scandal, threats, billions spent. russia is hosting the most expensive olympics of all-time. ready or not, let the games begin. i'm christine romans. this is "your money." more than 6,000 athletes from 85 countries are in sochi, but one high-flying legend, shaun white, has brought a snowboard and a business empire. ♪ >> reporter: red, white and gold. with a lot more green and a lot less hair. shaun white seemed destined for anything but the winter olympics supersfarp he's become. he grew up in sunny southern california and suffered from a heart defect. two open heart surgeries as

small child. by age 6, white started snowboarding. by age 7, he was sponsored. at 13, he went pro. at the same time, building a professional skateboarding career. white became an x games legend. winning gold at both the summer and winter x games in two different sports and the world witnessed white winning gold not once but twice. >> that wases that defining moment of, like, when he did it. >> reporter: now he hopes to shatter records with his third consecutive winter olympic gold. an innovator on and off the slope, white maintains close creative control over his own products and ad campaigns. shaun white enterprises includes a line of boys' clothes at target. a collection of snowboards and gear at burton. a partnership with gopro. sponsorship dealing with oakley, stride gum and more. >> plus, they're totally practical. >> reporter: but the former flying tomato is not afraid to say, no, when a brand doesn't match his style. >> heinz did call.

like, nah. >> reporter: there's the deal to create snowboarding and skateboarding video games and he's appeared in numerous films and documentaries including the recent "russia calling" which hi company produced and sold to nbc i. get fired up. have to do the trick they do. >> reporter: now taking on the music world. his band, bad things harks a deal with warner brothers. white san advocate for several charities including st. jude's children's hospital help pg kids with health problems like he had, and the flying tomato donated that famous hair to locks of love. >> bye-bye. >> reporter: snowboarder, entrepreneur, musician, philanthropist. hoping the business of being shaun white is once again gold. shaun white and his teammates are already competing in sochi. those events mining the most watched back here in the u.s., and that means some may see shaun white and his team as high-profile targets. the u.s. ski and snowboard association has hired a private

security firm to protect them all. zane asher joins me now with that story. >> reporter: exactly right. called global rescue providing maenld security service. not just for athletes but for corporate clients, individuals as well. the idea, if you're traveling to a part of the world you consider to be dangerous, this is the firm you hire, if you think you might need help evacuating. i traveled to boston to take a look at their command center. take a listen. >> reporter: war zones, natural disasters, remote rescue operations. >> we're used to these types of environments where there are threats and you're not quite sure where the threat might come from. >> reporter: meet the man who will be watching the olympics more closely than most, and not for the athletics. dan richards runs global rescue. a private security firm that will provide additional security for the u.s. ski and snowboarding team in sochi. >> when it comes to information and intelligence we actually have our own teams of intel analysts located in our praise centers here in the united

states and some of our other global locations, and constantly feeding information. >> reporter: global rescue has had people in the ground gathering intelligence in sochi for months including former navy s.e.a.l.s and rangers trained here in boston. >> the strength of our guys on the ground is for them to be able to see multiple options, simultaneously and immediately. understand what the spectrum of capability they bring. how do you get everything together? how do you communicate? what are your options? >> reporter: the u.s. ski and snowboarding team will compete here at the ski resort in sochi. an area with sparse, narrow roads and rugged terrain. does that make evacuating the u.s. ski team particularly challenging? >> anytime you have a limitation on entry and egress points, it definitely presents a level of challenge. >> reporter: but how much can a private security firm really do in the convenient of an attack? >> in our city, for example, if

we have an incident, first thing they do close bridges and tunnels. same will happen there. they're going to lock it down. no private security firm is going walk in and sundayly have them abandon their procedures. >> reporter: global rescue admits while the russians are involved, their value lies in adding an extra level of protection, especially when athletes are traveling to and fro the games. >> on the outside, you're on your own. unfortunately the reality of the situation. >> reporter: richards points out there is a silver lining. >> this terror threat to the games, which should represent the world coming together from the athletic competition is actually bringing us together in ways we might not have expected. forced to come together and unite to try and confront this threat in a united way, which is -- interesting. >> reporter: all right. so that prices are relatively reasonable. for an individual who needs medical help, security help, to are one year charge $700. the question is, can a private security firm really provide the

protection that they need? obviously in terms of intelligence, they don't have the capacity to wiretap. they wouldn't disclose what weapons they carry. i don't know. >> what an interesting look. a look you won't see others do inside the games. thank you so much for that, zane. the winter game, figure skating, skiing, curling. this year a new convenient. sponsor bashing. russia's controversial crackdown on its gay community has been highly criticized, and the world's most recognizable brands. are they regretting their $100 million decisions? we asked peop, how much money do you think you'll need when you retire? then we gave each person a ribbon to show how many years that amount might last. i was trying to, like, pull it a little further. [ woman ] got me to 70 years old. i'm going to have to rethink this thing. it's hard to imagine how much we'll need for a retirement that could last 30 years or more. so maybe we need to approach things differently, if we want to be ready for a longer retirement. ♪

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coca-cola, mcdonald's, visa, some of the world's biggest company, biggest brands. they're used to capturing advertising gold, but their new

olympic ad campaigns have been looking at sad as the albanian olympic skiing team. facing criticism as russia cracks down on gay and lesbian activists. mcdonald's among the first to feel the internet's wrath, social media wrath. creating a campaign called cheers to sochi. the company tweeted, we're kicking off a way to send your well-wishes to any olympian today. are you ready to send your #cheers to sochi? the internet responded with, jeers from mcdonald's. hijacking this campaign. lgbt activist tweeted, hey at mcdonald's, sending cheers to sochi while goons assault lgbt people. in a statement, mcdonald's says we believe the olympic games should be open to all free of discrimination and that applies to spectators, officials, miya and athlete. a traditional corporate response innocence a very unfrisch world. the backlash didn't come cheap.

pay $100 million to become sponsors before their own campaign. the host of reliable source, john berman my co-host on cnn's "early start." brian should, companies have seen this coming? paying all this money to have their image exactly as they want it seen and social media says, no, no. we don't see your image that way and are going to hold you accountable? >> i was hearing that. it's hard to be a company these days. isn't it? we shouldn't feel too bad for them, but, yes, they should have seen it coming, and did but the took the risk anyway in respect is an element of all press being good press and they are in the conversation whether they like it or not. >> i think they don't know how to handle social media. for many years they have been able to do ad buying, hire high-placed p.r. firms. >> easy 30-second spots. >> and think they control the conversation. for the first time ever, john berman, companies don't control

the covers. >> this is the safest bet they made in the world. betting on the olympic, mary lou retton on wheaties. you always like the olympic, always fun and feel-good. this time they're not. a combustible combination of factors making this a troubled olympic games. >> talk about those. one is the country. russia. right? its stance again lgbt activists in the country. look at this poll. favorable rating of russia now about 41% from americans. 55% unfavorable. how does all this play into that? >> plays directly into that. there's a troubled image of the games. partially because of the gay rights issues. partially because of the fact sochi doesn't seem ready for the games. partly because of what reporters there are tweeting back. again, on social media here. >> tweeting! >> hash tag, sochi problems. one of the funniest things. >> tracking all the problems there. i think companies, you know, they are seizing this opportunity in ways. look at google. changing the home page to have

an lgbt themed graphic for the olympics. there are opportunities for companies to stand on the right side of history here and they're taking advantage of that in cases. >> if something's going to happen, the cokes of the world, mcdonald's, in the social media, they need to get ready now,ed iit today. over the games something will happen in the realm of the gay rights issue where they will have to respond. some athlete will make a statement, wear something and they're going to have to say something. >> guys, nice to see you. thanks. coming up next -- >> last year i asked congress to help make high quality pre-k available to every 4-year-old. as a parent as well as a president i will repeat that request tonight. >> universal pre-k. nicholas kristoff from the uk joins me next on call for preschool for everyone. [ male announcer ] this is the cat that drank the milk... [ meows ]

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the internet of everything is changing everything. ♪ and we're getting a picture on the monitor. imagine if everything you learned led to the one job you always wanted. at university of phoenix, we believe every education- not just ours- should be built around the career that you want. imagine that.

the country with the best workforce and the best infrastructure will lead the 21st sercentury. but if education is key, how early should we start? the united states lags other industrialized nations when it comes to the share of 4-year-olds in preschool. 28th of 38 industrial sized nations. two years in a row president obama called on congress to help make high-quality preschool available for all children. >> research shows one of the best investments we can make in a child's life is high-quality early education. [ applause ] >> green tie, right there. house speaker applauding that

line about preschool education for everyone. could there be an opening for bipartisan action to make a crawl through 12 the new k-12 starting before the child is 5 years old? nicholas kristoff for the "new york times," the single biggest thing the u.s. can do, broaden early education. i mean, for the first time in a long time i'm hearing across the country this call for getting kids into school earlier, high quality preschool for everybody? >> that's right. this is one of those rare issues that republicans and democrats actually seem to agree on. 84% of democrats want more early education. 70% of republicans do. so it's not clear there is going to be a consensus within congress but within the general public, this is something people have embraced and there are in fact a number of republican states like oklahoma that have been leading the way, because it's not an audiological issue. it works. if you try to figure how to

create greater opportunity, have reduced gaps, this actually does it. >> the question is here, who pays for it? what does it look like? do states have different programs than, like, a federal mandate? and is it only poor families you focus on, do you do you make it available to everybody? it's the details, of course, that are the real political problem. >> that's right. and, you know, as you suggest, i think the evidence is that you get far more bang for the buck if you focus on the poorest kids and the most at-risk kids, but to try to build popular support one has to offer it for everybody and that makes it a little less cost effective. i do think that the evidence is overwhelming that one of the reasons why a lot of our anti-poverty and education interventions haven't been more successful, essentially we start them toop late. >> the heckman equation. the economist from chicago, it's an investment's in in your column, invest in preschool

today, $8,000 or in juvenile deterngs tomorrow around $90,000 per child per year. it's pretty simple, and should appeal to maybe a fiscally conservative kind of world view. do you think can see this as investment and not of expansion of the nanny state? >> i hope so. and i think that indeed it would be done in that would give states an ability to craft their own local standards. this kind of thing. and, of course, it's not just about preschool as such, in the sense of getting more 4-year-olds. it's really about providing support for parents very early on, if they want it. things like literacy programs. you know, encouraging parents to read to their kids. very early. this is a kind of a solid middle-class tradition, but it's less of a custom in homes of at-risk kids who need it the most. >> thank you. nice see you. as much of the country digs

out from a major snowstorm this week. uh-huh. another one. farmers in california are praying for rain. the historic drought in the west will mean higher food prices across the country. i'm going to tell you how high priceless go, next. en fees on s? that's right, no hidden fees. it's just that i'm worried about, you know, "hidden things." ok, why's that? well uhhh... surprise!!! um... well, it's true. at ally there are no hidden fees. not one. that's nice. no hidden fees, no worries. ally bank. your money needs an ally. choose two melt-in-your mouth entrees, olive garden's best 2 for $25 yet is ending soon! like new parmesan crusted chicken, 3 courses, 2 people, just $25 at olive garden! also enjoy weekday signature favorites, four classic pastas, now just $10!

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call... and ask about all the ways you could save. liberty mutual insurance. responsibility. what's your policy? water. we drink it. we wash with it, and we use it to grow our food. in california, it's running out. the historic drought in the west now felt in grocery stores around the country. on the left, that's what california is supposed to look like. that's one year ago. on the right, that's how it looks today. that's right. two-thirds of the state is classified as being in extreme or exceptional drought. these are the most serious categories. if it continues, it will be the worst drought in 130 years. this will hurt you, even if you don't live in california. why? california's 80,000 farms produce nearly half of u.s.-grown fruits, nuts and vegetables. more than any other state in the country, and some of those things that you put in your

grocery cart, you can't get anywhere else. 90% of the nation's supply of almonds, pa stasios, walnuts, pes tash joaos, dates, raisin answer pomegranates come from california. many water intensive, and water is in short supply. it's not just greens. wine, beef, dairy, could all face price pressures. price increases. so how high could prices go? a vegetable crop schedule hift at usc told us this drought could hike produce prices 10% over the next few months and lawmakers are preparing emergency relief bills. what the farmers need now is rain. no water in california, but everywhere else it seems there is too much snow. heavy snow, and freezing, cold weather. it's affecting much of the country in the last month. ship 30 million passengers faced cancelled and delayed flights in the last month costing flyers $2.5 billion in lost work time and added expenses like hotels and peoples.

another victim of the weather. small businesses. cnn's ted rowlands has more from chicago. ted? >> reporter: christine, this swirnt not only excruciatingly long and uncomfortable, but it is also getting to be very expensive. out of business because of a broken water pipe. >> found water just all over the place, and -- >> reporter: it is hard to imagine anyone more upset about this winter than the owner of this italian kachina. it's in chicago's little italy. >> he was literally crying when i spoke to him on the phone. literally crying. >> reporter: the harsh unrelenting freezing toe and temperatures forced cities to shell out thousands in overtime play to plow streets and now many areas are running low on road salt forcing crews to cut back or pay three times the regular price for the other

white stuff now in white supply. >> prices have skyrocketed really because of the lack of supply. >> reporter: several industries are feeling the effects of this winter. airlines lost an estimated quarter of a billion dollars, according to analysts. poor auto sales in the midwest, south and east are being blamed on the weather along with some lower retail sales. even restaurants without broken water pipes are getting hit. at gyro mania in chicago's greek town, the owner says his business goes way down -- >> $11.87. >> reporter: during heavy snow or freezing cold. >> i might see about a 40% decrease in carryout sales. we deliver. so i see an increase overall about a 25% hit. >> not a problem. >> reporter: consumers are also feeling the effects. >> you hit that pothole and the wheel bottom s out and you get

nice dent in the wheel like that. >> reporter: business at ashland tire in chicago has never been better. >> good for you guy, but you feel bad for some of the customers? >> absolutely. because we're humans, too. >> and 2 x 10. >> reporter: expected to be closed another month because of water damage. meanwhile, we have still at least another month of winter. and christine, now we're in a community running low on that rock salt for the roads. what they're doing is not salting the off-streets. they're salting the main streets, but not these ones. the problem with that, of course, the temperatures drop, they become very, very slick. the hope is that this winter will end sooner than later, because it is not only uncomfortable but it is costing a lot of money. christine? >> sure is. thanks for that report, ted. planes, trains, automobiles. no matter how you get to work, school or vacation, the past couple of months have been

brutal for travel. so what would you pay to never, never have the weather affect your trip? >> i would pay a lot, because i travel all the time. whatever it would take i would pay it. a monthly payment plan, put me down. just take it out of my account every month. >> wow. i would pay quite a lot. yes. i'd pay $50. i mean, that's -- see, i don't have a car. i rely on public transportation. that's quite a bit. right? >> i'd pay -- $100,000 to nerve have to worry about the weather. >> oh! i'm going to -- weather doesn't really bother me. you know? kind of just deal with it. >> 33% of whatever i ever had, or would need. 33%. >> ah i don't think i would. >> really? >> yeah. i think i could deal with it.

>> anything -- to control the weather. i can't stay too long because i have class or whatever. >> this is nothing. snow used to cut through the cars. thanks for joining us this week for "your money." join john berman and me every morning on "early start." until then have a great weekend. hello everyone. i'm fredricka whitfield. welcome to the "cnn newsroom." just in to cnn, a historic announcement from u.s. attorney general eric holder involving same-sex marriage in america. in a speech tonight, hold letter announce the justice department's plan to extend the federal government's recognition of same-sex marriages, even in the 34 states that don't consider it legal. i want tocnn correspondent in washington. taking place