they have to bite first and ask questions later. >> all right. thank you. >> hopefully they don't hit the femoral artery when they take that bite. you're right. good to see you. >> thanks for having me. >> i know you're a surfer, as well. >> i saw a tiger shark swim underneath me once. that was an adventure. we've got to go. >> thanks for watching "around the world." the world." "cnn newsroom" starts right now. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com right now, hillary clinton opening up, sharing her biggest regrets. and the president and his team polishing up his state of the union address in the speech job creation, immigration, a path forward that doesn't include congress, necessarily. and right now, a maryland mall is reopening 48 hours after two store workers were shot and killed. we have brand-new video coming in that shows us the crime scene.

hello, i'm wolf blitzer reporting from washington. we start with hillary clinton and the main stage in new orleans. she was there to talk to the national automobile dealers association, and while she did touch on the history of her 1963 oldsmobile cutlass, she also spoke about a few more talked-about subject. our athena jones is in new orleans for us. athena, the meat of this appearance really seemed to come in the q & a session that followed her formal remarks. >> reporter: that's right, wolf. she spoke for about an hour between that speech which had a lot of car references in it and the question and answer session which went on for some time. a packed crowd, a room of 4,000. all the seats were taken that we could see. and she was asked during the q & a about anything she would do over. any do-overs she wanted during her time at the state department. she brought up the attack in benghazi, libya, that killed four americans. let's take a listen. >> you know, my biggest regret

is what happened in benghazi. and it illustrated one of the biggest problems that i faced as secretary of state. we have a lot of dangerous locations where we send not our military, but our civilians. and they go in, they have language skills, often. they try to assess what's going on in the area. but they are vulnerable. we had a very small outpost there, the cia had a very big well-defensed one. two of our people died at the outpost. two died on the roof of the cia annex. so, you know, it's a constant balancing. and i had to do that all of the time, and obviously it was a great personal loss to me since i sent chris stevens to libya the first time. and we're watching what happens

when a country is so abused and misused by a dictator for so long. and there's no real infrastructure. there's no government that functions. there's no military with a military tradition that can stand up against terrorists and militia. so it's a dangerous world we're in, and we have to be constantly asking ourselves, what's the best decision. >> so there you heard her speak, quite extensively about benghazi. and wolf, i should mention, it's not uncommon to see the secretary of state speaking at these trade association meetings or universities. but this was pretty special, because they allowed cameras in, which they haven't been doing a lot of recently. and so it was great for us to be able to be inside and listen to that long q & a and hear that long answer. >> always good to hear what she has to say. did she speak at all about a possible 2016 presidential run? >> reporter: well, of course, she did. she was asked about this at the end of that q & a session.

and many of us have been waiting for a clear answer on this. here's what she said to david westcott, asking her these questions. >> i'm not thinking about it. i've tried to get other people not to think about it. i'll think about it, you know, in the future sometime. but right now let's deal with what we have to do to continue building on our success. >> reporter: so there you have it. still not a yes or no answer. and, of course, she is going to keep being asked that question until she does give a debative answer. wolf? >> a lot of other people are, in fact, not only thinking about it, they're doing a lot of stuff about it, as we know, as well. athena, thanks very much. let's discuss with our chief political analyst, gloria borger, who is here, certainly not the first time hillary clinton has said some of these things. but on benghazi, the fact that she said this was her biggest regret during her four years as secretary of state, what do you make of that? >> well, i think she's sort of road testing her answers now on benghazi, because clearly, that's a political issue.

it's been a political issue in the congress. and what was most interesting to me about what she said is that she talked about the decision-making process, which is what you think about when you want to consider somebody in terms of the presidency and making those decisions in the oval office. and she said you make these choices based on what she called imperfect information to the best of your ability. so you can see what she is saying here, wolf, look, we didn't have all of the information we needed to have. she talked about this large cia outpost that was there. now she can talk about it. and it's very clear that what she is going to say is, look, we just didn't have all the facts and information, and we did what we thought was appropriate at the time, and she said she regrets it. >> you know, another sensitive subject came up yesterday on "meet the press." and it involved her husband, the former president, bill clinton, the whole monica lewinski scandal. senator rand paul was a guest on "meet the press" and talking

about how democrats are failing in their effort to portray republicans as waging a war on women. the comments about lewinski came in his answer to a question. listen to this. >> and an interesting profile in "vogue" magazine, including this analysis. while her husband jokes, meaning you, that his gut feeling is that hillary clinton will not run for president is a good thing, since all the polls show her trouncing any opponents, kelly, the wife of senator rand paul, practically cuts him off to say that bill clinton's relationship with monica lieuin win ski should complicate his return to the white house, even for his spouse. i would say his behavior was predatory, offensive to women, she tells me. are these issues you think would be fair game and an appropriate part of the campaign, should she be a nominee? >> well, you know, i mean, the democrats, one of their big issues is that clinton says republicans are committing a war on women. one of the workplace laws and rules that i think are good is

that bosses shouldn't prey on young interns in their office. and i think really the media seems to have given president clinton a pass on this. he took advantage of a girl that was 20 years old, and an intern in his office. there is no excuse for that. and that is predatory behavior, and it should be -- it should be something we shouldn't want to associate with people who would take advantage of a young girl in his office. this isn't having an affair. i mean, this isn't me saying, oh, he's had an affair, we shouldn't talk to him. someone who takes advantage of a young girl in their office? i mean, really. and then they have the gal to stand up and say republicans are having a war on women? so, yes, i think it's a factor. and it's not hillary's fault. >> but it should be an issue -- >> but it is a factor in judging bill clinton in history. >> so gloria, could the lewinski scandal come back to haunt hillary clinton if she decides to run for president in 2016? >> well, it sure sounds like the senator thinks so. i mean, he did go out of his way

to say it's not hillary's fault. but then he also added, this is what interested me. he said with regard to the clintons, sometimes it's hard to separate one from the other. and i think if you want to attract women into the republican party, this may not be the way to do it. because i think saying you can't tell one from the other could create a backlash for senator paul. and i'm sure that's not what he intended. what this does show me, wolf, though, is that senator paul is making it very clear to the republican base that he's willing to take on hillary clinton in any way that he can. that he's going to be aggressive about taking on the democratic front runner. and i think that's what the base of the party wants. i think in terms of this war on women or war for women or war over -- i mean, you know, the republican party clearly has a way to go in explaining what

they're doing for women, and that will be a large issue in the campaign. but senator paul sort of combining hillary clinton with bill clinton may not be the best strategy. >> gloria borger, thanks very much. president obama gets ready to deliver a message to the nation and congress. aides say he'll tell lawmakers, let's work together or i'll act alone. the president preparing for a state of the union speech tomorrow night. a senior adviser says the message is not a threat, but the president, quote, is not going to tell the american people that he's going to wait for congress. this will be his words, a year of action. president hopes the state of the union address certainly will help him move beyond the many problems of 2013. our senior white house correspondent, brianna keilar,

has the story. >> reporter: largely around reducing income inequality has been months in the making. cnn has learned that aides first started discussing this speech before thanksgiving. and it's going to be a monumental undertaking for president obama as he tries to salvage his second term. it's crunch time for president obama. making final edits on a speech he hopes will be the start of a turn-around. i think the public ended 2013 very frustrated. >> reporter: obama's approval rating slowly recovering but still more unpopular than in any past state of the union addresses, due in part to the botched rollout of his health care law. on tuesday, he'll tout a new plan to narrow the gap between rich and poor. even if he has to go it alone. >> he's in the going to tell the american people he's going to wait for congress. he's going to move forward in areas like job training, education, manufacturing, on his own, to try to restore opportunity for american families. >> reporter: that means executive actions and

public/private partnerships, trying to get something done in a key midterm election year, facing an uncooperative republican-controlled house of representatives. >> he has declared this to be a year of action. it sounds vaguely like a threat. >> reporter: the go-around congress plan rejected by republicans, who say obama is abusing his executive power. >> i think it also has a certain amount of arrogance in the sense that one of the fundamental principles of our country were the checks and balances. >> reporter: the one major legislative item obama has his eye on is immigration we form. despite house republican opposition to a comprehensive plan. it was one of obama's big agenda items in last year's state of the union. but it stalled, along with expanding background checks on gun sales and increasing the minimum wage, which he will push for again tuesday night. >> presidential power is something that is fought out every day. and one speech isn't going to fundamentally change his position. but what he can do, potentially, is begin to lay out some themes to define the 2014 legislative

and electoral battle. >> reporter: and as is customary, president obama will take his message on the road after the state of the union, making stops in maryland, pennsylvania, wisconsin and tennessee. wolf? >> brianna keilar at the white house, thanks very much. and don't miss cnn's special coverage tomorrow night. coverage begins at 7:00 p.m. eastern, right after "the situation room." we're following a developing story right now, nypd, the new york police department says there has been a report in what they describe as a small -- repeat, small explosion, at 88 lexington avenue in manhattan. lexington and 26th street. police are responding. when asked about any injuries, they said they can't confirm anything right now. they are simply responding. these are live pictures courtesy of our affiliate, wabc. once again, a small, key word, small, explosion apparently in the lobby at this building at

lexington and 26th street in manhattan. we'll see what's going on and update you as soon as we get more information. here in washington, intrigue on capitol hill. one congressman calling quits, and another fighting back against accusations he has gone awol. what's going on? we'll explain when we come back. ] research suggests cell health plays a key role throughout our lives. one a day men's 50+ is a complete multivitamin designed for men's health concerns as we age. with 7 antioxidants to support cell health. one a day men's 50+. really? 25 grams of protein. what do we have? all four of us, together? 24. he's low fat too, and has five grams of sugars. i'll believe it when i -- [ both ] oooooh... what's shakin'? oops. [ female announcer ] as you get older, protein is an important part of staying active and strong. ensure high protein... 50% of your daily value of protein. low fat and five grams of sugars. see? he's a good egg. [ major nutrition ] ensure high protein.

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it is my belief that professionally i cannot fully and effectively serve as a united states representative. let's bring in our political director, marc trestman. mark, i resisted pressure, but was this expected or unexpected? >> reporter: well, wolf, i think people were surprised when they found out the congressman has decided to resign from congress. but speaking to people in florida and here in d.c. who know the congressman, they said the pressure was too much at this point. he was a lot of pressure at home with his wife. also a very young child. these were very damning allegations against him. and there was a congressional ethics investigation into, you know, the purchase of the cocai cocaine, and of course, his guilty plea in doing so. some people suggested, in fact, that investigation could lead to more problems for the congressman. so by resigning right now, that will end the investigation and we'll hear no more of it. this seat, though, wolf, will remain republican, it's a very conservative area, just south of

tampa to naples. and in an interesting twist, a lot of people running for this seat, wolf. but an interesting twist. while republicans are able to get rid of a potential problem right now in trey raidle not a good poster boy for the gop, one contender, senate majority leader in florida, a woman, we know democrats right now are trying to have this war on women. but, in fact, she might run for the seat. so it would be an interesting switch-out if she were to win. >> also, i've noticed the speaker, john boehner, he has no tolerance for any republican congressman or congresswoman who gets into trouble. they get into trouble, he basically is putting the squeeze on them to get out and get out relatively quickly. let's talk about another republican congressman, steve stockman. of texas. there were reports he was actually missing following a congressional trip overseas. he missed, what, more than a dozen votes up on capitol hill. he now says he was never missing, instead he was campaigning in his home state of texas. he is running for the senate

seat this year. but how unusual is it for a congressman to skip, what, about two weeks worth of votes while campaigning for another job? >> well, that's not unusual, wolf. in fact shall we see that all of the time, certainly senators running for president who go out on the campaign trail, and they're not there for votes. what's really interesting is that steve stockman, as you said, campaigning, but wasn't visible. within all of this, he also went on a codelle, official trip overseas with members of congress. that still doesn't account for the time where he quote, unquote, went missing. so steve stockman has said, in fact, it's the liberal media going after him and challenging john cornyn, which really surprised a lot of people, because john cornyn is considered one of the most conservative members in the united states senate. steve stockman saying he isn't conservative enough. i have to tell you, handicappers right now will say that john cornyn will easily win this republican primary and steve stockman will be out of a job come november, wolf. >> yeah, because he can't run for both the senate and the house of representatives. going to make a decision.

we'll see what he does. thanks very much, mark preston, doing some good reporting for us. the joint committee investigating the new jersey governor, chris christie, and that so-called bridge scandal is meeting this hour. the new jersey state assembly and the senate merged their investigations into one. they're looking into lane closures that caused huge traffic gridlock in the ft. lee area and george washington bridge, separating new jersey and new york. and whether it was a political retribution. the panel is meeting to decide the process for issuing subpoenas. just minutes ago, the maryland mall that was the scene of a deadly shooting over the weekend reopened for business. we'll have the latest on the search for a motive. stay with us. 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

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we're continuing to search for some insight into why the 19-year-old, darion aguilar

walked into a mall and killed two employees before turning the shotgun on himself. the columbia mall reopened this hour for the first time since saturday's rampage. joe johns is there. you spoke to the police chief. what did he say? >> reporter: well, wolf, the mall is back open, and people are trying to get back to normal. however, there will not be a normal, i don't think, until authorities know a little bit more about what motivated this 19-year-old to walk into this mall on saturday morning, and start shooting. i talked to the police chief just a little while ago, as you said, wolf, and i asked him a question about the relationship between the shooter and the victims. here's what he said. have you been able to determine whether there was any, for lack of a better word, relationship between the shooter, any of the victims or the store? >> we haven't. and i know that's frustrating. it's frustrating for our community, it's frustrating for

the victims' families and frustrating for me. we have done an incredible amount of work in the last 48 hours, first handling this active shooter situation, making sure everybody was safe. identifying people, identifying our victims and our shooter and then working to find out why this happened. we interviewed a lot of people. we still have a tremendous amount of work left to do. but at this point, haven't been able to establish any relationship between our shooter and victims. so i know that's frustrating. >> reporter: and a lot more frustration to it, quite frankly, wolf. there is a question of planning. we do know that the shooter purchased a firearm in it december in the state of maryland and we know from speaking to the chief just a little while ago he made a second purchase of ammunition sometime after that. we also know now that there were between six and nine shots fired here at the mall on saturday morning. as well we're told that surveillance video cameras inside actually picked up at least part of the shooting.

but as to motive, wolf, still a question this afternoon. back to you. >> huge question. what's it like at that mall? it just opened, what, a half hour or so ago. it must be pretty depressing. >> reporter: well, it's still very quiet. and our crew actually took a walk through and got a view of the scene. and essentially they tell me that there were some signs of people leaving very much in a hurry, nonetheless, it's quite clear that these stores are losing huge amounts of money. and very interested in tryingtot get back to normal. the store, zumiez, remains closed until further notice, wolf. >> all right, joe, thanks very much. joe johns in columbia, maryland, for us. the olympic torch under wraps. russian security forces, they are gearing up for the winter olympic games. they had a special plan for the flame as it arrived at a disputed area on the way to sochi today. we're going there live for a

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consider it a dry run for security for the upcoming winter olympic games. the olympic torch is getting closer to sochi. today going through dagestan, which is considered the heart of the anti russian insurgency. our own nick paton walsh is on the ground for us there. he watched the torch parade that took place inside a secure stadium. nick, was all that plan all along to hold that torch relay inside a stadium? was that the plan all along? >> reporter: absolutely. and it seems meticulously thought out. i mean, to the point -- in fact, where very few people in the town of dagestan would have seen the torch at all. it arrived in the airport in secre secrecy. we weren't allowed to see that. it was whisked to the stadium, a convoy accompanying it. and the first that the thousands of dagestanees who had been shipped to attend the ceremony

actually saw of the torch was when it appeared on a tv screen inside the stadium and made its way in for the festivities that occurred in that maximum security environment. a bizarre scene, empty streets, police lockdown, police check points. we were shipped around in a bus. couldn't move around in our own car. maximum security, absolutely. and wolf, you know, you've got to bear in mind, this is a symbol. the kremlin have known for a decade the extent of the insurgency here. both the insurgents and the outside world and russians too, they can do what they want here. they won't be bowed by militants. measures put in place make you realize how worried they could be, wolf. >> because if they would have avoided letting the torch go through dagestan, nick, that would have sent a message, in effect, of victory for the insurgents, that the russian security forces were scared, were frightened, and couldn't even let this torch go through dagestan. >> reporter: absolutely.

and i think as well they pushed ahead with this, moving west through gosni, two separatist wars fought, but now life is apparently calmer and further west to sochi. but this is the epicenter of the threats against the winter games. this is where militants daily sometimes clash with police. there are police raids against their hideouts, suicide attacks around the region. and i think the desire to throw it through was to simply send a message that the kremlin, this area, which putin made his name when he first came to power in the second churchen war and faced a battle where his heavy-handed attack sometimes some say exacerbate the battle. bringing the torch through is perhaps a final victory over that ahead of the games. because so much western criticism of the putin administration is focused on the human rights violations of their campaign against muslims here in southern russia, wolf. >> and a lot of our american viewers will certainly remember the dagestan connection to the

boston marathon bombing incident that unfortunately killed way too many people, as well. all right, nick. we'll stay in close touch with you. nick paton walsh in dagestan. a suspected militant leader the target of a air strike in southern somalia last night, according to a u.s. military official who describes the target as a senior leader with ties to al qaeda and al shabaab. that's somalia's the al-qaeda fall i can't tell. it's not confirmed whether the target was killed. last week the united states and the european union eased sanctions on iran. all this as part of an interim deal aimed at reining in the country's nuclear program. but not everyone is on board with the obama administration's approach, and it's expected to come up tomorrow night when the president delivers his state of the union address before a joint session of congress. jim sciutto has been on the ground for us in tehran, working his sources there. getting some new information. we're going to be checking in with jim to get a little sense

of what's going on. jim, i know our technical connections sometimes are not perfect. but i assume you can hear me, and you can report to our viewers what you are seeing first-hand. your eyewitness account of what you're seeing in tehran. >> reporter:el with, i'll tell you, wolf. separate from the intricacies of the nuclear agreement, the fiery political rhetoric or even the dollar figures on the sanctions relief, what really concerns iranians here is how the economic sanctions affect them and their daily lives. can the airplanes that they fly on get spare parts. can they get spare parts for the cars they drive. and something we found yesterday when we went to a medical clinic here, can they get the right cancer drugs. chemotherapy drugs. because one thing a lot of americans might not know, under the sanctions regime, iranians can't buy chemotherapy drugs, most of the best of which are made in europe and the u.s. we went to a cancer clinic yesterday, and the patients there telling us, you know, these -- this nuclear deal, this

new diplomacy with iran is for them a matter of life and death. so they are really rooting for real progress here, because they can feel it every day. the difference between success in these negotiations and failure. >> those who did sanctions on the country, there was a kind of -- i don't know, participant for killing the people. >> now, one thing that's good out of this interim nuclear agreement, wolf, is that one of the sanctions that's been lifted is on those medical supplies. humanitarian supplies, drugs like chemotherapy. it's going to take some time, days and weeks to filter through. but once it does, patients like nala, are going to be able it get those drugs. and that makes a difference on the ground here, and that's the kind of thing that really concerns average iranians when we're speaking about big picture

diplomacy. >> i don't know what the president is going to say in the state of the union address when it comes to iran, that nuclear deal, other related areas. but in your average conversations there in tehran with folks, what would they like to hear the president of the united states say? >> reporter:el with, i think they want to hear the u.s. is committed to this deal. we talk a lot about whether iran is committed, of course, on this side. you have skepticism after all these years of distrust that the u.s. really wants to make peace with iran. they certainly want to hear that more sanctions relief is coming. but they also do not want to hear, i'll tell you, a threat of force. when secretary kerry in an interview last week said again that the possibility of a military strike against iran is still on the table if negotiations fail, that got an immediate reaction here, on the front pages of the newspapers, head of the iranian revolutionary guards, made a really combative response, saying that iran is ready for war with the u.s. that's the kind of statement

that riles people up here. now, you know, moderates know that that's really a talking point from the american side, just as the iranian side has its talking points for domestic consumption. but the hard liners use comments like that as ammunition to try to undermine the deal. so that's something that ears would perk up here for if the threat of force is mentioned. my understanding is that iran will be mentioned in the speech. won't talk about it a long time, but will talk about it as one of his chief -- one of the president's chief foreign policy priorities. >> yeah. and he sees it as not only a priority, but an achievement, the six-month interim deal, but getting a lot of grief from many members of congress, not just republicans, but as you know, from a bunch of democrats, as well. we'll see what he says tomorrow night, if he simply restates what he said on many occasions, quote, all options are on the table. see if it can be resolved diplomatically.

even if he were to say all options on the table, you're pointing out that would generate really a negative response from the iranians. >> reporter: it would. but you know, wolf, as happens on both sides, i think the cooler heads involved in these negotiations, the foreign minister zavad zarif, they know it's a standard talking point, not new in the negotiations. that said, just like in the states, you mentioned the lawmakers in the u.s. who are opposed to this deal. they latch on to comments they hear from iran. and it is certainly true that the hardliners in the negotiations latch on to comments in the u.s. i don't want to overestimate the -- overemphasize the importance of it. but listen, this is a political place. they have just as much distrust going in that direction as we have coming in this direction. so it's the kind of thing that the opponents would use as ammunition. >> certainly will.

all right. jim sciutto on the ground, one of the few western reporters there in iran right now. he'll have more coming up in the situation room, as well. meanwhile, president obama gets ready for that high-stakes address to the nation. he's hoping his state of the union address will help him get back on track after a very difficult year. more details when we come back. this is for you. ♪ [ male announcer ] bob's heart attack didn't come with a warning. today his doctor has him on a bayer aspirin regimen to help reduce the risk of another one. if you've had a heart attack, be sure to talk to your doctor before you begin an aspirin regimen. if you've had a heart attack, be sure to talk to your doctor so when my moderate to severe chronic plaque psoriasis them. was also on display, i'd had it. i finally had a serious talk with my dermatologist. this time, he prescribed humira-adalimumab. humira helps to clear the surface of my skin by actually working inside my body. in clinical trials, most adults with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis

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want to update you on that story we told you about earlier. earlier, there were reports that there might have been a small explosion at this location, lexington and 26th street in manhattan. good news. no explosion. nypd now says it appears to have been a fire that appears to be a tire, i should say, a tire from a hand truck that exploded. the wheel burst. pieces landed on a nearby package near the lobby of the building, initially leading people to believe the package was what exploded.

but it wasn't no foul play. all good. no explosion. no even small explosion at lexington and 26th street in manhattan. president obama getting a chance to hit the reset button in his state of the union speech tomorrow night. the speech provides him with a forum unique to the presidency and a chance to turn the page following a rather difficult 2013. our chief political correspondent, candy crowley, sets the stage for the president's address. >> reporter: this year, state of the unite features a second-term president looking to his legacy and supporting cast looking to get re-elected. advantage to president obama, who will be immediately elevated by the grandeur of tradition and one of the handiest tools in a presidential arsenal. the power to set the agenda. >> most important time to set the agenda is in the state of

the union speech. so it's the most important day we know about coming in 2014. and so he'll use that to revivify his second term. >> reporter: the president could use some revivification. most of 2013 got away from him. the president thought congressional republicans would be more amenable to his agenda. they were not. and the early months were consumed by deficit and spending arguments. the boston marathon bombing in the spring dominated the headlines, and reawakened that post 9/11 sentence of vulnerability. summer brought the exposure of a secret u.s. government program to collect phone data on most calls in and out of the u.s. an uneven response to a coup in egypt. public disagreements with israel and an on again/off again strike against syria's chemical weapons. october brought -- >> this isn't some damn game -- >> reporter: a republican

shutdown. and the granddaddy of all agenda busters. >> that's on me. >> reporter: the incompetent rollout of the affordable care act, which hurt the president a lot. >> there was a time when i was a young invincible. after five years in this office, people don't call me that anymore. >> reporter: politically, 2013 was the cruelest year for the president. he's got the poll numbers to prove it. and an agenda that mostly didn't happen. >> i will faithfully execute -- >> reporter: presidential second terms are so often downhill trips, there's a name for it. second-term curse. to shake it off, this president is in dire need of a better economy and a clean run for his health care law to bolster his poll numbers. and then he needs a change-up. in politics, that means either double down on your efforts or pivot. sounds like the president will choose both. work with congress to get what he can, go around them with executive power to get what he wants. >> he is going to look in every way he can with his pen and his phone to try to move the ball forward.

>> reporter: tuesday night, president obama walks up to the house podium and into american living rooms to outline his agenda under the shadow of weak approval ratings and a ticking clock. seated in the house chamber will be progressives previously known as liberals, disappointed in the president for not being more aggressive with republicans. and moderate democrats, facing their own tough re-election battles in conservative states the president lost. and republicans who might just win a senate majority this year, and all of that would mean during the last two years of his tenure, president obama would be dealing with a republican-controlled capitol hi hill. no pressure. candy crowley, cnn, washington. and don't miss special coverage of the state of the union address tomorrow night, 7:00 p.m., eastern right after "crossfire" and "the situation room." the countdown to the super bowl certainly is on. the teams have arrived. most of the talk right now, at least, is about the weather. we're going to find out what's going on. i procrastinated... nbc universal's coverage of the 2012 london games

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will be available on every device. on tv, online or streaming on the nbc sports live extra app. beginning february 6th, experience the winter games everywhere. welcome to what's next. comcast nbcuniversal [ all ] bigger! now let's say a friend invites you over and they have a really big, really fun pool.

and then another friend invites you over who has a much smaller, less fun pool. which pool would you rather go to? does the big pool have piranhas? i believe so. does it have a dinosaur that can turn into a robot and chop the water like a karate ninja? yeah. wait, what? why would it not? [ male announcer ] it's not complicated. bigger is better. and at&t now covers more than 99% of all americans. ♪ anymo for the first time in many years, the weather is one of the big stories ahead of the game. our laura is outside metlife stadium in east rutherford, new jersey. laura, they're playing football in february in new york. it's cold right now.

i'm sure they're really worried about the snow and other factors. >> reporter: they absolutely are, wolf. it is very, very cold here. but the biggest concern is about that snow. now, the cold, it will be cold, but it's not exactly that frostbite on your lungs type of cold weather that's going to impact the game. the snow, on the other hand, it actually has the potential of moving this game up by a day or two, or even causing it to be postponed by a day or two. now, it was just last week that we saw a massive 13 inches of snow, absolutely blanket the stadium here. and there were massive undertaking -- massive efforts of undertaking underway to clear the snow out. there were jet engine powered vaporizers being used in the stadium to get rid of all of the snow. you know, andit not just the stadium that's a concern when it comes to snow. it's the parking lot, as well, of course. there's going to be a ton of fans driving in. they want to be able to get here and park and maybe to some tailgating. now, if there is a lot of snow, it has to be cleared.

the league has plows on hand. they have front-end loaders on hand and a number of haul trucks on hand as well to get the snow out of here as quickly as possible. but then there's the other question of if it is very cold. are we going to see the same sort of turnout and the same type of fans that we're used to seeing at super bowls. they're not necessarily the hard core fans that will camp out in the frigid temperatures and try to stay warm to watch their team win. these are games that bring out celebrities. are we going to see cameron diaz feeding a-rod popcorn/maybe not. and other times certain players like peyton manning may struggle in cold weather games. he has been criticized for doing that in the past, wolf. >> well, it's going to be exciting no matter what, especially those of us who love football, love super bowls, especially. laura, don't get too cold out there. we'll check in with you in the days to come. thanks very much. former teacher facing the

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. a terminal illness came up with a final project to make most of the rest of his life. here's cnn. >> in the city that care forgot, it's hard to find anyone with fewer worries than david. >> at times i felt a lot like huck finn, floating down the river, free. >> odd because for seven years he had an inoperable brain tumor. why is he happy? because his terminal illness led to the adventure of a lifetime. >> that's one of the perks. you have a lot less to be afraid of. >> he loved literature and poetry and shaping young lives. they wonder if they made any difference. they set out to visit as many former students as he could through 8,000 miles of buses, trains and hitch hiking. >> some were amazed.

i got the questions what are you doing in seattle? how did you get to san francisco? oregon, illinois, new york, pennsylvania, florida, georgia, louisiana. alabama. >> a lot. >> a lot. >> ladies and gentlemen, the pacific. >> the adventure became a book. the priority list. friendships became a new reason to live. >> even in the state of mostly blind, i'm alive and doing things with my life. i'm very happy about that. >> what did you like? >> i can make a difference and i'm proud of that difference and the people that they have become. >> there was no -- >> some help him get to the doctor and unerrands and read books. >> there was a time in high school where i didn't know if he would see me get into college and graduate. >> this is more than you expected? >> absolutely.

absolutely. >> we are all going to die. we both know this. it is an inevitability. if you spend your time dreading and mourning, you miss out on the good stuff that happens before then. i'm very much about living. >> still he pushes on, not to the end, but to whatever comes next. cnn, new orleans. >> good luck to david. we hope the best for him. a very, very different story and one of the highlights of last night's grammy awards. ringo star and paul mccartney together again. we caught up with ringo. >> i'm doing great. >> thank you for joining me. >> on cnn, what could be better? >> not much. it's a good day. >> he will love that. you want to give him a message? >> hey, wolf! >> ringo star giving you love. that's pretty darn cool.

>> very cool. >> very cool indeed. ringo, love to ringo as well. very, very cool. thank you. i couldn't be happener. ringo starr. thank you very much for watching. newsroom continues right now with brooke baldwin. >> that just made my day. hi, everyone. i'm brooke baldwin and thank you for joining us on this monday. the centers for disease control on board. the royal caribbean news ships scrambling to identify the mystery illness that struck down more than 600 people including 49 members of the crew. their symptoms are vomiting and diarrhea. >> i just walked out and they said if you are not sick, you have to leaveig