i took us awhile to get to it. check in ever so briefly with a member of the 90210 gang forever in our hearts on "the ridiculist." all right that. does it for us. good evening. welcome to "ac 360 later." tonight, breaking news in the bridge scandal. also, hillary clinton. dr. ruth talks sex and i'm going to blush and we talk about the oscars. join the conversation. we'll show you comments at the bottom of the screen. with us tonight, jeffrey toobin. margaret hoover. and sunny hostin and david gergen. new jersey lawmakers sending out 20 new subpoenas to the key players in the new jersey traffic scandal and one very big name, the chairman of the agency overseeing the george washington

bridge. he's the state's former attorney general. dana bash is covering the story and joins us now. so what do you make of these subpoenas? >> reporter: it goes to the heart of chris christie's inner circle. first, names that people are going to be familiar with. bridget anne kelly, the governor's deputy chief of staff. and bill stepien, who is a top political aide. and there are other people who are -- fit that description. kevin o'dowd. he was the governor's chief of staff. he was just appointed to -- or named to be the next attorney general.

then there's charlie mckenna, the governor's counsel. and david samson, who is the chairman of the port authority of new york and new jersey, but more importantly in this case, in addition to that, is very, very close confidant of chris christie and has been for a long time. >> these subpoenas, this is legislative. how much of this is politics? these people can just plead the fifth. >> that's right. but they can collect a lot of documents, so that's significant. this story only exists because of some e-mails that were disclosed. so there are likely more e-mails that are relevant to this controversy. but the point about the legislative committee is that they don't have the power to give immunity. to david wildstein, who took the fifth, ms. kelly, who will certainly take the fifth, the only person who can give them immunity is paul fishman, the u.s. attorney, who is also investigating, but it's not clear whether he plans to give them immunity. so we may never hear from these people. >> anderson, when you have 20 subpoenas out there and five or six people take the fifth, what

is the public going to conclude from that? what do you guys have to hide? you must fear criminal prosecution. >> and who are you protecting? >> so you're saying even if there's no evidence d and there is no evidence that chris christie knew about this and tried to cover it up. >> this is such a classic legal/political distinction. from my background, there is no way in the world they are going to let their clients testify in this kind of environment. but you, coming out of the political world, thinks it's a disaster to take the fifth. >> that's why i don't practice law. >> if chris christie was involved in it, the e-mails will come out. somebody leaked the document to the press. if it's out there, if it happened, we'll find out, we can just count on that. i think this is politics. >> do you think it was a mistake for chris christie to say bad things about bridget kelly?

>> i think he would have been well advised to have talked to her before he threw her over the bus. but listen, i remember so well how reagan handled iran-contra, and he ordered everybody to testify. do not take the fifth. i want you to put up all the documents, everybody testify. that will clear the air. when you have a bunch of people taking the fifth, it may be the right thing to do legally, i agree with you. from a political strategy, it looks bad. >> certainly you can see the legal and political divide, it was very well put, jeff, between what you and david are saying. but what is really fascinating is that chris christie spent today trying to move on. he went to the jersey shore. he tried to comfort victims. that is the thing that helped make his popularity soar before his re-election.

but he also, i'm told in a meeting earlier this week with senior staff, warned them this is going to continue to be rough and tumble for you. we've seen many of them have gotten subpoenas. but i want to keep our eye on the ball. it's going to be very difficult for them to do that when they're all probably lawyering up right now to try to figure out if they're personally in any problems. >> his administration today hired randy mastro as their defense lawyer. he is a very highly respected, but also very confrontational lawyer in new york. he used to work for rudy giuliani. this is not the lawyer you hire if you are going to cooperate. this is a lawyer that is telling these committees, you are getting this much, but not this much.

christie is a former u.s. attorney. he knows which lawyers behave which way. he tired a tough, tough lawyer. >> that's what is so interesting about it. not only was he a federal prosecutor, he was the chief federal prosecutor in new jersey. so he knows how these investigators go. i think the dynamic really changes once the u.s. attorney's office gets involved. as a former prosecutor, and you know this too, jeff, you want to flip somebody, you want to turn somebody. you want to offer someone immunity so they will talk. >> although what remains a mystery is what crime was committed here? >> there's a crime in the cover-up, if there was a cover-up. >> there is a danger here for the democrats. that this legislature could overplay its hand. 20 subpoenas is a lot of subpoenas. >> it can have the opposite impact. >> it looks like a circus. >> right, and just bolsters chris christie's position. even nationally, it looks like people are ganging up on him. dana bash, appreciate the update on that. i want to talk about the report on the benghazi killings.

and the hypothetical clash of the 2016 presidential front-runners. we present hillary clinton's heel on the latest edition of "time" magazine. can anyone stop hillary? that's the headline of "time." and in the subhead, how to scare off your rivals without running, yet. the cover generating a lot of buzz, especially in light of the damaging new report on benghazi and the whole chris christie affair. michael, good to have you here. for those who have not read the article, can anyone stop hillary clinton? you are basically saying she's not officially running yet, but she doesn't need to be running yet. >> she doesn't need to. look, she can be stopped in politics. nothing is ever certain. but it's hard to think of a

candidate who got into a presidential race with as many advantages as she has now. the big caveat is people said similar things about her in 2008. so it's very unpredictable. what's special here is the way, without her having to declare herself as a candidate, this massive infrastructure exists around here and is rising up around here. so fund-raising pacts, rapid response operations that are countering her critics in the media. e-mails that are already going out. in support of a woman who claims she has. made up her mind and living her life as a private citizen. so the apparatus is springing into action because people have so much faith in her. at the same time, she's able to -- you can say pretend or maybe it's genuine -- kind of go about her life as a private citizen and not respond on a daily basis. what did you know about this at what time of night when the benghazi thing was happening? she can say i don't have to do that right now. >> i want to bring in the benghazi report in a second.

but it looks at other democrats out there, and there's really not anyone. this article claims biden is unlikely to really get involved if hillary clinton is in the race. >> if she gets in a race, you wonder if anybody else is going to run. i have to congratulate michael and the "time" magazine crowd. they succeeded the legendary tina brown. they made the story very provocative with the cover. the cover is more interesting than the story. >> i want to talk about the benghazi factor. you have a new report out. some of the findings, the attack could have been pretended and hillary clinton's state department failed to act on warnings about the worsening security situation in the city. also the head of the joint chiefs coming under attack for not really having a plan to help aid those under fire in benghazi. in terms of hillary clinton, how much does this hurt her in a race? >> you know, this story has now

been around for many months. it was obviously a tragedy. but it's unclear to me what hillary clinton's responsibility for this tragedy was. what's the one sentence -- >> whoa, whoa. we just spent a bunch of minutes talking about chris christie and did he know about the bridge scandal. now there's a report saying -- and it matches what other reports have said, that basically there were multiple warnings, the state department dropped the ball -- >> to her? >> there's no evidence it went to her desk. but if it didn't, what does that say about her leadership at the state department? >> this puts the state department to blame and she says, i am responsible, i was the head of the state department. but this is the woman who ran

against barack obama and said, i'm more qualified because i can take the 3:00 a.m. call in the middle of the night and barack obama couldn't. and on barack obama's watch, this happened. so sit a vulnerability, regardless of which story -- this is going to be a legitimate issue in 2016. >> it's certainly a legitimate issue, but the idea that this is something that somehow going to end her campaign seems preposterous to me. >> where is the evidence that the people that are going to decide in election are still worked up about it? the numbers don't bear out the idea that this is going to decide her fate. there's a difference between a woman presiding over a large bureaucracy where it didn't function properly and mistakes were made, and a governor whose top aides seemed to be executing a vendetta, that was a targeted plan. i think you're talking about an apple and orange there. not trying to make excuses, but i don't think it's a huge threat to her. >> the flip side is, four people lost their lives, whereas nobody

lost their lives with the bridge thing. and you can write the commercials now by republicans against hillary clinton on regards to this. that on her watch, despite repeated warnings to the state department, they dropped the ball. >> in the report itself, the men that died, ambassador stevens gets more criticism than he does. >> he turned down the military twice. >> there's no question that the secretary of state, benghazi stops here, that's the sign on her desk. and she has to take responsibility for it. but i think what's been helpful to her in the last few weeks, republicans have got their benghazi, but democrats have now got their bridge. if you look at the relative publicity, what struck me today about the benghazi report, if you looked tat "wall street journal," which has taken a harsh line towards hillary, they run the story off the front page but you have to go to the jump to find the page.

they didn't treat this as a hillary type story. >> i believe the headline cast a wide net of blame. interesting. michael, appreciate you being on. again, "time" magazine, it's an interesting read. we have to take a quick break. next, how an execution in ohio today is making people revisit the question of capital punishment. that and dr. ruth on "ac 360 later." [ male announcer ] this is betsy. her long day of pick ups and drop offs begins with arthritis pain... and a choice. take up to 6 tylenol in a day or just 2 aleve for all day relief. all aboard. ♪

became big business overnight? ♪ like, really big... then expanded? ♪ or their new product tanked? ♪ or not? what if they embrace new technology instead? ♪ imagine a company's future with the future of trading. company profile. a research tool on thinkorswim. from td ameritrade. a research tool on thinkorswim. [ female announcer ] some people like to pretend a flood could never happen to them. and that their homeowners insurance protects them. [ thunder crashes ] it doesn't. stop pretending.

only flood insurance covers floods. ♪ visit floodsmart.gov/pretend to learn your risk. isn't it time you discovered the sleep number bed? because only the sleep number bed offers dual air technology that lets two people find the perfect balance of comfort and support for their bodies. their sleep number setting. ok, right there . and only the sleep number bed is clinically proven to relieve back pain and improve sleep quality. oh that feels really good. it's hugging my body. and right now, it's the final days of our lowest prices of the season. save $300 to $800 on our newest innovations. it's the perfect time for you to try the sleep number bed. plus, for five days only, special financing until january 2017 on select sleep number beds. ends monday. discover the sleep number bed.

costs about the same as an innerspring, but lasts twice as long. only at one of our 425 stores nationwide, where queen mattresses start at just $699.99. sleep number. comfort individualized. welcome back. we're back talking about the death penalty and a medical experiment that is connected to it. this morning, the state of ohio put a man named dennis mcguire to death for the rape and murder of a 1994 pregnant woman. ohio has been forced to use new drug combinations after european manufacturers banned the u.s. from using their drugs in executions. so instead, ohio used two drugs, a tranquilizer and painkiller. he took a long time to die, at least ten minutes, appeared to be choking. this case and others has calls to bring backfiring squads. amping up the debate over capital punishment. we're back with the panel. and josh sweigart, who witnessed the execution.

what did you see, what happened, josh? >> it was very difficult to watch. it started about 12 hours ago actually. they led mr. dennis mcguire into the chamber. they laid him down. before they administered the drugs, they asked if he had any last words. he apologized to the family. he told his son and daughter and his son's wife that he loved them all and he said, "i'm going to heaven. i'll see you there when you come." they administered the drugs and within minutes, he said, i love you very loudly. about five minutes went by and he didn't move. there was no sound, no one said anything except for his family, which cried quietly.

and then suddenly about five minutes later he began to convulse intermittently, clearly gasping. sort of like a loud snore, struggling to breathe. it's unclear how aware he was of the situation. that went on for about ten minutes. his family cried loudly. at one point, one of them said, how can this take so long? meanwhile, the victim's family, the family of the pregnant woman he murdered 25 years ago, they said nothing. they watched silently. the whole thing took about 20 minutes before the warden finally directed the prison physician to come in, took about three minutes spent trying to gather vital signs. at which time the time of death was declared at 10:53 a.m. this morning. >> jeff, what do you make of this? >> the supreme court has said that executions have to be two things. they have to be effective. they have to kill. and they have to be humane. it turns out it's hard to do

both. we've moved in this country from hanging to electrocution to the gas chamber to lethal injection. but none wind up being exactly as they want to be or as the executioners want them to be. maybe it's just impossible to have those two. >> this is maybe a dumb question, but why not have a firing squad? if you're going to kill people, or a guillotine, which seems pretty -- >> utah, which is the last state to have a firing squad, gary gilmore, he was executed by firing squad. and perhaps that may come back. there is an issue of whether that is cruel and unusual. whether that would be in violation of the 8th amendment. i don't know. >> what's the difference between killing somebody by putting them in a guillotine and chopping their head off or a firing squad and injecting them with

chemicals? >> i can't believe we're talking about this. we're talking about a firing squad -- >> why gloss it? >> it's all barbaric. i think in a civilized society, there is no place for it. i know the supreme court has tried to make it more palatable, because it is still part of our law, and we're saying cruel and unusual. but every murder is cruel and unusual in my view. so i don't think you can find a way that's humane to do something like this. >> support for the death penalty is down dramatically from where it used to be. in the peak of the crime spate in the late '80s, early '90s, it was up around 75%. it's now down to about 60%. that's still a substantial majority. death sentences are down, executions are down. it appears to be sort of some states have abandoned it. but the answer of how to do it

remains -- >> i think there's probably a fair number of people watch thing who find it hard to get worked up over a man who killed and raped and murdered a pregnant woman, having a bad last few minutes of his life. >> yeah, maybe that's true. still, when you listen to this man's description when he passed, it's hard for anybody who is compassionate to feel like this is a good thing to do in a civilized society. >> what's the reaction in dayton, josh? >> well, it depends on who you ask, obviously. the family hired an attorney who told us today that they plan to file an injunction against the state to cease this kind of practice in the future, claiming the 8th amendment, cruel and unusual punishment. there are people who say something went horribly wrong. but people in the up to where she lived, i spoke to them days ago, even when this concern was raised before the execution, they said whatever he experiences is going to be nothing compared to the pain and

suffering that the victim experienced. that's a common tone for a lot of people. >> that's the point that you made, anderson. i think obviously a lot of people do feel that way. the whole reason these people are being executed is because they did something terrible. another factor to consider, and i think the issue with the guillotine and firing squad, is that the people in the prison system don't want to be overly traumatized by this either. and i think guillotine in particular is something that is just never going to be in the cards, because it is so horrifying to the people who are involved with it, as well as to say nothing of the person executing. >> josh, had you witnessed an execution before, or is this the only one? >> this is the only one i've been to. >> if you look at the death penalty in particular, and i'm tough on crime and i get this guy committed this horrible crime, i understand that, but what about the innocent people

that are put on death row? the way we apply the death penalty is so arbitrary, mistakes are made all the time. michael morton was on death row for 25 years for something he never did. so i think the opportunity or rather the chance of one innocent person being put to death for me makes it -- >> i have seen plenty of people killed in riots and war and on the front lines. i've seen people's heads chopped off. i've seen people die in very grisly ways. and i don't see much of a difference between injecting somebody with chemicals or having their head cut off. >> it's grotesque. >> given that it is legal, i don't understand the difference between these different ways of killing people. >> the legal system has definitely drawn distinctions. the system says you can't kill people just any old way. i have to say i'm sympathetic to

the legal system drawing that distinction. the death penalty is not just one thing, it is -- there are multiple ways you can kill people, and some are more humane than others. although those distinctions are very hard to draw. >> we'll see. josh sweigart, i appreciate you -- i can imagine it was traumatic to watch. thank you. from questions of cruel and unusual punishment now to a guy who told the truth and is paying the price. when ron martin was standing on the highway holding a sign, police ahead, he was arrested and charged with a misdemeanor. he said he was only trying to help law enforcement by encourages others to drive slower. >> he's a hero. >> arrested for holding a sign?

is that a crime? >> i consider him a hero. those speed traps and the people that give you the parking tickets, which i always seem to get, i can't stand it. i see this and i think i wish i had the courage to do something like that. >> when i see a cop, i always flash my lights to warn people. >> do you really? why do you do that? >> i grew up in the west. but you flash your lights so they know there's a cop behind you. >> people have done that for me and i've slowed down. >> they're letting you know there's a cop there. >> you want to warn people breaking the law about the potential of getting arrested? is this just drivers you do this for or also robbery? >> i'm just letting them know they should be aware of their speed. there's some states where you can't flash your lights.

>> i love that about you. >> you're not trying to help people avoid -- >> i'm the same as this guy here. >> it's like, why are fuzz busters legal? >> are they? >> they are, as far as i know. it's a device entirely designed -- >> not in every state. >> you know what this proves? the only reason you have speeding tickets is to generate revenue for local law enforcement. >> i'm fascinated that you -- like you try to get other people so that -- help other people avoid law enforcement. >> people do it for me so i don't get a ticket. >> i don't know, as a former prosecutor, i feel ickey about doing it. but i still feel that you're a hero too for doing it. >> a hero? >> absolutely. >> i'm curious what people on

twitter think. just ahead, our favorite people is back, dr. ruth westheimer celebrated sex therapist and author. we'll be right back. [ sneezes ] [ coughs ] i've got a big date, but my sinuses are acting up. it's time for advil cold and sinus. [ male announcer ] truth is that won't relieve all your symptoms. hmm? [ male announcer ] new alka seltzer plus-d relieves more symptoms than any other behind the counter liquid gel. thanks for the tip. [ male announcer ] no problem. oh...and hair products. aisle 9. [ inhales deeply ] oh what a relief it is. ♪ female announcer: get beautyrest, posturepedic,

female announcer: even tempur-pedic mattress sets, at low clearance prices. and through monday, get three years interest-free financing on selected models. don't miss sleep train's year end clearance sale. ♪ your ticket to a better night's sleep ♪

♪ let's talk about sex, baby >> that's the most obvious song for us to have played. we're welcoming back dr. ruth westheimer, celebrated sex therapist. her life was the subject of a one-woman show off broadway called "becoming broadway." great to have you back on the program. >> thank you. guess what? we don't know that, and neither you do.

the play is going to be april 16. it's going to be in florida in ft. lauderdale. >> fantastic. >> "becoming dr. ruth." and the woman who plays me is fabulous. >> we're showing some pictures of her. >> when i came to this country, they told me to take speech lessons. i made $1 an hour. no way could i take speech lessons. she had to go to a speech coach to learn my accent. >> that's great. you don't know this, sunny hostin was a former prosecutor, is a life-long fan of yours. >> i'm a huge fan. the reason i'm a fan, dr. ruth, is i grew up parents that were such prudes that they refused to give me the sex talk. when my mother thought it was time to give me the time, she gave me a book and blushed and that was it. so i used to sneak and listen to you on the radio.

>> from 1982 to '92, for two hours i gave answers to all those questions. >> i know you did. >> but i also provided people like you and anderson and others, i provided them with foreplay. because when they listen to that talk for two hours coming in from the hamptons, by the time they got home -- >> they were all revved up. >> all revved up. >> that's funny. sunny was saying her parents were prudes. i had the opposite issue. my mother is very vocal, and has had a much more interesting romantic life than i have. >> i could tell you about her. >> she's told the world. >> i'm old fashioned. i think that parents should do what your parents -- they shouldn't be embarrassed. it gives the message as if there's something not to be

talked about. but they should also talk about it with a proper respect. >> my mom had been around, and dated and i use the term loosely, a number of very well known people. marlon brando was one. >> i would like to date him. >> i remember watching a movie and said, mom, did you ever know marlon brando, and she says, oh, yes. >> she didn't tell you any details. >> no details. >> she saved those for the book. >> it's so important that parents be open with their children. when my son, he's 11 now, last year he was in the back of my car and he had taken a course at school and he said, you know, mom, they said that boys have sperm and girls have eggs but they never explain how does the baby come. and i panicked. and i said -- i was driving and

i said, guess what? this is a very biological, scientific kind of discussion, and who in our family is a scientist? and my husband is a doctor. he said, poppa? i said, yes! and i feel terrible that i missed that opportunity. >> do you find that the questions you get now are very different from the questions -- >> i'll tell you what's different. the questions about loneliness, the questions about good sex, the questions about intercourse, the questions from children, how do they get together like your son, are not different. but what's different is the vocabulary. nobody says these days, margaret, in the olden days, they would say, she's with child. nobody talks like that. they say, she's pregnant. but the basic questions about relationship, about boredom in the bedroom, all of those things are still there. >> what about boredom in the bedroom?

for couples, how do you recommend to avoid that? >> first of all, you have to admit it to yourself, not on television, but admit that it's not so interesting anymore. it's once a week, the same night of the day. once you admit that to yourself, then you have to do something about it. you have to put some variety. now to 1100 people in san diego, women mostly, i said tonight i want you to try a new position. one you never tried before and tomorrow call me so i learn from the positions. so what you really have to do is work at it. >> can we ask you about the president of france? >> how did i know that was on your mind? >> because we're in the news business here. >> i have to tell you something, i usually don't talk about politics. somebody that talks about sex and orgasms and erections shouldn't talk about politics. >> where were you during the clinton presidency? >> i never talked about that.

however, i lived in france for five years, and i'm smiling a little bit, because it's true that in previous years, the french would not have made such a to-do, that's for sure. >> for those at home that don't know, it's not clear who the french president will bring him to the state dinner in washington next month. his long-time girlfriend is still in the hospital. she was rushed there after learning about an alleged affair she's having. his alleged mistress, that's the woman right now, is now suing the magazine that broke the story for invasion of privacy. in france, all of this barely raising an eyebrow. >> but you are going to get some kind of pleasure out of that. i want to teach you something from the jewish tradition. when that part of the anatomy of men is aroused, the brain flies out of your head. and that holds true for all of

the people that you mentioned. and for the people in france. now, some of the things are very sad. i don't believe that she could not know. women, ask those two women, women are smarter than that. she had some kind of inclination. i don't believe that this comes out of the blue. >> yeah. >> and i think that people these days are so eager to have scandals like this, front page, and it's very sad. >> a lot of people say france has a different attitude towards this than the united states does. but this story suggests they're sort of becoming more puritanical like we are. >> it's not so much puritanical, i think. it's more that the media is feasting on stories like this. and that what helps people to become more like suing a

newspaper. in france, i could not have believed somebody would sue a newspaper about a story. >> i'm just surprised, because they're not married. it's sort of, you know -- >> it's common law marriage. >> they lived together. >> she has the official title of first lady. >> i think with same-sex marriage, do you get a lot more questions now from gay couples about -- >> yes. >> and do you see any difference in -- is your advice any different to same-sex couples? >> absolutely not. we don't know the etiology of homosexuality and we don't know the reason for heterosexuality. anybody that walks into my office, homosexual, heterosexual, i treat them with the same respect. respect is not debatable. but now i get the same questions about boredom, the same questions about cheating, the same question about not paying attention.

going to a party, two guys or two lesbians, going to a party and they don't pay attention to each other. the funny thing is that now with marriage of homosexuals, now what is happening is they also have to have a written agreement. >> a prenup. >> a prenup. i'm now 85. even 20 years ago, if somebody told me a prenup, i would have said, why is that necessary if they really do love each other, if they trust each other? the world has changed. >> now you recommend a prenup? >> yes. and i do see that even gay people do divorce. i am jewish. in the jewish tradition, divorce is permissible. i just am very sad when children are involved. >> of course. >> but i don't want people to live together if they're not happy. the same is true for gay couples. >> i have a question for you.

i have several questions. but anderson and i were talking about this. what is your thought of let's say a couple, one of the partners being friends with exes? what is your thought on that? >> there was a book on the market called "open marriage," and they said if both agree you can put your key in the middle of the table and you go home with whomever is at the party, guess what? it doesn't work. >> do you see, anderson? >> no, no, we weren't talking about -- we were talking about -- what we were talking about is people just being friends with exes. >> and going out to lunch. >> i think it's nice to be friends with people you've had significant relationships with. >> anderson, that's of the age of fantasy. >> i told you! >> it's not. >> if you've had a relationship -- >> if you've crossed the sexual line with someone. >> and you said, okay, it's not

for us, goodbye, i'm all for that, nothing wrong with that. but don't try to hold on. >> leave it in the past, anderson. >> i'm just talking about being friends with somebody. it's nice to have history with someone. >> the person that you are now involved with is going to be jealous. there is something -- >> isn't that a weakness of the person you're involved with? >> no! >> no. the weakness is that the other person is to hold on to something that is past already. >> yeah. >> see, i don't buy that. >> it's the near temptation of sin. once you've crossed that line with someone -- >> you broke up with that person, clearly you're not interested in that person anymore. >> you've seen them naked, it's over. >> naked, that's the line? >> it's over. >> you still see them, you remember some of the wonderful sexual experiences. >> you always do. >> and you don't remember the boredom. you don't remember the bad thing.

but you remember some of the fantastic -- i can say it, it's late at night, some of the fantastic orgasms. >> of course. >> some of the wonderful nights of romantic talking. >> i love dr. ruth. >> so you really have to say try to work at the relationship. now, what i'm very unhappy about, i don't talk about politicians. but what i'm very unhappy about is that woman checked into the hospital. that was smart of her. we women are very smart. that was clever. >> why is that smart to go in the hospital? >> why should she have all of you journalists hanging out? and let her be there and hopefully talk to somebody like a psychologist or a social worker or a nurse to hold her hand. and say, this is really terrible, but it's not the end of the world. don't do anything drastic to yourself.

and look at the look on her. >> i like that you're holding my hand. i wish more guests would hold my hand. it's very comforting. >> i have a gift for him. "sex for dummies." >> thank you. we have to take a quick break. more with dr. ruth when we come back. and the academy award nominations, some big surprises. we'll be right back.

welcome back. we're here with dr. ruth. the academy nominations announced this morning. "american hustle," story about a 1970s fbi sting. "zero gravity" and "12 years a slave." that got nine nominations. and some big snubs. also joining us is christy smith, cnn entertainment commentator. she's at the sundance film festival in utah. in terms of the snubs, what surprised you the most? oprah got a lot of headlines, tom hanks, as well. >> i would be remiss standing here in park city at the launch of the sundance film festival if i didn't talk about robert redford. he was a front runner going in, since "all is lost" premiered. everybody had redford as a lock. i was really shocked that he

didn't get the nom, and everybody up here has been talking about it all day. >> dr. ruth, you know meryl streep. did you see the movie? >> i did. she did get nominated, and i'm very happy about that. because people my age, i'm 85, and look what's happening to your hollywood. they are now willing to have a few women of an older age, and not only play beautifully, that you can really see while you're sitting there, but also be nominated. i want her to win. >> it's her 18th nomination. >> i wish the movie "lone survivor" -- >> it's like a good year for movies. actual movies with plots, not just like machines and sequels and, you know, monsters.

this was like -- there were a lot of movies. >> do the golden globes have an impact on the oscars in terms of who wins? or have the votes already been cast? >> the votes have already been cast, but i think it helps with momentum. i think this wmd is the sag awards, and that's a real indicator where the nominations are going to go. leonardo becomes a front-runner, then this race kind of set up between matthew mcconaughey and leonardo. amy adams get a big bump off of that. it is really -- i can't remember a time when it's been this close and this exciting for the oscars. >> dr. ruth, you will not like "wolf of wall street" because there's a lot of bad language in it. >> i don't like that. i think that people use four-letter words constantly. i don't mind when something falls and you use a four-letter

word. but if they use it constantly, this is not to my liking, because it shows that they're not cultured. >> a certain ignorance. >> i think that's the point. >> the folks in this movie are definitely not cultured. >> i'm teaching a course right now at columbia university. my second year on the family in the media. so this is a wonderful film for that. it's not very happy. it is very upsetting, but sit a wonderful film for discussion about the relationships in the family. not just sex, but relationships and how damaging some relationships can be. >> i was really surprised that "the butler" did not get one nomination. i'm sort of -- i don't know, upset about it. because i thought it was such a terrific movie and it told an important story.

>> for people like me who came to this country and don't know maybe as much as i should know, it was a wonderful lesson in history in a very interesting way. i don't understand. go and change those votes. >> dr. ruth wants you to change the votes. i'm not sure you have that power. >> interesting, six of the nine nominees -- is it true, six of the nine nominees were r-rated films and the other three were pg-13, so it wasn't a family friendly year in terms of films nominated. >> yeah, i can't -- i don't know if that's for sure, but that sounds about right. but also this year we had five animated films nominated. that doesn't always happen. it was a great year for movies. but i agree, i was shocked when i didn't hear oprah's name called and i was shocked when i didn't hear tom hanks, nothing for "the butler."

but you can't deny the performances of the people that were nominated, which means for all of us, it's an exciting time for hollywood, like everyone was saying. there's actually some good films to watch. >> it's been a great year for movies. up next, i ask the panel, what's your story? we'll be right back. [ male announcer ] this is joe woods' first day of work. and his new boss told him two things -- cook what you love, and save your money. joe doesn't know it yet, but he'll work his way up from busser to waiter to chef before opening a restaurant specializing in fish and game from the great northwest. he'll start investing early, he'll find some good people to help guide him, and he'll set money aside from his first day of work to his last, which isn't rocket science. it's just common sense. from td ameritrade. the day building a play set begins with a surprise twinge of back pain...

and a choice. take up to 4 advil in a day or 2 aleve for all day relief. [ male announcer ] that's handy. ♪

welcome back to "ac 360 later." here with dr. ruth westheimer. what's your story? >> i told you i'm 85. i'm doing a brand new book called "the scrooge defect." people who can't give money. i am talking about people who

have money, who can't give to charity, who are worried about their future or social security and who just can't give. and i'm saying these people who have the scrooge defect cannot be good lovers, because a good lover has to be generous. see, look at her face. >> yes! >> a good lover has to be generous. he or she has to rejoice in the pleasure of the other person. so i am doing a book and the other day i said whoever gives me money is going to have good sex for the rest of their lives. >> i'll sign up. >> i love what you say, a good lover rejoices in the pleasure of others. >> right. that's a book coming out. >> i look forward to that. >> it comes out very soon. >> i like that. >> thank you. listen, we love having you on the show. so thank you so much for being with us. i wish you the best. >> thank you.

>> you're the only person at this table whoever holds my hand. >> i don't believe that. they love you. even he loves you. >> they don't hold my hand. >> i do, but we're just good friends. >> that does it for "ac 360 later." thanks for watching. see you tomorrow night. before you settle for another ordinary mattress, isn't it time you discovered the sleep number bed? because only the sleep number bed offers dual air technology that lets two people find the perfect balance of comfort and support for their bodies. their sleep number setting. ok, right there . and only the sleep number bed is clinically proven to relieve back pain and improve sleep quality.

oh that feels really good. it's hugging my body. and right now, it's the final days of our lowest prices of the season. save $300 to $800 on our newest innovations. it's the perfect time for you to try the sleep number bed. plus, for five days only, special financing until january 2017 on select sleep number beds. ends monday. discover the sleep number bed. costs about the same as an innerspring, but lasts twice as long. only at one of our 425 stores nationwide, where queen mattresses start at just $699.99. sleep number. comfort individualized.

this is" piers morgan live." tonight if you had a spare $350,000 would you spend it on the chance to kill up with of the most endangered species on the planet? that's exactly what corey nolton is doing and now he's getting death threats. believe it or not, he says the whole thing is in the name of conservation. he'll be here exclusively. plus the class of 2016 under fire. hillary clinton and chris christie. i'll talk to two republicans who say she should take a lesson from him. john mccain and rudy giuliani are here. and new year new you. if there's one thing everyone need it's money advice. i've got the perfect person for that, dave ramsey. he is here live with the five things you need to do to put your financial house in order. we begin with someone who