all right. let's update you on what is trending around the world right now. >> a diplomatic standoff between india and italy trending in india. the country's prime minister warning of consequences if italy doesn't turn over two marines facing trial in the killing of two indian fishermen. >> the marines were allowed to go back to italy from india to vote in the elections that took place in italy recently. the government's promise was that they'd be sent back. >> so far they have not.

and italy has reached out to india to try to find common ground. show you some candid moments now from around the world. a wall of snow. >> that is some snow. 68,000 people don't have power because of that snow. >> yeah. as much as 20 inches fell in northern france. that's the most snow had in 25 years. >> wow. and then outside the vatican three men carried a cross through st. peter's square as thousands gathered in the rain to see if the new pope will be elected today. >> and as one man holds a cross, the crowd and world wait for white smoke to come out of that chimney to signal a new pope. we've still got the seagull. it's still tweeting. and 1,000 followers now. >> it happened within minutes. huge following. >> the last tweet i can see him voting from up here by the way. that will do it for me.

i've got to go now. sue e thanks for watch iin inin >> thanks so much for staying with us. cnn "newsroom" starts now. might today be the day cardinals at work electing a new pope? they're inside the sistine chapel right now for the day's second round of voting. we'll bring you the latest from rome in just moments. then, the boy scouts of america considers ending its ban on openly gay members, but before deciding, the organization is sending out a survey asking if gay and straight scouts can share a tent? and after pause in her trial, jodi arias is back for an 18th day on the witness stand. she is charged with first-degree murder in the death of her boyfriend. but arias says it was self-defense. this is "cnn newsroom." i'm fredricka whitfield in for suzanne malveaux. the suspense is killing us. we're all watching and waiting for any indication that there is a new elected pope.

and the center of the attention right now a chimney and a bird on top of the sistine chapel. if the cardinals come to a two-thirds majority at 77 votes, we will see a white puff of smoke rising. right now we are waiting on the day's second round of balloting as is that seagull, which has its own twitter handle now. let's bring in chris cuomo, anderson cooper and john allen with perspective on the waiting game. the crowds that remain, even with the rain, this inclement weather and on top of it all the center of attention a seagull stealing the thunder. >> the crowd is pretty sizable. they've actually just shut off another street. the seagull, i don't know if this is good or bad, but i can confirm there are two seagulls. there's one with a light beak and one with a dark beak. here's what we know, within the next 45 minutes or so this second vote of the afternoon session will be wrapping up.

it will be tallied and there will be smoke. black or white, we'll have to see. for some context, john, five ballots not usually the lucky number for a pope. tell us about it. >> no. there actually hasn't been a pope elected on the fifth ballot for the last century. as we were talking earlier today, if you take this is the tenth conclave of the last 110 years. if you take the first nine, the average number of ballots it took to produce a pope was seven and a half. so if this conclave goes on into tomorrow, although we will all be talking about the drama building and all of that, the truth by recent historical standards it would not be unusual. >> but at this point on the fifth vote there's a pretty clear sense of who the front runners are. now it's just a question of somebody has enough votes to get more than two-thirds majority or some other sort of unlikely candidate will rise up. >> well, sure. anderson, what happens is there's sort of a pivot point that arrives in a conclave. either one of those early front runners begins to separate themselves from the pack and you

can see a pathway to two-thirds. or it becomes clear that that's not going to happen with any of them. in which case you start looking around it and what you might call the b list of candidates, perhaps candidates you didn't come in thinking of as a strong possibility, but now you start looking around and saying could one of them perhaps put together a winning coalition? that's when the stage becomes set for a real surprise. >> and in terms of history, where st the greatest example of that? >> the second conclave of 1978. you had two very strong italian candidates who went into that conclave as obvious front runners. both had strong support through the first few ballots, but it became clear by really this point in the process, the fifth or sixth ballot, that neither one would get to two-thirds. so the cardinals began looking around and it was cardinal from vienna said maybe poland can give some hope. he said that to the elder

cardinal of poland and he said, oh, no, i'm too old. and said, actually, i wasn't talking about you. i was talking about the cardinal who went onto become pope john paul ii. the huge surprise because the first nonitalian pope in 500 years. we could be looking at something like that now, but of course the truth is this is all speculation. we don't know what's going on inside the sistine chapel. somebody could be on the precipice of election or gridlock. all we know for now is as of this moment we don't have a pope. >> well, we're going to have to listen to you again. about 45 minutes we'll be watching here. see what smoke comes out black or white, back to you. >> we'll check back with you. chris, anderson and john thank you so much. back in this country. police in upstate new york are searching for a man who shot and killed four people and wounded two others. the shootings happened this morning in two communities in herkimer county. one of the towns -- one rather in the town of herkimer.

the other in mohawk about 70 miles west of albany. police have identified the suspect as 54-year-old kurt myers, a federal law enforcement source says myers blew up his house in mohawk valley. here are a couple pictures from the crime scenes. we don't know the circumstances of the shooting, but schools in herkimer and mohawk are on lockdown. we'll bring you more information as we get it. another major airline is joining the chorus of critics opposed to the tsa's plan to allow small knives on planes. the agency made the change to allow agents to focus on larger potential threats. but opponents say that's a bad idea. american airlines joins delta and u.s. airways in opposing the lifting of that ban. they're also joined by the flight attendants union coalition. and the coalition of airline pilot association. the knife ban was put into place after 9/11. the change takes effect april

25th. it has been six months since the 9/11 attack on a u.s. embassy in libya. and u.s. ambassador christopher stevens was killed during that attack last year. just moments ago president barack obama announced that he plans to nominate deborah jones to that post. she is a scholar and resident at the middle east institute in d.c. she was previously a national advisor for the u.s. naval war college and serves as u.s. ambassador to the state of kuwait. president obama is expected to arrive on capitol hill in just a few minutes to continue his "charm" offensive. he's reaching out to members of congress directly to get his agenda pushed through. that includes a budget plan and gun legislation. today, he meets with house republicans. chief washington correspondent jake tapper joining me now from washington. so, jake, who specifically is the president planning on meeting with? >> he's meeting with the house republican conference.

this is a group he has not met with specifically since 2009. he hasn't met with a group of republicans since june 2011. but this is the group he's meeting with. he'll be introduced by house speaker john boehner. after which he will then hear remarks from cassie mcmorris rogers, chair of the house republican conference. and then president obama will speak. >> and we're also hearing another interesting story that's coming out of washington that former president bill clinton actually inspired the man who filmed mitt romney's infamous 47% comment. here's a quick clip for anyone who may not remember it. >> there are 47% who are with him, who are dependent on government, who believe they are victims, who believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, housing. >> so, jake, i think a lot of folks would agree with romney

said that those 47 remarks did real damage to his campaign. his words real damage to my campaign. but does he regret the point that he was making? >> well, mitt romney has said that those comments don't reflect his thinking, but the truth is if you listen to romney's remarks post-election, both his comments on a conference call and days immediately after the election and also his interview recently with chris wallace on fox news. it does seem as though he does think that the reason he lost is that president obama has been giving government benefits to people who then grateful for the benefits turned out and voted for president obama. he said it so much in the 47% comment after the election in the conference call and then again to chris wallace specifically referring to obama care. so i'm sure he regrets how his comments were taken, how they hurt his candidacy, but it's hard to escape the fact that

they do seem to reflect his opinion as to why he lost. >> okay. and then back to this film or piece of tape itself. how is it that filmmaker or person who videotaped that is saying that it was former president clinton who inspired him? >> apparently he works in the service industry, this gentleman. and he had been at an event earlier when former president bill clinton was there and found clinton charming, clinton to be an individual who after the event made sure to greet all of the servers, greet the kitchen staff, make sure that they all felt his presence as well and his gratitude. and i guess to this individual mitt romney was a stark contrast to that. so he felt as though he needed to get this tape out. >> okay. and, jake, we're looking forward to your new show starts monday, right? you ready? you pumped? >> thank you, that's right. i am ready and i am pumped. both. correct. >> got to have both.

4:00 eastern time monday jake tapper it is "the lead." you don't want to miss it. >> thank you. thanks, jake. coming up, this hour she's back. jodi arias on the stand for an 18th day of questioning. she is charged with first-degree murder in the death of her boyfriend, but arias says it was self-defense. and then the boy scouts of america asking parents if they think having a gay troop leader is "safe." the group's sexuality survey. and new york major michael bloomberg is trying to limit sugary drinks in the big apple, well, some mississippi lawmakers are trying to stop something like that from happening in their state with the anti-bloomberg bill. how are they trying to do that? and why? plus, we are officially on chimney watch. the cardinals are inside the sistine chapel voting for a new pope. if they decide on a new leader of the catholic church, they will release white smoke. this is "cnn newsroom." for yo♪

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jodi arias is back on the witness stand testifying for the 18th day. no doubt she still has plenty to say. arias is charged with first-degree murder in the killing of her boyfriend travis alexander. she claims it was self-defense. ted rowlands is in phoenix. what can we expect today? >> well, fred, she's had a lot to say in these 18 days. there's been a five-daybreak because there was no court earlier this week and no court friday. folks absolutely obsessed with this trial will get their fix in a few minutes. they're just about ready to start proceedings. she right now is taking questions from the prosecution following the 200 plus questions

that she answered last week from the jury. the prosecution's focus right now is limited to just what she told the jury. however, as this has been going on, the jury has been writing down more questions and putting them in the box -- actually the jury box. so the judge may allow a follow-up. bottom line, she could be on this stand for a couple more days depending on the leeway that this judge allows. >> incredible. so there's also a psychologist apparently that will be called to testify. is that psychologist likely to testify soon after jodi arias is off the stand? >> yeah. and there's a psychologist and a domestic violence expert. the defense says those are the two remaining witnesses for the defense. the reason they have those on the list is to explain to the jury how somebody who has such a sharp memory and if you've seen any of her testimony on the stand, she remembers everything. she's been fantastic on the stand. but how could someone who remembers everything forget this

area of the actual murder? doesn't provide any details. try to fill-in her story using these two witnesses. we're expecting them to take the stand when she's done. again, when will she be done? that's the big question. >> all right. ted rowlands, keep us posted there from phoenix. appreciate that. and this very sad story, she was last seen celebrating. she had been nominated for teacher of the year, but then vanished. and weeks later the search continues. the latest from new orleans next. and of course we're officially on pope watch. you're looking at the chimney where all eyes are on rome trying to figure out if it will be black or white smoke, rain or shine. we'll be right back. [ nyquil bottle ] you know i relieve coughs, sneezing, fevers... [ tylenol bottle ] me too! and nasal co [ tissue box ] he said nasal congestion. yeah...i heard him. [ female announcer ] tylenol® cold multi-symptom nighttime relieves nasal congestion. nyquil® cold and flu doesn't. relieves nasal congestion.

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all right. live pictures right now of the chimney there over the sistine chapel. all eyes are on the chimney and of course the seagull that continues to be perched there on that chimney. the 115 cardinals are currently voting. we'll be seeing whether it will be white smoke or black smoke that will signify the outcome of that vote. we continue to watch there from the sistine chapel there in vatican city.

and of course you'll know as we do. all right. meantime, it's been almost two weeks now and still no sign of a teacher who went missing in new orleans. terrilynn monette was last seen at a bar with friends on march 2nd. she was celebrating her nomination for teacher of the year. friends say the 26-year-old was drinking and went to take a nap in her car and instead she vanished. monette's mother spoke with cnn. >> it's very hard. i can't sleep at night. i can't sleep at night. i can't eat. i keep thinking about my child and where she could be. i just want her back. so please if you're listening and you're watching this, please bring terrilynn home. please. that's all i want. i want her home. >> a tearful plea from a mother. cnn's nick is live.

>> reporter: breaking your hard every time. police have not released any new information so far. but there was a new development in the search. equisearch, you might remember them, the houston-based independent search and rescue team. they say local authorities called them to show up to search the local waterways and lagoons in the local park area. officials believe this is the path terrilynn monette took home from the bar. i'm going to get out of the way and see you can see the big boat is part of the equipment that they're using. the truck there is also part of their search. they're usie ining sonar device look into the water. so far their search has come up empty. they're searching local waterways and lagoons. earlier i spoke to the founding director of equisearch, fred miller. this is very personal for him. in 1986 his daughter went missing and eventually was found

dead. he understands the situation that terrilynn monette's family is going through. take a listen to what he had to say. >> we're here with you. i've been there my own self and know what this family is going through. when i heard mom on tv yesterday crying, how can you help not to help? equusearch showed up yesterday with dozens of people and adding to the force searching for her. >> nick, we mentioned that she had gone to take a nap in the car. did she ever drive that car away? did she walk away? what are authorities willing to say about that? >> reporter: well, there is surveillance tape. and i'm not sure what pictures you're showing, but there's a bank right next door to the bar. surveillance shows her leaving by herself. around 4:00 a.m. that same

surveillance tape spotted an unknown man talked to terrilynn monette. police questioned him and released him. they're not holding him as a person of interest and they have not named any suspects, but that surveillance tape did catch her leaving at around 4:00 a.m. that's the last anyone has seen of her. >> we know you'll keep us informed as you get information. thanks so much. nick valencia. a barge hit a gas pipeline in the louisiana bayou. u.s. coast guard says the barge was carrying thousands of gallons of fuel. they're letting the fire burn because the flames are too dangerous. the tug was pushing an oil barge when it hit the underwater line. four people on board, one severely burned. no word yet on what impact it might have on the environment. and we're officially on chimney watch. the cardinals are inside the sistine chapel voting for a new pope. if they decide on a new leader of the catholic church, they'll be releasing white smoke. we're live from rome next. [ man ] i got this citi thankyou card and started

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there it is right there, the center of everyone's attention in rome when smoke comes out of that chimney, we'll know whether or not a new pope has been elected today. let's bring in anderson cooper, chris cuomo and senior cnn vatican analyst john allen all there waiting to see what happens. even though you've got nightfall there, set the scene for us. >> yeah. darkness has come. it is really beautiful lights in st. peter's basilica have turned on. crowds have been gathering really for the last several hours. it's gathering to be quite a large crowd. they've now blocked off an extra block or so around vatican city. a lot of people waiting through the pouring rain. it has been very miserable for the last several hours. really frankly for the last several days the weather has not been cooperating although it's traditional for this two-week period around this time of year.

again, all eyes on that chimney. and people just waiting. and with each passing minute not only the crowd's growing but the anticipation is growing because it would seem some time within certainly the next hour that we would have some sort of signal. >> well, we're going to have a signal tonight. what we don't know is what that signal is going to be. i mean, it may be black indicating no pope, white indicating a pope has been elected. obviously there is an enormous sense of drama. and a sense of anxiousness to find out what's going on inside the sistine chapel. i think one of the interesting things to point out is there's some sort of a footnote that means almost nothing but nevertheless interesting is that the last 200 years no pope has ever been elected on fifth ballot, which is the ballot they're on right now. >> right. >> so in some way this may be a precedent shattering election if we get a pope. >> there are two votes in the morning, two votes in the afternoon. and potential for two in each. do they happen back-to-back?

i mean, as soon as the first vote concludes they see where things lie? if there's a majority start voting again? >> the way it works inside the sistine chapel, it's not a simple show of hands. it's actually a very carefully choreographed process where each cardinal fills out a ballot in silence, processes up individuals and deposits in an urn. one bank counts, another bank confirms the count. all that is done so other cardinals can follow along in their place. so you're talking an hour or so maybe little more for each round of voting. in order to get two ballots done in the morning and two ballots in the afternoon, that's pretty much the ball game. >> with each passing vote though the efficiency does increase a little but only so fast you can go when you're talking 115 cardinals. >> well, we're talk ago 115 cardinals whose average age is in the 70s. it may well be they're tiring a bit in the afternoon, which may

explain why we are going to be here a little bit longer waiting to see what the outcome of tonight's vote is. >> there's also extra time built-in, right, john? because how they actually bind up the ballots. everything in this is ritualistic. >> yeah. >> tell us what they do to the actual ballots before they burn them, how they assemble them. >> of course, after that second bank of three cardinals is done counting the ballots, the latin word for i vote for is i lego and each is pierced with an o. >> every single one in the same place. >> 115 ballots and they're knitted together so you have a pack of them. and that's of course what's deposited in the famous stove at the back of the sistine chapel. of course there isn't normally a stove in the sistine chapel. there's normally a chimney. remember earlier today there was a brief scare about whether some of that smoke had issued out into the sistine chapel itself potentially either aggravating

some of the cardinals or perhaps damaging -- >> there was no smoke and may be a reason for that. tell us. >> it's happened in the past. as i say, that installation is normally there, so therefore the fitting isn't exact. in conclaves in the past centuries it has happened where the chimney malfunctioned and smoke spilled into the chapel and they had to step out. there's reasonable concern about whether or not that might have happened today. >> this is an interesting conversation to have because while we're having it each of us has to keep looking at the chimney. it's tough for you, john, because you're staring at us and giving you our profile. we don't know the names on the table, but we know they will very likely change in some way if this vote comes black. >> you can take it to the bank, if there's no pope elected tonight, when those cardinals go back to the hotel on vatican grounds where they're staying, you know, unless the situation

is one candidate is just a couple votes short of the two-thirds majority, if the other scenario plays itself out, which is votes have been divided across two or three candidates and it doesn't look like any one of those candidates is going to any time soon get to that threshold of 77 votes, which would represent two-thirds, they're going to have an awful lot of heavy lifting to do tonight to figure out either, a, can we reconfigure the alliances so one of those candidates gets more support? or, do we have to go shopping among the lengthy list of plausible but b list candidates we carried into this exercise? >> the feed we're looking at on our screen has a little busy video around it. we're looking at a separate feed at the same time just so you know at home. what you see there is not smoke coming out of the chimney. just so you know. we'll keep on watching. it is almost imminent we have to be within some degree of a few minutes because this should be when the second vote is being tallied. we'll stay on smoke watch for now. back to you in the studio. >> gentlemen, thanks so much. we'll check back with you as we

all continue to be on that smoke watch. so the science behind the smoke, chad myers will be with me in a moment after this. (announcer) at scottrade, our clients trade and invest exactly how they want. with scottrade's online banking, i get one view of my bank and brokerage accounts with one login... to easily move my money when i need to. plus, when i call my local scottrade office, i can talk to someone who knows how i trade. because i don't trade like everybody. i trade like me. i'm with scottrade. (announcer) scottrade. awarded five-stars from smartmoney magazine.

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all right. as we continue to watch the chimney there over the sistine chapel, of course you're hearing a lot of discussions about the white smoke or black smoke, what does it mean? white smoke meaning the cardinals have elected a new pope. black smoke meaning no candidate has a two-thirds majority. let's bring in our chad myers to get a better understanding as to how they do that. how do they make black smoke emerge versus white smoke? what's involved? >> considering this is going on for centuries it's interesting we're using pyrotechniques. two separate furnaces or stoves. one will burn the documents, the ballots. and one will burn the chemicals that will move the white or the black smoke up the chimney. they actually come together. these two chimneys will come together as one and then go up to the top. so there's the smoke going up

the top. as before the smoke comes out they preheat the inside of the chimney and turn on an exhaust fan just in case. >> clear it up. so there's no confusion. >> going up one way or the other. >> they don't want gray. >> they had that with pope john paul in 1876 or whatever that was. so this is almost the same as a snap cap. you know those white things you throw on the ground on the fourth of july? if you put that together with lactose, as long as you're not sbintolerant intolerant, it will burn white. the other thing the black is almost would be a sparkler. kind of that potassium chloride, there's the white with the pine tar and the black is a little more stable but putting together a little bit of coal tar. and that burns black. it will go up the chimney. yesterday we could tell it was black. >> it was very black. in abundance. >> this morning a little gray and then turned black.

i believe that was because the ballot caught on fire first and the gray smoke went up and the black smoke caught up to it. >> oh, fascinating stuff. all right. of course we're all riveted. we're all watching that chimney. and the world is watching. >> and the bird. >> and the bird. yeah, the bird with the twitter handle. but it's flown the coop for now. it's twitter handle still very active. >> i don't know what it is. >> there's all kinds of fun dialogue going on. chad myers, thanks so much. we continue to watch the sistine chapel to see what kind of plume of smoke we're going to see coming out of that chimney. much more right after this. on thanksgiving day, and i have a massive heart attack right in my driveway. the doctor put me on a bayer aspirin regimen. [ male announcer ] be sure to talk to your doctor before you begin an aspirin regimen. go talk to your doctor. you're not indestructible anymore. to book this fabulous hotel. michael, tell us why you used priceline express deals well, you can see if the hotel is pet friendly before you book it. and i got a great deal without bidding. and where's your furry friend? oh, i don't have a cat.

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it's the most popular chimney all around the world. and people are there with their hats and their umbrellas in rome awaiting a signal from those 115 cardinals there in the sistine chapel wanting to see whether the smoke is going to be white or black. either one signifying of the outcome of the vote as the cardinals try to select a new pope. we'll keep a close watch on it. meantime, here in this country the boy scouts of america as a national organization is still wrestling with whether to allow openly gay scouts and openly gay scout leaders. so they are taking a rather direct approach. they're asking parents and scouts straight out, yes or no, is there a place for gays and lesbians in scouting? a list of questions went out to more than a million scouts and leaders asking their opinions

about camping together, sleeping in tents together and what they would do if scouting was open to gays and lesbians. i want to get our lisa sylvester to join us now from washington. and from pittsburgh jennifer terrell, a club scout den leader forced out of scouting because of her sexual orientation. lisa, you first. tell me about this survey how it went out and what kind of reception it's receiving. >> okay, fred. this survey went out as an e-mail to about a million registered volunteers and parents. and we've got just a sample of one of the questions. i'm going to read it for you. it says a gay male troop leader along with another adult leader is taking a group of boys on a camping trip following the youth protection guidelines of two-deep leadership. is it acceptable or unacceptable for the gay adult leader to take the adolescent boys on an overnight camping trip? now, the answers range anywhere from totally acceptable to

totally unacceptable. all of this comes as the boy scouts national executive board they put off a vote in february on whether or not they should lift the outright ban on openly homosexual scouts and troop leaders. and now they are expected to make a decision in may. the group said today "we are currently in the listening phase where the bsa's committees engage key stake holdsers for input and develop a summary report. part of this process is to vur e survey a variety of key stake holders." it runs counter to many troops chartered by churches where the doctrine of faith openly opposes homosexuality. on the other hand you have the gay rights groups saying the boy scouts shouldn't be endorsing discrimination. also i should mention, fred, the fact this survey it was actually conducted by a conservative group called north star opinion research. and that is a republican polling

firm headed by a republican strategist. and some critics are suggesting maybe these questions that they were written in a very specific way to illicit a very specific kind of response. we've reached out to north star and we're still waiting to hear back, but the boy scouts, they say it was a third party, it was fairly done. the survey was fairly done. and so now they're waiting for the responses. >> and so what will happen with those responses? >> well, the boy scouts of america they say they're going to listen, they're going -- it's about a million responses they're going to get from the volunteers and parents and they're also reaching out to previous scouts, people who have been in the scouting program before, they're going to take all this information and they're going to use it to make part of the decision. it's not going to be solely the basis for the decision, but it's one aspect of what they will use to ultimately decide what they should do in this case. >> all right. lisa, thanks so much. meantime, jennifer terrell out of pittsburgh now. you were a cub scout den leader. what's your thought on this survey taking place?

especially the sequence in which this survey has come out. >> well, i had a chance to look at some of the survey questions. and they're definitely poorly written and very leading. to say it's a third party, it's fine. but they're definitely leading. i feel like if the boy scouts wanted an expert opinion on this, they could really go to everything that's already been previously documented. the fact that gay people are no more likely to harm a child than anyone else. the fact that the american medical association has said that this type of policy, this type of discrimination is very harmful to children. they really don't need to continue to have surveys and call-ins. i personally delivered 1.4 million signatures myself and a bunch of other folks to dallas headquarters last month saying, hey, these 1.4 million people want scouting to be changed. and that's what we want. we're not looking to take down

scouts. we want to be a part of scouts. and we're telling them that there's absolutely no reason that gay people can't safely join scouts. they've safely been there already, they just want to be there and be able to be who they are. >> what were some of the questions on this survey that you thought were leading if not offensive? >> well, the one that your other guest had mentioned about the camp out. to me it's geared to inflict some sort of fear response. it's gay panic. oh, my gosh, you know, this is -- my child's going to be alone with a homosexual. well, gay people are not predators. there's really nothing to worry about. they're not looking to prey on other people. it's just -- the question is supposed to make you afraid so that you want to, in my opinion. one of my favorite questions was, i'm going to say it's about myself personally, a lesbian den

leader and her son johnny join and they ask her to be a den leader everyone though she's gay and they all know she's gay. >> you felt pretty definitive they are talking about you. >> pretty sure. i blogged about it on my blog. >> we'll have to check that out. jennifer tyrell, thanks so much for joining us. lisa sylvester joining us from washington. appreciate both of you. all right. supersize, you know what i'm talking about. mayor michael bloomberg saying no, but some mississippi lawmakers say yes, please. how they are trying to push an anti-bloomberg bill that would prevent limits on what consumers can eat. and live pictures right now of that famous chimney above the sistine chapel there in vatican city. we're keeping a close watch. will the smoke be wliet white or black? more after this.

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we're nearing an end to the second session of voting for the 115 cardinals there in vatican city. you're looking at the chimney above sistine chapel. when smoke does arrive it will signify whether there is a decision or not, black or white smoke. and as that happens, we'll get to it right away. meantime, back in this country, new york mayor michael bloomberg's push to ban the sale of large sugary drinks in his city would have gone into effect yesterday if a judge hadn't said not so fast.

a win for soda companies, a loss for supporters of anti-obesity policies. now lawmakers looking on from mississippi are saying, not in our state. they approved a measure known as the anti-bloomberg bill. and it is now on the governor's desk. joining us now, dr. sandra moore from the moore house school of medicine and on the phone with us now, greg holloway, the legislator who ushered this bill through the mississippi house. so greg, you first, why have this piece of legislation? >> well, first of all, senate bill 2687 states that mississippi legislature retains the authority to make decisions about regulation on food, and mississippi municipalities would not experiment with regulatory bans and restrictions of food products. we believe that food is already highly regulated to ensure

safety by four different regulatory agencies. the usda, the afda and the state department, the health, and the mississippi department of agriculture and commerce. and we just believe that this will take away individual freedoms. >> so in a state that has very high numbers of obesity, you're nervous about an effort to try to restrict, i guess, sugary drin drinks, et cetera. why? >> we just believe that -- that they can do that in conjunction with these four regulatory agencies, but we reserve the right for them to come to the legislature and ask for permission to do that and not just political subdivisions, have any authority to just go out and do it because it could

be very detrimental if we're not doing it all, you know, all together. we don't -- we believe that it is -- if it is arbitrarily and capriciously done, it can cause more damage than it can good. >> that's what a judge in new york said, this is arbitrary. dr. moore, in your view to have legislature to have a bill, to have it on the books that there are restrictions in place to try and maintain the weight of the pop populace, you like that or not? >> i think communities have to be empowered to make good decisions at the community level so the community wants more information. when communities don't have enough information or access to those things that are going to make their lifestyle healthier, you start to get concerned about what is happening for the community, where people live, work and play. >> where are you on the mississippi effort to say, if anything, we don't want to go the path of what new york's

attempt was. >> well, i think you can do both as extreme. and being one of the highest obesity rates in the nation, if you take the control out of the local community, the community may not even know what is in their food. they may not have access to what is in their diet, and also have excessive access to poor health choices, excessive sugary drinks, excessive candies. you really get concerned. do they have the opportunities in place to even live a healthier lifestyle. >> all right, dr. sandra moore, thank you very much. gregory holloway, thank you for joining us as well. appreciate that. appreciate the continued discussion about it. meantime, we continue to watch and wait on that chimney right there over sistine chapel in vatican city. much more of our coverage of the waiting and the watching game of the cardinals' vote for a new pope. i'm fredricka whitfield. our coverage continues right after this. le for medicare?

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pairs of eyes upon us. as we sit here, waiting, to see when this smoke will come, we must be getting close to when the second vote of the afternoon session is being tallied and completed. then it will be burned. but john allen, senior vatican analyst here for cnn. you have added a couple of facts to the equation that could explain something going on beyond simple tallying. what else could be going on that could prolong this session? >> one possibility is the cardinals could be praying the night prayer of the catholic church, called vespers, in the sistine chapel before they decide to leave and make their way to the casa santa marta. another possibility -- that's the spiritual possibility. the more human possibility is the in between the with ballots typically there is a bathroom break because there are no restrooms inside the sistine chapel. depending on how long that takes, you can add five, 10, 15 minutes to either side of the equation. >> allow me to