enjoyed themselves riding a ferris wheel near a cemetery in kabul. a person on the ground turns the wheel to make the kids move in the circle. thanks for watching "around the world." "cnn newsroom" starts right now. "cnn newsroom" starts right now. have a great weekend. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com right now, major changes in store for republicans in 2016. a short ended primary season in june. what will this mean for the candidates? right now, the former governor, bob mcdonnell, pleading not guilty, and leaving a virginia courtroom with a trial date and a stern warning from the judge. and right now, a message to u.s. olympic athletes about security. to stay safe, they need to tone down the red, white and blue. hello, i'm wolf blitzer, reporting from washington. republicans are shaking up the political calendar and trying to

shake off the problems from the 2012 presidential race. the rnc voted today to move its 2016 convention to june. the gop is trying to avoid the long, bruising primary battle that ultimately led to mitt romney winning the nomination in 2012. the idea of shortening the primary season was a result of some republicans soul searching following romney's defeat in the general election. our national political reporter, peter hamby is over at the rnc winter meetings still ongoing in washington. peter, this would be the earliest convention for either party since 1948. how could this shift benefit republicans in 2016? >> reporter: that's right, wolf. yeah, the last convention that early was in 1948 in philadelphia. the republican convention. one huge take away for the republican party after the 2012 primary process, it started too early, ended too late, dragged on too long. there were too many hurt feelings. and the party felt handcuffed. they had to do too many debates,

travel around the country, go to places that maybe they didn't need to go in the end. and they passed a package of rules today, almost unanimously, abbreviating the whole primary process. this is what party chairman reince priebus said today after they passed the rules. listen to this. >> we have been saying for months that we were no longer going to sit around and allow ourselves to slice and dice for six months, participate in a circus of debates. but we were going to take hold once again of our responsibility at the republican national committee, because we are the custodians of the nomination process. and today i believe was historical and obviously very important to the future of our party and our country. >> reporter: the republican national committee, wolf, has lost some power in recent years,

because of different campaign finance rules, et cetera, et cetera. they are also moving to try to enact more control over the republican primary debates, as chairman priebus mentioned there, but a vote on that, wolf, probably won't happen until the spring meeting, in memphis in may, wolf. >> as you know, peter, in politics, money talks. by moving up the convention to june, getting a nominee as early as june, that will have some significant fund-raising strengths for the republican nominee. >> reporter: right. this is almost as big a deal as shortening the primary calendar. the convention last year -- sorry, in 2012, in tampa, meant that until the convention, mitt romney couldn't access the money he had raised for the general election. so throughout the entire summer, the obama campaign was just drubbing him on television, defining him early. and the romney campaign and republicans really handcuffed, spending a pot of money they

saved up. so by moving the convention back to june, that means they can access that money earlier, get on tv, build field stats, field programs, and really get the message out earlier and stronger than they did in 2012. one more thing, wolf. all the cities who are bidding on the convention in 2016 are here, courting members. kansas city put in a bid. bob dole was here for the kansas city bid, las vegas is here. the denver bid committee is here, giving out colorado rockies hats. columbus, ohio and phoenix are also two of the cities in the running, wolf. >> what about las vegas? i thought they were anxious to get that republican convention, as well. >> reporter: yeah, las vegas is here. they have set up a lounge right down the hall for me for members to hang out with free wi-fi. giving free wi-fi to reporters here. and among all the committees, they seem to have the most robust staff. a really big team of republican operatives really working behind the scenes to whip up votes for las vegas 2016, wolf. maybe i'll see you there. >> maybe we'll all go to vaegs.

who knows. thanks very much peter hamby. let's talk more about the strategy of moving up the republican convention and what it would mean for the gop in 2016. our chief political analyst, gloria borger, is here. >> still trying to think of a convention in vegas, wolf, and what that would be like. >> a lot of conventions in vegas. they did a good job. i've been in las vegas, including an nba all-star weekend, i went and vegas was fun. let's talk about reince priebus. i think he was smart in doing this. they had their postmortem, what went wrong. he came up with a bunch of ideas and now he's implementing them. >> he doesn't want to have a rerun of what he called the circus of debates. and the way that candidates were going after each other for months and months for a six-month period last time around. it didn't hurt the party. lots of republicans who talked to privately believed that all the circular firing squads, they formed, did not help mitt romney in the general election, because

he had to move so far to his right in debating candidates to his right and was out there for so long that it was very difficult for him to present himself as a credible general election candidate and move back to the center. so what priebus has done is said, okay, no more of that. we're going to limit that. the primary period. we're going to limit the number of debates we have, and by the way, we're going to have an early convention which as you and peter were just talking about, means that they can get access to the general election money earlier. because mitt romney was pounded during the summer on bain capital, remember? and while the pacs were out there, mitt romney could not do the ads that he wanted to do in direct response to the democratic onslaught. >> and a number of debates where these candidates would beat up on each other. and it's also important, he wants the caucuses and primaries to start in february, not in january. not in december.

in february. four of them in february. a whole bunch in march and april, and wrap things up by may. >> and by the way, he's saying the states, if you don't pay attention to these rules, goodbye at the convention. you're going to lose all of your input there. you're going to lose your importance. so this is like you better abide by these rules or else. there's no getting around it. >> moving up, accelerating the republican schedule is going to put a lot of pressure on the democrats to do the same thing. >> it might, because everybody wants that access to the general election funds. i mean, you could look at it both ways. if the democrats don't need the money, if they've got plenty of money, and they wait until sometime during the summer, july, august, then, you know, everybody gets a bump out of their convention. so maybe they could argue that getting that bump would be better going into the fall. and that the republicans might be doing it too early. we'll have to see how this plays out. but right now, the democrats have a decision to make. >> yeah, and i think that will be an important decision for them. we'll see what they decide.

thanks very much, gloria, for that. let's get to the olympics now and a warning to the u.s. team. the opening ceremonies are exactly two weeks away, and american athletes are being told to keep their colors under wraps in certain areas around the games. brian todd is joining us. tell us a little bit more about this warning, brian. what areas are off limits to wearing let's say a sweater or parka or anything with the showing the united states flag. >> wolf, we have learned about a memo sent to american athletes by the u.s. olympic committee. it cautions them about wearing american colors prominently outside olympic venues in sochi. the usoc got an advisory from the state department. in the memo it says, quote, wearing conspicuous team usa clothing in nonaccredited areas may put your personal safety at greater risk. the "wall street journal" and "usa today" first reported on this memo. we contacted the olympic committee which would not comment. an official told us, safety is their top priority, and they're working with the state

department and local organizers, as well as law enforcement officials to ensure the u.s. delegation safety. and just a short time ago, marie harv, state department spokeswoman, did speak about this. >> the u.s. olympic committee, i think, had discussed with its athletes as part of how to stay safe and things to look out for as part of the games, this issue about, you know, just being careful about where you wear u.s. logos or things like that. this isn't unique to russia. we generally give this kind of guidance around big international events, particularly if there is a threat like we have seen here. this was based on discussions with the state department. but it's my understanding that it was actually the u.s. olympic committee who passed that along to the athletes. but we are setting aside the details. we are in very close contact with the u.s. olympic committee on issues related to security. and in general, it's not unusual for us to recommend that athletes or, you know, people around the world, be careful where they wear certain things and just be careful of their

surroundings. >> now, in the wake of all the threats we have been reporting, including the black widow suicide bomb threat, the warning issued by a top chechen leader that the olympics would be attacked, we are told the russians have really bolstered security, tightened that core done in the olympic venues but it's the areas outside the venues that could present the greatest risk at this point. >> i assume family members, fans, tourists, americans who are heading to sochi, are being given the same advice as the athletes. >> that's right. americans have been warned in general. and more specifically, we spoke with lisa cervante, mother of kyle car, asked for hotel addresses, cell phone numbers and compiling a list of relatives who will be there. so separate from the usoc, the threat associations saying to the relatives, give us your information, let us know where you're going to be. give us your cell phone. they're keeping very close watch on a lot of these people. >> a lot of people are nervous going into these olympic games.

they start two weeks from today. all right, brian, thanks very much. still ahead, it's been a bruising week for u.s. stocks and the dow still falling. take a look right now, down about 190 points. what's going on? we'll explain. also, once a rising star in the republican party, now a criminal defendant in a federal corruption case. the former virginia governor, bob mcdonnell, appears in court today. we're going to tell you what happened. this is the first power plant in the country to combine solar and natural gas at the same location. during the day, we generate as much electricity as we can using solar. at night and when it's cloudy, we use more natural gas. this ensures we can produce clean electricity whenever our customers need it. ♪

the dow, the nasdaq, the s&p 500, they're all down again today. let's take a closer look at what's causing the market shakeout. whether it's something that might stick around. alison kosik joining us from the new york stock exchange. alison, not such a great month across the board so far. why the slide? what does it tell us? >> reporter: what you're seeing, wolf, think of it as setting -- resetting, actually, of expectations. we're coming out of 2013. it was a year where optimism was high. we saw stocks have gains of 20% or more. and it was expected going into 2014 that that kind of momentum just couldn't last. so now you've got some of the stro stronger fundamentals from last year. what's happening, they're not showing up as strong this year.

case in point, china. a weak manufacturing report came out of china, and that's worrying the u.s., because china is one of our biggest trading partners. if china is not doing well, the u.s., the thinking is, wouldn't do well. and then you look at the u.s., it's not doing too hot either. we're in the thick of fourth quarter earning seasons, and it's pretty underwhelming for investors. big company names like verizon, johnson & johnson, ibm and citigroup are disappointing wall street, because the thinking is, if corporate america doesn't do well, it won't hire more people. the companies won't spend money. the companies won't grow. and that won't help the economy. so what do you get when you roll that together? you get a lot of red on the screen, the dow down 185 points. it was down more than 200 points. we did see the dow dip below that 16,000 level. right now only four components of the dow 30 are higher. right now those higher prices are coming from microsoft, procter & gamble, merck and

verizon. those are the winning stocks of the day. wolf? >> almost 200 points, 185 points down. thanks very much. obamacare enrollment is on the rise. the obama administration released new numbers today showing that overall health care enrollments have hit the 3 million mark. that means 900,000 people have signed up for private insurance during the first three weeks of this year. the deadline to get insurance, by the way, without paying a fine, is march 31st. the former virginia governor, bob mcdonnell, and his wife plead not guilty to corruption charges that could send them to prison, potentially for 30 years. they're accused of accepting $140,000 in illegal gifts, including luxury items like designer clothes and a rolex watch. a source is telling our joe johns, the former governor had a chance last year to keep his wife maureen from being indicted, but decided instead to, quote, throw her under the bus. joe is here with us with more on this story. what else are you learning?

>> wolf, a source familiar with the criminal case has told cnn last year federal prosecutors offered mcdonnell, while he was still governor, a plea deal that would have spared his wife's exposure to criminal charges. the source who asked not to be identified said mcdonnell rejected the deal. the source did characterize mcdonnell's decision as throwing his wife under the bus. though mcdonnell has always said he's innocent. the source also said the mcdonnell team asserted, they did not believe doj could get a criminal conviction against the former governor at trial, based on the evidence they had. mcdonnell has said repeatedly he didn't break any laws, and that he's paid back all the money that they got through their relationship with johnny williams, the ceo of a dietary supplement company, wolf. >> what were they like in court today, the mcdonnells, the demeanor? >> the couple went into court holding hands. a priest prayed in the couple in the hallway. they are allowed to remain free while they wait for trial. they pleaded not guilty. the trial was scheduled for july

28th. the former governor said he was under the care of a physician. >> because there have also been some reports about his health, that he's had some issues. what do we know about that? >> well, this is something that's very common. and questions were asked of him by the imagimagistrate at the hg about his medical condition and whether he was taking any types of medications. he did say that he was taking crestor, that is for high blood pressure. again, very routine questions. his wife was also asked if she was taking any medications and she said she was taking something for stress. >> crestor is for like cholesterol, to try to lower -- >> right. >> it also helps you with blood pressure? >> apparently. >> we have to have dr. sanjay gupta. >> we need dr. sanjay gupta for that one. >> i know cardiac physicians give it to you to lower your cholesterol. but crestor is very, very common. >> no, and he said he's fine. >> so he's okay on that. we'll see what happens. thanks very much.

and this is not a slam dunk. you're a lawyer. you went to law school. they only have to convince one juror, potentially, that he didn't do anything wrong, or the government doesn't have enough evidence. so it's by no means a slam dunk, given the lax gifting laws in the state of virginia. >> absolutely. it's a sweeping indictment, 14 counts. and the state law is very lax in virginia on the issue of gifts. but as to the federal law, they're going after corruption charges here. there's a variety of others, as well. but he's got a big problem over in federal court, and you're right. it's a high bar for the prosecutors to get him on this one. >> all right, thanks very much. a former top republican aide has been found dead inside the maryland home where he was living with relatives. authorities say jesse ryan l losgarn's body was discovered yesterday, and a preliminary investigation indicates he may have killed himself. he was chief of staff for lamar

alexander. he was under house arrest after being charged in december with possessing and distributing child pornography. you've heard what iranian leaders have to say about their nuclear program. what do the people in the streets of tehran have to say about the new deal? we're going there live when we come back. [ male announcer ] this is kevin. to prove to you that aleve is the better choice for him, he's agreed to give it up. that's today? [ male announcer ] we'll be with him all day as he goes back to taking tylenol. i was okay, but after lunch my knee started to hurt again. and now i've got to take more pills. ♪ yup. another pill stop. can i get my aleve back yet? ♪ for my pain, i want my aleve. ♪ [ male announcer ] look for the easy-open red arthritis cap. ♪ humans -- even when we cross our "t's" and dot our "i's," we still run into problems.

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we're getting some word now of new developments out of geneva, switzerld, where the syrian peace talks are you said way. the united nations special envoy says syrian officials and rebel leaders will meet face-to-face saturday. you'll recall those talks started with very bitter statements from both sides in the conflict. we'll see what happens. iran's programises, meanwhi must be kept, the message today from the secretary of state john kerry. he says the u.s. has, quote, enduring interests in the middle east and will be engaged in the region, in his words, for the long haul. kerry spoke in davos at the world economic forum. he touched on a broad range of issues, including the war in syria, the israeli/palestinian peace process and also discussed

the roll back of iran's nuclear program and what it potentially means for the entire region. >> now, clearly, there are good reasons to ask tough questions of iran going forward. and believe me, we will. and good reasons to require that the promises iran made are promises kept. remember, we certainly haven't forgotten, there is a reason that the world oh has placed sanctions on iran. there is a reason why they exist in the first place. and there's a reason why the core architecture of those sanctions remains in place. and that is why this effort is grounded, not in trusting, not in words, but in testing. taken all together, these elements will increase the amount of time that it would take for iran to break out and

build a bomb. the breakout time, as we call it. and it will increase our ability to be able to detect it and to prevent it. and all of this will to an absolute guarantee beyond any reasonable doubt make israel safer than it was the day before we entered this agreement, make the region safer than it was the day before we entered this agreement, and make the world safer than it was. >> let's bring in our chief national security correspondent, jim sciutto, in tehran, iran right now. jim, it's not everyday that a western reporter gets there. as you know, iran's leaders say they will honor this nuclear deal that has just gone into effect. but how is the deal playing -- you've had a chance now, you've been there for a little while. how is it playing out among the people on the streets of the iranian capital? >> reporter: well, i'll tell you, wolf. the people here support diplomacy between the u.s. and iran. we went to friday prayers this

morning, and the iranians there told us, they welcome this, and they see a chance that iran and the u.s. can be friends. when it comes to the nuclear deal, and i've been coming here a long time, this has always been the case, whether iranians are pro reform or hard line, they believe their country has a right to a nuclear program. they believe it's a peaceful program and they have a right to it and shouldn't give it up. it's interesting, or interview with the foreign minister, dr. zarif, made the news here. you will remember his comments saying that iran is dismabt willing no part of its nuclear program under its deal. and when i spoke to iranians, they say he got it exactly right. we're not giving up our nuclear program under this. they support their leaders very hard line on that issue. >> we have been hearing those chants, "death to america," from iranians over these many, many years, going back to the late '70s. are you still hearing that now, or are folks reacting a little bit more positively to the possibility of an improved u.s./iranian relationship?

>> reporter: well, i'll tell you, wolf, the contrast is really sharp. we went to friday prayers at the main mosque here, and i went with my producer, jen rizzo, you know her. and when an iranian woman found out she was american, she came up to her and gave her a hug and a kiss. i got a very warm reception, as well, from people. they shook my hand. they smiled. they said "welcome to iran." but there is still a lot of very hard emotion here. and inside those friday prayers, when the presider spoke about earlier this week when iran was invited to the syria talks and disinvited, the crowd as you're seeing there now, broke out to those -- into those familiar "death to america" chants. now, in my experience here, there is always a bit of theater involved with those chants. the people do it a little bit for the cameras. but it does show the emotions are still raw, and there are some issues here that iranians will not forget, and will not relent. >> and give us a little sense, when you walk around the streets of tehran, you've been going there for several -- for many

years. as you say, you see an improved atmosphere, despite those chants against the united states. >> reporter: i do, for sure. i think people have hope, and i'll tell you where they really have hope. the economic sanctions have hit this country very hard. and you hear that from people here. and they want a way out, you know. and it's interesting. when i talk to them, they will often say, even people who support a more open policy towards the west, they blame america for the sanctions. and many of the people will say the sanctions may be aimed at the government, but they hit us, hit the people. hit average iranians. so when you talk to them, they're really desperate for economic change that will take, in their view, some of the pressure off them. >> jim sciutto in tehran for us. good luck over there. we'll stay in constant touch with you. we'll see you later in "the situation room" as well. not every day we have one of our reporters on the ground in iran.

from iran, let's head over to egypt now, where a series of explosions rocked the capital. it happened just a day before the third anniversary of the uprising that ousted the then president hosni mubarak, the most powerful blast knew cairo's police headquarters. bombings killed six people and left dozens wounded. our reza sayah is joining us from cairo. i saw the video of that bo bombed-out police headquarters in cairo where you are. and it almost looked like the federal office building in oklahoma city. are we on the verge of some sort of civil war in egypt right now? >> reporter: that's what many people fear in egypt. perhaps not a civil war, but an insurgency that is shifting from a low-level insurgency to something a little bit more serious. many people have that fear, because what people saw in cairo today, the heart of cairo, is

unprecedented. egyptians haven't seen four bomb explosions in this city in one day, and they certainly haven't seen a bomb explosion as powerful as the one that targeted police headquarters early this morning at 6:30 a.m. authorities say that explosion caused by a car bomb, the bomb powerful enough to shear off the facade of the building caused significant damage inside. also causing significant damage to surrounding buildings, including the historic islamic museum of art. four people killed in that explosion, scores injured. but that was only the beginning. several hours later, you had a second, a third, and a fourth explosion. those blasts smaller, home made bombs, including to authorities. and then the past couple hours, we're getting reports of a fifth explosion. the scene at these blasts remarkable, egyptians immediately pointing the finger, blaming the muslim brotherhood. we should point out, wolf, the muslim brotherhood has condemned

this attack as they have done in previous attacks. but for many angry egyptians we saw, it didn't matter. they're blaming the brotherhood. all of this, of course, taking place one day before the big anniversary celebration of the 2011 revolution. but certainly the events today driving home the fact that these are tumultuous, uncertain times in egypt, and many here certainly don't know what tomorrow and the weeks ahead are going to bring, wolf. >> yeah, who would have thought three years after that arab spring at tahrir square erupted in cairo, the situation would be as it is right now. thanks very much. reza sayah, be careful over there in cairo. protecting american athletes. threats against the olympic games have pushed some teams to bring extra security. up next, i'll talk to the ceo of one company hired to protect the ski and snowboard team. [ male announcer ] eligible for medicare?

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the 2012 presidential election. joining us now to talk about this decision, the gop women, a whole lot more. two guests, republican alice stuart, former national press seetary for mike huckabee's presidential campaign, and cnn political commentator, maria cardona, former political adviser to hillary clinton. thanks very much for joining us. alice, i assume you like this idea that reince priebus had to move up the convention to june, accelerate the process, and not let all these republican potential candidates beat up on each other. >> well, i thi the good thing -- thanks for having me, wolf. the good thing is, we have a good, deep fence with the republican party and we do expect to have a very heated primary. but the key with this is that we provide enough time to fully vet the candidates, with the large number, the need to be fully vetted. but it is a good idea to move up the convention, so that we can all rally behind the party's nominee and move forward to a very strong, vigorous general

election. so i think this is a good move for the rnc to do that, and i think a good, contested primary is a good thing. but the sooner we can rally behind one candidate, start raising money and building esteem and momentum behind the party's nominee going into the general, i think is a good thing. >> you normally, marie, as you know, the presidential conventions are at the end of august, early september. will this force the democrats to follow suit and move their convention to june? >> well, i think that democrats are going to see who their nominee is. we still don't know that yet, even though some hope it will be hillary, including myself. so i think we'll see who it is. and depending on who it is, they will try to look at the calendar to see what best suits that nominee. but what really hit me about this, wolf, in terms of how politics have changed, i remember sitting in terry mcauliffe's office in early 2002, and trying to figure out how late we could have the convention, because as you know, back then, the presumptive nominee would use the general election funds, which normally

weren't available until the conventions, and then we didn't want to use them up too quickly before the general election. so it really just shows how much politics have changed now that nominees are not really focused on using those general election funds. so i do think this will be helpful to the nominee, especially the republicans. but i think they need to really look at how they're speaking to their demographics, if they really want to think about how to win. >> alice, i know you're close to mike huck abeer, the former ack ack governor, once a republican presidential candidate. he had some sharp words yesterday. i'm going to play the clip for you, because i want to discuss with you what he was -- unfortunately, we don't have the sound bite. but he was talking about -- and i'll read it to you, because i want to give you the full context of what he said. if the democrats want to insult the women of america by making them believe that they are helpless without uncle sugar coming in and providing them a prescription each month for birth control, because they cannot control their will i beato or their reproud active

system without the help of government, then so be it. all right. this has caused quite a stir out there. his tone, if you will. what do you make of what he was trying to say? >> well, i think it's important to take it into context with the full speech. it was about a 15, 20-minute speech, and we're looking at one small part of it, when the real message here is that democrats have reduced women to helpless victims when it comes to many issues, specifically with their health care and with contraceptives. women are much more than a free pack of birth control pills at the beginning of every month. they deserve much of more than that. they want much more than that. and the republican party will provide them with that. they realize that women have a lot to bring to the table. women want jobs, they want economic opportunity, they want to put gas in the tank and food on the table. and they realize now that the war on women is coming from the democrats. the republican party is a war for women, and they have

certainly -- they give them a lot more credit than the democrats did with the last presidential election, the life of julia, who is a woman who stands with her hand out from cradle to grave, wanting government handouts. women want much more than that and deserve that, and the republican party can provide it. >> all right. go ahead, maria, in response. >> so clearly, alice knows how to articulate this much better than huckabee be, so he should listen to her. but i think, in essence, what's wrong is not just the words, wolf. it's the actual message. because what republicans are telling women is that they actually want to be able to make the decisions about their health care, about their bodies, about their reproductive systems, and they don't trust women to make those decisions themselves. they don't trust women and their doctors, which is where those decisions should be. that message came out loud and clear. every single time a republican opened their mouth to try to talk about women's issues. my advice to republicans is to just shut up about women's issues, about women's physiology, about women's

reproductive systems. just don't talk about women. and if you're going to talk about women, go take some remedial classes on the sensitivity training that the gop was trying to do earlier. because they really need it. >> ladies, stands by. i want to continue this conversation. we have a lot more to discuss. normally i would have loved to have invited mike huckabee, the former arkansas governor, to join us here on cnn. unfortunately, he works for fox news so he can't -- but at some point down the road, if he runs, alis alison, we'll discuss it for the republican nomination as a lot of people think he might. maybe he'll end that contract with fox and be a guest on cnn as he used to be in the olden days. guys, stand by for a moment. a new provocative "new york times" magazine cover on hillary clinton is generating a bit of a controversy out there. i'm going to show you what's on the cover and what's in the article.

certainly no denying hillary clinton wields a tremendous amount of power within the democratic party. now the "new york times" sunday magazine is focusing on that political pull with a provocative cover that has got a lot of people talking. it shows the former secretary of state's face on a planet against a celestial background surrounded by circles of friends with the headline "planet hillary."

joining us, alice stewart, press secretary for mike huckabee's presidential campaign and maria cardo cardona, former senior adviser to hillary clinton. maria, what's your reaction, first of all, to the cover? >> i thought it was goofy, wolf, to tell you the truth. first of all, i don't think it does her any justice physically. but also, even in what they were trying to depict metaphorically, they should have put her face on a sun, frankly. because we all know that the sun has what a lot oh of planets revolve around a sun. planets have moons, they have, you know, satellites revolving around them. i think what they were really trying to depict is the tremendous amount of friends, allies and loyal followers that hillary clinton has been able to amass throughout the years. so i think they should have depicted her as a sun, frankly. >> what about you, alice? >> i think -- i agree with maria. in my view, i don't think it did her any justice.

and i don't understand the artistic value of it. and to be honest, i think it's disrespectful, if you ask me. and they have done many stories on the artistic value and why they decided to do it this way. there's plenty of other things to show hillary clinton in a different light than that. but at the end of the day, if you're looking at it -- i view everything through a political lens. and if you want to put her anywhere in the planet, i guess they would want to get her -- the democrats would like to get her as far away from benghazi as they can and putting her in the solar system is about appropriate. >> let me just read a line from the article. it's a long article by amy chosic, a reporter for the "new york times." the center of the orbit has become even more crowded now that chelsea is in the game. the role of chelsea to the annoyance of some long-time clinton aides, who refused to her as "the child" has become significantly mauer pronounced while some loyalists still think of her as a teenager hanging around the oval office, she has become a formidable presence

that at the bill, hillary and chelsea clinton foundation. she is a grown woman now, as you know, maria, 33 years old. and she plays a pretty significant role in that family in almost all aspects. >> there is no question about that, wolf. and she is formidable in her own right. and, you know, a lot of people have frankly talked about, you know, perhaps what is her political future going to be. but in terms of this article, wolf, i really do think that it underscores the hunger that so many people have to hear about a hillary run, to talk about a hillary run. but i think the reality is, wolf, that hillary is thinking about what is best for her, what could be best for the country. she is taking her time. she is not listening to all of this noise that is surrounding her about this. and, you know, the cover and the substance of the article does not do justice, i think, to her and to the people around her in terms of the seriousness with which they are taking this

upcoming decision. and i think she should take as much time as she can, because she can afford to. >> and alice, you're from arkansas. you're down in little rock right now. as you know the clintons have a long history in arkansas. he was the former governor, she was a partner at a big law firm in little rock, going way, way back. in this quinnipiac university poll, among democrats, look at this -- democrats' choice. right now it's very early. hillary clinton, 65%, biden 8%. everybody else, nowhere, basically, if you take a look at those numbers. elizabeth warren, 7%. but, you know, this is -- is it a slam dunk, first of all, alice, that she will be -- assuming she is healthy, no problems, she'll be the republican nominee? >> i would say -- >> or excuse me, the democratic nominee. sorry oh. >> i was going to say -- >> she's not going to be the republican nominee. is it a slam dunk she'll be the democratic nominee?

>> well, clearly, if the vote were held today, without a doubt. there are a lot of folks that share marie's sentiment, they support her. and the money is pouring in like crazy for her. we're seeing super pacs pouring money in. and as the article points out, chelsea clinton is a great addition, and will be very welcome on the campaign trail, as well as former president bill clinton. they're two very popular clintons, and they will do very well. but at the end of the day, she would be the one on the ticket. and she cannot hide from benghazi. and i keep bringing that point up. but she hasn't answered those questions. she is ultimately responsible for that. and when she hits the trail, all this money in the world, and all the support in the world is not going to take away the fact that four dead americans lost their lives under her watch. and folks are going to play that ad that she used against barack obama of the phone call and show she didn't answer it with regard to the situation in benghazi. >> if republicans have -- >> hold on, hold on a second. when you say she hasn't answered questions -- didn't she spend

hours and hours before that congressional committee answering questions about benghazi, alice? >> she spent a lot of time answering -- avoiding questions and the ultimately when it got down -- when it really counted, when they were really getting to the substance of it, what did she say? she said what difference at this point does it make? and she was the one responsible, and no one has been held accountable. and that's the key. there has been a lot of time talking around the subject. we still don't have answers as to exactly why more assets were not put in place. why we didn't have more protection at the very beginning. and at the end of the day, no one has been held accountable for that. and these four families deserve that, and so do the american people, quite frankly. >> she answered hours and hours of questions about this. she took personal responsibility for this. there is no question about that. she knows that there were issues. she took the recommendations of the group that was put together to figure out what happened. and so if republicans -- if this is the only thing that republicans have going up against hillary clinton, if she

does run for president, wolf, then i'll say right now, if she runs, she'll win. >> maria cardona, alice stewart, this is the first of many conversations, i suspect the three of us are going to have about her and a whole bunch of other issues. guys, thanks very much for joining us. >> looking forward to it, wolf, thanks. >> thanks, wolf. >> thank you. please be sure to watch "the situation room" later today, amy chosic, the writer of that article about hillary clinton for the "new york times" sunday magazine will be among my protecting american athletes. some teams bring extra security. up next, i will speak to the ceo hired to protect the american snowboard team. this is kevin. to prove to you that aleve is the better choice for him, he's agreed to give it up. that's today? [ male announcer ] we'll be with him all day as he goes back to taking tylenol. i was okay, but after lunch my knee started to hurt again. and now i've got to take more pills. ♪

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the united states has dispatched more than two dozen agents to russia to supplement for the upcoming olympic games. we heard many threats and the state department and olympic committee have issued a warning for team usa, telling athletes not to wear the colors outside what's called the secure zone. joining us now is the ceo of the private security global rescue. they have been contracted by a couple of the u.s. teams to provide extra security for the athletes. dan, are we talking armed guards for the american athletes? give us a sense of what you guys are planning on doing.

>> it provides for u.s. association for the clients and other individuals who may purchase our memberships in the region. logistics and evacuation and transport related to prices as they might occur in sochi. >> how worried should the athletes be based on everything you heard? how worried should the spectators and the fans and others going to see the winter olympic games? >> well, there is a concern that everybody has. i think it's a reasonable concern. this unlike other olympic games does not possess a zero likelihood of there being an event that occurs. based on the events of the last 60 days, there potential problems that could occur. an attack could occur and it's not out of the question. the likelihood is quite low. >> you said likelihood of an attack is quite low?

>> yeah, i believe the likelihood of an attack is low, certainly of a larger systemic attack is quite low. >> you have to be prepared for that so-called worst case scenario and given all the animosity in that part of the world and the caucuses and the hatred and islamist radicals who hate president putin and the fighting that is going on for decades, we shouldn't be surprised if something horrible happens. >> no. we have been planning for months for events that might occur. for sure the russians have allocated an unbelievable amount of resources and they are doing everything that one could expect a nation to do to prevent an event from occurring. what was much more likely that we would see is a localized event. the likelihood of that is certainly much higher than of a

large systemic event. the likelihood is not zero. >> it's sad that the u.s. state department and others have to tell american athletes not to wear jackets or caps with the american flag because you become a target. that's pretty sad. >> it's awfully sad. the focus should be on the athletes and the families and the spectators. coming together to compete athletically and the fact that there is a warning that americans should not wear the team colors is awfully sad. >> very sad. the ceo of global rescue and let's hope that nothing happens except for a lot of athletes participating in the winter olympic games. coming up, the white house spokesman and the press secretary. guess what. he has a brand-new one.

. a turn around for the white house press secretary when it comes to facial hair. there is jay carney yesterday. he is sporting his relatively new beard. started growing it on vacation. today the white house briefing not a chin hair to be seen. >> i heard ann bet that i would

shave before the state of the union. i didn't want her to lose money. also if you have seen cody's beard, you know i have a daily reminder of the insufficiency of my effort. the decided the time 4 come to shave. >> a good decision by jay carney. i recommended he lose his beard the other day as well. listen to me. he made a good decision. thanks very much for watching. see you at 5:00 eastern. newsroom continues right now with brooke baldwin. >> wolf, thank you. i'm brooke baldwin. thanks if are joining me here. i want to begin with a killer out of san diego and a murder mystery that has deepened. take a look at this young woman. her name is elona flint seen with salvare