deluged with e-mails. thanks for watching, everybody. it's been great to have you with us. "around the world" starts right "around the world" starts right now. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com the south is bracing for snow and ice, even as far south as new orleans. and schools, they're closing all over the country. >> security very high at two major sporting events happening just days from now. we're talking about the super bowl, of course, and the winter olympics. we're going to have a look at what is being done to protect people. and president obama is planning to talk about inequality, immigration and climate change in tonight's state of the union address. we will definitely have a preview. welcome to "around the world," i'm kyra phillips in for suzanne malvea malveaux. >> it's been a while. nice to have you here. good to see you. i'm michael holmes, of course. we begin with those two sporting event ramping up the highest levels of protection ever afforded to any games. >> armies of human and high-tech

security are taking measures, being deployed as we speak. both for the super bowl in new jersey this weekend and then next weekend, for sochi and the start of the winter olympics in russia. let's begin with the super bowl, shall we? evan perez joining us from washington. evan, what exactly are you hearing from homeland security with regard to the safety measures right now? >> reporter: well, they're deploying a lot of resources to new jersey and new york for this coming weekend. one of the things they're doing is adding more air marshals, more radiological detection teams, which are going to be going through transit hubs in new jersey and to try to make sure they can find any problems before they occur. more random baggage checks will be done at some of the transit stations. passengers screening at airports, they're going to add people to help get people through those lines. and we just got some new information that there's going to be a lot more emphasis on sex trafficking, which is a big problem around big sporting events. the nypd tells us that they have

made about 200 arrests in the last couple weeks alone on this. and they're going to be emphasizing a lot more on this, the fbi is also involved with that, kyra. >> yeah, heard about people at airports getting training in how to spot potential it victims of sex trafficking. so that's some good news. i'm curious, evan, is this a response to any specific threat or new threat, or just the usual abundance of caution? >> reporter: well, you know, i think this is not anything specific. this is what they do for super bowls. this super bowl is particularly tricky. you have a very congested region just outside of new york city. you have rail lines that run -- there's a train station that's just yards away from the entrance to the stadium. and so one of the things that the tsa is doing is deploying these teams that includes air marshals and behavior specialists. they're going to be going through 100% baggage checks between the train station a little further away from the stadium for 15,000 people that are expected to travel on that train line. so this is actually an issue of more new york and high-profile

new york than it is. and the fact that you have so many people that are going to be depending on transit, michael. >> well, bottom line, since 9/11, right, everything has changed for us. so when we all pack into one venue, thousands and thousands of people, it's always -- >> you've got to be checked. >> exactly. >> and i guess we're talking about, what, 80,000 football fans, evan, expected at metlife stadium? i mean, what do you think the biggest challenge would be? >> reporter: well, one of the biggest things is it's going to be so cold this weekend. everybody is going to be carrying big coats and big -- and a lot of things on them to keep warm. and as you know, kyra, getting into these stadiums, they have to screen you, they have to get -- you have to get through these screening stations. and in the last couple years, the nfl has banned bags from coming into stadiums. so this is going to be a bigger headache than one, let's say, if you put this super bowl -- played this super bowl in miami or in san diego where there are much warmer temperatures

expected than what we're expecting this weekend in new york. >> yeah. >> no big bags. hard to get the big flask in there. >> i was just going to say. >> hot to they. >> evan makes a very good point. i think next year it's going to be in texas, where it will be 80 degrees this weekend. so -- >> there won't be any issues. >> built of a difference. evan good to see you. now let's turn to the winter olympics. speaking of chill, ten days now before the start of the games. and records already being set. >> that's right. and not in athletic competitions, but in terms of the security force in place to prevent terrorist attacks. ivan watson in sochi with details on what's happening. >> reporter: kyra and michael, workers here on the ground in sochi are working overtime. they're putting a final touches on the venues, on the cities and towns here ahead of the opening of the olympics about ten it days away. we have also been seeing how the russian security forces are tightening their so-called ring of steel around the olympic venues. for example, there is a

brand-new highway and high-speed rail line that have been built just for these olympics connecting the olympic park over my shoulder and running more than 25 miles up into the caucasus mountains to the venues where the alpine sports will be held. and along the route, which we drove along today, we can see russian soldiers in green camouflage uniforms. they are based there, every couple hundred yards, it seems, in tents and camouflage along the route of these two strategic -- this highway and this rail line. and we also saw entire bases where it's clear there are thousands of russian police officers and soldiers currently residing to provide security for the olympics. and as the final touches are being put into effect here, there are also fresh allegations of corruption coming from russian opposition leaders. most recently, a leader called alexi novolni released a new

website, pretty slick, interactive map, and it accuses the russian government of rampant corruption, running billions of dollars over the budget, over the initial projected budget of $12 billion to more than $50 billion with novali accusing russian president vladimir putin of doling out construction contracts to his -- to etch enrich his friends. these are charges that the russian president has repeatedly denied. cura and michael? is. >> thank you so much. major issues surrounding the olympics, russia's new anti gay law, criminalizing anything seen as homosexual propaganda. >> very controversial. washington's response, sending three openly gay athletes to sochi as part of the u.s. delegation. former olympic gold medal figure skater, brian boitano is one of them. he says it's important to be

part of u.s. message on diversity and tolerance so gay athletes can focus on their competition and not a cause. >> i think that the athletes who go over there, they have a task at hand. they have to live out their dream, number one. and they have to focus on representing our country as well as they can for the olympics. anything that detracks from that, i don't advise that. as an athlete, i would have never done that. also demonstrations under the olympic charter are, you know, they don't allow flondplongss. i think that's why this is important because we can speak volumes for being there and the athletes don't have to put their medals on the line or their reputation. >> well, brian boitano will be joined by openly lesbian athletes. >> got to love billie jean king. the only kind of white dusting new orleans is used to seeing is

the powdered sugar sprinkled on -- you didn't think i was going to say that. >> i lived there. i know what he's talking about. they're awesome. >> is that it? >> just the binets. i digress. >> the reason we're talking about it, there is a whole lot of other cities in the south that rarely get things called ice and snow. and guess what, they are bracing for a huge winter storm. >> that's right. people from texas to georgia, they're in the path of this winter blast. 140 million people under some kind of winter advisory or warning now. a lot of schools are out, nearly 3,000 flights have already been cancelled. and then you've got power companies preparing for those outages. >> unbelievable. chad myers is in new orleans. that's why i didn't see you here, when i came in today. governor jindal doesn't want anyone out driving. this is a place we think atlanta is bad when there is a whiff of snow. but you just don't see it there, do you? >> reporter: no. and the other problem is, a lot

of this town is built on a bridge. almost all of i-10 from lafayette over to baton rouge is literally a bridge. it's over a lake, it's over a bayou. and so all of that now, 55 solid miles of i-10 shut down. there's no way to control the ice on that right now. this right here is how people are getting around. the buses are running today. because what should be right here is a trolly car. that right there, those are trolly car lanes. but the trolly cars are shut down today, because the power will probably go out if. if the power goes out, the trolleys get stuck. they don't want the trollees stuck on this track. they are only running buses today. everybody says it's raining and 34. this isn't going to happen. i have news for you. it's going to happen, it's sleeting now. the temperature is going down to 30 and that is going to all be ice, michael. kyra. this is going to be a mess. >> no street car named desire.

the midwest and northeast, rather, nearly 30 degrees below normal, right? >> unbelievable. >> reporter: yeah, you bet. even though we're 32 today. just a couple days ago, i was in plymouth, massachusetts. it was 30 below zero with the wind chill. so it to me feels 60 degrees warmer than when i was in massachusetts. this isn't bad just yet. getting away from the bus so you can hear me. but it is going to get down to 30. and all the way from texas all the way to georgia, even parts of northern florida will see rain and 30 degrees. that will be that frozen ice storm you literally can't drive in. you can get traction in snow. you can't get traction on what's coming down right now. this ice storm is going to devastate the power lines. this entire city is going to shut down tonight. >> oh, boy. oh, boy, be careful. there's a car coming behind you. listen, i can't let you go, because i am a big football fan. and i mean, if you're going to have the super bowl outdoors in the northeast, it's going to be cold. what's your forecast?

>> reporter: i see -- i'm going up on friday, if i can get out of here tomorrow or thursday. i think that the snow is going to be there on saturday. and then the storm clears out by sunday. it's going to be colder than normal. but still somewhere around 30. nothing they can't play in. it just might be the wind, that crosswind across the stadium, across metlife stadium that could maybe take that ball and turn left or right, depending which way you're marching up or down the field, guys. >> marching down bourbon street and the super bowl. exactly. chad, thanks. let's take a quick look at how the markets are doing right now. shall we? u.s. stocks fell yesterday for the fifth straight day. but this morning the dow opened with a 90-point gain. it's been in the green ever since. it's up 60 points now. >> nearly .4 percentage points. the s&p also up. always -- i always like that as an indicator. some of the anxiety on wall street came from the uncertainty in emerging markets. turkey and india.

but their currencies apparently have stabilized. brought a little more calm to wall street. i mean, went down a few points last week. but you look. it's still hovering around 16,000. you could make three years -- this is a pretty healthy market. >> i just want the 401(k) in good shape. that's all i look at. >> another 35 years before you need that. >> oh, michael. how to suck up to kyra. here's more on what we're working on for "around the world." ukrainian protesters getting some of what they've been demanding. the prime minister going to resign. a lot of people say he jumped before he was pushed. the protesters say it's not enough. we're live in kiev. a new report claims that the queen of england is broke. well, at least for a queen. so why the royal household overspent on its budget, and t left the queen financially strapped. say it isn't so. >> heaven forbid. and also an amazing find. a 4,000-year-old stone tablet

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president on the minimum wage issue. a new cbs poll shows 72% agree with raising it from $7.25 to $10.10 per hour. only 26% oppose raising the minimum wage. >> they have big numbers. jim acosta joins us from the north lawn of the white house. jim, this poll shows support for the president on that one sort of specific issue, but his approval numbers under 50%, nine points lower than last year when he did the state of the union. he's no french president, who i think hovers around 17%. but on a scale of 1 to 10, what do you see of his chances to get that minimum wage raised for all americans? >> reporter: you know, it's going to be very, very tough, michael and kyra. i think this white house recognizes that it's going to be difficult to get legislation passed through the congress this year. after all, it's an election year. mid terms coming up in the fall. that is why you're seeing this president take this course of the executive action route. you mentioned the one that he announced earlier this morning,

the white house announced earlier this morning, he's going to increase the minimum wage for future federally contracted workers to $10.10. the house speaker, john boehner, react to go some of the talk of executive actions at the white house saying they're not going to allow the president to trample the house. and it's interesting, because just as the house speaker was saying, i was talking with cecil cecilia munoz, director of the policy council at the white house, had a hand of the state of the union speech and said on this issue of raising the minimum wage for new federally contracted workers, she says the president does have the authority in this area. here's what she had to say. >> we know that the american people on both sides of the aisle strongly support increasing the minimum wage. this is about making sure that people who work hard and play by the rules can make enough to support their families. that's why the president is calling on congress to raise the minimum wage for the whole work force. it's why he's taking action today with respect to federal contractors where he clearly has

the authority, where it's clearly good value for the taxpayers' dollar. >> you feel you have the authority. >> yes. >> reporter: and as you mentioned, michael, the president is going to make that call for an overall increase to the minimum wage for everybody else in the country. and that's not the only thing he'll be asking for from congress tonight. he'll also make a big push for immigration, as well. michael? >> how about this new game plan, right, to go at it alone. without congress. isn't he sort of sticking it in congress's face to publicly acknowledge this tactic, the same day he goes before the joint session of congress? >> reporter: and that's what house republicans have been saying. the speaker said, hey, we just passed a budget. we're working on immigration. and the white house has indicated the president may be willing to sign on to what the house is working on. they want to see the details. but there is some talk in that direction. but take a look at this. this is why the white house feels this is an untapped area when it comes to executive orders. president obama in his first five years in office, only 167

executive orders, contrast with george w. bush, 197 and bill clinton with 238. they feel this is a weapon in the president's arsenal that has not been used enough. that's why you're going to hear the president talk about this a lot tonight. i talked to a white house official who said unlike every other state of the union speech, this president has delivered before to the american people, this one more than those others will focus on these executive actions. he says he's not going to wait for congress to act. he's going to move forward. >> wow, interesting numbers, jim. yeah, that's interesting to see that. he can turn around and say, hey, the former president did it more than me. so, yeah, good stuff. thanks, jim. good to see you, jim acosta. as a reminder, you can watch president obama's speech, state of the union, live from washington, 7:00 p.m. eastern time. >> yeah. now the president going to mostly focus on domestic issues tonight, we're told, in the state of the union. last year, he gave foreign affairs, for example, only about ten minutes. >> so here's the question. is he missing another opportunity this year on issues like iran?

cnn's tom foreman in our washington bureau covering what might and might not be said tonight. >> reporter: rising worry about iran's nuclear ambitions running high during last year's state of the union. >> the leaders of iran must recognize that now is the time for a diplomatic solution, because a coalition stands united in demanding they meet their obligations. and we will do what is necessary to prevent them from getting a nuclear weapon. >> reporter: what's happened since is complicated. the iranians elected a new president who seems more open to talks with the west. they struck a deal to scale back on nuclear development in exchange for lightened sanctions. but it is a temporary agreement, and there's wide debate about whether it will actually work. so promising signs, sure. but we still could only call this a work in progress. >> all right, tom, thanks. tom will be back with us later in the hour with a look at how the president may address the situation in afghanistan in tonight's state of the union

speech. >> okay. now what happened to all of the queen's money? the funds in her majesty's account to maintain those palaces and castles running a >> do you feel sorry for her? >> no. >> that story is next. [ male announcer ] this is kevin. to prove to you that aleve is the better choice for him, he's agreed to give it up. that's today? [ male announcer ] we'll be with him all day as he goes back to taking tylenol. i was okay, but after lunch my knee started to hurt again. and now i've got to take more pills. ♪ yup. another pill stop. can i get my aleve back yet? ♪ for my pain, i want my aleve. ♪ [ male announcer ] look for the easy-open red arthritis cap.

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where, oh, where, have all the royal reserves gone? i didn't know there were royal reserves. >> oh, yeah, big ones. >> apparently this report says the royal family's bank account set aside to maintain the

palaces and castles is down to the last million pounds. that's about 1.6 million bucks, right? >> yeah. >> and some of the places, apparently, are in pretty bad shape and they need a lot of repairs. >> yeah. this doesn't come cheap. staff are actually having to use buckets to catch rain coming through some leaky roofs. max foster is standing by, our royal correspondent, there in london. heaven forbid. i mean, let's face it. we all thought she was loaded. >> reporter: well, don't worry too much. she's still a billionaire. so you don't need to worry about her personal money. what we're talking about here is the $50 million she gets a year for her public work and to look after all those very grand buildings. and basically, she has been overspending. and all of her staff have had to dip into this reserve fund, which was standing at, you know, $10 million not long ago. now down to $1.6 million. so they mishandled the money. and not only that, but they put

off all this maintenance work. so this parcel mealiament parli today, the amount of the backlog for work on the palace is at $50 million. money they simply don't have at the moment, and they are talking about buckets being used in the palace, and this old boiler that hasn't been updated for 60 years, buckingham palace, costing a million dollars a year to run, to keep the electricity going. >> so is the government going to pitch in and help? and also, how did those in london feel about this? do they look at it as, look, this is historic, this is a part of our culture, you need to do what you need to do? it's not about giving the royals cash. >> reporter: well, certainly, a lot of support from monarchy and want to keep the monarchy going. so they want to support -- there is some frustration they haven't kept up with the cutbacks. other government departments may choose cutbacks and the palace hasn't. so the committee is saying they need to get rid of some staff to save some money there, and they need to open up the palace for

the public, paying tourists to come in. they're only allowed in during the summer at the moment. they should be allowed in all year-round and bring in revenues. that would create some goodwill around the country for the palace, as well, because everyone made cutbacks, going through austere times. but doesn't seem the queen is doing the same. >> belt-tightening at the palace. max foster there in london. here are other stories making headlines around the world right now. egypt's ousted president, mohamed morsi, appeared in court today in a glass cage. on trial for allegedly breaking out of prison three years ago before he became egypt's first democratically elected president, by the way. he was voted into office after the fall after mubarak. morsi served only a year in office before being ousted. and in court today, reportedly declared himself the, quote, legitimate president of egypt. and he said he has not seen anyone from his family or his

defense team. >> soundproof too, that thing, because of all of the upheaval. let's go to syria. aide agencies waiting to deliver food to people, literally starving. we're told the trucks are ready, ready to go in, as soon as all sides agree to let that happen. but there's no breakthrough yet of those peace talks going on in geneva. in anything, a hardening of positions. an estimated 2,500 people are trapped in homes. no word on when civilians will be allowed out. a dreadful situation continuing there. and if you want to find out how to help the refugee situation in syria, go to cnn.com/impact. all right. before you download another app or play another game on your smartphone, you may want to consider this. the nsa may be tracking you through that little device of yours. details straight ahead.

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contractor. and you know him well. edward snowden. we get more details now from barbara starr. >> reporter: angry birds, one of the most popular game applications, has been downloaded more than 1 billion times. but the next time you open it up, could the nsa be tracking you? according to the "new york times," the nsa is trying to collect and store user data from apps. the time says the classified program focuses on so-called leaky apps that spew everything from user's smartphone identification codes to where they have been that day. >> if you want to track what people are doing on the internet, you have to move to apps. and i think that's what's -- that's what's driving nsa to track apps. >> reporter: in response to the "times" story, the nsa issued a statement saying, in part, any implication that the nsa's foreign intelligence collection is focused on the smartphone or

social media communications of everyday americans is not true. at the white house, more pushback. >> we are not interested in the communications of people who are not valid foreign intelligence targets. >> reporter: the report is based on documents said to be leaked by edward snowden. in one document, which could not be verified by cnn, the effort is described as a golden nugget. information that could be collected includes location of users, networks to which they connect, websites visited, buddy lists and downloaded documents. >> this would need really tight controls to make sure they weren't taking advantage of it. >> barbara starr joining us live from washington. so barbara, has there been any reaction from the creators of angry birds? >> well, indeed, there has. the company, which is based in finland, issued a statement saying it is not providing user data to the u.s. government, the british government or any

entities that might be, you know, spying, if you will, on who is playing angry birds. they are adamant they are not doing that. >> barbara, quite apart from the nsa, i'm annoyed that an app is sending that -- or getting that information anyway, from me let alone the nsa. is there any way that you're hearing that people can protect themselves from spying eyes? >> well, look, i think the first thing is, i think we all understand, annoying as it is, the internet has no right to real privacy. does it? anything you do on the internet can be observed, seen, perhaps by anyone from your employer, cnn, to, you know -- to the nsa. so i think in terms of government surveillance, it's quite a leap of faith at the moment. the nsainists it's not collecting for u.s. civilians,

but intelligence targets, and privacy rules govern if they inadvertently sweep up data on american citizens, they can't hold on to it, can't use it. but that may be a leap of faith for an awful lot of people that those rules are being obeyed. >> yeah, got that right. barbara, good to see you, as always. barbara starr. like the fact that any app is -- >> you start thinking, what apps do i have on my phone, how often do i use them. we rethink everything now. >> i only use the cnn news app. >> of course gnome let's talk about ukraine now. a lot of activity there, violence, as well. the prime minister has quit, but is that enough? a hated law being tossed out. we'll look into it when we come back. hey kevin...still eating chalk for heartburn? yeah... try new alka seltzer fruit chews. they work fast on heartburn and taste awesome. these are good. told ya! i'm feeling better already. [ male announcer ] new alka seltzer fruits chews. enjoy the relief!

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prime minister is out.

the whole cabinet on the way out and a hated law tossed. a pretty big day in ukraine's capital. >> anti-government protesters filling the capital square since november, maybe they're getting a little closer to the changes in the country's political system that they have been demanding. they have been upset with the government's preference in leaning towards russia on the economic side of things instead of the european union. big disagreement on that. more recently, a law introduced that cracked down on the right to protest. >> our diana magnay is in kiev. what do you think? do the protesters want more? is the crisis close to over? >> reporter: no. unfortunately for their current president, it is certainly not close for over. this is the tip of the iceberg. good progress, say the people on the streets, but nowhere near enough. they don't want just a few changes at the top. they want this whole political system in ukraine to change. so that it's more accountable, so that corruption is gone.

so that it's not just run by a few powerful, rich people behind the current president. and all of that starts with change at the very top, they said to me. >> translator: it's positive. the prime minister has volunteered to resign, and the repressive laws are being cancelled. what the opposition has to do now is put full pressure on the ruling party. >> reporter: so the president said that an amnesty would be called, if everybody leaves the square. are you going to leave the square? >> no. >> no. >> reporter: what would make you leave the square? >> well, the president go away. >> reporter: so you want new elections, and until there are new elections, you'll stay? >> yes. >> reporter: they want the president to go away, kyra. tomorrow the parliament will discuss whether to provide an amnesty for the more than 200 or so who have been detained over the course of this it two months

of protests. but as i said, those people who have been out there in the cold, it's minus 10 at the moment, for more than two months, they won't leave until they feel their demands are being met, that the three opposition leaders who are currently negotiating with the government, have really fought for something they have been standing out here for. and that is a better, more accountable government. something that's closer to democracy, which they really don't feel they have now. >> noble aims, diana, but you hit on something there in your answer there. you said the three protestlaritiprotest leaders. this is not a united front, is it? >> reporter: it's not a united front. their demands have changed as the situations change, and you have three leaders at the top, many of whom -- who have disagreed with each other at points over this time. and especially over the last week, we have seen quite a lot of violence on the streets, violence that at least the government says the opposition can't really control. do they have the crowd at their, you know, beck and call?

can they control the crowd? that is the big question. does the crowd feel that the opposition are capable of negotiating on their behalf? well, since they said they were going to sit and discuss with the president a political way out of this crisis, the streets of kiev have been relatively calm. even though we have seen the unrest spread to various other cities across the country, especially in the east, michael, which was a traditional pro russian, pro government stronghold. huge concern to the president that the unrest has been spreading to this extent. >> a lot at stake there in the heart of europe, too. diana, as always, thanks. diana magnay covering that story for some time now. let's go around the world to brazil, where the president there is calling for an emergency security meeting. >> it's the violence that prompted that security meeting. people are taking to the streets, angry about the cost of the upcoming soccer world cup.

after sunday protests, one young man is actually in critical condition after being shot by police. dozens of others filing complaints now of police brutality. that country is extremely concerned the bad publicity could prompt more people to join in future protests against the world cup. >> yeah. let's go to afghanistan now. new developments in the dispute over dozens of prisoners that the nato-led coalition calls dangerous insurgents. the afghan government issuing formal orders to release 37 prisoners from what used to be the main american prison in afghanistan. >> the u.s. says there's enough evidence to prosecute the men now. afghan president karzai argues the prison is now a taliban-making factory, and it actually should be shut down. president obama pledging to raise the minimum wage in his state of the union address, but will it be a promise to keep? >> it can be it felt to keep promises, as we know, but there

is one the president seems to have kept from last year's state of the union. let's go ahead and bring back our cnn's tom foreman. >> reporter: the long war in afghanistan has been a huge concern for many americans. >> tonight, i can announce that over the next year, another 34,000 american troops will come home from afghanistan. this drawdown will continue, and by the end of next year, our war in afghanistan will be over. >> reporter: and so far, so good on that pledge. there were 68,000 troops there last january. there are about 38,000 now. and everything is on track for the war to be basically over by year's end. some american troops may stay to advise and is support the afghans. but we can call this a promise kept. >> tom foreman there. thanks. as a reminder, you can watch president obama's speech here on cnn. however coverage live from washington, 7:00 p.m. eastern.

israel's prime minister taking a bit of heat over who his son is dating. >> yeah, apparently one of the netanyahu boys is dating a girl who isn't jewish. we're going to take you to jerusalem to see how that story is unfolding in israel. next. [ male announcer ] ever wonder why no other mouthwash

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now a romance getting a lot of attention in israel, not all of it positive. that's fair to say. prime minister benjamin netanyahu's 23-year-old son reportedly dating that young lady there, who happens to be a 25-year-old norwegian woman. >> the issue isn't the two-year age difference. folks are upset because she's not jewish. let's get to ben wedeman in jerusalem. ben, you look at these comments

from the ultra orthodox jews and they are pretty harsh. this one quote coming from a member of parliament, saying, "any jew who wants to maintain his roots, wants to see his son marry a jewish girl. there is no shortage of beautiful, successful girls, without sowing in the fields of others." >> reporter: let's first of all point out that, kyra, the prime minister himself doesn't seem to mind the relationship. in fact, when he was in davos, switzerland, recently, he met with his norwegian counterpart and bragged and joked about the relationship. but it's true. for some here in israel, it is not a joking matter. there are many people who are opposed to what they call assimilation, intermarriage between jews and nonjews, and one of the groups pushing this agenda has called on the prime minister himself to try to prevent, in their words, their relationship.

but it's important to keep in mind that prime minister netanyahu himself was married from 1981 to 198 4 to a nonjewish woman and on this matter, he simply isn't commenting. >> how much is it political? because it really is. it's more of the right wing ultra religious groups that are complaining, not your -- you know, the man on the street, if you like. his son is becoming more politically active, is that true, and is that what's upset some? >> reporter: well, there are mary bigger fish in the sea of israeli politics than 25-year-old netanyahu. i think it's just the symbolism of it all and it's gone down badly with some elements of israeli society. but most israelis you speak to sort of shrug it off with a laugh, and say, well, good for him. it's not -- it's really only the ultra orthodox religious elements that find this offensive. most israelis simply don't. >> so, ben, you mention

netanyahu's second wife. she was british-born. but she converted to judaism. so let's say his son falls in love with this beautiful young norwegian. >> we're pushing him into marriage here. >> well, no, i'm just -- i'm putting it out there. let's say they fall in love, they want to get married. and she converts. will this all go away? >> reporter: well, it would. in fact, this young norwegian woman's older sister, apparently, has already converted to judaism, and lives in israel. so certainly, that would be one way to avoid this issue going any further. but let's not forget, this relationship began just apparently, according to the israeli media, this past summer, and let's not jump to conclusions. >> they're so young. >> oh, they're so -- >> with our background, our advice would be wait as long as you can. >> wait. ben wedeman, good to see you. thanks for that. don't do it. >> wait.

>> hold off. all right. now, who would steal the blood of pope john paul ii? investigators trying to track down the blood, and the thieves. we've got more of that, coming up. are you ready grandma? just a second, sweetie. [ female announcer ] we eased your back pain, you turned up the fun. tylenol® provides strong pain relief while being gentle on your stomach. but for everything we do, we know you do so much more. tylenol®. we know you do so much more. my dad has aor afib.brillation, he has the most common kind... ...it's not caused by a heart valve problem. dad, it says your afib puts you at 5 times greater risk of a stroke. that's why i take my warfarin every day. but it looks like maybe we should ask your doctor about pradaxa. in a clinical trial, pradaxa® (dabigatran etexilate mesylate)...

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add vanishing deductible from nationwide insurance and get $100 off your deductible for every year of safe driving. which means you could save... a lot of benjamins. we put members first, because we don't have shareholders. join the nation. ♪ nationwide is on your side tell you what. this is a big talker right now in italy. who stole the blood of pope john paul ii? >> what would you do as a thief and want to to do with it?

an intense search under way. >> reporter: italian police say thieves have broken into a church and stolen a vial containing the blood of pope john paul ii. apparently it happened on saturday in italy. police launched a major search operation, involving sniffer dogs and dozens of officers. but few clues were found. police believe the theft was commissioned, because no other items of value were taken, but they have also said it would be difficult to sell the vial, and they're not really sure what the thieves were planning to do with it. the catholic church is due to make pope john paul ii a saint in april. >> new discovery is raising a flood of questions about noah's ark. >> that had to come. a british scholar has recently decoded a tablet that dates back 4,000 years. it tells of a divinely sent

flood and sole survivor on an ark who takes all the animals on board to preserve them. >> it even includes the famous phrase, "two by two" describing how the animals came on to the ark. apparently, there is one major difference. the ark in this version is round. >> anyone who has read their bible knows that noah's ark was a kind of oblong-shaped craft. and anybody who ever grew up in any kind of normal house knows what noah's ark really looks like, which is a boat with a high front and a high stern with a little house in the middle. everybody knows both of those images. and i don't think anybody had ever had the idea that the ark, in its original form, so to speak, might have been a round vessel. >> hmmm. well, experts say that neither version of noah's ark, by the way, is right or wrong. they are both appropriate to the culture that produced them and both are theology, not history. >> thanks for watching.

good to have you here. >> good to be here. >> back tomorrow? >> yes, i am and suzanne back after that. she is covering state of the union. >> brianna keilar up next with "cnn newsroom." -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com right now, president obama announces he'll go it alone to launch one of his priorities. but republicans say not so fast. they're not going to sit back and get trampled. and right now, heroes, activis activists, "duck dynasty" cast members get ready to attend the state of the union as special guests. will this sideshow overshadow the speech. and a storm hitting new orleans, birmingham and charleston. officials are warning drivers to stay off the roads. hi there, i'm brianna keilar in washon