i now turn you over to wolf blitzer. he's right next door in "the situation room." wolf? >> jake, thanks very much. happening now, mounting scandals. chris christie's administration fiercely pushing back against another stunning allegation. the latest question, did his lieutenant governor threaten to withhold sandy funds as retribution? plus, an encouraging sign. is kenneth bae being held by north korea on the verge of being set free? and president obama opens up about his race in a candid new interview. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." now turning to a he said/she said. kim guadagno is for the first

time fiercely denying the allegation that she threatened to withhold sandy funds on behalf of retribution for failing to support a real estate project. it's the latest in the widening string of scandals that plague chris christie as a potential presidential bid for 2016. cnn's erin mcpike is joining us. what's the latest? >> reporter: wolf, today chris christie's administration got very aggressive in fighting back against these accusations that dawn zimmer has had. they even described a conference call describing how much they have done for hoboken. chris christie's lieutenant governor spent the day defending herself and her boss against growing allegations of political retribution that now stretch far beyond traffic jams in ft. lee.

>> the suggestion that anyone would hold back sandy relief funds for any reason is wholly and completely false. >> reporter: guadagno is playing defense after being accused by dawn zimmer of intimidation in the aftermath of superstorm sandy. in an interview on sunday with candy crowley, zimmer said that she was told that hoboken would receive millions of dollars in storm recovery only if she pushed a real estate project by the rockefeller group, a developer with ties to the governor and his allies. >> she pulled me aside and said essentially you've got to move forward with the rockefeller project. this project is really important to the governor. >> reporter: as evidence, zimmer points to journal entries she says she wrote about the confrontation that day. she now turned it over to the u.s. attorney's office probing the christie candle.

the tlieutenant governor takes the claims personally. >> being a sandy victim myself makes the allegations particularly offensive to me. >> reporter: meantime, in the first new interview since the wide-ranging press conference two weeks ago, christie told yaho odot come he plans to learn from the ordeal. christie spent much of his weekend in florida, talking to wealthy conservatives many believe could be wealthy donors and telling them not to worry about that campaign yet. but in that new online interview, christie gave a much more coy response about a potential run saying he is, quote, readier now than he was two years ago. >> this is a very challenging time for the governor. eats getting a lot of national attention now. his response to these challenges is going to be very important going forward.

>> reporter: now, a new research poll shows that this is taking something of a toll on chris christie. it shows his unfavorable rating has jumped from 17% last year to 34% now and also 58% of respondents who say they've heard of the bridge controversy don't believe he didn't know about it, wolf. >> erin mcpike in trenton, thanks. let's bring in democratic congressman frank pallone. congress man, thanks very much for coming in. >> thank you, wolf. >> all right. so this is a she said versus a she said. who do you believe? do you believe the mayor of hoboken or lieutenant governor of your state? >> well, wolf, i wasn't party to the conversations, but i do think that the allegations of the mayor of hoboken are very serious and the u.s. attorney needs to look into it and, as i

said to you in the past, there's been so many allegations now about threats and bullying by the christie administration, you know, it does seem that that's the culture and i think this whole idea of abuse of power, you know, has to be looked into, both by these legislative committees and by the u.s. attorneys office. you know, i believe that what happened with the tv commercials that -- where the governor said, you know, his administration said, you know, you put me in the tv ads and i'll take the higher bidder, which is what has been investigated, is just another example of this abuse of power and these are serious allegations that have to be looked into. >> do you think that both of these women, the mayor of hoboken, lieutenant governor of new jersey should be brought in for questioning and questioned under oath with lie detectors, if you will? is that necessary? >> well, both of them don't seem

to have a problem in testifying or cooperating thoroughly with the authorities. so i think, you know, that is what is going to happen. they are both going to be asked and the u.s. attorney and legislative committees will have to look into it and determine what happened. and there may be additional facts that come forward as we proceed. >> do you think there could be an additional miss understanding, we really want you to approve this development project taking place in hoboken and there was a direct linkage to receiving more superstorm sandy funds? do you think there may have simply been a misunderstanding between these two women in terms of communicating what was going on? >> no. i think that the mayor of hoboken has been very clear about what she says she heard. i saw her on "up with steve

kornacki" when she said this and she was pretty clear when she said there was a direct link being made by the christie administration. i don't think there's any doubt of what she said that she heard and what her allegations are. >> by the way, what's the status of that project, the huge development project that they were talking about? >> again, i don't know. i just know that what the mayor of hoboken said, was that it was still outstanding. but i don't know any details about it, wolf. >> you were on "new day" earlier today on cnn. there was a nice interview there and you threw out the so-called "i" word, itmpeachment. explain where you see this investigation unfolding, this investigation of the governor? >> well, i want to stress that i don't believe that if, in fact, it's true that the christie administration was leaking this development project to sandy

aid, that's a serious charge and something that i think would be illegal and would result in impeachment or resignation. i want to really correct this notion out about this business as usual in new jersey or amongst politicians in general. we don't trade approval of developments for sandy aid. that's wrong. i work very hard to get this money for sandy relief and i'm in union beach and we're here today trying to rebuild homes that haven't been rebuilt and a lot of people haven't gotten money to rebuild their home. this notion that somehow you're going to link sandy aid to development or to tv ads or whatever, it's just not right and that's not the way it is and it's not the way it should be. and, you know, if nothing else comes out of this, it prevents future politicians from making

those kinds of links, if they occurred. >> if they occurred. a statement was made and i'll put it up on the screen "it's very clear politics are at play here as democratic mayors with a political ax to grind come out of the woodwork and try to get their faces on television." democrats are piling on against this republican governor of new jersey, was recently re-elected with a significant majority. >> we have these may nonpartisan elections. she doesn't run as a democrat. she runs in a nonpartisan election and, you know, she was -- i know she didn't endorse the governor but, you know, she's been -- she's praised him when she thought it was necessary. so i think it would be wrong to say that those that are out

there and speaking out are just, you know, partisans and certainly the case with the mayor of hoboken. i think it's very unfair to say that. >> thanks very much. >> thank you. we have a lot more coming up on this story here in "the situation room." also, please be sure to tune in later tonight, anderson couper at 10:00 p.m. eastern. he's going to have a special report. chris christie and the bridgegate scandal. that's at 10:00 p.m. eastern only here on cnn. when we come back, we're also following a major international story that's developing this hour. some sanctions being lifted as an interim nuclear deal with iran begins to take effect. will it hold? plus, kenneth bae speaking out from north korea. is it an encouraging sign he soon could be a free man?

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we're following two international stories. the syrian peace talks are now back on track. the syrian opposition have threatened to pull out of the geneva talks, angry over iran's role supporting bashar al assad in damascus. let's get some more now with our

expert reporters joining us from damascus. cnn's fred pleitgen, nick paton walsh and elise labott. fred, you're there on the ground in damascus. how is the syrian government reacting to this diplomatic uproar? first iran was participating in the peace talks and now they have been effectively kicked out. what are they saying in damascus? >> reporter: wolf, the syrians have always said that it's important for the iranians to be there. they've lobbied for them to be there. they say that this conference is not about creating a transitional body but to them it's about fighting what they call terrorism which is, of course, what they call all groups fighting against the government. i want to listen real quick to what bashar al assad said on sunday to the afp. >> translator: any political

resolution that comes out of geneva talks without considering fighting terrorism will have no value. there cannot be political work while terrorism is widely spread, not only in syria but in neighboring countries. >> reporter: wolf, another interesting note from that interview, bashar al assad not only said he doesn't think that the conference should be about creating a transitional body but that he's also seriously considering running for another term so possibly staying in the office for years to come. that is something that could derail the peace talks before they begin and of course they were fragile to begin with. wolf? >> hold on for a minute, fred. lisa is here as well. one day the iranians are here and the next day the invitation is rescinded. what's going on? >> well, it's all of the drama you would expect from an exclusive event of this nature but the drama is double because the united nations invited iran

over the objections of the u.s. once they were inviting. iran pulled a fast one and said we're not here for a political transition. the u.s. threatened not to. could, the opposition threatened not to come and forced the u.n. to rescind. iran won't be there, wolf, but they are going to be the elephant in the room because iran is the key backer of the syrian regime. there are intelligence operatives on the ground and fighters on the ground so it's hard to see where this is a peace conference without iran and when you look now at the state of the opposition, assad, as fred just said, is talking about stepping down but in fact staying in power. geneva is really a train wreck waiting to happen. >> i'm surprised that it's even taking place. let me bring in nick paton walsh. you're in beirut which is feeling the effects of the war in syria. does anyone in the region really think that bashar al assad is going to walk away and accept

some sort of transitional government move away from what he's done? >> reporter: he's made absolutely clear that's not on his agenda. the question mark is how much do they see him seeing in power as their ultimate goal? surely the administration in damascus and their goals and perhaps some think maybe by getting them in the same place minus iran with the exact influence on the outside, perhaps that might remind damascus there are larger issues at stake here. but very, very quickly, despite that kind of southern people had in getting the syrian opposition to attention very quickly people are going to recognize the opposition and supreme pulls apart the key area of transition. they can have their groups getting together perhaps the situation for millions of syrians suffering inside the country right now perhaps sooner or later they are going to

realize the transitional governments, that everyone says they are there to talk about, it's going to be pretty short lived if bashar al assad simply refuses to go there. >> let me go back to damascus. fred pleitgen is on the ground there. christiane amanpour received a report from war crime experts and they say that they've found direct evidence of systematic torture and killing of prisoners in syria but the syrian regime. the photos are horrendous, if you look at them. fred, what's the reaction, if any, from damascus to these latest assertions? >> reporter: wolf, we haven't been able to get any reaction. most of the reason is that most of the media is on the way to

gentlem geneva or already in geneva. there are a lot of people here in the government controlled area that support bashar al assad. they are afraid of what will happen after bashar al assad. but one thing that you notice is that people against assad and for assad always tell you that the system in this country is absolutely awful. there are people against the government, people who support government and usually get out of jail and usually without looking a lot worse than when they came in. one of the things that we hear from people on the ground is these photos that we're seeing on cnn are absolutely awful. i don't think that they necessarily surprise people here in the country because people, as i said, who are far or against assad realize that it's a nightmare. >> nick paton walsh, elise

labott, thank you. go to cnn.com to see the photos. the pictures are really, really awful. iran has stopped enriching high-level uranium. iran has implemented the first step of the interim nuclear deal it reached with the united states and other world powers. with the first steps comes big relief as certain sanctions are being suspended. jim sciutto is joining us with the very latest. >> for all of the trouble in geneva, this is a good day for the iae. confirming that iran is meeting its side of the deal. that means ceasing enrichment and diluting the current 20% stockpiles down to lower safe levels. so there are remarkable scenes today of inspectors disconnecting uranium etnrichmet

and word the iaea will double the size of the inspection team in iran as they go to more sites and more often in the past that have been secret. >> what is iran getting in return? >> the first round of their sanctions relief kicked in this morning. that means lifting embargoes on auto parts and airplane parts. that's a big deal if iran because there are real concerns about the state of the aging fleet and over the coming weeks and months if iran keeps to the terms of the deal it will receive half a billion dollars in unfrozen overseas assets that total $4 billion at the end of the six months. >> there are plenty of republicans in the house and senate and even democrats that are all worried of a flood of new trade rushing in to iran to boost iran's capabilities. what are u.s. officials saying?

>> u.s. officials say the broader sanctions regime stays in effect and that business men are subject to the same ben n penalties today as they were yesterday in restricted sectior, such as oil. iran is not opened for business, only in these very defined areas that came under this interim deal, like the auto parts and airplane parts, et cetera. >> jim sciutto reporting for us, thank you. when we come back, chris christie's political troubles may be multiplying but he's not backing away from talk about 2016. what he's now saying in a new interview. plus, president obama is honoring martin luther king jr. today speaking openly and candidly about his own race in a new interview. stay with us. you'll get details right here in "the situation room." farmer: hello, i'm an idaho potato farmer.

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let's get back to our top story right now. the widening scandal surrounding new jersey governor chris christie. the latest involving his lieutenant governor kim guadagno, firing back that she played politics and threatened to withhold sandy money as retribution. which side is right in all of this? cnn investigations has been looking into the money, chasing the money, if you will. what are you finding out, chris? >> well, i tell you what, wolf, when you have a disaster as massive as sandy, there are a lot of moving parts to the relief. there are at least ten different agencies handling the rebuilding

effort and so the governor claims that hoboken got $70 million. and that's correct. but it was all federal money and more than half of it was flood insurance and that was where people were collecting on their fema insurance plans. now, the mayor says her city only received $342,000. but that's also correct. it came from a pot of money that the governor's office had more control over. but the governor's office points out that more funding is going to be coming to new jersey. >> so chris, what about other towns and cities in new jersey, some comparison? >> well, it's a good point, wolf. and the governor's office says that hoboken is not trailing behind other cities in similar size. and cnn has spoken to about half a dozen democratic mayors from hard-hit sandy zones and most of those folks have told me that they have never felt threatened by the governor. now, one of those mayors said a full day of meetings with state officials were abruptly canceled an hour after he announced he

wasn't endorsing the governor so at least one mayor saying that there was retribution. >> chris reporting from cnn investigations. thank you. let's discuss all of this with our chief national correspondent john king, cnn commentator ryan lizza for the new yorker magazine and also the republican strategist ana navarro. she was with governor christie in florida this weekend, even had some advice for him. we're going to get to that in a mo momen moment. local, state, federal authorities are looking into a lot. how much trouble is he? >> if these allegations are proved to be true, if you want your sandy aid, you have to support the governor over here, that would be an abuse of power. he says it's flatly not true. the lieutenant governor says it's flatly not true. we're going to have to see where the facts go here.

one of the things that the christie camp says is she was up for re-election last year, never mentioned her during this campaign and never reached out to the state assembly, so the christie camp is saying why now? why is this only coming out now? however, it's a serious allegation and proof of nothing else that chris christie is going to face months of this. state assembly investigations plus the u.s. attorney's office and on. >> she said she didn't release all of this information because she was afraid no one would believe her if she did. that's her excuse right now. this latest allegation could be potentially more dangerous than the bridge allegations? >> this is a direct shot to the christie political ambitions. one, as john points out, a lot of lawyers and criminal attorneys have struggled to point to a crime that could have been committed with this crazy

bridge situation although the people have pointed to some things. it's not clear that even if christie knew that there was any crime committed, this is quid pro quo. this is saying that we're not going to give you your sandy money unless you move forward on a development project that she alleges benefits of one of christie's political aides. that's criminal. >> if that's the case. >> the whole aura of chris christie's credibility was about sandy, about turning the story of new jersey, overcoming adversity and fairly distrib distributing these funds. >> ana, i know you spent time with chris christie in florida this weekend. let me show you new poll numbers

done before the hoboken allegations came up. back in january a year ago, 2013, favorable number was at 40%. it's now down to 38. a year ago it was unfavorable and only 17 and now up to 34. unsure was 42% a year ago 28%. walk us through what you saw this weekend because you and i have spoken. you saw a difference on friday with chris christie versus a difference on saturday. >> the chris christie i saw on saturday was tired. hallow-eyed, was just beat down. he was tired, his hair was long. he didn't look like the chris christie i'm used to seeing. i commented to him, chris, you look very tired. you need to get a haircut, you need to get some rest. and the next day he had a haircut and told me he was able to get some rest. saturday's chris christie did

not touch the bridge issue. all of those events on saturday were for the governor of florida and for the republican governor association. so it was right for him to put the focus on that. sunday's event was for chris christie and he himself brought up the bridge issue. he himself brought up what was happening in new jersey and he brought it up in a way saying, you know, the last 11 days have been very tough for me. i have not enjoyed the last 11 days. i have been tested and life presents challenges. everybody in the room knows that. the question is, how do you deal with those challenges? i think what i saw was a man that's done some soul searching and some self-reflection that has clearly been shaken by this but i think it's premature to count the man out. he may be down but he's not out. from the donors, what i saw was a wait and see mode. by big takeaway was that he has

put 2016 on pause, which is a very smart thing to do. he needs to get his ship in new jersey straightened out before thinking of national elections. but he did say on the national front, if i ever put myself up for national office, everyone has a right to see, has an absolute right to know how i would deal with problems and you're getting to see it now. >> speaking of 2016, john, he gave an interview on friday to yahoo!.com. he said, i think i'm a fairly good politician. i think it's most likely the next republican nominee for president would be a governor. i'm readier, if that's a word. >> if that's a word. tradition fally, governors are the candidates for president and a lot of republican candidates, ted cruz, rand paul, mark c

rubio, chris christie owns that stage. scott walker, wisconsin, up for re-election this year, if he wins, you may see him out there. john kasich of ohio, you may see him out there. rick perry may go at it again. to ana's point about the pause, chris christie right now is the only one i'll call mainstream conservative to donors. jeb bush still thinking about it. so some of them are paused because they are not seeing the horse just yet but they will look if they have to. >> bobby jindal may be looking at it as well, i suspect. these investigations start out modestly and could potentially go on for years. >> it reminds you of the independent investigations over bill clinton in the '90s which started with whitewater and by the time he was impeached it was

over monica lewinsky. you have both chambers in the legislature of new jersey doing separate investigations. you have the u.s. attorney doing an investigation and the ig. the ig of the port authority is also doing their own investigation. >> inspector general. >> inspector general. and so every time there's a new allegation, the democrats leading the investigation of new jersey put out a statement saying, we're going to look at this, too. >> wolf, i think the point john touched is very accurate. what this has done on the republican field has bought time. it has bought other potential candidates, time to make a decision. there was a lot of momentum from the christie camp and i was feeling like they were getting ready to sign up with him. right now we are in a wait and see mode. donors are in a wait and see mode. there's going to be about a year's time. we're all going to have to take a deep breath, maybe pick up a hobby or something. it's going to be nine, ten months before everybody knows after november what is happening on the republican field. >> good advice from acna.

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new pictures of president obama, the first family marking this dr. martin luther king jr. holiday. it all comes amid political buzz

about a new interview that he granted to the new yorker magazine where he spoke about race, among other key issues. let's bring in senior washington correspondent joe johns. pretty revealing stuff. >> that's true, wolf. it's not just the king holiday but his fifth anniversary in the office. president obama opened up about his life in office to an award-winning writer and editor. at a food bamnk in the nation's holiday, the obama family celebrates it with an act of service. >> very proud to be a part of this. >> reporter: the brief remarks nearly drowned out by a lengthy article published in "the new

yorker" magazine, telling the writer that there's no doubt that some folks really dislike me because they don't like the idea of a black president. in the interview, the president, who does not often discuss issues of race, appeared conflicted, suggesting he may get a pass from americans because he's black. the flip side, there are some black folks and maybe some white folks who really like me and give me the benefit of the doubt precisely because i'm a black president. >> he's expressing some of his frustrations and arguments about why he hasn't been able to accomplish everything that some of his supporters have hope for and to respond to critics by saying he's not the caricature that they often paint, being some far left socialist. >> reporter: the wide-ranging article conducted during a series of interviews this fall shows the president's evolving position on the country's political division, the candidate who once said this -- >> there is not a liberal america and a conservative america. there is the united states of

america. >> reporter: now a president seemingly at peace with the limitations of office telling "the new yorker," at the end of the day we are part of a long-running story. we just try to get our paragraphs right. >> that's not the same barack obama anymore. >> reporter: the president's balancing act continues when he turns to the question of legalizing marijuana saying, i don't think it is more dangerous than alcohol. but despite his own well-documented history with marijuana, he goes on to call it a bad idea. a waste of time. not very healthy. president obama reiterated in these interviews that if he achieves anything in the next three years, he wants it to be about addressing economic inequality. >> amazing interview in "the new yorker." joe johns, thank you very much. let's bring back john king, anaa navarro and ryan lizza.

the president, ana, also raised the notion that some groups in american were punished for illegal use of marijuana than others. middle class kids, he says, don't get locked up for smoking pot and poor kids do and african-american kids and latino kids are more likely to be poor and less likely to have the resources and support to avoid unduly harsh penalties. do you agree with the president on this? >> you know, it's been a big concern of the hispanic community, a big concern of the african-american community as well, something that we share. but i think there's still a lot of people in both communities, certainly in the hispanic community that see marijuana as a dangerous drug, as a gateway drug. i certainly don't agree that it's the same as alcohol. i think that, look, wolf, those of us who like booze we stay dink t drinking booze and

marijuana there is a gateway drug. there are two states, washington state and colorado -- in fact, they are both going to the super bowl. we're going to have the first high super bowl. both of those states have legalized marijuana. we're going to see what the experiment looks like and what the effects, negative or positive, are. >> john, the president was pretty candid in discussing marijuana. it's a sensitive issue. were you surprised? >> it wasn't that long ago his justice department was voicing frustration with these state efforts and now you have the president of the united states saying let's see how this plays out. i don't see it worse than alcohol. i thought it was a candid interview both on that issue, on the race issue and on this -- he seems more humbled by being in office. he was the transformational candidate, changing everything in washington. now he's writing his one paragraph. very telling about the toll of five years in this very partisan town.

>> yeah. >> what was your take away and you write for "the new yorker," even though you didn't write this. >> yeah. my take was very similar to what joe said and what you said. this is a second-term president. this is a conversation by a second-term president. one, who is emphasizing the constraints on the office. remember, his famous speech in 2004 was about how he's uniquely suited to overcome the divisions in this country and now after five years he's basically saying the country is divided, you can only get so much through this paralyzed system in washington, i'm no more able to do that than anyone else. i found it very -- i found the president almost humbled in this interview. i found him almost emphasizing what he cannot get done. after i read it i called david and said, you know, obama seems like a little bit of a bummer in these interviews. he did not have that inspirational quality. >> were you surprised that david remnick got so much exclusive

access to the president? this was pretty extraordinary. >> well, david is one of the best journalists in this country and i'm not just saying that because he's my boss but -- i would say that even if he wasn't my boss so it didn't surprise me. >> he wrote a book about the president as well. very quickly -- >> wolf, those images you just showed -- >> go ahead, ana. >> those images that you just showed of president obama, the obama of the 2004 democrat convention and the obama today, that tells you the great difference. look how much he has aged between the inspirational, the you youthful, the idealistic president obama and his head has gone gray. >> is he a lot more humble than he was then. guys, thanks very, very much. just ahead, new allegations that chris christie's allegation threatened to withhold sandy relief funds if it didn't get what it wanted.

i'll talk to the deputy speaker about whether or not they are true. sf plus, more than a year after his arrest, what could be a promising new sign that the detainee kenneth bae may soon be released from north korea. and the so-called black widow terrorist just three weeks ahead of the winter games. afghanistan, in 2009. orbiting the moon in 1971. [ male announcer ] once it's earned, usaa auto insurance is often handed down from generation to generation. because it offers a superior level of protection. and because usaa's commitment to serve current and former military members and their families is without equal. begin your legacy. get an auto insurance quote. usaa. we know what it means to serve. i'll talk to the deputy speaker

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there is some encouraging new signs that the last american detainee held in north korea may finally be coming home. kenneth bae, the 45-year-old

missionary, confessing to what is a serious crime but some say that's actually a good thing. brian todd is here to explain what you are learning. >> his family is looking for any sign of how he's doing physically because they say he's been very sick. despite the fact it looks disturbing on the surface, there is hope that this videos follows a pattern of others before it. this is the first glimpse of kenneth bae the world has gotten in several months, paraded before the cameras in a gray prison jumpsuit and cap. during his brief appearance, the american, now held more than a year in north korea, read a statement saying in part he committed a serious crime against that country's government and that north korea doesn't abuse human rights. he also appeals for mercy. >> translator: i want to be pardoned by the north as soon as possible and return to my beloved family. for that i ask the u.s. government, press and my family to make more active efforts and pay more attention. >> reporter: the video which at first seemed shocking may be a positive development.

north korea has a history of extracting false confessions out of its captives before releasing them. analysts say this is likely one of them. >> this could be an early sign that the north koreans are laying the groundwork for the eventual pardon and release of kenneth bae. >> reporter: experts point to the case of merrill newman held for several weeks. he confessed to conducting espy naumg against pyongyang during the korean war. newman was released about a week later. once he got home, he disavowed most of his confession. bae was arrested in november, 2012, for allegedly trying to topple the north korean regime. his family says he was working toward spreading christianity there, which the north koreans saw as a threat. bae's mother says he suffers from diabetes, an enlarged heart and other ailments. the north koreans don't want an american to die in their

custody. >> i think north korea has used up the utility of this man. this is a lesson in future missionary type of people will be -- will be thinking twice before going in there for the same purpose. >> reporter: and on the heels of dennis rodman's disastrous visit to the country, which was largely panned in the u.s., and the intrigue involving the execution of his uncle, some believe the release of bae may be a signal to the international community by the country's mysterious leader, kim jong-un. >> to improve the image of the regime after the execution, probably, also the young leader wants to show that he can resolve important international issues, even without adult supervision. >> reporter: now, on the kenneth bae video, an administration official tells us they hope this signals north korea's willingness to release him. the official says the administration has offered to send ambassador robert king, the special u.s. envoy for human rights, to pyongyang to secure

bae's release and they are waiting for the north koreans' response. >> if that were to happen, it could be the catalyst for more positive contact. >> north korea could be looking at this and also at iranes negotiations with the united states and hoping for a similar opening. this could be a way to reopen the dialogue over north korea's nuclear program which is further along than iran's. >> thanks very much. let's hope kenneth bae is out and out soon. coming up, a building collapse in the heartland and a desperate search for survivors. and is a black widow terrorist stalking the winter olympic games? we'll talk about the dragnet that's under way right now and the danger to americans and other foreigners who are heading to russia. ♪ humans -- even when we cross our "t's" and dot our "i's," we still run into problems. that's why liberty mutual insurance offers accident forgiveness with our auto policies.

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quickly get to some other stories developing this hour. a district attorney says at least two people are dead after a building collapsed in omaha, nebraska, this morning. there have been ten people hospitalized, many are unaccounted for. the building was part of an international plant that produces feed and other products for livestock. officials are investigating the cause, as rescuers continue to search for survivors. if you live on the east coast, expect some brutally cold temperatures and serious snowfall tomorrow. a winter storm system will move through the mid-atlantic states into the northeast tomorrow into wednesday, dropping anywhere from 3 to 10 inches of snow. check out this amazing new video from indonesia. ash clouds are consuming the clouds over sumatra after an active volcano eruption. the mountain has erupted hundreds of times in the past few weeks. 22,000 people have been displaced as clouds of hot gases

and rock fragments have spewed down the slope and into towns and cities. happening now, hunt for a plaque widow. we have new information about a possible female bomber who may be on the ground in russia right now preparing to attack the winter olympic games. we're following all of the olympic terror threats. and new moves by the u.s. military to be prepared for the worst. one security expert tells me flatly, it's not safe, but americans should simply stay home. plus, eye of the storm. governor chris christie's lieutenant governor denies allegations of using sandy relief money as a political weapon. i'll get reaction from a top state lawmaker investigating the widening scandal in new jersey. i'm wolf blitzer, you're in "the situation room." right now, the danger of terrorists attacking the winter olympic games in russia is more

urgent than ever. less than three weeks before the games, russian police are actively searching for a possible suicide bomber, while other would be attackers are making new threats on video. our chief national security correspondent is investigating for us and jim is here. what are you learning. >> well, this is a counterterror nightmare scenario because the concern is the attacker is already inside the elaborate security cord nat the russians have erected around sochi. police are handing out flyers in hotels asking residents and staff to be on the lookout for what the russians have come to call a black widow attacker. could this be the face of a female suicide bomber stalking the winter olympics? russian police are frantically distributing her picture with warnings that the black widow, the wife of a militant killed by russian forces, may be inside and ready to strike. russia was already on edge

following an ominous threat in this martyrdom video by terrorists behind recent attacks in russia. coldly and calmly they say as for the olympics, we prepared a present for you. with the opening ceremony now less than three weeks away, u.s. lawmakers are warning of lax security and disappointing cooperation with u.s. counterterror teams. >> the russian government needs to be more cooperative with the united states when it comes to the security of the games. we have found a departure of cooperation that is very concerning to me. >> reporter: senator angus king, member of the senate intelligence committee told cnn's candy crowley, sochi is no longer safe. >> i would not go. and i don't think i would send my family. it's just such a rich target in an area of the world that has -- you know, they have already broadcast that they're going to try to do something there. >> reporter: the u.s. military

is now considering plans to deploy two warships and several aircraft to evacuate americans in the event of an attack. russian president vladimir putin, terrorism is a growing threat to an expensive olympics meant to project russian power to the world. >> translator: the job of the olympics host is to ensure security of the participants in the olympics and visitors. we will do whatever it takes. >> reporter: terror analysts tell cnn sochi is uniquely at risk. dangerously close to the north cacuses and chechnya, both hotbeds of militants. >> we've never had an internal in the country threat at the level of this one, so this group does not have to fly in from the middle east or north africa or asia or some other remote location. they are already in the neighborhood, so to speak. >> reporter: u.s. officials are aware of the black widow threat and tell me they are concerned about the wider terror threat to

sochi and about russia's ability to handle it. one area of concern is lack of cooperation. one u.s. official told me there are clearly sensitivities in our relationship with moscow, but that the recent bombings underscore the threat and why, wolf, the two sides need to be working hand in hand to protect all the athletes there and clearly americans as well. >> this is really a sensitive and very serious issue. jim, thanks very much. let's dig a little deeper right now with cnn national security analyst, the former bush homeland security adviser fran towns end townsend. also joining us, law enforcement analyst, tom fuentes. fran, how dangerous are these so-called black widows? >> well, wolf, we've seen the chechnyan and dagistan extremists deploy them before, even as suicide bombers. so clearly the russians have intelligence that have led them

to focus on this one woman, but i'm quite sure american officials and intelligence officials around the world are focused on more than just the potential for one. we saw the two bombings in volgograd and they would be foolish to think there was only one person to worry about. >> tom, you told me earlier that you don't think it's safe for american athletes to go to sochi or for americans to go as fans, if you will, as spectators to see the games. >> i think it's an unsafe situation. everybody has told about the threat. you had a group that promised six months ago they were going to attack. three weeks ago they killed almost three dozen people in a demonstration of their power in volgograd and now they issue a video showing the suicide bombers who attacked there. now you've had the latest threat today or yesterday about the so-called black widow that they're looking for. so this is an extremely dangerous situation. it has been. it continues to be. i think no matter how much the

russians were cooperative, if they could tell us everything they know in the world, but do they know everything? do they know everything about these groups in chechnya and dagistan that have been at war with them, do they know what they're capable of. >> fran, what they say is, and i'm anxious to get your reaction, they're deploying literally thousands, if not tens of thousands of military and security personnel, police and they have cordoned off this entire perimeter around sochi. you've got to have special passes to get in. you go through several layers of metal detectors, a bomb detection equipment to get in and they insist it will be safe. what do you think? >> look, tom is quite right. this is sort of the most dangerous threatened environment that we've seen for an olympics. there were threats inside greece during -- in the run-up to the athens olympics. we worked with greek officials. but let's be clear, the russian security services are very, very

capable. the intelligence services are very capable. i make a distinction that i did not sure tom would agree with, but i don't worry about the athletes. the athletes, dignitaries, they get a level of protection. i've walked these olympic villages, i've worked with security officials. they'll go to real extremes to protect the athletes and the venues for the sites. there's a big fall-off, though, when you talk about the families and tourists. they don't get that level of protection, not when they're traveling, not until they get inside the venues and so there really is, i think, a far greater vulnerability to the families of the athletes and the tourists who were watching than there is to the athletes themselves and the dignitaries. >> there's going to be thousands of americans there, tom. what advice do you have for them? >> i don't know what advice you can give them. how do you watch out for something that if it occurs, it would happen so suddenly and they'd be unable to know it's coming. i agree with fran that the athletes are going to be much more protected than the

spectators and others that come to visit. but the athletes that go to the ski venues have to be transported 29 miles through the mountains. the athletes going to the skating venue is about 20 miles out of town, so their vulnerability will be getting to the olympics. then when they're at the olympics leaving the village and going to the venue where thektd possibly face an ambush. i think in this case the authorities have known for years to get the security in place, so so have the chechnyan terrorists. >> anyone who's traveling to sochi ought to register with the state department so the u.s. embassy in russia knows they're there. they ought to have a communications plan. they ought to test and make sure that their communication devices actually work so they have a plan. they ought to have a rally point in case people get separated. sort of the basics of crisis planning in advance before they go to a foreign country. and that's especially true of the families of the athletes.

make sure that they have plans to be able to communicate with the athletes, because i've spoken to former olympians who are really concerned that the athletes themselves will worry about the security of their families who have come to watch them. >> fran, quickly, sort of related but different, russia's story. the chairman of the house intelligence committee, mike rogers, is now raising the possibility that edward snowden in leaking all these documents, these nsa surveillance documents, was actually doing this in cooperation with russian intelligence. listen to what he said yesterday, this is mike rogers, the chairman of the house intelligence committee, and then dianne feinstein, the chair of the senate intelligence committee. >> i believe there's questions to be answered there. i don't think it's -- it was a gee whiz luck event that he ended up in moscow under the handling of the fsb. as somebody who used to do investigations, some of the things we're finding we would call clues that certainly would

indicate to me that he had some help. >> do you agree with chairman rogers that he may have had help from the russians? >> he may well have. we don't know at this stage. >> fran, quickly, what do you think? >> well, look, i think you'd be foolish to rule it out. i think they don't have affirmative proof yet that that's the case. look, it ought to be the operating assumption for the entire counterintelligence that he did have help. >> it's a possibility. he did go to hong kong first and before he went to russia he was trying to go to other countries. when he arrived in russia, he was still trying to go to south american countries so it's a possibility. i don't know what clues they have. obviously the intelligence community would have more clues than we in the public would right now, but of course it's possible. >> tom fuentes, fran townsend, thanks very much. still ahead, did chris christie's administration play political games with superstorm sandy relief funds. the governor's team fighting back against new allegations.

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new accusations, denials and damage control in the widening scandal surrounding the new jersey governor, chris christie. just hours before the republican is sworn in for a second term, his lieutenant governor came forward today to deny new allegations of political bullying and possibly outright corruption. cnn's jake tapper is following the christie scandal and the impact on his presidential ambitions.

>> reporter: hoboken dawn zimmer claims top christie officials threatened to withhold sandy relief funds unless she went along with a lucrative project. the lieutenant governor named as one of the two intimidators hit back hard. >> mayor zimmer's version of our conversation in may of 2013 is not only false but is illogical and does not withstand scrutiny when all of the facts are examined. >> reporter: with 80% of her city under water after superstorm sandy, zimmer was desperate for relief funds. >> i sfoekt mayor this morning and told her that hoboken was in the front of my mind. whenever there is assistant needed, we'll be here to help. >> reporter: hoboken is along the hudson river, where developers have the potential for huge profits. the rockefeller group's plan to

develop was stalled by the local planning board and that's when mayor zimmer says the lieutenant governor stepped in to deliver a message from christie. >> the lieutenant governor pulled me aside and said essentially you've got to move forward with the rockefeller project. this project is really important to the governor. >> reporter: zimmer also charges that new jersey community affairs commissioner richard constable told her at a panel discussion, quote, the money will flow if she approved the development plan. zimmer tells cnn she met with the u.s. attorney for two hours on sunday, showing him what she says are diary entries electricity day she says she was pressured by christie's lieutenant governor. i thought he was honest. i thought he was moral. i thought he was something very different, she wrote. i am so disappointed. it literally brings tears to my eyes. christie's camp says the whole thing is just abjectly false. >> i deny any suggestion made by

mayor zimmer that there was ever any condition on the release of sandy funds by me. >> reporter: jake tapper, cnn, washington. we're joined now by john wis mu -- wisnewski. you believe this mayor of hoboken, dawn zimmer, because her tweets in recent weeks have been very, very nice to the governor. she seems to have had some conflicting things earlier. the decision to come out now raising some questions. do you believe her? >> mayor zimmer has in the past said very supportive things of the governor, but her allegations are very serious, wolf, and i think that the committee has to consider the facts that she's put on the table. i think we have to listen to what the lieutenant governor said. i don't think this is an opportunity to rush to judgment. i think that there are a lot of facts that we don't know and

that we need to get to, but i also want to make it clear the committee is already looking at clear evidence of improper behavior in the governor's office and we're going to continue to follow that first. >> do you have plans for mayor zimmer to testify? >> what we're going to do first is have a conversation with her to make sure that we understand all of the accusations being made. right now we don't have any plans for her to testify, but we're going to assemble the facts and then make a decision once we know more. >> rrare there any other mayorss far as you know, mr. speaker, who have come forward with similar kinds of allegations? >> no. there have been no other mayors who have come forward and said anything quite like what mayor zimmer said. you always hear a lot of instantmatioinstan instantmations that things like this have happened. she's the first one to make a specific allegation about a specific event with somebody in particular from the governor's administration. but i just don't think it would be appropriate for the committee

to rush to any conclusions. there's a lot we need to learn before we can make any decisions. >> you said last week not involving this hoboken scandal, but the bridge lane scandal, if you will, that if there are ties to governor christie, direct links to christie despite his denials, in your words it clearly becomes an impeachable offense. explain exactly what you mean here. >> well, what i said, and i was responding to a question about that issue about impeachment. and what i've said since then is that we're not there. there's no document right now that says the governor owed the lane closure, that the governor knew about the lane closure. we have a lot of questions about his version of the story that says he only learned of this on january 8th. we find it hard to believe. we have a lot more investigating to do. we've got 20 subpoenas that were issued and we're waiting to get those documents back. and so i think it's really ahead of the investigation to start talking about what the ultimate conclusion will be. we'll look at the facts as we

get them. we're going to follow this one step at the same time as we have so far. we started looking at a toll increase on the george washington bridge and we found ourselves with evidence of somebody in the governor's office sending out an e-mail that was clearly not for an appropriate government purpose. we need to find out why that e-mail was sent, who authorized the deputy chief of staff to send that e-mail and follow those facts where they lead us. >> i want to give you a chance to respond to the former new york city mayor rudy giuliani. both of you were on "meet the press" yesterday. following your interview, he was on and he said this about you. listen to this. >> it would seem to me the assemblyman has an ethical obligation to step down, to recuse himself. he's no longer an impartial arbiter of the facts. he's announced he doesn't believe governor christie. >> he said this is all a partisan witch hunt. he wants you to recuse yourself and step down. and you say? >> i'm not stepping down and i'm not recusing myself. it has been healthy skepticism throughout this process that has

led to us where we're at. when we first started looking at this, we were told this is a traffic safety study and then we were told it was about the lanes in ft. lee and we need not look any further. this was really simple low a perfectly acceptable government operation. but by asking questions and by doubting the stories we were told, we found e-mails, documentary proof, that this came out of the governor's office. now, as i said before, we don't have an e-mail that says the governor owed it, but it's clearly disturbing that somebody in the governor's office thought it would be okay to close these lanes from ft. lee and then essentially laughed about it as the entire town was shut down for a week. >> the governor gave an interview to yahoo.com on friday, and among other things governor christie said this. i don't know exactly what it is yet that i'll learn from it, but when i get the whole story and really try to understand what's going on here, i know i'm going to learn things. what's your reaction when you hear him talk like that? >> well, i think we all need to learn things.

this can't happen again. and the laws and the situation we have right now in new jersey and at the port authority allowed bridget kelly and others to plot to close these lanes and to shut down a town for an entire week. and so what we need to learn as a legislature is how do we stop this kind of abuse of power from happening again. i think the governor needs to understand taking him at his word how his administration and his inner staff, his high staff, could do something like this and, according to him, he would not know anything about it? it's just -- there's a lot of questions that are not answered and all of the things we're seeing just lead to more questions. >> john wisniekski, thanks so much, mr. speaker, for joining us. >> thank you, wolf. >> by the way, anderson cooper will dig deeper on the christie scandal later tonight. he'll interview the mayor of hoboken, new jersey, about her explosive allegations. dawn zimmer will be anderson's special guest, 8:00 p.m. eastern. 8:00 p.m. eastern, only here on cnn. just ahead, as the nation

honors dr. martin luther king and his legacy, we're going to hear some stirring words on rare recordings that haven't been heard for decades.

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on this mlk day holiday, we're getting a rare opportunity to hear dr. martin luther king jr. in recordings of a speech that haven't been heard by the public for decades. listen to his moving words, along with scenes from some of the events honoring the civil rights leader today.

♪ >> we will not have as much time as the cautious, the patient. we are not only living in a time of cataclysmic change, we live in an era in which human rights is a central world issue. the shape of the world today does not afford us the luxury of an anemic democracy. the simple fact is that the relative progress in undeveloped sectors of the world in human rights raises that jet-like speed while we strain in our horse and buggy for an advancement. super highways, supermarket do not an secure the existence of racial injustice. it's not the sophistication of our industrial devices, but our commitment to freedom and equality.

in the final analysis, racial injustice must be uprooted from american society because it is morally wrong, because it stands against all of the precepts of our christian heritage. many generations of americans suffered, bled and died, confident that those who followed them would preserve the purity of our ideals. all americans must enlist in a crusade finally to make the race question an ugly relic of a dark past. >> moving words from dr. martin luther king jr. on this special, special day. remember, you can always follow what's going on here in the situation room on twitter. go ahead and tweet m me @wolfblitzer. "crossfire" with hilary rosen and bill crystal starts right now.