't matter what the international community throws at it, doesn't matter what china says. we know china is north korea's main ally, its key ally

providing fuel and food and just its main trading partner. and even china is backing these sanctions. so the fact that north korea is not listening to china, not listening to the international community, analysts are saying that it is time for dialogue, it is time for the united states to sit down with north korea and really try and make some head way. >> time for dialogue a whole long time ago. anna koren, thank you for that. free at last cell phone users some believe it or not, the white house is teaming up with the fcc and it's all to make your cell phone use way, way better. we'll have that in a moment. how do you keep an older car running like new? you ask a ford customer. when they tell you that you need your oil changed you got to bring it in. if your tires need to be rotated, you have to get that done as well. jackie, tell me why somebody should bring they're car here to the ford dealership for service instead of any one of those other places out there. they are going to take care of my car because this is where it came from. price is right no problem, they make you feel like you're a family. get a synthetic blend oil change, tire rotation and much more, $29.95 after $10.00 rebate.

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sflu know the cell phone that you have that you absolutely love or the app that you want that you just can't get because it's not the right manufacturer or the carrier and you're locked? there is good news potentially. it could mean a big unlocking of all your hassles. alison kosik is following the sorry. explain how this could affect me and what exactly the carriers are saying about this. i don't think they would be too pleased. >> first of all, how it affects

you. this will be a huge bow nous people like most of us who are really attached to oir phones that we have now. the good thing is the issue is being pushed forward because of a petition to the white house. right now it has more than 100,000 signatures. the way it is now, you've always been able to keep your phone number when you go let's say from verizon to at&t, but keeping your actual physical device hasn't necessarily been an option because most phones are considered locked and not all carriers use the same technology. and because of the ruling madeless rear by the u.s. copyright office, it's you willy illegal to unlock your own phone without authorization. could you face a half million dollar penalty and five years in prison if you try to do it. pretty nuts. so the white house and fcc agree they want this law overturned. >> i just can't imagine anybody's actually been prosecuted. i haven't done the research on that but have people actually faced any litigation? >> i don't think so. and then if you see what the

wireless carriers are saying, they're saying this is much ado about nothing. it's always willing to unlock your device once you fulfill the terms of the agreement that you have with them. being able to keep your old phone would really make it a lot cheaper because right now you can buy a phone that's unlocked, but normally it's much more expensive without a service plan. so let's say you're getting an iphone for $69 from aem, compare that to $199 from at&t, you get it with a two year contract. so allowing consumers to keep phones could save them a chunk of change once they get through an agreement with the initial carrier. and the carriers aren't necessarily againstoff turning this regulation. >> i remember switching phone companies and getting to keep my number. on baby steps. a senior facility is under fire. a nurse at the center refused to

provide cpr as a woman lay dying in front of her. and now the families are having second thoughts. . >> i hesitate to walk in knowing that if i have a cardiac arrest, no one will do anything until someone with a badge walks in the door. need a tow or lock your keys in the car, geico's emergency roadside assistance is there 24/7. oh dear, i got a flat tire. hmmm. uh... yeah, can you find a take where it's a bit more dramatic on that last line, yeah? yeah i got it right here. someone help me!!! i have a flat tire!!! well it's good... good for me. what do you think? geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. [ female announcer ] from tracking the bus. ♪ to tracking field conditions. ♪ wireless is limitless.

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[ woman ] i love the convenience of adt. i can finally be in two places at once. [ male announcer ] call today to get adt installed starting at just $99. hurry. this sale ends march 9th. adt. always there. checking our top stories now, the dow up more than 100 points after hitting a new record high this morning. that topped the dow intra day and closing record set back in october of 2007. stocks that v. had a strong start in 2013 with all three indexes up at least 6%. the vatican says most of the cardinals have arrived in rome, but take a close look at that picture. yeah. the guy on the left is a phony father with a purple scarf tied

around his waist. he crashed the party and apparently had no problem getting close enough to greet church officials who were arriving. how about that. now some other fabulous pictures. nerd alert. take a look. this is a picture taken near saturn's orbit. nasa's unmanned spacecraft has been sending back pictures of venus as it appears throughout rings of saturn as a single bright white dot. it's a joint space program with other countries exploring saturn and its moons. and it's awesome. there is some brand new concern among families with loved ones living at a california retirement facility. a week ago, a nurse refused to provide cpr for a patient who was dying. this despite the you are dwent pleas coming over the phone from a 911 dispatcher. >> we can't do cpr at the facility.

>> then hand the phone to the passer by. i'll have her do it. or if you have any citizens there, i'll have them do it. anybody there can do cpr. give them the phone, please. i understand if your facility is not willing to do that. give the phone to the passer by, that stranger. this woman is not breathing enough she's going to die if we don't get this started. >> wow. fear of liability. that california facility has a policy against its employees a providing medical care. and the somewhere is now receiving national attention because the woman who had trouble breathing died. layer lauren titus joins us. it looks like this is at least one family that has had enough and they're going public fp. >> good morning. that's right. the 911 call made right here is still receiving that national attention. and this morning family members of loved ones who currently live here are second guessing if this

they should. >> he said the victim was surrounded by people and it was his impression that someone was doing something. someone would do something. >> is there anybody there that is willing to help this lady and not let her die? >> not at this time. >> as we found out later, no one was doing anything. >> ken's mother and father are both residents at glen wood gardens and his father was just steps away when 87-year-old lorain bayless collapsed last tuesday. and now the senior live tag silt is facing harsh criticism as highlighted by the 911 call. >> she's going to die if we don't get this started. do you understand? >> i understand. i am a nurse, but i cannot have our other senior sit zers who don't know cpr. >> it's that policy against help has gone thousand has ken second guessing his next trip to visit his parents. >> i hesitate to walk in knowing

that if i have a cardiac arrest you can no one will do anything until someone with a badge walks in the door. >> reporter: bayless did later die at a local hospital. >> you know, it just defies logic, it defies morality. i get it that will is fine print, but at this point, is there any potential from criminal charges at this point? is there absolute immunity from any kind of criminal action here? >> well, at this point the bakersfield police department has launched a criminal investigation. they say the staff is fully cooperating at this point, but no actual charges have been made. >> lauren titus joining us live in california. thank you for that. so there is a senator none too pleased with allegations that he spent? time with hookers and now he is speaking out because said hooker is recanting the story. but is there more to it and just how mad is bob menendez? ♪

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a high ranking politician caught up in a scandal after he is accused of having sex with prostitutes and now one of those women says she made thatle whole story up. and was asked to do so for money. senator menendez of new jersey was accused anonymously of partying are hookers in the dominican republic and then a prominent political website picked up the story and ran with it. menendez is strongly denying the claims and he slammed his unidentified accusers. >> it's amazing to me that anonymous, nameless, faceless individuals on a website can drive that type of story into the mainstream. but that's what they've done successfully. now nobody can find them, no one ever met them, no one ever talked to them, but that's where

we're at. so the bottom line is all of those smears are absolutely false and that's the bottom line. >> senator menendez made those comments to dana bash and she joins me now. the senator has spoken out yet again in light of the story developing that this prostitute says she was put up to this and that it was actually scripted for her. >> that's right. and according to an affidavit out of the dominican republic, she says she was filmed without her knowledge. she said that i'm the person in the video, that's me and those are my words, but this statement is not true. i never agreed to be recorded. as you can imagine, senator menendez was eager to talk to reporters. you see the video. he was speaking at the apec policy conference. >> i don't know more than what i've read, but i do know that from the very beginning, i said

that nameless, faceless, anonymous sources took the story which were just false smears right before an election cycle, attempted to do it then, and ultimately drove it into the mainstream press. but they were never anything other than false smears. i hope that you will all vigorously go after who was the source and purpose as you did go after the story at the time. but, you know, we'll continue to look at it as it develops, but it is just part of what i said all along was the case. >> she claims she was paid for this. so who was behind something like this? >> your guess is as good as mine. and i certainly hope they find

out. >> and that obviously is the next big important question and that is who was behind this. and when i say "this," it was apparently a lawyer in the dominican republic who arranged for these women to be taped and to to be paid. so who gave the lawyer the money. that is the next threat of this, very important thread that needs to be pulled. as you can imagine, we have a team of people trying to get that information, our investigative team going down there. but one hinge i should note is this was obviously the most and is the most salacious part of the menendez saga. but it does not mean that this is over by a long shot. because our understanding is that the fbi is investigating other things, other allegations having to do with senator menendez and one of his top most prominent donors who is a doctor in florida, he also has work elsewhere in south america. he is also under investigation

and the question is whether senator menendez used his influence in a way that he should not have to help his donor. and that is still very much an open question and investigation at the fbi and also here at the senate ethics committee. >> good luck getting the answers out of the dominican republic. dana bash, great job. thank you. bibles and zombies, our living history and the battles among the undead. turns out viewers just can not get enough of either. revolutionizing an industry can be a tough act to follow, but at xerox we've embraced a new role. working behind the scenes to provide companies with services... like helping hr departments manage benefits and pensions for over 11 million employees. reducing document costs by up to 30%... and processing $421 billion dollars in accounts payables each year. helping thousands of companies simplify how work gets done. how's that for an encore? with xerox, you're ready for real business.

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turns out the walking can dead just can't beat the bible. >> he told me to build a boat. >> god beats zombies. history's mini series the bible grabbed 13.1 million viewers on sunday night p. and if you're doing the math, that is the year's largest audience for any cable entertainment program. but right on its heels, the opposite. amc's walking dead. it had an audience of more than

12 million people. michelle turner joins me now. that's what we stay is a lot of people. >> yes, a heck of a lot of people. by the way i love the tag line god beats zombies. in our real life, that's a pretty good thing. you know what, just this past sunday you were talking about numbers. the show walking dead drew 12.3 million people and 7.7 million of them are from that 18 to 49-year-old demographic. that is the demographic that advertisers who spend the money really look at. and according to nielsen, a cable series has never drawn that big of an audience in that age group. presumably now amc is saying long live those zombies. >> run! >> just like the human hunting zombies it creates, there seems to be no stopping amc's the walking dead. its third season on the cable

channel, the horror series has become a ratings juggernaut, making some other networks seem like, well, the walking dead. >> 12.3 million viewers for a basic cable drama series is unpreceden unprecedented. and it will allow amc to take a lot more risks in the future and have people invest more in the programming. those numbers don't lie. >> reporter: ratings for the zombie drama have surpassed those of award winning hits like the big bang theory and modern family in the 18 to 49 key ary advertisers. more and more viewers are my great to go basic cable channels to watch their favorite shows. and whether it's mad men, breaking bad or violent blood thirsty zombie, amc is offering something a lot of broadcast networks aren't. or in some cases can't. >> i think amc is changing the business. what a basic cable network can

get away with in terms of violence and sensors, there's no way a network would have been able to make the walking dead in the way that the fans create it. but the but. >> reporter: but the zombies themselves deserve credit like the twilight movies and true blood, zombies seem to be the new it monster in entertainment. movie audiences can see them this summer chasing down brad pitt in world are war z. in the surprise hit warm bodies, it's earned more than $85 million at the worldwide box office. star nicholas holt has a theory on why zombies are hot in pop culture. >> there is a twisted fascination with that sort of thing. a lot of us are like zombies in many ways, stum blbling through life. >> reporter: and much like the gruesome krcreatures, interestsn zombies just won't die.

full disclosure, i am not a zombie gal. i don't know if you are, but if you're not, we are definitely in the minority. >>ky tell you something? i feel like i'm watching a thriller video all over again. awesome. that was so cool. i'm going to watch that show p. >> you're right. >> rocking it for us. thank you, my friend. cool stuff. here is a weird question. if somebody offered you $10,000 to get an abortion, could you do that legally? could you do that morally? that story next. it's delicious. so now we've turned her toffee into a business. my goal was to take an idea and make it happen. i'm janet long and i formed my toffee company through legalzoom. i never really thought i would make money doing what i love. [ robert ] we created legalzoom to help people start their business and launch their dreams. go to legalzoom.com today and make your business dream a reality. at legalzoom.com we put the law on your side. and make your business dream a reality. new griddle-melts to yourime usual breakfast sandwich.

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a woman hired to give birth to another couple's baby, a sur

row gat surrogate, gets an unbelievable offer. they tried to pay theory have an abortion. elizabeth cohen with this remarkable story. >> reporter: crystal kelly was thrilled when a couple hired her to be their surrogate. the husband and wife were ecstatic, too. finally they would have the child they had been longing for. >> she said pray for a little g girl, and i want a little girl. and she got a little girl. >> was it the little girl she wanted? >> no, it wasn't. >> reporter: ultrasounds halfway through the pregnancy showed the baby girl growing inside her had severe heart defects. a brain abnormality and other medical problems. >> they said she had a less than 25% chance of being able to have a normal life. >> reporter: inside hartford hospital in connecticut, the parents, heartbroken, asked kelly to have an abortion. >> i refused. i couldn't do it. i was the one feeling her kick and squirm. i knew she had a fighting spirit

and i wanted to fight for her. >> reporter: but the parents pleaded with kelly, genetically this was their baby, she was just carrying her. >> they said that they didn't want to bring a baby into the world only for that child to suffer. they said that i should try to be god-like and have mercy on the child and let her go. >> reporter: and what did you say? >> i told them that it wasn't their decision to play god. >> reporter: strong convictions, but would she betray them for the right price? kelly was a single mom. money was tight. through the sur row gassy agency, the parents said they would pay her $10,000 to have an abortion. >> and when you say that $10,000 figure did you think maybe i'll do it? >> in a weak moment, i asked her to tell them that for 15,000, i would skr goiconsider going for

with the termination. >> reporter: the parents refused her request and kelly says she quickly regretted asking for the extra money anyways. deep down, she knew she could never abort. once again, they were at a standoff. cnn reached out to the parents. they didn't respond to completed calls or e-mails and we're not naming them. legally, they couldn't force kelly to have an abortion. so they proposed if you have this baby, we'll give her up and she'll become a ward of the state. >> i'm not going to let her become one of those forgotten disabled kids that gets lost in the system. >> reporter: kelly made a bold decision informing the parents at the last second she left the state, pregnant with their baby. >> packed up high van with everything that i could carry, threw my kids in the car. and we drove for two days to michigan. >> reporter: under michigan law,

kelly would be the baby's mother. you were making a decision for a baby that was not genetically yours. >> i can't tell you how many people told me that i was bad, that i was wrong, that shy go have an abortion. that i would be damned to hell. >> reporter: she spent the final months of her pregnancy in michigan and gave birth last june. and here is the baby today. she's eight months old. to protect her privacy, we're not naming her or the family kelly found to adopt her. along with her cleft lip and mis145mi misshami misshami missha misshapen ear, she'll need many surgeries. but she's in many ways like other babies. some people would say why bring a child into this world who you know is going to have such huge medical problems.

a sfwl and . >> and i say it's not fair to not give them a chance to overcome them. >> what if she doesn't walk or talk? >> she's still a happy little girl who will bring joy in to the lives of everyone who knows her. >> reporter: when you see her now, how does that feel? >> it gives me a lot of joy and i know that every single thing that i did was worth it. that was elizabeth cohen reporting. and this story is getting a lot of trafrks and a lot of responses. next hour, i'll have a round table discussion not only with elizabeth, but also on the legal side of all this. joey jackson and former florida circuit court judge david young will join me to weigh in on this. and of course this all comes in the next hour which i'll be doing for you right after this quick break. it's better to be fast to not be bitten by a werewolf and then you'll be turned into one and you will have to stay in and then you'll have to get shaved because you will be too hot and then you're like... [ growling ]