in japan, kindergarten parents dressed up in demon-like masks and costumes to scare their kids during an annual festival in tokyo. because it's fun. >> participating in this bean-throwing ceremony to drive away evil and bring good luck. children attended the event to greet the coming of spring. >> once they recovered from being terrified. thanks for watching "around the world." "cnn newsroom" right now. >> right now, a snow and ice storm slamming the northeast, cancelling thousands of flights, leaving almost 1 million homes and businesses without power. also right now, a major drugstore chain plans to stop selling cigarettes and other tobacco products. it could cost them $2 billion a year in revenue. so why are they doing it? will other stores follow? and right now secretary of state john kerry opening up about the iran nuclear deal. cnn's is jake tapper joins me

cnn's is jake tapper joins me with that exclusive interview. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com hello, i'm wolf blitzer in washington. just two days after getting hit by a major snowstorm, the northeast gets slammed once again. tense tens of ms. of people in the storm zone with no power and no heat. almost 1 million homes and businesses don't have electricity. that number is expected to grow as the snow and the ice continue to fall. the widespread power outages may last through the week. roads are treacherous, thousands of flights already have been cancelled. we have reporters across the storm zone. let's start with cnn's don lemon in the hard-hit city of boston. don, the second major storm to hit the region this week. what are the folks there doing to keep safe? >> reporter: they're trying to keep inside, you know, this big snowstorm in stride. listen, i had the collar up,

wolf, because it's starting to ice right now. at first it was really fluffy and now it's coming down as ice and stinging. people trying to walk down the street. just to show, it was powdery and now really icy. i'm sure the photographer appreciated that. what they're doing, though, trying to keep everybody off the roads, telling nonessential government employees to stay off the roads. telling everybody to stay at home. and pretty much these people are supposed to be at work, but hanging out with me. and they've been hanging out here for a little bit. this is parker. parker loves being out. and that person talking right there, this little person with hair is kita. hey, kita, how are you? hey, baby. they have been hanging out in christopher columbus park. what are you guys doing to try to mitigate this snow, so to speak? >> oh, sitting at home working. very easy. >> reporter: this was not here earlier. >> overnight, yes. >> reporter: are you surprised to get so much snow in one fall? >> no. we often get this much snow.

>> reporter: this is boston, right. right. a lot of people don't have power. so you're taking it in stride. but a lot of people don't have power. what do you think? >> we're fine here in the city. yep. everything is getting cleared out. we're just enjoying the day. >> reporter: yeah. yeah. so listen, they're trying to get it cleaned up. a bunch of snowfalls going around the area. if you can pan around a little bit, you can show them the roads here are pretty clear and that's because the snowplows have been out, salting. we have seen a lot of people out on bobcats, seen the tiny snowplo snowplows, big ones on the roads. and just now our buddies are keeping us safe and we're having a good time out here for now. right, kita? right, kita? are you going to talk to me? say hello to wolf blitzer. wolf, back to you in the studio. >> cute dogs. you grew up in the south, so this is a whole new -- you live in new york now. but this is a whole new world for you, isn't it? >> reporter: it is. i did grow up in the south. but i lived in -- there kita is talking now.

i lived and went to school here. so i kind of got used to not having so much snow when i lived down in atlanta. but i moved to chicago a little bit ago. not this much snow in chicago, but cold. but this is certainly out of the ordinary. because this stuff came down fast, wolf. when we started out this morning, it wasn't snowing. we got on the train earlier this morning and by the time i got here, just within a couple hours, all of this snow was already on the ground. so it came down pretty fast. >> it looks nice. have a good time with the snow. enjoy it while you're up there. all right, don, thank you. new york also in the bulls-eye for this storm. chad myers is there on the scene for us. what's it like there, chad? is. >> you know, two storms over three days now. 12 inches of snow on the ground. then we had sleet, then we had freezing rain. this is what a branch looks like from earlier. this is 1/8 inch of ice on the branch, all the branches around here look like this. all of these snow piles look like this, wolf. it's going to get down to 20 degrees tonight. that whole snow pile is going to

be one big ice chunk. and they don't get this out of here, this is going to be here until march. something else we're dealing with too. these big tall buildings with the ice storm that we had this morning. these big tall buildings are shedding sheets of ice at a time. and the people down on the sidewalks are getting hit by these sheets of ice. so you need to be very careful walking around the city today, and look above or maybe take a hard hat or don't look up at all or stay inside. here is what the forecast looks like now for the next couple of hours. the snow is from boston, where don is, changing over a little bit to snow and sleet. and then back out toward the west all the way to buffalo, still snowing. south of there, that pink is the ice that's freezing rain and sleet all mixing together. and then south of there is all rain. but the snow is now moving off to the east. so the bull's eye for the more snow to come area is still around boston. the ice area is south of there. we're still going to get a little more tonight. the problem is that we're going to be 32 right now, but by morning, 23. literally.

everything that's liquid on the ground will be frozen tomorrow. all of these things that just look like a slushy pile will be ice chunks for the rest of i think at least two more weeks. because we're not going to warm up at all. this is going to take 50 or 60 degrees to melt this ice. this is going to be treacherous to walk around the city for many weeks to come, wolf. >> yeah, so everybody has got to be really, really careful. what about air travel? how is the storm affecting air travel? >> reporter: well, you're either delayed or cancelled. that's basically it. we have 2,700 cancellations right now nationwide. 800 of those cancellations right here in new york city. laguardia, jfk or newark. so you multiply that by let's say 100 seats per plane. that's 80,000 people or 80,000 seats that didn't take off today. so that's an issue. and then the other 4,800 delays that we're seeing across the country, some ranging two to three hours. and then the problem is, they sit there and they'll tell you, yeah, you're going to take off, you're going to take off, just wait, just wait, just wait.

and you wait for three hours and finally they cancel the plane, because there is no plane coming to the city, even though you're in sunny miami, your plane may be stuck in the north under a sheet of ice, wolf. >> all right, chad. we'll stay in constant touch, as well. other news we're following. right now president obama and the first lady, they are quick to praise cvs pharmacies for stopping selling tobacco. the drugstore chain said the new policy will take effect by october of this year. president obama sent out a statement almost immediately that said in part, quote, i congratulate and thank the ceo of cvs caremark, larry merlot to make a choice that will have a profoundly positive impact on the health of the country. and then there was this tweet from the first lady, michelle obama saying, "thanks cvs extra, now we can breathe easier and our families can live healthier." casey wian is joining us.

$2 billion in annual tobacco sales. a lot of money. walk us through what was behind the cvs decision? >> reporter: according to the cvs president, he had a conference call with reporters this morning and said that selling tobacco products goes against everything that cvs stands for. they say, as you mentioned, they're going to get rid of all of the tobacco products by october. and they're going to double down on the smoking cessation product part of their business. it's always been kind of a weird picture to walk into a cvs or any other drugstore and see tobacco products behind the cash register and then back by the pharmacy you see all these stop smoking products. so they're going to concentrate on that part of the business. in a formal statement, the company said that ending the sale of cigarettes and tobacco products at cvs pharmacy is the right thing for us to do for our customers and our company to help people on their path to better health. put simply, the sale of tobacco products is insistent with our purpose.

cvs also saying on that conference call this morning, they don't expect by itself their decision will result to a significant decline in smoking across the country. but they believe if other chains follow suit, that it could impact the number of people who smoke. here's what a couple of the company's customers had to say to me this morning. >> i don't know if i agree, but i think it's a pretty noble thing. and i think there will be a lot of healthier people for it and i also think it will probably drive the prices of cigarettes up and hopefully everybody will say i'll just get and be healthy and cancer-free, and save their pretty little lungs. >> bad idea. >> why? >> because, you realize how many smokers are in the u.s. they have some of the best prices on cigarettes so they're going to lose so many customers. >> reporter: two groups obviously happy about this decision, the american medical association and the american pharmacy association. they have both been urging pharmacies to make a move like cvs did this morning for several years, wolf. >> casey wian, the cvs store in

california, thank you. and as you noted, a big question now as to whether other retail chains will follow suit. walgreens saying it's been evaluating tobacco products in its stores for a while. let's bring in our chief medical correspondent, dr. sanjay gupta. sanjay, will the cvs decision have a measurable impact? >> it's tough to say overall. i think in terms of the message and the lack of advertising when you walk into a pharmacy, and reminding people that you come to a pharmacy to be healthy and shouldn't buy unhealthy products. i think that's a significant impact. but overall cigarette sales, and casey may have mentioned this, about 5% of cigarette sales are bought in pharmacies. so maybe not that much. pharmacies have actually been increasing in terms of cigarette sales while other types of stores going down. so that's going to be important as well. keep in mind, wolf, about 19% of the country still smokes. that's down from 42% back in 1965. but it's kind of come down to

where it's going to come -- sort of starting to plateau. these are part of the strategies and people trying to think about bringing the number down further. >> cvs as you know, sanjay, saying it will instead focus on helping smokers quit. so here's the question, because you've done a lot of good work on this. what actually works in getting people to kick that habit? >> yeah, you know, we have done a lot of reporting on this. it's interesting. i was talking to the head of the cdc, tom free doeny, and he sai most people who quit do quit cold turkey. an important nugget to keep in the back of your mind. and he also pointed out, if someone is not pregnant that a medication -- fda-approved medication to help people quit could be a reasonably -- a first alternative for a lot of people. go to the medications more quickly to try and help quit as well. so i think more people have quit that wanted to quit than ever before. so there is a lot of success stories out there. that cold turkey still seems to be something that is the most common. >> you know, it's what's so

disturbing, and i'm sure it is to you, as well. you see young people, teenagers, young people, smoking. they know this is an awful, awful habit to get into. their lungs are clean, they're pure, and they're going to dirty up their lungs with cigarette smoke. but they do it. what can be done to at least convince a new generation of folks out there, young people especially, don't start. >> yeah, it's such an important thing not to start, because it is such an addictive substance. when you look at these reports both here in the united states and around the world, the role of government seems to be an increasing one. obviously, we talk about personal responsibility. but the idea that the role of government and instituting some of these bans like cvs is considering, syntax is actually taxing the price of cigarettes. that appears to have a significant effect on younger people. they're more price-sensitive. and really looking at the way these advertising messages get across and how it's glamorized and really pulling back on that. there has been good news here, wolf. the numbers have gone done down, but they started to level off

and how to get them down further is the real goal. i will point out one thing about the cvs decision as well. and that is there has been this drum beat to institute these bans across the country. it's happened in some cities. cvs may be seeing handwriting on the wall and say this is coming down so we're going to institute this ourselves. nonethelesses. >> a laudable move today. >> and it's not just lung cancer is it, sanjay, you have to worry about if you become a smoker. there are a whole range of other illnesses that really could be aggravated by smoking. >> absolutely. and, you know, there is nothing redeeming about tobacco. we talk about fatty foods, for example. they are still food and probably deserve different treatment than tobacco. but cancer, as you mentioned, heart disease, just about every chronic disease you can name can maybe have some link to smoking. so it's -- the number one through ten on top ten things of things people should stop doing today to improve their health. >> everybody says if you want to get healthy, first thing you do

is quit smoking. and then you can start dealing with other issues like exercise, eating the right food and other stuff like that and nobody knows all this stuff better than dr. sanjay gupta. sanjay, thanks very much. >> you got it, wolf. any time. president obama is rallying right now with senate democrats. can he calm their concerns about the botched obamacare website rollout? his sagging poll numbers? and will the former president, bill clinton, be able to help? they're meeting over at washington nationals' park right now behind closed doors. we'll talk about that and a lot more. chief political analyst gloria borger is standing by. this is betsy. her long day of pick ups and drop offs begins with arthritis pain... and a choice. take up to 6 tylenol in a day or just 2 aleve for all day relief. all aboard. ♪ there's nothing like being your own boss! and my customers are really liking your flat rate shipping. fedex one rate. really makes my life easier. maybe a promotion is in order.

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ahead of the midterm elections. the president heads to washington nationals ballpark to get their advice to have some consultations. he may be striking out, though, with some democrats fighting to win re-election in november. the former president, bill clinton, is joining president obama at the strategy session, all taking place behind closed doors. together they'll try to rally democrats deeply worried about the botched rollout of the obamacare website and the president's sagging poll numbers. let's bring in our chief political analyst, gloria borger, watching all of this. bill clinton knows something about dealing with a divided congress with his base. what advice would you expect him to be giving to democrats and the president? >> first of all, as we know, he's the explainer in chief, and he's the chief cheerleader for the democratic party. he knows what it's like to lose control of a house, which he did in 1994. he's going to tell the democrats, i believe, to stick together, and he's going to tell them how to talk about their issues. i mean, you know, there are

problems, for example -- you point out obamacare. democrats have a way -- have problems with it. but there are ways to differentiate yourself from the president on the rollout, for example, and still point out people are covered for preexisting conditions. so nobody is really better at explaining to democrats how they can handle these issues and talk to a democratic constituency about it to win re-election. and besides, it's always fun to have bill clinton around to talk to, right? and to listen to. >> you know, there are some issues that divide the democrats, expanding trade authority for free trade area agreements, for example. approving the key stone xcel pipeline divides democrats unilaterally, stopping deportations of the illegal immigrants. the president has been doing that. that's dividing a lot of democrats. so there are issues there in which the democrats aren't on the same page. >> there are a handful of red state senators up for re-election who are going to distance themselves from this

president. not only because he's sort of in the 40% to 44% range in popularity, but also because a lot of these issues are not popular in his state, like the keystone pipeline, for example. lots of red state senators want that to go through. health care, another example, as you point out. immigration. the nuances of what you do with that. another example. but there are ways to differentiate yourself from this president without running towards the republican party. and i think that's, again, where bill clinton comes in handy, particularly for red state senators. because don't forget, bill clinton knows those red states. >> he was the governor of arkansas. >> exactly. >> one of the reasons that he was successful in bridging some of these differences in this second term was because he basically irritated a lot of his own base, his democratic base, and made deals with newt gingrich and the republican leadership in congress. >> exactly. >> on welfare reform, for

example. his liberal democratic -- he hated that deal, but willing to do that to come up with a compromise. >> so he speaks from experience. >> so i assume he's going to tell this president, you know what, meet the republicans halfway, even if it means irritating some of your liberal base. >> look, i think bill clinton speaks from experience. remember triangulation was the phrase during the clinton years, where he knew how to play to each part of his party. when he needed to do that. and i think the senators are going to be doing what bill clinton did very successfully. which is tack one way when it works for you and tack the other way when it doesn't work for you. there is nobody who is better at that than bill clinton. that's one of the reasons he became president of the united states. >> let's see if the president listens to his advice, assuming that's the advice he will give. >> don't forget, he's also a cheerleader for health care reform. so he's going to help them learn how to talk about it. >> gloria, thanks very much. >> sure. a celebrity campaign for congress. the singer, clay aiken, throwing

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the former "american idol" runner-up, clay aiken, is a veteran of the big stage. ♪ >> now he's trying to reach an even bigger stage, the united states congress. he's running for the second district house seat in north carolina. >> i'm not a politician. i don't have want to be one. but i do want to help bring

back, at least to my corner of north carolina, the idea that someone can go to washington to represent all of the people, whether they voted for you or not. and maybe we can play a small part in igniting that change across the rest of our country. this is why i'm running for congress. >> certainly has an uphill climb. the district is solidly republican. president obama lost there by double digits both times. and then there is his opponent, congresswoman renee ellmers. this is what she said about her challenger, and i'm quoting her now. apparently his performing career isn't going so well, and he's bored. i'd say let the games begin, but apparently they already have. so we'll see what happens on that front. by the way, if you want to hear what clay aiken has to say about the republican congresswoman, tune in, 2:30 pittsburgh penguins eastern, when he'll be in the "cnn newsroom" with our own brooke baldwin, less than an hour from now. you're going to want to see brook's interview with clay

aiken. now for a remarkable story about one woman's efforts on the aids front lines. elizabeth glazer was the wife of an actor who played in "stars key and hutch." she contracted hiv through a blood transfusion and unknowingly passed on to her own children. after her daughter died, she started a foundation. she passed away, but her foundation lives on. here's chris cuomo with the story of how it's continuing to impact your world. ♪ >> reporter: this is the face of hope. faith was born hiv negative, even though her mother has the virus. she is the ultimate example of the goal of the elizabeth glazer pediatric aids foundation. creating an aids-free generation. >> we have the research. we have the medication. people have to be educated around the world. we've got to get rid of the discrimination and the stigma associated with even getting tested. >> reporter: celebrity photographer, nigel albuquerqba

the success in tanzania. steeped in culture and tradition and reluctant to change. >> spoke to the women who had been trained by the foundation in the ways of how to deliver a babily safely. if you can reach a group like this, you can reach anywhere in the world. >> reporter: and the foundation seems to be doing just that. take for example, sub saharan africa, several hundred babies being born every day hiv positive but the good news is, started in 2008, i was -- thousands of babies being born -- realizing a generation free is doable. secretary of state john kerry is wrapping up his first year as the nation's top diplomat, and sitting down with cnn. our own jake tapper asks the secretary whether the u.s. got, quote, played, in that nuclear

deal with iran. the secretary's answer and jake when we come back. vo: once upon a time there was a boy who traveled to a faraway place where villages floated on water

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exclusive interview with our own jake tapper. and kerry spoke about the challenges he faces from the middle east peace process to syria to iran and a whole lot more. jake is here with a little preview. i know the interview is going to air on "the lead" later today but did make some news on this iran deal, right? >> he made news on a number of issues. we talked about syria, israeli, about whether or not he would ever run for president again. but, yes, talking about this iranian deal, i asked him a rather tough question, i think, about how the iranians seem to be presenting the deal to the world. the iranians are telling their public that this deal is not that big a deal, what they have agreed to do, that they could undo it within a day. rowhani went to davos and basically said we're open for business in iran. the french, the turks, they have been sending not trade missions, but they have almost been sending trade missions, looking to do more business.

have we been played? >> not in the least. not even by a close margin. in fact, i -- look, i think the iranians naturally are going to go home and say what you've just said. >> sure, but to the world and the turks and the french? >> no, iran is not open for business. and iran knows it's not open for business. nobody should doubt for an instant that the united states has prepared to enforce the sanctions that exist. and all of our allies are in agreement that those sanctions are staying in place until or unless there is a deal. >> and wolf, the secretary of state went on to say that when it came to those french businessmen going to iran to possibly explore business opportunities, they need to know that sanctions will impact them and they have been put on notice, he said, of those frenchmen. >> but they will get, at least

over the next six months, assuming the deal is fully implemented, 4, 5, $6 billion and an easing of sanctions. >> absolutely, there will be an easing of sanctions, secretary kerry said that's a necessary part of the deal. of course, there are a lot of skeptics of this deal, not just republicans in congress, but many democrats, including the democrat who succeeded secretary of state, john kerry, on the senate foreign relations committee. very skeptical, wanting to impose more sanctions. kerry said, you cannot -- we cannot go back on our deal. we have made a deal with the i werians. >> even though the sanctions, if bob menendez, chairman or chuck schumer had their way, they would pass the legislation now. but not implement it for six months. assuming that the deal collapses, they would have that ready to go. >> kerry said it's absolutely not productive to what they're trying to achieve. >> and there was good exchange you had on some of the recent exchange of words that he had with the prime minister of israel, benjamin netanyahu, on the peace process. >> you want me to do the whole

interview right now? >> what's the headline? >> well, the headline, i had said something about the if the peace process does not continue, if the status quo remains and no peace between the israelis and palestinians, then those who are pushing for punishment towards israel, including those who are pushing for the boycott movement, will likely succeed. words to that effect. >> but isn't that a fact? >> i think that is correct. he says he was not backing the boycott, and, in fact, he's against all boycotts, especially this -- the boycott against israel. but many politicians in israel, especially the more conservative types, suggested that kerry by even discussing this was bringing it credibility, was giving a mega phone to an anti sem attic boycott. kerry's response, we will err on the lead. >> that's why i asked you about it. >> we'll tease it up at 4:00 eastern -- >> the entire interview. 4:00 p.m. eastern. >> thank you, wolf. >> 4:00 p.m. eastern.

>> 1:00 p.m. pacific, if you happen to live in california. >> we'll watch. thanks very much. jake tapper, another good interview today. damage control for the white house. a new report on the effects of obamacare as republicans licking their chops. up next, a little more detail on what the report really means. we'll talk about the possible effect on the mid terms. stay with us. it's the little things in life that make me smile. spending the day with my niece. i don't use super poligrip for hold because my dentures fit well. before those little pieces would get in between my dentures and my gum and it was uncomfortable. even well-fitting dentures let in food particles. super poligrip is zinc free. with just a few dabs, it's clinically proven to seal out more food particles so you're more comfortable and confident while you eat. so it's not about keeping my dentures in, it's about keeping the food particles out. [ charlie ] try zinc free super poligrip. so ally bank has a that won't trap me in a rate. that's correct. cause i'm really nervous about getting trapped. why's that?

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new report from the congressional budget office has caused a rumbling on capitol hill. the work force will lose the equivalent of 2.3 million full-time jobs by the year 2021, because of the affordable care act. today in a hearing on capitol hill, the head of the congressional budget office had a chance to explain those numbers. >> who are the people typically in this category? what kind of worker from an

income scale side are being affected by this? >> so the effect is principally on the labor supply of lower-wage workers. and the reason is, what the affordable care act does is to provide subsidies, focused on lower and lower middle-income people to buy health insurance. by providing heavily subsidized health insurance to people with very low income and with drawing those subsidies as income rises, the act creates a disincentive for people to work relative to what would have been the case in the absence of that act. these subsidies, of course, make those lower income people better off. >> i understand the better off in the context of health care. but better off in inducing a person not to work who is on the low income scale, not to get on the ladder of life to begin working, getting the dignity of work, getting more opportunities, rising their income, joining the middle class. this means fewer people will do that. that's why i'm troubled by this.

>> so what you're saying is that because of the security of obamacare, that it provides, a 60-year-old -- let's take that as an example, might decide to retire early. >> yes. >> and open up a job for someone who is unemployed today. is that correct? >> yes, that's right, congressman. >> let's discuss what's going on with our senior political analyst, ron brownstein. first of all, ron, the report, the cbo report, nonpartisan, came out, highly respected. is this really bad news for the white house and democrats? >> it is a complex nuanced analysis of a subject that is super-charged and doesn't lend itself to complexity and nuance. what they said is very important to parse. they did not say that the affordable care act will reduce the demand for labor. it will not reduce the willingness of business to hire workers. what they said was that over time, it would reduce the supply of labor. that fewer people will choose to

work, either for early retirement or for staying out of the work force at a rate of 2.5 million people by the end of a decade. elsewhere they say the law might reduce unemployment by freeing up resources among people receiving subsidies now spending on health care to spend on other things. to so it was a very complex analysis but one that by and large i think -- my feeling has been, and we have talked about this before, that public opinion is not likely to change on this law any time soon. because the administration simply can't get clear water. whatever good news they have, sign-ups increasing, is often offset by something on the other side of the ledger. and this is at least a complex analysis that creates doubts. >> and it's certainly going to be a huge issue in this midterm election cycle. >> and the problem it got, wolf -- >> who is they? >> the administration and democrats in general. the pivot of the midterm election are states where the affordable care act is likely to be especially unpopular. the most important thing in this midterm election is whether democrats can hold seven senate

seats they now hold in states that voted for romney in 2012. those tend to be older, blue-collar whiter states like arkansas, west virginia, south dakota, montana, alaska. where the law is especially unpopular. those are constituencies the most skeptical of it. so it is going to be difficult in the midterm. whether that translates into a problem in 2016 is something different. but for 2014, almost certainly a problem. >> when you hear democratic leaders in congress whether nancy pelosi or others say you know what, you can make it -- obamacare, affordable care act, a positive winning issue in your re-election bid, do you believe them? >> it's it's hard in the near-term. the game for the administration really is building up institutional support for the law. as i said, i think it's hard to change public opinion. you know, most voters -- there's been at least a plurlt that viewed this as a negative and positive for the country. really almost all the way through. that hasn't changed much, only a third of americans say it will benefit them and their family. what they can do over time is build a constituency for the law

in the millions of people adding to the insurance roles, as well as the medical industry that believes it benefits by having more people covered rather than facing uncompensated care. if they can do that, they can fortify the law and reduce the odds that even a republican president and congress can reduce in 2017. but i think the odds are that at least in this midterm election, it will be a negative again for many democrats. >> ron brownstein, good explanation, as usual. thank you. >> thank you. countdown to the winter games, and it's looking like there is really some chaos inside the ring of steel, as workers rush to finish parks and hotels before the grand opening. [ laughter ]

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only two days away from the olympic opening ceremonies. in a new cnn poll, the majority of americans expect a terrorist attack in sochi. 57%, in fact, say it's likely. 51%, by the way, expected an attack in atlanta in 1996 in a poll we did then. the location in sochi was hand-picked by the russian president, vladimir putin. it's his favorite vacation spot. in our poll, the american people don't really like putin. he's got just a 20% favorable rating, though his country, russia, fares a little better with 41%. it's torch day in sochi. the torch arrived after 123 days and at least 35,000 miles. the big news wasn't the flame. instead it was the flame-hair american, shaun white. he announced he's pulling out of

one of his two events. it's called the slopestyle snowboarding it's called the slope style snowboarding effect. he was one athlete injured on the course. the senior correspondent is in sochi covering all of this. some say the course is too dangerous. this would be another black eye presumably for the games to go along with the alleged poisoning of stray dogs. a lot of unfinished hotel rooms and a lack of snow. here's the question. is the city really ready for these games with only two days until the opening ceremonies? >> certainly the international olympic committee is standing by sochi, standing by russia and the russian olympic organizing committee saying yeah, things are good. yes, there has been a lot of attention in the last 24 hours because of the journalists

coming in and learning that the rooms are not ready or furnished or water is not running. the ioc insists this is just 3% of the tens of thousands of hotel rooms currently in sochi. the fact is, wolf, that everything behind me, this entire olympic park, all of the dormitories and buildings and stadiums, none of this existed seven years ago when russia won the right to host the olympic games. it's all built in this mad rush of construction that has this enormous price tag of about $50 billion. the most expensive olympics yet. it's very clear that the russians still have not work the kinks out of some of this infrastructure at the very least. we have seen some of it working quite well. they insist the venues are working well. we will have to see the test. what happens when the tens of

thousands of tourists come and the families of athletes. if their water is running and hotel rooms are not finished in time. then things will get bad. >> what about the athletes's accommodations. forget about the media and the fans and spectators. what about the athletes? >> from the reaction we have seen so far, i think the russian olympic committee, the various hotels, they seem to value the athlete far more than the journalists. do you blame them? we heard no complaints from the athletes, in fact we heard the opposite that some of them were impressed by the olympic cities and the villages. no complaints yet from any of them. though there is a concern about the slopestyle snowboarding course after a norwegian snowboarder broke his collarbone they had to put a statement out saying that has nothing to do with the course's safety. shoufr shaun white, the u.s.

team's superstar snowboarder conceded he had concerns about that slopestyle snowboarding course after he agreed to pull out of it to focus on winning a third gold medal in the regular half pipe snowboarding event. wolf? >> ivan watt in sochi for us. thanks very much. the star of the olympic delegation won't be going to sochi. billy jean king will miss the games because of the failing health of her mother. in a statement she thanked president obama for picking her to lead the delegation. no current members of the obama administration will be attending the games, although the former secretary of homeland security will, janet napolitano. later in the situation, i will sit down live with mitt romney and talk about security at the sochi olympic games. he was in charge of the winter games in salt lake city. i will ask him about his plans

in 2016. is it possible he can try a third time to be president of the united states. the interview at 5:00 p.m. eastern in "the situation room." this fisherman said he was lot of at sea for a year. does his story hold water? a closer look when we come back. [ crickets chirping ] but did you know that the lack of saliva can also lead to tooth decay and bad breath? [ exhales deeply ] [ male announcer ] well there is biotene. specially formulated with moisturizers and lubricants, biotene can provide soothing relief and it helps keep your mouth healthy, too. [ applause ] biotene -- for people who suffer from dry mouth.

. here's jeannie moos with an amazing survival story, that is, if it's true. >> after 13 months adrift without a water supply, the apparent castaway was back on land holding a coke and spoke through a spanish translator as if talking to aliens. he described dream being food and contemplating suicide because he was so hungry. what were the foods he craved most?

>> tortilla. huevos. pollo. agua. >> he seemed mentally shaken and exhausted when a light started to fall, he was quick to react. no one asked whether he talked to anything the way tom hanks talked to his volleyball, wilson. >> we may just make it. >> jose salvador left mexico on a one-day fishing trip with a teenage fisherman. after their boat was blown off course, he said his companion refused to continue eating raw food and eventually died. throughout what would be a 5,700 mile journey, he survived on fish, birds and turtles. >> how did he catch a turtle? >> it wasn't like a flying fish

dropping from the sky like in the life of pi, but they came banging against the boat. all he had to do was grab them. skeptics abound, saying that's one chubby castaway and looks like he has been scoffing turtle burgers and chips. doctors say he seems to have liver problems and edema which could make him bloated women don't know if the story was true. the hardest part was during periods without rain and he had to drink his own bodiy lily flu. he washed up on a coral island stark naked. bbc quotes witnesses saying the boat was covered in sea animals with a dead turtle and fish remains inside. during the interview, he kept touching his long hair, though

it wasn't long until the immigration chief treated him to a haircut and a shave. all that like a memory, castaway. cnn, new york. >> that's it for me. thanks for watching. i will be back at 5:00 eastern in "the situation room." newsroom continues right now with brooke baldwin. >> thank you very much. great to be with you all on this wednesday. i'm brooke baldwin. we start the hour with this. nearly one million customers in the northeast without power as this harsh winter storm 2ku678ed heavy sn heavy snow and rain. ice coated power lines are causing huge problems there. nearly 600,000 people are without power. crews are working on those downed lines. they are expected to rise. that's an issue. the northeast gettingoc