an american journalist is booted out of russia, a reminder of the cold war tensions of the past. was it a visa problem, or because he was critical of president vladimir putin? we're going to hear from that journalist, up next. and new jersey governor chris christie's state of the state speech isn't usually followed so closely. but today the eyes of the nation are fixed on the likely presidential hopeful after his administration's bridge scandal. and french president, francois hollande faces reporters for the first time since he claims he had an affair or claims he had an affair with a french actress. we're going to tell you what he said from paris. welcome to "around the world," i'm suzanne mal crowe malveaux. another school shooting in the united states. unbelievable when you think this could happen again. it has. this time at a middle school in roswe roswell, new mexico. two children taken to a hospital

after a report of a shooting at varendo middle school. school public safety officials say it started just after 8:00 local time. we don't know the extent of the injuries yet. but authorities do have a suspect in custody. officials released this statement just moments ago saying currently, the threat has been alleviated, and this incident is being investigated. there are many resources and law enforcement officers on the scene securing the area. we certainly wish them the best and hope those students are safe. governor chris christie of new jersey going back into the national spotlight. he is delivering his state of the state speech, comes at 3:00 p.m. eastern. we are told he will address some oh of the controversies surrounding him and his office. his type of speeches you might imagine don't ordinarily capture national attention, but christie, he's no ordinary governor. he is considered a front-runner for the gop nomination in 2016 presidential race.

well, he is in the middle of a scandal involving his former top aides. people are still talking about that. and he's also facing a federal investigation over how he spent superstorm sandy relief money. our cnn's erin mcpike is in trenton, new jersey and will set the scene for us. >> reporter: in the midst of weathering a full-blown political super storm, chris christie will discuss the bridge closure scandal when he delivers his annual state of the state address this afternoon. this will be the first time the popular new jersey governor is in front of cameras since his marathon apology last week. >> i am soul-searching on this. what i also want the people of new jersey to know is that this is the exception, not the rule. >> reporter: but it's not just bridgegate anymore. on monday, cnn revealed the new storm clouds forming over the brightest spot in his governorship. his response to superstorm sandy. >> because we're stronger than the storm. >> you bet we are. >> reporter: democratic congressman, frank pallone, thinks these tourism ads that promote the whole christie family might be a misuse of the

federal relief funds given to help new jersey recover from sandy. >> i think this extra money that was spent on the ads to put him on the air during the campaign, that could be used for other purposes for sandy relief. >> reporter: federal auditors are probing those allegations, though christie's office dismissed the revelation as conveniently timed and added the obama administration approved the effort. another possible incident of retribution, jersey city mayor, steve fullop. over the next two days, christie appointees cancelled upcoming meetings with him, leading fulloppose to write an e-mail to bill baroni, who has since resigned. in the e-mail he wrote, in part, i am not sure if it is a coincidence that your office cancelled a meeting several weeks back that seemed to be simultaneous to other political conversations elsewhere that were happening. prior to that, you were always very responsive, and i sincerely

hope the two issues are not related. and there's more in the scandal that started it all. the lane closures to the george washington bridge last fall. >> i do think laws have been broken. >> reporter: new jersey assemblyman, john wisniewski, will lead a brand-new special committee forming today that will utilize a special council to investigate christie's key staffers, and the governor himself. that committee will have subpoena power, and intends to call on fired deputy chief of staff, bridget ann kelly and steppian, his trusted political adviser. >> we bring inner rain here. let's talk about this. we have not seen the governor since his news conference on thursday. is this part of a larger strategy in terms of controlling the message at this point going forward? >> reporter: well, suzanne, certainty the christie staff wanted that big apology press conference last week to stand on its own. i would point out to you that chris christie is very active on twitter, but he hasn't said

anything on twitter since wednesday when he started tweeting some of the clips of that apology press conference. now on top of that, suzanne, he had to get ready for this big state of the state address today. he's unveiling a couple of proposals, both on education reform and on property tax relief. and then on top of that, suzanne, just one week from today, he will deliver his second inaugural address. so a lot is keeping him busy here in new jersey. >> erin, i imagine we'll hear from the democrats, as well? >> reporter: we will. and the man who is the assembly speaker-elect, vincent pruito, he and lou greenwald, will hold a press conference immediately after christie finishes his address today. >> all right. erin mcpike, we'll be watching. appreciate it. for sure chris christie has never been a shrinking violet. so we're going to watch and see what his demeanor is when he delivers his state of the state address this afternoon. and wolf blitzer is joining us to talk a little bit about that. so wolf, we've seen the scandals

play out here over the last couple of weeks. and it seems, at least, that he's taken somewhat of a hit in the popularity. if you take a look at the polls here, the approval rating with new jersey registered voters has dropped somewhat. before the scandal broke he had 65% approval rating. now that's 58. first time since superstorm sandy hit back in 2012 that it's actually been below the 60% mark, telling here. it's 46% of registered voters in new jersey now have a favorable impression of christie personally. more than a year ago, about a year ago, it was a whopping 71%, that really had a good regard of him. so what do we make of the demeanor? when we go to watch him here today, does he need to be kind of a kindler, gentler christie, if that's possible? >> yes, i think he does. he tried to demonstrate that at his news conference, nearly a two-hour news conference on thursday. he's got to come across as sincere. so far, let's keep this in perspective, there's no smoking

gun directly linking him to either the decision to go ahead and shut down those traffic lanes on the george washington bridge separating new jersey and new york. no smoking gun suggesting that the directly linking him to some sort of cover-up. but there are a lot of investigations under way right now. some special investigations that are about to be launched in new jersey, some federal probes, as well. so he's got a lot of problems, potentially, down the road. as long as he told us all the truth last thursday and there's no evidence so far to show that he didn't tell us the truth, as long as he said he didn't mislead us, he'll be -- he'll probably be okay. although his stature clearly reflecting in those polls has been diminished. >> wolf, you bring up a really good point, which is he so far -- there's no evidence he broke any laws here. do you think that people or voters -- particularly people in new jersey, are going to look at this and say this is politics as usual, and then if you take it on the national stage, do you think that's also the way voters are going to see it before 2016? >> a lot of people will see this

as politics. a lot of tough politics, especially in new jersey. but a lot of other states, as well. the notion, for example, in jersey city when the democratic mayor was toying with the idea of endorsing him, had all these meetings scheduled to try to benefit the residents, the people of jersey city. and then, of course, he decided to endorse the democratic challenger to chris christie. all of a sudden, within a few days, all of those meetings are basically cancelled. it's not appropriate, inappropriate, is it just a coin dense or tough politics in new jersey? it's tough politics. is it illegal, something that was going on? what they're going to be looking for to see if -- what happened with the transit lanes going to the bridge? was that just an aberration, or was this part of a bigger political strategy? >> a lot of investigations coming up, will obviously try to get to the bottom of that. not going away any time soon. wolf, we'll be watching, of course. thank you, as always. you can see the governor's speech live on cnn.

our coverage begins at 3:00 p.m. eastern. and the house could vote as soon as tomorrow on a bipartisan spending bill to keep the government running through september. also prevent another government shutdown. total cost, more than $1 trillion. covers all kinds of things here. for instance, like protecting disabled veterans from a pension cut. also a 1% raise for federal workers and military personnel. and getting low-risk passengers through airport security more quickly. also says that the libyan government must prove that it's looking for the people responsible for the benghazi attack before it can get anymore aid from the united states. new revelations now about that deadly attack on the u.s. diplomatic compound in benghazi, libya. that happening, of course, on september 11th of 2012. newly declassified documents from the house armed services committee shows that while the u.s. military was worried about terrorist attacks around the

world on that day, there were no discussions related to any specific threat in libya. that was despite growing concern that the country was becoming a hot bed for extremism. as you know, four americans were killed in the attack, including ambassador chris stevens. here's more of what we're working on for "around the world." russia kicks an american reporter out of the country, and he says the whole experience is like a return to the cold war days. could it be punishment for his critical reporting before the olympics? and with the deadly daily bombings in iraq, my friend, my co anchor, michael holmes. he is back in the country where the u.s. troops left two years ago. 8,000 people were killed in iraq last year alone. today michael spoke to iraq's former from h former prime minister about what he thinks is behind the terrible violence. and a huge crackdown against gay people in nigeria. not only is same-sex marriage

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we've got more on that school shooting out of new mexico. our miguel marquez joins us from los angeles with more information. and we understand that there is at least a suspect in custody and two students who have been taken to the hospital. what do you know, miguel? >> reporter: yeah, and it sounds like that suspect who is in custody was not shot, is not clear whether he gave up or police had to take him out in some way. we know that a little after 8:00, new mexico time, that this young person walked into berrendo school, a middle school there. this is in new mexico, typically fifth through eighth grade, so it's shocking to think of the possibilities here. shot and injured two individuals. they were taken to eastern new mexico medical center there, a level three trauma center. there are some reports that there may be a third victim who was airlifted to lubbock, texas, which would have a higher level trauma center. so we'll keep our eye on that.

roswell is a fairly small town, about 50,000 people in southeastern new mexico. the school itself is north of the city, it looks to be in a fairly new area or part of the town. so this would be a -- a very rural part of a very rural area in new mexico. it sounds as though he had a shotgun on him, but as authorities say, he has been apprehended, which leaves us to believe he is alive and in police custody. we also know that students from berrendo middle school are now being taken to the roswell mall, not too far from there, so that parents can collect them and get them back. but just another shocking day in america, when a shooting like this happens at a middle school, in a fairly rural part of new mexico. >> miguel, do we know if he's a student or not, the alleged shooter? >> reporter: we don't know if he's a student or not. it sounds as though he may be a

student, given the ages that new mexico state police are talking about at the moment. the ages of the two victims also appear to be students. >> okay. >> so it sounds like this may have been something between individual students but not clear at this time. >> all right. when you have more details, please get back to us. unbelievable. another school shooting, just shocking. the russian government has kicked out an american journalist, out of the country, saying he violated visa regulations and called his presence undesirable. but david satirsays that moscow didn't like his criticism of vladimir putin and russian officials applied the same kind of rules to him they apply to spies. he talked with cnn about all of this earlier today. >> this indicates we're dealing with something completely different. in fact, i at no time violated any regulations, i operated strictly in conformity with what i was told to do by the foreign ministry.

they are perfectly aware of that. they told the american embassy that they do not give -- when the american embassy -- we have been trying for weeks to get an explanation out of them. they told the american embassy that they don't give explanations in visa cases. and then they give this explanation on their website, which is absolutely false. all -- everything that i did was strictly in conformity with what i was told to do by the foreign ministry itself. i followed all bureaucratic procedures. >> and david, there's no shortage of critics of president vladimir putin. that is to be sure. why do you think you -- why you, why now? >> reporter: well, i -- you know, it's very hard for me to speculate and put myself in the position of the russian authorities. i wrote a book actually a long time ago. it came out in 2003 called "darkness at dawn" in which i argued that putin came to power as a result of an act of terror. the blowing up of the apartment bombings in moscow in 1999 that

led to the second chechen war. that book has since been reissued in russian under the title "how putin became president." and it actually became a best-seller. maybe that was part of it. in fact, it did not go to russia in order to reopen the question of the apartment bombings. i've talked about that in my book. i have testified about it before congress. my goal in going there was to -- was to understand the whole sweep of russian history after the fall of the soviet union. nonetheless, we can't speculate as to what went on in the minds of the russian authorities. >> our nick robertson is joining us from moscow oh. and let's try to make sense of this, sort this out here. because we have seen russian president vladimir putin release prisoners who were critics of his. the punk rockers, pussy riot, and political foes and now this journalist writing critical articles of the government for

years who all of a sudden is faced with this treatment as if he's a spy. explain what's behind this. >> reporter: it's very hard to explain. one of the reasons is because there are russian journalists here who are writing similar articles about those 1999 bombings, even one that's written a book, she lives here, she is russian. she hasn't been put in jail. or badly treated as a result of that, as far as we're aware. but what you have here is a case of russian bureaucracy on the surface. this is what we can see. russian bureaucracy here is very dense, it's hard to see through. and it's often applied in a very tough and strict way. now, what david satter, said as well, he did come back to russia. he was told to come pick up a letter for his visa. when he got here, the letter wasn't ready that, delayed it. next office, part of the dense bureaucratic process, they said you have arrived too late. so the question here is, was this a set-up by the foreign

ministry or this other ministry that he was dealing with? or was it a mistake between these two ministries? and because bureaucracy is applied with an iron fist here, his fallen of a dense bureaucracy. that's what's hard to tell with this, suzanne. >> and nic, could it be here, because you had satter who wrote this article about volograd after the suicide bombings there, that he said in his words, visitors to sochi are walking into effect actively a war zone. is that putin's way of dismissing outright any concern of national security at the olympics there and just trying to shut it down so people go to the olympics and don't worry about this? >> reporter: for sure this is the way that the state here operates. they can, and they have in the past on other issues, make an example of somebody so others don't do it. i had a story this past weekend running about the sochi olympics, an expert i interviewed for that said very

clearly that it's in a state of absolute lockdown. the security there couldn't be tighter. the words he used were very, very strong. so you know, we haven't had a phone call here at cnn about the language, the strong language we have used to describe how the security is being applied in sochi. but that's not to say that david satter isn't being made an example. it's just impossible to say that was the reason. and that's very much the way russia operates. everyone here is kind of familiar with that. and, of course, for us as reporters, it's very hard for us to come out and say this is black and white, this definitely happened. or it didn't happen. and, again, it's this grayness. >> sure. >> reporter: the russian government here often survives on. >> and it certainly could be a message to you and many of the other reporters there who will be covering the winter olympics, you know, just kind of a warning, if you will. and that's the way they operate over there. so nic, appreciate it. thank you very much.

his popularity is sinking, his country's economy, it's in a slump. but france's president found himself dancing around this question today. did you have an affair with an actress? that is the latest on the scandal in paris, coming up next.

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france's president wanted to talk about his country's economy today, but reporters, well, they wanted to know more about francois hollande's alleged affair with a french actress. france's first lady, well, for her, she has been in the hospital since the scandal broke last week. this was all his first time facing reporters since the allegations came out. here's how it went. >> translator: everybody in their personal lives can go through hardships. that is our case. these are painful moments. but i have one principle.

that is that private affairs are dealt with in private. with respective intimacy of each other. therefore, this is not the place, nor the time, to do this. >> our jim bitterman is in paris. and jim, you know, i mean, he talks about privacy. and we know the french. they treasure their privacy. they also really don't get riled up about some of these things when it comes to sex scandals. why -- why is the french media in particular handling this differently? >> reporter: well, i think this time around, it's been a little bit -- a different kind of an aspect to it. one of the things is that it does raise the whole question that's been raised in parliament today about the statute of first lady. because in france we never had a bachelor president, which hollande is. he wasn't married to his companion of 30 years, by whom

he had four children. he again wasn't married to valerie thrierweiler, current first lady, as far as we know. and by the way, when that question was asked today in the news conference, the way it was posed was this. the reporter said, is valerie thrierweiler still the first lady of france. he also said in posing the question, you're going to be visiting president obama next month, february 11th, he's supposed to be a state dinner in washington. the obamas have already said they're going to look forward to welcoming president hollande and valerie thrierweiler. the question is, is she going to be there? she's in the hospital right now, and who knows? at this point, we really don't know. >> so, jim, how is she doing? how is the first lady doing here? we heard she went into the hospital. is she okay? >> reporter: well, i think this is a diplomatic illness here. she went in because one of her friends said that she had a

coups de blues, a blues feeling and needed rest. she's had rest since friday. it's now tuesday, and so i think that we've -- we've gone through the whole thing here. she was supposed to come out yesterday, they said. she is still in the hospital. i think they're trying to work things out. i think that's really what it is. she could not have been very happy about these reports that he had this alleged affair with this actress and that the affair had been going on for some time, suzanne. >> yeah, i can imagine she would be feeling that way. and, of course, he was trying to reset the economic agenda, trying to get everything going, things are not going so well with the economy there. so clearly he's got some more work to do here. jim, thank you. appreciate it, as well. a sad and tragic story. this is out of south sudan. several hundred women and children died trying to escape the fighting between the government and rebel forces. and an army official there says up to 300 people were aboard a ferry while on the white nile

river. the ferry apparently couldn't handle the load, overturned in the water. the only reported survivors were two crew members. now, the fighting in south sudan, it has been going on for nearly a month. hundreds of thousands of people, they run from their homes to escape the violence. and in pakistan, a school is being renamed for a boy who gave his life for his fellow students. 14-year-old aitzaz bagash died. a bomb detonated. in addition to naming honor, the boy's family will receive a $5,000 award. innocent civilians caught up in the deadly cycle of violence in iraq last year alone, 8,000 people were killed. my friend and co anchor, michael holmes, he is in baghdad right now, reporting on what is causing this spike in violence two years after the u.s. military left the country. you're going to want to hear his

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in iraq today, at least four

people were killed, 19 wounded in and around baghdad as the country is slipping closer toward sectarian war. one man not surprised by this spike in violence, the former interim prime minister ayad allawi. in an interview with cnn, he took aim at prime minister nuclearyy nouri al maliki. here's what he told my co anchor, michael holmes. >> supporting this. and unfortunately, the country is moving on sectarian route now, which was very dangerous to start with in the very beginning. and i want auto the leaders in the world and the region thats in this is averted, iraq really is on the start of a civil war to the point of no return. wh once they reach the point of no return. >> our michael holmes joining us

from baghdad. good to see you as always. a couple questions i have for you. first of all, why did allawi want to talk to you? why did he agree that he would come forward and speak with you now, and does he think anything different should happen when it comes to the u.s. role and what it should play in that country? >> reporter: yeah, well, i guess he spoke to us because he's a politician. so he's -- you know, he's an opposition politician. he actually technically won the 2010 election by two seats. but because of a lot of political maneuvering and what have you with nouri al maliki, who retained power. he is a shia. he is a very, very much a secular man. he doesn't like all this sectarian stuff. he's highly critical of nouri al maliki, calls him an authoritarian, one-man band who is sort of consolidating power around himself. when it comes to the u.s., we talked about that a lot. and it's not the first conversation we've had. when the u.s. first got here, there was a lot of criticism

that they got here to baghdad and i was up the day after the statue was pulled down just behind me. and there was a sense that the u.s. didn't know what to do next. fast forward to now. what he is saying about the u.s. is they have backed al maliki, which he says is fine. they have not put enough pressure on him to rein in the sectarianism. to be more inclusive. here's part of what he said about the u.s. >> they should support maliki. it's up to them. but they should also clarify to maliki that their support is conditional. on inclusivity of the political process and respecting the constitution and human rights. unfortunately, americans are not doing this. >> reporter: and he's a very worried man. you know, i've had that sense since coming back this time. he's very worried this could slip down that road to all-out sectarian war. he says at the moment an

asymmetrical war with the car bombings and assassinations. he said it wouldn't take much for it to become an armed rebellion, if you like, by the sunnis in this country. and that would be a disaster for the region and the country, of course. >> and michael, you have been there many times. you were there at the height of the violence in iraq. you were also there when u.s. troops withdrew several years ago. what are you seeing on the ground now when you talk to people who are iraqis who are worried? >> reporter: you know, i've got to say, sue, it's been a bit depressing this time. there is more security around, there are more road blocks, more check points, and yet the violence continues. and in talking to iraqis, i've sensed a real hardening down that sectarian line. you'll talk to shias who will say to you that, you know, the sunnis are behind all of these bombings, it's their fault, you know. and then you'll talk to sunnis who say the shias hate us, we are being oppressed. and we can't even walk down the

street without the risk of being picked up and locked up because of our religion. there really is a very worrying tension around the place. down those sectarian lines. and if it can't be reined in soon soon, if there can't be some sort of rare conciliation, it's almost getting to the point where it might be too late. and that's a big, big worry, suzanne. >> and also, michael, you have these attacks, these bombings. who are they going after, who are they targeting? do we know? >> reporter: well, you know, nobody knows for sure. the feeling is, of course, that it is the al qaeda extremists, the al qaeda-linked guys behind it. they are trying to spark that war, because they want -- they feed off, you know, the uncertainty and insecurity. that's what they like about what they are doing. so they're targeting a lot of shia places. we have seen a couple sunni places being bombed, as well. so it is those al qaeda-linked extremists who are likely behind a lot of those bombings.

there are also shia militia who have not come out in force at the moment, but when sunni targets are attacked, you can look in that direction. there's a lot of weaponry and a lot of munitions around this country. >> yeah, and, of course, as citizens, the iraqis getting caught in the middle of all of that. michael, as always, please be safe. look forward to your -- to coming back. we're also following secretary of state john kerry on his way to kuwait to help drum up aid for syrian refugees. but first he stopped by the vatican, and he spoke with the vatican secretary of state. >> we talked at great length about syria. and i was particularly appreciative for the archbishop's raising this issue, and equally grateful for the holy father's comments, the pope's comments yesterday regarding his support for the geneva 2 process. >> kerry also said that the

president, president obama, would be visiting the pope at a future date. retired police officer who allegedly shot two people at a florida theater has a court appearance in the next hour. chad oulson was killed in the incident. and police say he had taken his wife, nicole, to see a movie when 71-year-old curtis reeves apparently became irritated at the guy's texting. they argued and reeves pulls out a gun and shoots him. his wife tried to shield her husband and the bullet went through her hand. all this happened yesterday during an afternoon showing of "lone survivor" at a theater in wesley chapel, florida, near tampa. and a do not use order has been lifted today for a few thousand more people. this is in west virginia, of course. so now about 35,000 residents, they can actually start turning on the taps. that still leaves about 200,000 folks who are waiting for the all-clear. they had to use bottled water to wash their hands, brush their teeth, cook, drink, everything. all of this since thursday after

a chemical poured out of a storage facility and into the nearby elk river. today officials in neighboring ohio are taking steps to keep that contaminated water out of their water supply. they're closing two intake valves, temporarily preventing the water from the ohio river from entering their treatment plant. they say it's strictly a precautionary measure. people in the cincinnati tristate area are being told that the water is safe. precious resource of water is also the focus of this "bacteria bacteria your world" today. helping bringing water to those most in need. watch. ♪ >> reporter: this celebration in india has a very special guest. matt damon. but the oscar-winning actor isn't the big news of the day. the new water pump is stealing the spotlight. and damon's charity made it

happen. water.org helps bring water and sanitation to those in need. >> water really kind of underpins everything. every 20 seconds a child dies, because they lack access to clean water and sanitation. every 20 seconds. >> reporter: this hits home for damon, who has four daughters. >> once you have kids, it's impossible not to see, you know, their face in every child you see. >> reporter: water.org provides small loans to help people get access to water. >> people were paying money for water already. sometimes 15, 20 times what you or i pay for our water to a local water mafia. and if you could front them the money to connect to the immun y immunity, you would give them their time back to pay the loan off. they are now in control of their destiny in a way they weren't. so it's not only about the millions of children who actually die every year. it's about the quality of life that somebody can have if they have access to clean water.

>> you can help. a deadly day for egyptians, as they head to the polls. we've got a live report on the vote and the violence, straight ahead. hi, i'm terry and i have diabetic nerve pain.

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voting on a new constitution in egypt literally began with a bang. we are talking about a bomb exploded near a courthouse in cairo, even before the polls opened this morning. you're looking here at the aftermath of this. there were no deaths that were reported in that attack, thankfully. but throughout the day, six people, they were killed in violence linked to the vote. our reza sayah is joining us. six months after this coup that ousted the democratically elected president. explain to us what is at stake, this vote we are talking about, about the constitution here. >> reporter: in many ways, suzanne, what's at stake is the future of egypt's political institution. this, if it passes, will be the

backbone of egypt's system of governments. the power of the military, the president, the parliament, the judiciary, the balance of power between these institutions is going to be based on this charter. if it passes. if you look at this constitution, some of the important elements, you see that it bans religious parties. that, of course, is a huge blow to political islam here in egypt. analysts say it is an improvement when it comes to human rights, equal rights. for the first time, if this constitution passes, it will be written in the charter that men and women are equal. however, critics of this charter say it gives too much power to the military. for example, this constitution says that the military gets to approve the appointment of the defense minister by the president. it also says the budget of the military is off limits. and it also enables the military to put civilians on trial in military courts. that, of course, is something

many revolutionaries back in 2011 fought to get rid. now if this charter passes, it's going to be back, suzanne. >> reza, tell us about this popular army chief now essentially de facto leader, general asisi, spearheaded the crackdown on the muslim brotherhood. so it looks like the country is not becoming more united but divided. >> reporter: well, if you talk to general abuhl fatah sisi and the military backed government, they will tell you the military is united. our sense is there is polarization. that the country is divide. ed. on the one hand, general sisi, admirers who want to push through what they insist is a democracy and on the other side, mohamed morsi, the muslim brotherhood. and increasingly, secular activists.

2011 revolutionaries we talked to you about that are saying egypt is headed back to a repressive police state dominated by the military. common sense says if egypt is going to move forward in & establish stability and peace, there has to be consensus and reconciliati reconciliation. what's troubling is there is no sign of that happening at this point, suzanne. >> please keep us posted on what happens with the final tally and final vote. and obviously, it's a very dangerous situation, just to cast a ballot in that country. thank you, reza, appreciate it. be safe. just ahead, a senior israeli official offering a blunt, undiplomatic and very public opinion of secretary of state john kerry. we're going oh to tell you what he said and the response from the state department. when jake and i first set out on our own, we ate anything. but in time you realize the better you eat, the better you feel.

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[ man ] with copd, i thought i'd miss our family tradition. now symbicort significantly improves my lung function, starting within 5 minutes. and that makes a difference in my breathing. today we're ready for whatever swims our way. ask your doctor about symbicort. i got my first prescription free. call or click to learn more. some harsh words today in the israeli media for secretary of state john kerry. israel's defense minister slammed kerry as, quote, obsessive and mission annic. come on, elise, this was not diplomatic language. it's unusual you have something thrown out there. what is behind this? >> reporter: well, you know, suzanne, secretary kerry is working so hard on the peace process, really has made ten trips in the last several months since july. i've been there several times

with him. and he is pushing the parties really hard. really trying to get both parties to recognize the consequences if they don't have a deal. and so that's why jennifer sake, state department spokesperson, tells cnn that the remarks, if accurate, are just offensive and inappropriate, given all that the u.s. and secretary kerry in particular is doing to support his needs. and so, you know, obviously there's going to be some discussions between the u.s. and israel over the next several days and weeks about how committed the u.s. is to -- and israel is to the peace process. but i have to say, a lot of israeli officials coming to his defense, foreign minister lieberman and also the justice minister, tzipi livni, lead negotiator on the talks, saying, listen, this is not helpful. the u.s. is our best friend and you really can't be making these type of remarks. >> so the remarks are out there. you can't really take them away. maybe they can apologize. but where does it stand in the

peace process itself? does it really impact where they go forward in these talks, these negotiations? >> reporter: well, you know, look, prime minister benjamin netanyahu was the one ultimately who was going to be the lead in terms of making a peace deal. and so a lot of times israeli officials or palestinian officials, on the other, will say things that are unhelpful to the process. and the u.s. is going to try to not get bent out of shape. but this is a real critical time right now for the peace process. secretary kerry has given the parties a nine-month deadline to strike a deal. the deadline is coming up in april and now he has put this framework agreement on the table. he's really trying to get the sides to really home in and, you know, comments like this really put into question how committed israel is in terms of making the hard session -- concessions needed. and when they say that secretary yes, he is.ou know, messianic. this is a calling for him, he

says, and will do whatever it takes. >> it absolutely has been a calling for hip. and you bring up the point he has been there in the region so many times, more than ten times, i guess. this is really something that he has put -- he has staked his reputation on. elise, thank you. appreciate it, as always. gay people in nigeria now can be jailed just for gathering with each other. for parting or meeting any associates whatsoever, anyone who helps a gay person or pat ronnizes or operates any gay operation can be prosecuted. it's the same-sex marriage prohibition act signed yesterday by nigerian president goodluck jonathan. violators face 14 years in prison. many people around the world are outraged, calling it a significant set back to gay rights in africa where same-sex relationships are already widely prohibited. first it was an epic disaster. then it was a blockbuster movie. now it's going to become a theme

park attraction. that's right. we're going to tell you where you can actually ride the t titan titanic, even feel what it's like to hit an iceberg. strange. coming up next. [ male announcer ] this is kevin. to prove to you that aleve is the better choice for him, he's agreed to give it up. that's today? [ male announcer ] we'll be with him all day as he goes back to taking tylenol. i was okay, but after lunch my knee started to hurt again. and now i've got to take more pills. ♪ yup. another pill stop. can i get my aleve back yet? ♪ for my pain, i want my aleve. ♪ [ male announcer ] look for the easy-open red arthritis cap.

books on the titanic, the famed movie, as well.

now a chinese company is making it into an amusement park. that's right. cnn's dave mckenzie is reporting from beijing on this controversial proposal. >> reporter: remember those terrifying scenes in james cameron's titanic of the ship sinking? soon you could relive that in china. an obscure company has announced plans to build a titanic replica with u.s. designers so you can relive the sinking experience. at $165 million, it might seem an idea that will sink. but this film is extremely popular in china. so perhaps it's worth floating. >> and singer katie peri, she got emotional during her first trip to china. i want you to watch. ♪ the 29-year-old pop star was brought to tears after an orchestra performed an arrangement of her hit single "roar" over the weekend in

beijing. this orchestra is made up of more than 100 musicians. they used traditional chinese instruments to play her song. so after the show, perry gave the group one of her guitars and said the show reaffirmed her love for music. pretty sweet. several stories caught our attention today. photos, as well. i want you to take a look at this. these are amazing pictures from brazil. this is awesome. i've been here before, actually. this lightning bolt hitting the chrysler redeemer statue during a flash storm in rio de janeiro this morning. that is awesome. the statue, it is the largest depiction of jesus in the world, stands more than 2,000 feet above rio. this isn't even the first time this figure has been struck. workers had to do some restoration on the statue after it was hit by lightning. that is amazing. in china, a tortoise beat a rabbit. that's right. in a skiing competition. the rabbit lost, because he

jumped around. yep, as rabbits do. didn't listen to his owners' commands. the ducks, dogs, cats also competing in this race. 40 people were allowed to place their animals on the skis or sleds and guide these pet down the slope. well, that's it for us. "around the world." thanks for watching. and we begin with "cnn and we begin with "cnn newsroom," next. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com right now, chris christie gets ready to deliver one of the most closely watched state of the state speeches ever. will he and should he address the scandal he is now facing. also right now, hillary clinton's iowa problem. why she could potentially face a tougher time winning over iowa voters than a lot of people might expect. and right now a retired police officer is in a florida court after allegedly killing a man who refused to stop texting his daughter during the previews at a movie. what's behind this shocking crime.