trying to bat down or intercept peyton's passes, it's going to be a chess match. >> watch "unguarded" with rachel nichols tonight at 10:30 eastern. i'm jake tapper. i'll turn you over to wolf blitzer. he's right next door. have a great weekend. >> jake, thank you very much. will there be much talk of unity in the president's state of the union address? why president obama may go confrontational. also, a political gamble by republicans moving up the date of their national convention. will they now decide to hold it in las vegas. and planet hillary. a provocative magazine cover goes viral. i'll talk about the clinton universe with the author. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." but we begin with breaking news. a u.s. supreme court legal victory for religious groups at least for now. the justices have extended an

injunction that let's some nonprofits remain exempt from obamacare rules requiring coverage of birth control. let's go to our senior legal analyst jeffrey toobin. explain this supreme court decision. is it a clear win for these religious groups? >> let me put it into a perspective here. the law says that there's a provision of the law that says religious organizations that have a moral objection to birth control don't have to do it. however, there's a form that these religious organizations have to fill out. this catholic religious order objected to the form. and what the supreme court said today was, at least temporarily, is that you don't have to file that exact form saying you're a religious organization but you have to file some sort of written document saying that. so it struck me as a pretty clear compromise between both positions and the case will

continue in the lower courts while this compromise is in effect. >> but this catholic religious group, the little sisters of the poor, at least for now, they don't have to do with the obama administration told them to do. >> the obama administration has never said to this religious order of nuns, you have to pay for birth control. that's not part of the law. you have to fill out the form and the reason the nuns won the indicates at least temporarily, they have to file some sort of piece of paper that says more or less the same thing as what the form asks. >> how do you expect this will play out? because as you point out, this is just a temporary decision. >> you know, it's very -- it's very hard to know. the obamacare law, as we all know, is very complicated. there are lots of legal challenges to various parts of it. the law as a hold, the individual mandate, that's been

upheld where bits and pieces have been challenged. this will go on for years. >> jeffrey toobin, thank you very much. approximately three million people are enrolled in private plans through obamacare, indicating a jump in enrollment ahead of the march 31st deadline to enroll or face a fine. for the system to function properly, the government estimates 40% of those enrolled must be young and healthy. we're getting new signals from the white house that president obama may attempt to turn around his stalled second-term agenda by turning up the heat on congress before a national tv audience as he fine-tunes his state of the union address. let's go to jim acosta. jim, you're learning about the president ds strategy on tuesday night in a state of the union

address? >> reporter: well, wolf, no surprise that the white house is being very tight-lipped about what the president will lay out in his speech but he has been instagraming pictures of the president working on his address with his speechwriter. the president is expected to return to that goal and that's combatting income inequality and administration officials aren't getting any policy specifics out there yet. still, white house officials point out that he's had weeks of drafting sessions and even read through letters he's received from constituents for ideas to work into this speech. but the president may be inviting a bit of confrontation with congress with another theme white house officials say will be in the speech. white house press secretary jay carney said he will return to his one-liner, i've got a pen and a phone, reiterating his pledge to use more executive actions to advance his agenda

when he feels blocked by congress. here's what jay carney had to say. >> the president will absolutely talk about what we can do together, the administration and congress, to move that agenda forward but as he's been making clear, he's not going to limit himself to that. that would be like any president of any party to tie one hand behind his or her back and not use all of the powers available to him, the unique powers of the presidency to move the country forward. >> now, as for a response to that, a spokesman for house speaker john boehner said the president, quote, has a constitution where congress writes the laws and mitch mcconnell, the senate minority leader has put out an op-ed later this afternoon questioning whether the speech will be a campaign-style event. wolf? >> he still needs congress. he can do certain things through executive orders, executive action, if you will, but he

still needs congress. if you read last year's state of the union and look at what has happened over the past year, a lot of what he wanted to accomplish was not accomplished. >> reporter: that's right. look at the list of things that did not get passed. gun control. remember when the president said over and over again that gun control victims deserve a vote? that did not happen. immigration reform, a hike in the minimum wage, universal preschool. none of those things happened and nearly all of those things will require some help from congress to make it and reality. wolf? >> one thing we did notice, jay carney, white house press secretary, a little different appearance, right? >> that's right, wolf. it raised some eyebrows, you might say, in the white house conference room. he's been sporting a beard that emerged after the president's vacation to hawaii. he walked into the briefing room today without the beard. the beard was gone and so, wolf, we were just left to speculate that perhaps that's only enough time for one high-profile beard

from a white house correspondent whose name escapes me at the moment. >> that's right, wolf blitzer. >> he only had it for a few weeks. i'm glad he lost his. thanks very much for that, jim acosta. we'll all be busy tuesday night with the president's state of the union address. what do you think about this perhaps get tougher strategy? >> look, the president can't go before the congress and say, by the way, i'm not going to get anything done. no. he's got to say, these are the challenges. of course, he's going to talk about raising the minimum wage, extending unemployment and i don't want to be a poly anna here but i think there is something that they could do which is in everyone's interest which would be some form of

immigration reform, some form of corporate tax reform, fix the infrastructure in the country. if they did a little bit of these things they might actually help all of those things. >> they were supposed to be part of a grand bargain and they've got to raise the debt ceiling. that's the problem right there. >> it seems crazy for the president of the united states go before congress and say i'm not going to reach out to you. that would be an early birthday present to the leadership there. on the other hand, there are a few big things that you can do, the white house can do. mcconnell and boehner are pointing out, he still needs congress to pass legislation on his big ticket agenda. but one thing on climate change, one of the things he's talked about since his 2008 campaign, that's totally in the realm of executive action and he can tell his epa to do pretty serious regulations there and liberals,

environmentalists are using that to bypass congress and take care of that. >> don't forget, they are heading into a midterm election. history tells us that in the sixth year of a presidency, the party does not do well in the midterm election. so he does have to play some base politics here. trying to raise the minimum wage, extending unemployment, climate change keeps the base happy. >> i think you were optimistic to see that then diagram of things where republican s and democrats agree on. >> i said self-interest. >> and that's one thing, on immigration -- >> john mccain has indicated that he would be interested in doing something. >> those in favor of immigration

reform always want to limnk it o a pathway of citizenship and that's a sensitive issue and maybe they could do something on the margin but get through that and that's not going to be easy. >> that was the deal in the senate and marco rubio said i'll take that deal. he got savaged once he got past that. >> here's a quote in the this long interview the president gave david remnick over at "the new yorker." he said, "the issue has been the inability of my message to penetrate the republican base so that they feel persuaded that i'm not the caricature that you see on fox news or rush limbaugh but i'm somebody who is interested in solving problems and pretty practical." >> it's somebody that has accepted reality.

one of my big criticisms of obama is his analysis of american politics from 2004 to 2008 was flawed. he really believed that polarization was something that any president could come. look how bill clinton was treated by the conservatives. they were savaged by the bases of the opposite party. he was never going to win conservatives. it's funny that he thought he could. >> he thought he could. >> i think this is something that happens a lot to presidents, which is that they overturn their mandates and, of course, when president obama was elected, the hope was great in this country and i think the president himself has told people that he was surprised about the extent of the opposition and believed that republicans were going to roll over which is why i would argue that perhaps he could have gone about doing it in a bad way. i'm not going to say if he

played golf with john boehner it would have been easier but i think the outreach was lacking earlier. >> i think the frustration among the white house is that elections don't have the consequence that people hope they have. we have a divided circumstance where congress is equal to the presidency. when he won re-election in 2012, it broke the fever. in 2013 -- >> it broke it right away. he got the deal he wanted, remember, on taxes. >> during the lame duck. >> and then the rest was downhill. >> thank you very much. cnn will have live coverage of the state you of theof the unio. right here in "the situation room" on tuesday, 5:00 p.m., and then state of the union coverage begins at 7:00 p.m. up next, with bombs going off in egypt, syrian peace talks off to a very rocky start, is the u.s. losing its influence in

the middle east? cnn goes inside iran. people of tehran say they want better relations with people inside the united states. our own jim sciutto is there. why do the crowds still chant "death to america". and everybody is talking about the planet hillary. [ female announcer ] you know the little song he'll hum as he gets dressed... you know the shirt he'll choose... the wine he'll order. you know him. yet now, after exploring vineyards in the hills of italy, he doesn't order the wine he always orders. he asks to be surprised... and for that moment, he's new to you. princess cruises, come back new.

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planet hillary. the cover of the magazine fueled lots of buzz, even before its release. let's talk with a reporter who wrote the article for "the new york times," amy, also our cnn commentator, democratic strategist, ball begala. priorities usa action, a super perform ac that supported president obama ds re-election is now backing a potential hillary bid in 2016. amy, let me start with you. i read your excellent article and i'm sure a lot of you will read it online or in sunday's action newspaper. what was fascinating to me was some of the lingo you came up with, some of the supporters of the clintons over the years. you put them in categories. for example, hotel california, that group. space cowboys, royal council, nickilippe, the child, sanitation department. give us a sense of what you were

trying to drive because all of these groups were encircling hillary in that orbit. >> yeah, absolutely. one of the interesting things about reporting this is people had an endless list of metaphors. hotel california, you can check out but you can never leave. some people said it's like prison, not everyone can adjust to prison on the outside, it's difficult to leave the bubble. yes, i made up some of my own, hard to press secretaries are nick merrill and there are an endless numbers of categories and nicknames as ways to describe the world which is somewhat chaotic and also very devoted and a lot of loyalty there. >> that certainly is. paul, which category do you fit in? >> amy probably knows best. >> i think you're the white boys. >> i'm certainly a white boy. >> paul, you've checked out but

hasn't really left. >> i don't want to. that's the thing. the clintons have been very good to me. the president pretty much created my career. i don't know if amy knows this but it was hillary clinton's idea for the war room and we have the same problem in 1982. hillary pulled it all together with an idea of having a war room where everybody comes together in one place and i think actually she's going to face a similar challenge, should she run, but i know she's got the organizational chops to fix it this time. >> amy, the person you call -- some of her supporters called the child, chelsea clinton, she is no longer a child. she's playing a very, very significant role. talk about that. >> exactly. shell see has taken on a very prominent role, especially in

the philanthropy and she's essentially running the place. she's hired a ceo who is a friend of hers and everyone says she's a dominant presence there and i think you mentioned the child. i think that speaks to some people who still see her as a teenager running around the white house and now she has her own team, her own press secretary, chief of staff. she wants to be seen as a grownup. >> a lot of us remember the deputy chief of staff, very close to the clintons in the first term, the second term, you called him in the article or at least somebody in the article calls him the direct for of sanitation, the sanitation department. explain. >> that's a name he picked up as a deputy chief of staff in the white house because he was said to have cleaned up so many messes for the president. he has a disputed that ka characterization. >> he's a tough guy. he played a significant role. >> terrific guy. this is where i'm sure i part

company with amy. it's insulting. the woman was a united states senator, most admired woman in the roll, and she's betrayed as a disembodied hairless orb. and other similar politician's profiled in that magazine, the men are always photographed in a very solitary portrait and here's hillary. by the way, sarah palin was depicted pretty unflattering as well. it's not a huge well but doesn't speak well for the magazine. >> amy, you had nothing to do with the creation of that cover there. there are artists and others at "the new york times" sunday magazine who came up with the cover. a lot of supporters and writers for the new yorker magazine that dount alwa don't always love the cover either. do you want to defend your colleagues over there? what do you want to say? >> well, he certainly respect paul's criticism.

media matters, of course, is und funded and it's completely valid. i think there are a few icons who could carry the weight of being portrayed as a planet. i personally don't think it's disrespectful but i understand how it's drawing reactions. when i saw that it was running with my piece i thought that's going to get some reaction. we sort of anticipated that and that's completely valid. >> it's generating a lot of reaction and i've read the whole piece and i thought it was favorable towards the prospect of hillary running for president. one thing you didn't include was her health. a year ago she had a blood clot in her brain and head. she looks great and she sounds pretty good. are folks worried though, about her health? because if she does -- hopefully she won't have a problem with her run and then she won't run. >> that's a really good question. i've been following her around. she looks like she's running around, plenty of energy and looks fine.

people say maybe the only way she wouldn't run is if there was some kind of health problem that would come up or that we don't know about. that's a good question. >> she seems fine right now. priorities usa, the super pac that you're involved with, they seem to already be endorsing hillary clinton. that's the pro obama super pac. what about joe biden and others? >> i advise that super pac. that's important for people to know, i'm not an unbiased bystander. hillary is the strongest candidate that the democrats have. if she runs, we will support her. we have former obama people and all kinds of people in our organization but that's where the data goes. >> does it mean that obama supports hillary? >> believe me, i don't speak for the president of the united states. this is not his deal. this is our deal. we have to wait and see how the field develops. >> his campaign manager is part

of this group? >> jim is co-chair of our corporation. he ran a brilliant campaign for the president and hunlgely talented guy. whoever the democrats nominate, we'll support. it's obvious that hillary is the strongest candidate, not to ignore anybody else. >> amy, button up this conversation for us. do you have any doubt that she's going to run? >> to me i'm looking at her like she's running. she's talking about issues that are important, income inequality, things on people's minds. i'm following her and she's mingling with obama donors. she hasn't made up her mind and if she is in her mind running right now, she could change her mind. the super pacs are forming and she has a luxury of time. >> i've always believed, assuming she is healthy, she'd like to be the first women president of the united states. we'll see if that happens.

amy, thanks for your reporting. paul begala, thank you for everything that you do. coming up, cnn goes inside iran. people of tehran say they want better relations with the united states. why do the crowds still chant "death to america"? there's jim sciutto. and mike huckabee's controversial comments about a woman's libido, is that forcing republicans to do damage control just as they are trying to rebrand their message? that and a lot more coming up right here in "the situation room." when jake and i first set out on our own, we ate anything. but in time you realize the better you eat, the better you feel. these days we both eat smarter. and i give jake purina cat chow naturals. made with real chicken and salmon, it's high in protein like a cat's natural diet. and no added artificial flavors. we've come a long way. and whatever's ahead, we'll be there for each other. naturally. purina cat chow naturals.

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series of deadly explosions

shook cairo, a country shaken by turmoil. so much effort, so much capital, so many lives. eli elise labott is in switzerland. what are you seeing there, elise? what is going on? >> reporter: the message from this economic elite is please stand up because all of these crises are bad for business. with fourth bombings in one day in egypt, and a civil war raging in syria, secretary of state john kerry tried to counter the perception that the u.s. is retreating. >> in fact, i want to make it clear today that nothing could be further from the truth.

this misperception and in some case driven narrative appears to be based on the simplistic assumption that our only tool of influence is our military. >> reporter: but a key theme here, washington's failure to show leadership in the region has allow crisis upon crisis to add up. the opposition struggling to unite and the regime refusing to even consider president assad's ouster. >> remember, it's not a matter of whether bashar al assad leaves, it's when. does anybody believe that? it's a shame that in american history we've let this happen. >> reporter: calling for military intervention in the talks collapse. >> it's a matter not so much of trust as that this is the last testimony for the will to come to the head of the syrian

people. >> reporter: on iran, people understand our concern, which is the concern of all of the countries in the middle east, including the arab countries, we cannot afford to have a nuclear armed iran. >> reporter: in an agreement now in force, a permanent deal far from certain, telling cnn he won't accept limbs on iran's per suit of nuclear technology. >> failing to follow on this path. >> so there would be no destruction of centrifuges of existing centrifuges? >> translator: no. no. not at all. >> reporter: and wolf, a lot of mid-east watchers think that kerry is focusing too much on his main priority, trying to get a peace deal between israelis and palestinians. his message for this crowd is a

peace deal could transform the economies of the region versus the alternative, which is yet another conflict. wolf? >> elise, with that report from switzerland, thank you. with tough talk from iran's leaders already raising doubts about the new nuclear agreement, our chief national security correspondent jim sciutto is taking the pulse of the iranian public. jim? >> reporter: wolf, in ten years of coming to iran, it's been a trip unlike any other. you sense real excitement, real openness to better relations with the u.s. one thing you won't hear, though, either from reformers or hardliners is iranians willing to give up their nuclear program. they consider it their country's right and that's what we heard this morning when we went to visit friday's prayers in tehran. at friday prayers in tehran, we received a warm welcome. >> i'm jim. >> very nice to meet you.

>> reporter: and heard strong support for warmer relations with the u.s. do you believe that the u.s. and iran can truly make peace together? >> translator: we are very optimistic about the nuclear agreement, he told me, but our words are the words of the supreme leader. >> reporter: iranian support a nuclear deal but on iran's terms. like their leaders, iranians from all realms of the political spectrum view the program as peaceful and iran's right. america is a country talking by force, this man said, as our officials say, we look for mutual respect, respect for people's rights. old anti-american emotions are never too far below the surface. reminding worshippers of the syria peace talks this week, the crowd broke out in the familiar chant of death to america this

is the mosque and it's been under construction for more than 20 years. still not finished. the problem? a lack of funding. many iranians blame the economic sanctions and for those they hold the u.s. responsible. so we sensed a new openness to the u.s. and a new hope, even among the very youngest iranians. >> if you met my son, what would you like to say to him? we would be friends, he said. >> unfortunately, we have a technical problem hearing jim sciutto wrapping up this piece. he's been going there for years and sees a positive opening. we'll see what happens in the days, weeks, and months ahead. then we're going to stay in c

constant touch. jim is going to be reporting for us for the next several days. jim is sharing on the ground i am manuaimages. follow him on instagram. follow him on twitter. @jimsciutto. when we come back, is the gop changing the game for 2016 and will democrats follow their lead. and mike huckabee's controversy comments about a woman's libido. is he forcing republicans to do damage control just as they are trying to reband their image among women? that and more. farmer: hello, i'm an idaho potato farmer.

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republicans have been working hard on i am profession their message among women and minorities. mike huckabee managed to say this yesterday. >> 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 libido or reproductive system without the help of the government, then so be it. >> reince priebus said this today. >> as we look to grow the ranks of our party, we must all be very conscious of tone and choice of words when we communicate those policies effectively. we should set the standard. >> all right. let's discuss with stephanie

cutter. a big problem for the republicans right now, mike huckabee's comments? republicans did not do well with women in the 2012 elections. >> this lack of discipline is a real problem for republicans and no one on my side of the aisle has been more willing to admonish republicans. on this particular incident, though, i've got to say that i feel like i'm in the twilight zone. it's so 100% clear that mike huckabee was talking about the democratic treatment towards women and not his own feeling or the republican party's feeling about women. i have never seen lazier, more intellectually dishonest analysis of this moment than i have today. i mean, it's shocking to me. it is clear what mike huckabee's intention was here. >> well, the way that i

interpreted that is the contraception policy, which allows women to get contraception with no out of pocket costs makes them dependent on uncle sugar. >> it's supposed to be uncle sam. >> if the democrats want to insalt the women of america by making them believe they are helpless without uncle sugar. i don't understand where republicans fit into this. >> i don't think he's saying that about democrats. that must be what he believes. regardless, the facts of the policy are that 98% of women have used contraception. a majority of women use it for noncontraceptive purposes like to avoid cancer and many of them are suing on the affordable care act. >> yes. and unsuccessfully in many cases which is why it's going to the subpoena prepare court. >> right. >> but it's overwhelming

supportive among women across the country and men. so the bottom line is, republicans are on the wrong side of the issue, huckabee did not help them out yesterday. we've been talking about this now for two days. >> how is this not an isolated incident? there's a long history of these comments. >> i cannot believe that even republicans are allowing and accepting this narrative to go on. he is clearly i am my implicating democrats and i understand there ought to be a conversation about the policy but mike huckabee was talking about policies that exploit women's rights. >> it's because people already believe it. people already believe that republicans are against these policies for women. if there's a long history of republicans making comments like this so this is not out of the blue. >> you're absolutely right. remember todd akin? remember the governor of pennsylvania? >> look, i'm all for changing media narratives when i think they are wrong but i'm just explaining why this narrative is

set in. because it's believable. >> i acknowledge the narrative. i frequently point out when the narrative is true. i have not been, you know, unwilling to criticize the party. this is not an example of it. >> talking about women and republicans and the republicans did not do well with women's vote. one of the reasons barack obama was re-elected is women, young people, minorities, african-americans, hispanics. reince priebus, to his credit, he's been trying to reach out. he's been trying to do a better job with these very influential groups. kathy mcmorris rodgers is going to deliver the official response to the state of the union response. she said i've got remarks in one hand and my 2-month-old baby in another. it doesn't get much better than this. is it is a coincidence that a woman was asked to deliver a

response? >> i have the great honor of knowing representative mcmorris rodgers and she was pregnant at a dinner. i don't think we could have picked a better person. republicans are often damned if they do, damned if they don't. if we pick a woman they say why did you put this woman up there? she's a great pick, regardless of her gender. >> i think she's a serious woman in the republican party. and i love that picture. but i care more about what she says on tuesday night than what picture she's putting out ahead of time. we need to see what the republican agenda is. part of that republican agenda needs to address how we're going to elect women of this economy. >> she's not going to say in her response to the president anything about uncle sugar and women, birth control, they cannot control their libido,

reproductives. i suspect we'll not hear any of that from her. >> probably won't. that's a good expectation. we'll hear more from you tonight on crossfire right after "the situation room." >> absolutely. how did you know that? >> you guys are going to have a lot are mo. thanks for joining us. just ahead, a stunning move to prevent 2016 infighting and get a head start on 2016 spending and will they up the ante by holding the convention in las vegas, baby? your eyes really are unique. in fact, they depend on a unique set of nutrients. [ male announcer ] that's why there's ocuvite to help protect your eye health. as you age, your eyes can lose vital nutrients. ocuvite helps replenish key eye nutrients. ocuvite is a vitamin made just for your eyes from the eye care experts as bausch + lomb. ocuvite has a unique formula that's just not found in any leading multivitamin.

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munoz is a pregnant woman whose family says she's brain dead but the hospital would not take her off of a ventilatoventilator, c texas law. the fetus she was carrying should be kept alive by keeping her on life support. but munoz says she's clinically dead and to keep the pregnant woman on a ventilator does not apply. after watching their own candidates hammer one another for months, the last time around mitt romney battered before he ever faced barack obama republicans today made striking changes to the 2016 campaign schedule. the rnc voted to shorten the primary season moving up the

national convention to june. listen to the rnc chairman lance priebus. >> 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. >> it's a move that could have some serious impact. our national political reporter is over at the rnc headquarters here in washington. what happened today? what do you know about these changes the republicans made? because there are some strategic reasons for them. >> absolutely, wolf. one of the big things that republicans found when they start to search the wreckage of the 2012 campaign was the primary process went on way too long. it started in january just after the new year and went all tl way really through june exacerbating tensions between the conservative grassroots of the party and the party establishment and the ultimate nominee mitt romney.

what they pass today will basically shorten the primary and caucus process to about 3 1/2 months. the iowa caucuses will start in february and the campaign will go on through may, if it has to go on that long. and that dovetails the party's move of the convention from late summer to june. so the endgame here is to, like you mentioned, get rid of that bruising intraparty squabbling and to emerge from the primary process who hasn't taken as many controversial positions and is ready to hit the ground running after the convention in june of 2016. >> there's financial benefits to the republicans as well by having a formal nominee by the end of june as opposed to early august or the end of september. >> that's absolutely right. that's a big deal that doesn't really get talked about a lot here. look back at 2012. over the course of the summer of 2012, president obama spent tons

and tons of money on television defining mitt romney throughout the summer. and the romney campaign and their affiliated republican committees didn't have the money to keep up. because they were still technically in primary mode. they couldn't access that general election pot of money until mitt romney became the republican nominee on september 1st. by moving the convention all the way back to june, they can access those funds and start spending competitively throughout the summer months, then in the fall stretch really hit the ground running for the final campaign, wolf. >> peter hamby, thanks very much. democrats will be under pressure now to follow suit. one of the cities bidding for the republican national convention is las vegas. it's scrubbing its image clean as it tries to attract the gop. let's bring in tom foreman for this part of the story. a political convention in vegas? >> hard to think about it. but as they try to pick their candidate, this is like picking a frame for a new picture.

they're looking at a lot of places in this country including in nevada. what happens in vegas stays in vegas. that's the saying in this promotional video from youtube shows why. but watch the video bid for the gop convention, and you will see a whole different sin city filled with hotels, golf courses and churches. it's out with the craps tables and in with the kids playing soccer. roulette? let's make that rock climbing or a trip to the hoover dam or the grand canyon, a short helicopter ride away. and through it all, not one mention of gambling. why? because when you're competing for a convention packed with conservatives, let's just say lieutenant governor brian krolicky knows how to play a card. >> if you take out that one street called the strip, it's a

regular community. >> reporter: or you could call it phoenix which is also stacking the deck to win. >> we're 45% hispanic and that's extremely important. >> reporter: and there are so many others. kansas city is pushing its barbecue, columbus is touting the electoral weight of ohio. and denver is trying to not talk about certain things. >> by the time the 2016 convention comes around many other states will have probably gone down the road of legalization as well. i don't think it will be an issue. >> reporter: if vegas is pushing itself with nary a word about what really made it famous -- >> i think this story speaks for itself. >> reporter: so what? it's always been about a town beating the odds. >> we're having a little fun with it. but this is deadly serious. the place that you unveil your candidate is a very big deal and las vegas has been very successful at hosting thousands of huge conventions. they're saying why not this time around? and of course, many other cities

are saying let's not make that sure bet yet. >> nevada is an important state as well. >> huge. >> ohio's pretty important, to be blunt about states. thanks very much. coming up at the top of the hour, new information just out of the pentagon about what the united states is planning to do in the event of a terror attack at tt olympic games in sochi, russia. is the pope planning a trip right here to the united states? we have new information. hey guys! sorry we're late. did you run into traffic? no, just had to stop by the house to grab a few things. you stopped by the house? uh-huh. yea. alright, whenever you get your stuff, run upstairs, get cleaned up for dinner. you leave the house in good shape? yea. yea, of course. ♪ [ sportscaster talking on tv ] last-second field go-- yea, sure ya did. [ male announcer ] introducing at&t digital life. personalized home security and automation. get professionally monitored security for just $29.99 a month. with limited availability in select markets. ♪

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look at some of the other top stories developing in "the situation room." a very ugly day on wall street. the dow plunging almost 320 points, rounding out its worse week since 2011. all three indices are in

negative territory on the year. it comes amid concerns of economic slow downin china as well as mixed earnings news. new indications pope francis could be visiting the united states next year. our cnn vatican analyst reports the pope has expressed interest in attending a major meeting of the roman catholic church planned for september 2015 in philadelphia. the vatican isn't confirming any details of the trip. president obama is scheduled to visit the pope at the vatican in march. if you have letters or bills to mail, you might want to do so soon. starting sunday, stamps will cost you 49 cents each instead of 46. the three-cent hike is the largest in consumer posted prices for the financially strapped postal service in more than a decade. the agency says it lost $5 billion the latest fiscal year and exhausted a $15 billion loan from taxpayers. happening now, a warning to u.s. athletes. the state department says a pointed and disturbing message

to america's winter olympians. why they're being told to watch what they wear. also, deadly blast. a series of explosions rocked the egyptian capital plunging the country deeper into political crisis. what was the target of this suicide attack? and arraignment. virginia's former governor and his wife plead not guilty to 14 federal charges. did he throw her under the bus by refusing a plea bargain? i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." islamist separatists are invoking the name of osama bin laden in a new threat against the olympic games in sochi russia, just two weeks away. security concerns are mounting each day. now u.s. athletes are being warned to watch what they wear. we have team coverage. barbara starr is standing by with new information about how the united states would respond to a terror attack, but first, cnn's senior international

correspondent nick paton walsh is in sochi with the very latest. >> reporter: wolf, we know the state departments warned americans to be careful as they come here as tourists for the games. some american athletes are worried about their nearest and dearest coming here to watch them to compete. the state department has been warning u.s. athletes no be careful not to look too american if they venture out from this ring of steel where the games will be held. less than two weeks to go and the threats keep coming. a jihadist forum friday quote bin laden, implying someone might fly planes into a city on edge. and this militant video first reported by cnn friday prominent in the media added to the daily drip of worry. it compares putin to hitler and says locals could only breathe on moscow's orders. fear felt here, of all places, in ralph lauren's striking new

look for team usa and sochi's winter games. american athletes warned by the state department they'd be safer not wearing these uniforms when they venture out of the ring of steel set up to protect them. >> the u.s. olympic committee, i think, had discussed with its athletes as part of how to sort of stay safe and things to look out for as part of the games. this issue about just being careful about where you wear u.s. logos or things like that, this isn't unique to russia. >> reporter: remarkable that athletes should hide being american, especially as state's tourist warning for sochi said americans aren't specifically targets. the worries mount but the countdown doesn't stop. even if the heavy snow up in the hills makes you feel like it might. hurried workers and a lot left to do here. here is gorky plaza, one of the many buildings being readied in a hurry, they hope for the

tourists that will start arriving in their thousands here shortly. but inside one of the buildings, you see the scale of the job still ahead for people trying to work here. this building -- i'm just asking when it will be ready? [ speaking russian ] everything he says will be gone and this will be ready by tomorrow lunchtime. now under two weeks to go and still a feeling of anxiety rather than anticipation. the kremlin is doing all it can to try to lighten the atmosphere. today a business partner of a key putin critic, a billionaire, he left jail early, part of a spate of amnesties that the kremlin's been pushing through recently to try to look softer on its political opponents. but security is the real issue, no matter what they do to secure this part of the olympic village, the real concern is all

across southern russia something is probably going to slip through in the weeks ahead. >> it would be a nightmare. let's hope it isn't. nick paton walsh reporting from sochi. barbara starr standing by. what are you hearing about plans to rescue u.s. citizens if necessary? >> today defense secretary chuck hagel for the first time publicly acknowledged that they are working on that kind of plan, they've had that kind of discussion with the russians. have a listen to what he had to say. >> we've had conversations with the russian government on protection of our citizens, of course, if we need to extract our citizens, we will have appropriate arrangements with the russians to do that. >> reporter: appropriate arrangements to evacuate americans if it comes to that. hagel talking about that, the possibility, of course, exists, to use commercial aircraft but also military assets.

wolf? >> any more specifics on what those other arrangements they're talking about? >> absolutely. the state department is looking at what kind of commercial aircraft they might have contracts with on stand-by if needed. for the pentagon, for the military, two warships will go into the black sea in the coming days. one of them "the mt. whitney" is major command and control ship. it would run any operation for the military if, if it came to that. they are also looking at having military transport aircraft on sta stand-by. look, they hope it doesn't come to this. if it does, what they're emphasizing is that the state department would run it. the pentagon would only step in if asked. >> you're talking to a lot of military security, what do they anticipate potentially -- we hope it doesn't happen -- could be out there? >> what is the real discussion behind the scenes? look, no one knows. everybody hopes the games will

be safe. but the general thinking is that the russians, the hope is that ring of steel is going to work and there will not be a major attack to the extent, heaven forbid, that it would shut the games down. the anticipation, i think, is safe to say more realistically sadly maybe an attack against a so-called soft target outside the ring of steel, transportation, rail, restaurants, hotels, that kind of thing that terrorists might find that much easier to get to, prosecute an attack against that target and they been can hope to escape. the hope, the hope is that the russians have made the olympic venues so secure, so tough to get into that the terrorists won't be able to get there, but look, nobody knows what's really going to happen, wolf. >> barbara, what's so depressing is that these athletes who have worked so hard to go to these winter olympic games, they're being told, you know what? probably a good idea to not necessarily wear those american

outfits with the american flags, the hats, those uniforms, if you will, obviously if you're going to be out competing in the competition, you wear the uniform, but if you're outside of the venue, just dress casually without advertising you're an american because you could be a target. that is so depressing, that these young people can't even go there and show off their pride of being americans. >> well, you know, it even goes a step beyond that. we learned today that inside the olympic venues, as the athletes go to each and every one of their events, they will be accompanied by state department security officials. they will take them to the venues, and as one official said, we will keep our eye on them at all times. security for the u.s. athletes will be very strong at these games, wolf. u.s. officials are trying to do everything they can, even as they say the russians are in charge, the u.s. making several moves to try and ensure security for american athletes and indeed for all the americans traveling to russia. >> yeah, their families and

their friends and all the spectators, all the fans who are going there. they're telling them don't advertise you're an american. it could be dangerous. thanks very much, barbara starr at the pentagon. still ahead, caught on camera, a massive car bomb shattering a critical building, plunging a capital deeper into crisis. we're going live to cairo. plus how could gifts land dennis rodman in legal trouble? did the former nba star violate u.s. sanctions? but first, here's chris cuomo with "impact your world." >> meet 13-year-old mclean hermes, an avid reader and fierce competitive swimmer. but beyond that smile lies a deeper story. she's legally blind. her vision began to fail when she was 8 and doctors say in a few years she won't be able to see at all. but this seventh grader from georgia doesn't want your sympathy. >> can you hand me that black and white shoe? >> reporter: she wants your old

shoes. in 2009 her father showed her an article about footwear soles being recycled. >> they were giving people $5 discount on a new pair of shoes if they turned in shoes. >> we decided we'd collect them and give them to people that needed them. >> reporter: shoes for the souls was born. they say around 10,000 pairs of shoes have been collected over the past four years. today mclean is making a special delivery to an atlanta homeless shelter. she challenges all teens to make a difference. >> if you have a dream and you think it's unreal listic, just keep on doing it because you'll get there.

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at least four people were killed, more than 50 injured, in a series of explosions in cairo including one massive car bomb targeting a key symbol of authority. cnn's reza sayah is in cairo for us. >> reporter: wolf, just an awful day here in cairo. what happened here today could be a game changer in this political crisis simply because of the fact that cairo has not seen this many bomb attacks in one day in vent mrecent memory. all this happening before the big anniversary of the 2011 revolution. a powerful car bomb targeting the eight-story police headquarters, one of at least four blasts that rocked parts of central cairo on friday. plunging egypt deeper into

crisis and uncertainty. >> it's really bad. i can't tell you anything. >> reporter: are you worried about egypt? are you worried about your country? >> exactly. >> reporter: surveillance video appears to show the bomb exploding directly in front of the building. >> also damage and destruction across the street. this is the museum of islamic art, again, much of the facade of this structure has been destroyed. and then you see this. hundreds of people who have come on to the scene, many of them stunned, many of them angry. throughout the day three smaller bombs targeting police exploded elsewhere in cairo. the seemingly coordinated attacks come one day before the anniversary of egypt's 2011 revolution. the uprising brought egypt its first democratically elected government in 2012. led by islamist president mohamed morsi. but accusation against morsi and his muslim brotherhood movement

came hard and fast. morsi and the brotherhood were hijacking the revolution and silencing egypt's liberal voice, critics said. millions protested against morsi and called for his ouster. egypt's powerful military also stepped in by replacing morsi and his islamist-led government with transitional leaders and labeling the muslim brotherhood a terrorist organization. since then morsi and brotherhood backers have held street protests. the government responding with brutal crackdowns. more than 1,000 anti-government protesters had been killed, rights groups say, thousands more arrested, including journalists and secular activists who fear a return to autocracy. authorities insist egypt is on a path to democracy. but friday's bomb attack signaled a political crisis that's intensifying and a post revolution egypt that's still struggling to deliver the

promises of freedom and democracy. the big question now, who carried out these attacks? over the past several months, a militant group based in the sinai has carried out similar attack, but at this point no one has claimed responsibility, but for many angry egyptians, it doesn't matter. they're already blaming the muslim brotherhood for their part, the brotherhood has condemned the attacks. now all eyes on tomorrow. the anniversary of the revolution. if today is any indication of what's coming tomorrow, it could be a rough day, wolf. >> reza sayah in cairo for us. all those hopes of the arab spring three years ago fading, syria, lebanon, all of the region, of of it right now, i should say, in chaos. his visit to north korea is over, but the controversy lives on for former nba star dennis rodman. the latest issue -- gifts the former nba star gave the north korean leader kim jong un.

brian todd is looking into this part of the story for us. what's going on now with dennis rodman? >> reporter: wolf, rodman cannot shake the falloff from that visit to north korea. we're told that he gave kim jong un some luxury items that were way out of bounds and the u.s. government, which didn't exactly hide its displeasure with this whole thing, may notice be investigating. dennis rodman's north korea trip could be giving him a legal hangover even after he apologized for this rant on cnn. >> i don't give a rat's [ bleep ] what the hell you thing. >> reporter: he's since checked into an alcohol rehab center. now adding violating sanctions to that visit. what could he have done wrong? check out the bottles rodman displayed for north korean leader kim jong un. a close-up shows custom made images of kim and rodman on them. it looks similar to rodman's own brand of alcohol, badass vodka. there is information that rodman

brought other gifts to kim as well. >> i was told that there was irish jamesson whiskey, there was european crystal, there was an english mulberry handbag for mrs. kim jong un and there was a fur coat for her, italian suit for him, and then some other female clothing. >> reporter: in total worth more than $10,000. according to the daily beast the treasury department is coordinating with the state department to see whether rodman violated u.n. and u.s. sanctions in north korea by giving him those gifts. >> i love my friend. this is my friend. >> reporter: a treasury department spokesperson says that agency can't comment on possible investigations. cnn has checked into the matter at the state department but found no indication they're looking into it. the sanctions were imposed because of north korea's nuclear buildup. under american law, what can't you give to a north korean leader? >> you're not supposed to bring jewelry, liquor, sports cars,

yachts, fur coats, expensive watches. >> reporter: if rodman's being investigated and if he's found to have broken the law by giving kim those goods -- >> he could be in significant trouble. the law provides for both criminal prison time and fines that run up to twice the amount of the items. >> reporter: and rodman could be in trouble with another u.s. government agency. the commerce department tells us under its rules you have to have a license to export just about any american goods to north korea. did rodman have a license to give kim that badass vodka? does he have any comment on any of this? not yet. rodman's agent hasn't returned our calls or e-mail. >> he's in rehab right now. not easy to get in touch with him. kim jong un could have gotten a lot of these luxury gifts on his own without necessarily dennis rodman bringing them to him. >> didn't need rodman's help to get them. a lot of those luxury items now

flow through china, even the ones that are banned to getting from the north koreans and the north korean elite through china know how to get their hands on that. some of the alcohol and the other items, that's getting to them anyway. >> brian todd reporting. only weeks ago they were virginia's first couple now facing more than a dozen federal charges. why did bob mcdonnell refuse a plea bargain that could have spared his wife?

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just days out of office and into a federal courtroom, virginia's ex-governor and his

wife have now been arraigned on more than a dozen charges including fraud, false statements and obstruction. and now we're learning new deals about a plea deal he rejected. our senior washington correspondent joe johns is joining us now. he's got more. what's the latest with bob in mcdonnell? >> the latest step for the mcdonnells in a long legal battle sta started before he left office. they're now preparing for a trial that could have been avoided but only if the former governor had been willing to plead guilty in federal court. bob and maureen mcdonnell walked into the courthouse holding hands and prayed with a priest in the hallway. it may be too late for divine intervention. a source familiar with the criminal case said the former governor had been given an opportunity to spare his wife from federal charges but refused to take a plea deal, a move that now forces her into court with him. >> there have been several points in this process, even before an indictment was returned, that it appeared the governor was throwing his wife and his family under the bus.

>> reporter: former prosecutor holly hughes said plead or we'll charge your spouse is a chess game that gets played with high profile defendants because the conviction the government wants is from the guy who held high office. >> you want to go after the politician because the politician is elected by the people. that is a position of public trust. and so if the public can't trust him to do the right thing in his business dealings, then how are they going to trust him to look out for their best interests? >> reporter: both mcdonnells pleaded guilty and were allowed to remain free pending trial. the former governor has repeatedly asserted that he did not break the law and the 14-count indictment suggests serious wrongdoing on the part of maureen mcdonnell. in 43 pages her name appears roughly 2500 times. an e-mail asking for help because the family was broke, asking for dresses for her daughter's wedding. tens of thousands of dollars in checks were made payable to

maureen mcdonnell. she's accused of obstruction of justice for promoting a lie to this man, former ceo of a dietary summitment company who is said to have showered the company with $140,000 in loans and gifts in exchange for helping promote the company's products. sources have said the former governor's lawyers tried to convince government prosecutors that they would not be able to prove their case at trial even if it came to that. mr. mcdonnell has said he was not even aware of some of his wife's alleged dealings. our calls to lawyers for the couple were not returned today. >> but quickly, this is not a slam dunk for the prosecution, is it? >> not by my means. it could be a very close case. that's why his lawyers were telling the prosecutors it would be tough to make this in court. >> joe johns reporting for us, thanks very much. we want to say good-bye to our colleague and good friend jill dougherty. she's leaving cnn after 30 years of helping us cover the world. jill has been a cnn white house correspondent, a moscow bureau

chief, she calls that job, by the way, the job of a lifetime. in fact, she's leaving us to work full-time on russian affairs at harvard university. she's fluent, by the way, in russian. most recently jill was cnn's foreign affairs correspondent. in fact, look at how the state department actually went out of their way to honor her today. >> we just want to say from the secretary from all of us, that we will miss you, we will miss your tenacious reporting, we will miss your presence in the bullpen and in the briefing room and above all, your grace and friendship. >> thank you. >> there she is, jill dougherty. we're going to miss her. she was a great, great colleague of all of ours, after 30 years i spent four years working very closely with her during the first term of the bill clinton presidency. i was the white house correspondent, she was a white house correspondent. we got to know each other very well. she always, always did an excellent job for us.

and i can only anticipate the fabulous job she'll do at kennedy school at harvard university working with students and others. she's going to be focusing her attention on the russian media, and i assume we'll learn a whole lot more thanks to jill. jill, good luck to you. we will miss you. that's it for me. thanks very much for watching. i'm wolf blitzer in "the situation room." "crossfire" starts right now. tonight on "crossfire" -- what do voters think when he says -- >> they're helpless without uncle schubert. >> or the she's asked? >> when will you be banking in the city? >> on the left, stephanie cutter, on the right s.e. cupp. in the crossfire, joel benenson, president obama's pollster and kellyanne conway, who polls for republican candidates. who is on their way to victory in 2014 and 2016?

tonight on "crossfire." >> welcome to "crossfire." i'm s.e. cupp on the right. >> and i'm stephanie cutter on the left. in the crossfire tonight, two political pollsters including the presidents, democrats are so unified on the middle class agenda heading into the president's state of the union address on tuesday night, republicans on the other hand -- >> now, this gop infighting, is this the worst you've ever seen it? >> oh, no, well, maybe it is. >> yeah, probably. >> it's bad. >> that's the republican house speaker admitting what we already know, republicans are their own worst enemy, fighting with each other, failing to support a middle class agenda and unable to stop offending the voters they need most. for the past 48 hours we've had to talk about uncle sugar and women's libidos that any other

discussion. >> i agree. ridiculous that we're talking about uncle sugar and women's libido and republicans need to get back on message. president obama's pollster joel benenson along with republican pollster kellyanne conway. the president's approval numbers are, in a word, bad, in two words, not good. here's where he rates against other presidents at this time during their presidencies. he's got bush level numbers, and we all know bush did not come back. you're the pollster, tell me what's not working with obama's messaging? >> well, first of all, i think putting it in perspective, i've heard and experienced a lot of public poll numbers that were at variance with where the president's standing was with the american people. i went through a whole election in 2011 and '12 as a pollster where people said his numbers are terrible, he can't come back -- >> so you're saying don't believe the polls? >> i've often said don't believe the