have to wait and see what happens. >> nick paton walsh, thanks so much. that's it for "the lead." i turn you over to wolf blitzer in "the situation room." ishg. a new terror threat in the skies. airlines to look out for explosives in shoes after intelligence finds terrorists are working on new types of bombs. city under siege, a world capital ripped apart in flames and fury as president obama issues a grim warning. we'll take you to the heart of the violent and dangerous struggle. is it put vladimir putin's worst nightmare? an embarrassed gop candidates in texas distancing themselves from ted nugent after his vicious rants. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." let's begin with the breaking news.

a new threat just issued by the department of homeland security here in washington warning airlines to pay additional scrutiny for the possibility of terrorists attempting to hide explosives hidden in shoes. the warning flights from overseas coming to the united states. jim sciutto is standing by as well as our brian todd and our national security analyst peter bergen. let's begin with jim sciutto. what is the precise information, jim? >> we always take new warnings seriously, but let's talk act what it is and what it isn't. it's based on new intelligence that terrorists are working on new shoe bomb designs. this is a trette threat that u.s. intelligence has been watching closely ever since richard reid, the attempted shoe bomber. what we will not see is any new measures as folks are getting onto these flights. shoes are already required to be taken off, that kind of thing. they won't institute any new measures as a result of this, but they are asking airlines to

give additional scrutiny and they're giving this out in terms of an abundance of caution. here's what it's not, and i've been told by a u.s. official that the threat is not specific or credible enough to require a specific response. generally in a situation like this if they had specific and credible information you would see something major, more guards at the gates. you know, we would be subjected to more procedures as a result of this because they had something specific in mind. what they have is new intelligence that terrorists are trying to work on a new design. what they do not have is a specific threat of a particular airline, a particular timing or group that is trying to carry out an attack. so it's serious but put it in the context that pass jers out there, it's difficult for passengers when this warning comes their way. should i be changing my travel plans? are there certain countries i shouldn't be visiting? that's not what the dhs or intelligence officials are

telling us. >> would this mostly be the suspicion, the fear, even though it's a general concern, flights coming into the united states from overseas? >> that's what they're focused on. this is the a additional scrutiny they are warning airlines about. no additional measures but they are letting them know that this is something that they should be aware of. remember, it was only a couple weeks ago in the advance of the sochi olympics where we had another warning come through, you and i talked about this a lot, toothpaste tubes as a possible means of getting explosives onto an airplane, another case where the threat was specific to the games but not specific or credible enough they were canceling flights. but again out of the abundance of caution. you know, this is something that, you know, in context, this is a kind of method of attacking planes that u.s. intelligence agencies have been concerned about for some time. how do they get explosives on board in light of all the security we go through? and shoes is an area of particular concern. anytime they get new information in that category they'll put it out there because they don't want anything to happen.

remember, we're still living with new rules that have ariz. from previous threats. you remember the liquid bomb plot seven or eight years ago. but still today we have limits on how many liquids we can bring on planes. remember the underwear bomber. as a result of that we get pat-downs we didn't get before. this is the new world we live in post 9/11. they'll act in an abundance of caution. >> right now if you're traveling in the united states, unless you have a tsa prescreen, you still have to take off your shoes, put them in the bin, and they are x-rayed. >> absolutely. that will continue. but they won't add another line of defense in response. they just want to get the information out there so everybody is aware. >> jim sciutto, thanks very much. we're watching the breaking news and getting more information on what's going on and a little historic perspective as well. this is a story that potentially could be significant although this is a general concern right now, not a specific warning. brian todd is joining us with a little more of what's going on.

what else are you learning? >> perspective on how much of an explosive material you need to bring down an airliner and the answer is not much. we've had various explosives tested in small containers, other chambers that people carry onto planes and wear on planes. experts have a consensus if someone were to get explosives into shoes or other small containers it would not take much sfloif bring a plane down. a couple weeks ago you might recall homeland security officials alerted airlines to the threat of explosives being placed in toothpaste containers. cindy alford, an expert in britain, he detonated rdx, a white kristofferscrystalline po toothpaste tube. he packed toothpaste only in about a third of that container, explosives in the rest of it. a small container of toothpaste and that's what it did. alford said that would have been enough to bring town a plane.

we've also seen what the 2009 underwear bomb would have looked like if it had gone off. another similar explosion to the one you just saw. farouk concealed it in his pants and got it through security. that's a law enforcement demo of what it would have looked like. also that british security expert, sidney alford, had previously shown cnn what one of those printer bombs hitten in printer cartridges on cargo planes could have done if they had gone off in that 2010 plot. there's a picture of the printer cartridge bomb there. that plot was disrupted as we look at what that could have done. in those cases it's believed the explosive petn was used but terrorists are learning new ways to construct shoe bombs, takes very little explosive material and a very little bit with bring down a plane. >> brian todd, thanks very much. so watching the breaking news and want to get some perspective

on what's going on. terrorists are still out there, aiming their efforts at the united states. peter bergen is here in "the situation room." give us some perspective right now. they're not just al qaeda but al qaeda-affiliated groups, non-al qaeda groups. a lot of them would like to get a shoe bomber on a plane and blow up a plane. >> the one group that's we saw in brian's piece who put these printer cartridge bombs on flights bound for the united states, that was al qaeda in the arabian peninsula. the guy who built those bombs is a guy, al asiri, also built the underwear bomb of northwest flight over detroit and luckily failed to detonate properly in 2009. this guy is still alive. al qaeda in the arabian peninsula has taken a lot of hits from drone strikes and yemeni government activity, but he is still out there. while the dhs threat is nonspecific, this is a guy who

has had, you know, a lot of track record in making these sophisticated hard to defect bombs. >> he's considered a master bomb maker. he's got new technology presumably at his fingertips, right? >> yeah. and the other issue is to what extent has he trained other people. you know, even if he was eliminated in some way, it's quite possible he's teaching other people within his organization how to build these effective weapons. >> let me bring in our national security contributor, former homeland security security adviser to president bush, joining us on the phone. fran thompson, what do you make of the latest warning from the department of homeland security, be on the lookout potentially for shoe bombers trying to get to planes overseas coming to the united states? >> it's always a difficult decision to decide if the information you're getting is not specific but you believe it's credible, when do you put it out. you of course don't want to unnecessarily worry the traveling public around the world, but, you know, it does -- this is part of an narratve so,

we heard the toothpaste tube threat, brian has gone through the various incarnations, computer cartridge, the underwear bomber. al asiri and al qaeda have invested a lot in developing new meth thotds to get around our screening. so when you've got information that's credible, even when it's not specific, especially at the time where you know that there's a threat to the olympics, you want to be -- you want to alert the airlines so they can -- i think you'll probably see more swipes if you're boarding a plane headed for the u.s., more of these bomb detections, trace element tes that you see at an airport from people boarding with their carry-on luggage, flights bound for the u.s. from overseas. until they get more information or are able to either dismiss or confirm the threat. >> but for the department of homeland security, to go ahead and issue a warning like this, they have to have something to justify it. people are going to be nervous

and cancel trips. people will be agitated just by this warning. what goes into a decision to make a public warning like this? >> the department of homeland security will sort of pull together the interagency community, the u.s. law enforcement and intelligence community, look at the source of the information, determine whether or not it's credible. we often hear the language "there's chatter." it depends who's talking. they won't tell us that, but when they evaluate this information they'll look at how did they collect that information, are the people -- if it's intercepts, are those people in a position to know, and that's all going into determining whether or not the information is sufficiently credible to warrant a u.s. public warning. here they say it's not specific, but obviously they made a determination that the information is sufficiently credible to require a public warning. >> fran thompson, thanks very much. peter bergen, thanks to you as well. fran, by the way, is not only

cnn's national security analyst, she's a member of both the department of homeland security and cia external advisory boards. up next, a violent pro-democracy struggle in his own backyard. why that may be vladimir putin's worst nightmare. and republican candidates beginning to distance themselves from the vicious, race-baiting rans of the rocker ted nugent. no matter how busy your morning you can always do something better for yourself.

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introducing cardioviva: the first probiotic to help maintain healthy cholesterol levels without a prescription. cardioviva. another breaking story we're follow right now, a capital city put to the torch, more than two dozen dead and the violence has spread. in kiev, protesters and police are squaring off. it's caught between a tug of war

between russia and the west. the stakes are high as president obama and european leaders issue serious warnings. to our senior international correspondent nick paton walsh in kiev, the capital of ukraine. there's talk of negotiations. could there be room for an actual truce? >> reporter: wolf, let me tell you what we know about this supposed truce. a statement from the president, viktor yanukovych, saying he's met with senior parliamentarians and three opposition leaders that include a truce and then negotiations about stability and peace. here what's going on behind me, though, they probably heard about it down there through the large [ inaudible ] when they get regularly addressed. we've seen protesters firing fireworks at the police in just the last ten minutes. still thick black smoke from tire fires all around the demonstrations. no sign of any change in what's happening down there. we're hearing news of the truce,

police throwing cocktails in the direction of the protesters. whatever is happening behind closed doors it's not changed things on the ground. bear in mind one thing, wolf, this is a sharp change from-in rhetoric from viktor yanukovych, who a few hours ago talked about radicals and his security chief said they needed an anti-terror operation against them. he's going to be seeing three key e.u. foreign ministers arriving in kiev tomorrow morning. i'm sure he wants to appear statesman like before any meetings with them. wolf? >> so those explosions we're hearing, those loud explosions, you're saying those are fireworks. is that what it is? >> reporter: it's a mixture. the very loud bangs we think are probably some sort of stunt grenade. that may be something used by the police for the sheer size of the barrier we hear but more often we see homemade or locally purchased fireworks fired by protesters. we went down and saw one man, very simple, you take a firework

in hand, light it, put it over the top of the barricade and fire it at the police. the police in riot gear, not sure how effective it is injuring them but it's an act of aggression on the police. but they're not matched evenly here. there are protesters digging up the pavement, throwing rocks at the police, trying to make barricades, whatever they can possibly find against a heavily equipped police force changing shifts in regular numbers. >> tense situation remaining in the pictures, so dramatic from kiev. eerie echoes of the cold war and the collapse of the soviet union. a closer look of what's going on with cnn's tom foreman here with max fisher of "the washington post." tom, give us some perspective. >> first of all, wolf, up to look at where ukraine is located because this is the historic divider between russia and the rest of europe, right, snax. >> historians think the country is border link sod the sense of being in between is baked into the ukraine's identity. >> only about 900 miles if you

were to drive sochi where the olympics are going on. talk about the makeup of the country. >> it's about the size of texas and 45 million people so, it's big. >> why did all this launch? it really goes back to something that happened in november with the european union. >> yeah, ukraine was considering a deal for greater economic integration with the european union. a lot of ukrainians like this because they thought it was a good deal and they liked the idea of being part of europe. but they didn't get that. >> they got a different deal. what happened? >> what happened is ukraine surprised everybody by taking a deal with russia instead for about $15 billion in bailout and cheaper natural gas. >> so those who opposed it, who wanted the european union deal, then turned their attention even more so on the president. >> yeah. president viktor yanukovych who's seen by a lot of ukrainians as corrupt, he'd been ousted in protests in 2004 previously, he seems very cozy with russia, actually russia is his native language, so when he took this deal, people thought he's sold out our country to

moscow. >> so many-in many ways what this comes down to, he's a historic divisionist. this has always been like two countries in one space, and now it's coming to a head. >> that's right. if you look at this purple western half, this actually mostly speaks ukrainian. that's where kiev is, muslim protests. but eastern half, people mostly speak russian. that's where yanukovych is from. people have a little more fondness for the old ties to russia. what you're seeing play out is an identity crisis ukraine has had. are we a european country or facing more towards russia? >> and of course there's a big pull from both sides, europeans and the united states saying you should be free to do what you want and from the russian side, because bear in mind this was a region that was part of the soviet empire, produced one-quarter of all the agricultural products. it is a huge trading partner to russia. wolf, all of that is playing a role. >> certainly is. good explanation, guys. thanks very much. for russia's president, vladimir putin, the violence occurring next door has got to be

extremely worrisome. joining us now, fareed zakaria, host of "fareed zakaria: gps." and a former u.s. ambassador to ukraine. and a senior editor at the new republic. julia, let me start with you because you have a provocative headline, excellent article in the new issue of the new republic in which you say these protests in kiev right now represent putin's worst nightmare. explain what you're driving at. >> so the last time viktor yanukovych was in power or the last time he was elected to power in 2004, it also triggered mass protests. the first time that the west heard about a place called the maydan was because he was elected in a fraudulent election. those protests that toppled him and brought in a pro-western government in kiev terrified vladimir putin. he really tightened the screws, killed off what was left of russian democracy, really

clamped down on the free press on civil society, created this fearsome pro-kremlin youth group, and he sees ukraine not as a separate government but as an extension of russia. he told george w. bush once that, you know, you'll understand, george, this isn't a sovereign nation. basically, it's part of russia. so when this kind of stuff happens on the streets of kiev i'm sure that vladimir putin is imagining something like this happening in moscow, and in fact it did in the winter of 2011, 2012, and vladimir putin has started turning the screws after those protests. now he's tamping down even further given what's happening in kiev. he's clearly very frightened. >> ambassador, you served in the ukraine and know this country well. is this becoming really a proxy war, what's going on inside of the streets of kiev and elsewhere spreading around ukraine between putin, shall we say, and the west including the united states and president obama? >> i understand what observers say along those lines, woman, but i wouldn't go that far. i would say this is a fight

among the ukrainian people for values. it's a question of values. they're looking toward the west in terms of democratization in terms of legal norm, in terms of accountability in government. those are things that the west represents and that's what was remitted by the potential e.u. agreement. instead, what yanukovych has done is moved toward the east for russia which for the ukrainian people indicates continued corruption, authoritarian types of regimes, and anti-democratic steps by the government. so this is the split in the ukrainian populace along those lines. it's more about values, not exactly a compliment to the east and west as such. >> fareed, you remember that phone conversation that a high-ranking state department official victoria newland had with the ambassador in ukraine, a phone conversation that was recorded and leaked, put out on youtube in which victoria nuland had some embarrassing comments about the e.u. let me play that clip.

>> so that would be great, i think, to help glue this thing and have the u.n. help glue it and, you know, [ bleep ] the e.u. >> first of all, obviously this conversation involved what was going on ukraine right now, but is it your sense that this tape-recording was leaked by the russians or the pro-russian ukrainians to embarrass the united states? >> my guess is it was leaked by the russians because they do have the capacity to overhear that kind of conversation. the basic point victoria nuland was trying to make is that the european union has been playing a kind of slow economic game here whereas the russians have been playing a fast geopolitical game, by which i mean the european union has been offering the ukrainians a deal and association but as long as they make certain kinds of structural economic reforms and get rid of subsidies on various industries.

in other words, it's kind of almost like a regular trade negotiation where they're trying to get the ukrainian economy to become more market friendly. the rugs, on the other hand, are playing a geopolitical game, and they first offered ukraine essentially a $15 billion subsidized fuel and such and then just recently another $2 billion bribe, which was bonds. so putin is basically saying here's cash, no conditions asked, you be part of my sphere of influence. the europeans, on the other hand, are playing this much longer-term game to try to ukraine into a kind of liberal class, lib cal, democratic, capitalist society and the two timetables are completely off so the ukrainians have badly misplayed this hand. if they were going to step in there and try to wean ukraine away from russia, they needed to do something fast. they need dodd something that was overwhelming and that made it very difficult for president to turn them down. >> julia, the president said

today, president obama, he said there will be consequences if people step over the line in ukraine, referring to the government in kiev right now. what realistically could those consequences be? >> very little, very little, because the truth of the matter, wolf, is, we're not going to send an army there, and if we put sanctions on ukraine, the danger is -- after all it will only push the ukrainians closer to russia. i'm not saying we shouldn't do something. i'm just saying our options are much more limited. the crucial issue here is what does the ukrainian army do? the country is divided the way that max bishop described but not quite 50/50. the ukrainian part, if you will, is larger, and i think the younger population, the future of ukraine clearly looks to the west. the ethnic russian part is only about 17%, 18%. and if you look at kiev, 75% of them didn't vote for this president. so that's why so much of these -- you know, kiev has

become the heart of these protests. but what will the army do? will the ukrainian army be like the egyptians and side with the people, or will they be like the syrians and side with the government? >> let me ask julia that question. what do you see the consequences being, julia? >> i'm not really sure how much the u.s. can do. they've shown their reluctance to really intervene in this part of the world, and the russians know that. even though the russians are talking up a big game about what's happening and the protests when the streets of kiev is because of u.s. meddling. i would like the say, though, that i think how this started in november with the potential agreement with the e.u., i think that's long in the past now. i think the reason people are out in the streets is in part because of yanukovych's crackdown. and i think one of the things that worries vladimir putin is that he doesn't crack down all the way. he'll start cracking down, he breaks a few leg, and then he

pulls back. and this makes people angry, even more of them come out and even more radical people come out, they break up cement and throw at the cops, they bring molotov cocktails instead of stones. you know, his tactics are -- and his authoritarianism i think are really what's at issue now. i think the potential agreement with the e.u. is kind of a little bit forgotten at this point. >> a final thought. the notion right now that this the leader of ukraine, yanukovych, has removed ahethe d of the military there and that suspicion that maybe the military commander was siding with the opposition. if that were, in fact, true, that bodes pretty seriously for escalation of the violence. >> i think you're absolutely right along those lines. you look at the situation in western ukraine right now, the militia has been turning down those guns and not wanting to side with the government in terms of acting against the

protesters in those regions of the country. in addition, certain regions in western ukraine have already kind of declared that the president is no longer in charge of those regions. so there's a dire situation that's developing along these lines. and the military is a professional organization, that's going to count immensely in this situation and the chances are fairly good if the military gets involved that the military will probably not be supportive of the government. >> pictures we're showing, live pictures, remind me of tiananmen square, tahrir square in cairo, and now in kiev. history unfolding before our eyes. ambassador, thanks very much, julia and fareed, thanks to you. catch more ma feed this sunday, every sunday, on "fareed zakaria: gps," 10:00 a.m. eastern. once again, 1:00 p.m. eastern. coming up, embarrassed republican candidates in texas are beginning to distance themselves from the race-baiting rocker ted nugent after his vicious rants. just ahead, we'll discuss what's going on in texas.

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the story that's exploding online and on tv after our cnn report, now the rock star ted nugent is comparing cnn to a top nazi after we detailed his slurs against president obama, whom he called, and i'm quoting him now, a subhuman among umbrella. and there's political fallout for the texas race as well. nugent has been campaigning for greg abbott. we're following developments with ed lavandera. gloria borger and wayne slater, the senior political writer for "the dallas morning news," who's been all over the story. wayne, you've been talking to sources close to the greg abbott campaign. what are they saying to you about this furor, this uproar that has developed over the past 24 hours? >> they did not expect this to happen. they knew that knew gent was a controversial figure who had said outspoken things in the past. they did not know how loud this

was going to become. they frankly did not expect what you did yesterday, and that is to historically point out the precedence in nazi terminology and in propaganda with respect to the issue of a subhuman mongrel and the use of that kind of language. they also told me that don't look to see greg abbott with anyone, with greg abbott having ted nugent with him in the future. that is not going to happen in the future. so i think people have learned this has blown up in a way they didn't expect and they're trying to run away from it. >> you think they would go one step further, wayne, and actually disavow and condemn these comments from ted nugent? >> when i talked to them today, absolutely the indication was they would not. on the one handle, you have someone who has said things that are so offensive that clearly will alienate an aspect of the

electorate, especially suburban and moderate republican-leaning women who wendy davis would like to have and greg abbott needs to keep if he is to win in november. on the other hand, if he were to simply physically and verbally drop nugent in the grease and say i'm going to denounce all these terrible things that he said, then he's going to lose potentially some of the very strong right-wing, pro-gun advocates who greg abbott also needs in the republican primary. it's a tough spot for him to be in. >> yeah. ed, you've been chasing greg abbott throughout the day. we've invited him to come on our show. we invited him yesterday, we invited him today. he's declined our invitation. of course it's an open invitation. but you managed to find him. what is he saying? >> well, we e found greg abbott today in the east texas town of tyler, texas. he was campaigning at a small restaurant which coincidentally

is owned by the grandparents of college football star and heisman trophy winner johnny manziel. abbott was campaigning there. we were told we'd be able to ask questions about this but at end of the event we were only allowed to ask one question. abbott said this is all about the wendy davis campaign, his democratic challenger for governor in texas, that this is -- that he used ted nugent as a way to show that wendy davis was flip-flopping on the issue of guns and he wantd to point that out. we fry tried to follow up, had a series of other questions we had to ask, and that's when the fireworks started. his communications director stepped between me and greg abbott and tried to ask abbott several more questions but he ignored them and we were blocked from doing so. >> gloria, this is ted nugent yesterday in texas introducing and supporting greg abbott, the republican gubernatorial candidate. gloria, listen to this. >> i am so proud to be here today in denton, texas, to

introduce the next governor that will make sure america know what is freedom looks like, and it looks like greg abbott, my friend, greg abbott. my blood brother. >> all right, gloria. you heard "my blood brother." so for from your perspective you've been looking at this closely, what do you see? >> i think when somebody comes out there and says you're his blood brother and you're standing in front of a sign that says "abbott," at a certain point, abbott has to come out and say something about the language that ted nugent is using. i understand that it's difficult for him. i understand that they share a commitment on the second amendment. and there's a way to do it. you just say look, i share his commitment on the second amendment, i appreciate it, but i'm offended by his language, because abbott has to go on and win in a general election, and the suburban women that wendy davis is going after are not going to love this kind of language. and by the way, there are lots of republicans in the state don't like this kind of language

either. so i think at some point abbott is going to have to find a way to distance himself. he was using nugent to get crowds to corral anger on the right, okay, and that's legitimate for him as he's in a primary, which he's expected to win. but at a certain point i think he has to distance himself. >> you know, somebody who's not distancing themselves from ted nugent, wayne, is sarah palin. she just posted on her facebook page. she said check the box for another good conservative, greg abbott for governor of texas. if he is good enough for ted nugent, he's good enough for me. that's from sarah palin. how is that going to play in texas? >> it's going to play great. the truth of the matter is -- and there is, as i mentioned before, something a big dark about this -- there is a portion of the electorate, very conservative, second amendment, anti-abortion rights people on the republican right and the

republican primary who think sarah palin is wonderful, who think ted nugent is wonderful, and who frankly think this whole thing is nothing. so -- the republican right. >> ted nugent is also firing back at cnn's coverage of all of this as well. he's sent out a couple tweets here in the last day or so saying, "cnn, joseph geshls, the propaganda minister for nazi germany and hitler, propaganda ministry mongrels. wolf blitzer is a journalist and i'm a gay pirate from cuba. there's your halloween costume. >> thank you very much. good reporting from all of you. up next, an american base hit by an american bomb. we have a gripping piece of video of a major military mistake. the day we rescued riley was a truly amazing day.

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. we're just learning about a mind-boggling military mistake that almost became a major catastrop catastrophe. a u.s. military plane dropping a huge bomb on a u.s. military outpost. how could such a thing happen? our pentagon correspondent barbara starr has got some of the dramatic video. tell our viewer what is you're finding out, barbara. >> well, wolf, this is absolutely bone chilling to watch. thankfully, there was a happy ending. >> reporter: soldiers watch as a u.s. aircraft is about to drop a 500-pound bomb on what the air cue thinks is a group of taliban fighters.

>> there it is. >> yep. >> reporter: but in a rare mistake the bomb hits the u.s. outpost instead. >> [ bleep ]! >> what the [ bleep ]! >> reporter: video has just come to light of this september 2012 incident in eastern afghanistan. another reminder of the uncertainty of combat. >> this was a major mistake from a targeting perspective. the way targeting works is you have to get the coordinates right. >> reporter: an investigation determined the aircrew had the wrong coordinates. >> oh my [ bleep ]! >> unfortunately in wars this does happen, but with precision-guided munitions it's a much rarer occurrence than it used to be. >> reporter: everyone quickly moves to check on each other. >> you guys all right? >> [ bleep ]. [ bleep ]. >> you guys good? >> [ bleep ]. >> hey, sergeant, is everything

okay? >> yeah, we're good. hey, we're straight. >> yeah, they're good. >> what the [ bleep ], man? >> no casualties. >> reporter: no casualties. thankfully no one was hurt. investigators ruled the incident an accident. so no one was punished. but you see the destruction of that operating base there out in eastern afghanistan. it could have turned out so much worse. wolf? >> fortunately the ending, as you say, was okay. it was a major, major mistake. i hope they learn from it so it never happens again. we're following the breaking news in "the situation room." a warning to airlines about explosives possibly hidden in shoes. new information coming in. and a political odd couple teaming up to restore voting rights to millions of exconvicts. hey guys! sorry we're late. did you run into traffic? no, just had to stop by the house to grab a few things. you stopped by the house? uh-huh. yea. alright, whenever you get your stuff, run upstairs, get cleaned up for dinner. you leave the house in good shape?

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the obama administration may have an unlikely partner in the push to restore voting rights to millions of excons, one of its most outspoken critics, rand paul. let's bring in joe johns. he's got the details. joe? >> reporter: well, senator rand paul disagrees with the obama administration on just about everything, just sued the president over nsa phone data collection. he even delivered his own personal rebuttal to mr. obama's state of the union address. but on this voting rights for felons, they're on the same side. when it comes to giving convicted felons the right to vote, rand paul is right in line with the obama administration and attorney general eric

holder. >> i don't think it's intentional, but it has become a racial outcome on who's incarcerated in our country. and i think that's something that has to be addressed here. because not only is the incarceration i think unfair, then they get out and the voting rights are impaired. >> reporter: today paul went so far as to appear at a hearing in his home state legislature pushing the idea of changing the kentucky constitution to give the vote to convicted felons, sounding a little bit like the liberal democrats who have been beating this drum for decades saying disenfranchisement laws unfairly penalize american sit sens who have paid their debt to society. >> i think particularly for nonviolent crimes we should try to reincorporate people back into society. >> reporter: a cause the attorney general took up again last week. >> those swept up in this system too often had their rights reskinneded, their dignity diminished and the full measure of their citizenship revoked for the rest of their lives.

>> reporter: paul's push to restore felons' voting rights is likely to win him support if he chooses to run for president, but critics say he may be cutting off his nose to spite his fate because it's an issue that goes to a democratic base. >> it looks like you're being soft on crime and that won't help him in a republican primary. >> reporter: the kentucky senate voted to approve this measure, but the committee considering it essentially decided to insert a five-year waiting period before felons could vote apparently because of concerns about criminal repeat offenders. so this will have to be hashd out before voters in kentucky can decide the issue on the ballot. >> eric holder and rand paul working together on this issue. breaking news coming up, the new warnings to airlines about shoe bombs. what is the government increasingly worried about as a new possible terror attack? plus a follow-up to our story that inspired so many people including president

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many people first saw this remarkable story first in "the situation room." and now we have an update on isaac lufkin, the rhode island teen who helped lead his team to a state title and who hopes to one day play for the nfl. like so many of us, president obama has been inspired by isaac and he's now written to him, saying, your success on and off the football field serves as a reminder of what can be achieved when we work hard and stay focused on reaching our goals. you've set a powerful example not only for your teammates but for all americans. and i hope you continue to aim high and strive for excellence in everything you do. happening now, we're

following two breaking stories. shoe bomb alert. the u.s. issuing a new warning for all airlines. sources say terror groups are working on dangerous new designs for hidden explosives. plus, crisis talks. we're told there's a, quote, new glimmer of hope for peace in a city under siege. stand by for a live report from the center of a deadly conflict in ukraine. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room room." this is cnn breaking news. >> let's get right to the breaks news this hour. a new terror alert that could affect millions of airline passengers in the united states and around the world. the u.s. government has now issued a warning about the possibility of shoe bombs. let's bring in our chief national security correspondent jim sciutto. he's got the details. what do we know? >> a new warning issued directly to airlines. and our understanding is it's based on intelligence gathered by the u.s. and other countries indicating terror groups have been working on new shoe bomb

designs. this affects overseas flights coming into the u.s. of course, it is already tsa policy for passengers to take off their shoes going through security checkpoints to be x-rayed. a law enforcement official says that passengers as a result of this new warning may notice additional searches including explosive detection swabs. to be clear, there's no specific threat or plot known. an intelligence official told me this, quote, this threat is not specific or credible enough to require a specific response. they often issue an alert out of an abundance of caution. i spoke with cnn terrorism analyst peter bergen to get an understanding of what kind of groups would be capable of this. here's what he said. >> the dhs warning is nonspecific, but the universe of people who have known capably is not large. al qaeda in yemen continues to put underwear bombs on planes, continues to try to put cartridge bombs on planes.

>> you remember only two weeks ago there was another warning regarding terrorists attempting to use toothpaste tubes to conceal explosives, that tied specifically for flights from the u.s. to the olympics in sochi. this is a path that terror groups have been interested in for some time going all the way back to 2001. you remember richard reid who tried this then. something that u.s. intelligence agencies have been focusing on. they want to know if the terrorists are trying to find a new way to do this. they believe they are. here's a case where, out of an abundance of caution, they're sharing this information as widely as possible. doesn't mean they know a group has this capability now or will use it now, but it does mean that they know they're trying this kind of thing. they want to be careful. >> is there any indication that it's linked, the timing the of it, to sochi? >> there's no indication of that. as i mentioned we had this toothpaste bombing. that was linked specifically to this. this is linked only to the

intelligence that they're working on new designs. no intelligence that they have a particular target in mind or date in flight. >> we're talking about flights originating overseas and coming to the u.s. >> that's where the passengers may notice additional measures. those swabs they take to look for explosives residue on your person or baggage. >> jim sciutto, thanks very much. let's get to the other breaking story we're following right now. we'll show you these live pictures coming in from the front line of an international crisis. tonight truce talks are under way to try to find a solution to the deadly conflict in the ukraine. but the u.s. allies are keeping the pressure up on the ukrainian president. president obama warning there will be consequences if the bloodshed doesn't stop. nick paton walsh is joining us live. he's in kiev. we hear a lot of chanting. we hear some explosions behind you as well. what's the latest? >> reporter: well, wolf, you can't see the fires behind me because they're obscured by

thick black smoke from tires burned here, protective measure by protesters. we've heard the president saying he's met with opposition leaders and they've agreed on a truce and agreed to negotiate to end the standoff. he will tomorrow perhaps receive the french, german and polish foreign ministers here. want it to appear more calming and statesmanlike. but that's not soothed concerns behind me. we've seen fires at the police. and we went down amongst the crowds before the truce announcement, precarious as it is, to ask why they're there. in the ghoulish embers of central kiev there gathering in strength readying for something. as are they. organized in their defenses the pavement orderly torn up, then tidily swept down. those making molotov cocktails on an almost industrial level didn't want their faces shown because the security chief has now declared the fight engaged them to be a nationwide

anti-terror operation. nightfall always increases tension. these people know they've been labeled terrorists by the government they're fighting, they've perhaps also heard of increased international pressure in their support. >> we condemn in the strongest terms use of violence as a way to solve the political crisis. >> we expect the ukrainian government to show restraint. and we'll be monitoring very carefully the situation recognizing that, along with our european partners in the international community, there will be consequences if people step over the line. >> reporter: after the deaths, they're trying to maintain a sense of permanence here despite the buildings around them burning and the slow, slow erosion of the space around them. "we have a war here" one says. "no one can react." "no one can help" this man adds. the army's on our side.

fireworks regularly and clumsily fired at the police. but still, the army chief was sacked by the president at this vital moment, suggesting turmoil at the top here just when cool heads are needed. now, wolf -- wow, very loud explosion behind me. that could have been a stun grenade. i can only imagine. but it just tells you what i was about to say, tensions are extraordinarily high here. u.s. officials say 20 senior ukrainian officials won't be getting visas to the united states imminently. we were hours ago hearing the president of the ukraine talk about protesters being radicals. his head of security saying an anti-terror operation was under way. now there's international pressure, condemnation, foreign ministers aririving tomorrow, we've been in this wave before, talks of escalation, people here clearly aren't taking that

seriously, these talks about talks, although opposition leaders say they are hoping it will lead somewhere. we'll have to wait to see if tonight passes peacefully. at this stable, though, there's no reason to thing that people are even beginning to think about clearing up or going home. we're still seeing consistent back and forth between those front lines and police protests. wolf? >> the singing we're hearing in the background, do you know what that is, nick? >> reporter: well, we've been hearing the ukrainian national anthem repeatedly here. we don't know what these guys are here. we've had a lot of orthodox priests on stage trying to keep protesters' spirits high. but certainly people are regularly taking the stage to keep crowds during these cold moments where often they're facing sometimes molotov cocktails thrown in the direction of the protesters by police lines trying to keep them buoyed. it's very dangerous, actually inside that protest area.

the floor has been torn up, much of the stone to be used as missiles and weapons, very uneven ground, people crammed in and increasingly concerned and unwilling to show their faces because of the extraordinary rhetoric the government is using against them at this point. not a pleasant atmosphere, sewers overflowing as well. that's about the pressure of trying to get them to leave. police moving in on all sides. we have to see if these talks go anywhere. we've been here before, even as late as last night, but on the ground nothing's changed. >> nick paton walsh for us in kiev, thanks very much. we'll stay on top of that story. also coming up, president obama is speaking out on the crisis in ukraine. you heard a little bit of what he's saying. he's getting an earful from allies about the world's problems and his own missteps. and disturbing new video shows members of a russian punk band being whipped by security officials in the olympic city of sochi. no matter how busy your morning you can always do something better for yourself.

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responsibility. what's your policy? we're continuing to keep a close watch on the city that's been under siege. protesters standing their ground in the ukrainian capital even as the truce talks get under way. we may hear more about president obama about this unfolding crisis. he's attending a summit in mexico right now. jim acosta is traveling with the president and he joins us from mexico. what's the latest, jim? >> reporter: wolf, president obama arrived in mexico for a summit that was supposed be on issue closer to home, like imgrigs and trade, but he took

time to warn the leaders in the ukraine. the question is whether the ukrainians listen. for president obama it seems there is no escape, even on this eight-hour trip to mexico for a summit on north american leaders, the president was forced to switch gears to get another world crisis. this time issuing a stern warning on the violence in ukraine. >> there will be consequences if people step over the line, and that includes making sure that the ukrainian military does not step in to what should be a set of issues that can be resolved by civilians. >> reporter: mr. obama's options for ukraine are limited. the u.s. and other leaders are threatening the ukrainian government with sanctions. but it can lead fewer results and more bloodshed as it has so far in syria. >> when is the united states of america going to show some leadership? when is the president of the united states going to look at history and say, how is history

going to judge me and this country? >> reporter: and eerily similar to the situation in syria, a key obstacle to the country's approach to ukraine is vladimir putin. >> putin needs to understand that obama can be as tough as he is, that the united states is not playing pattycake here. we do have vital interests in that region, we had an interest in the human rights of people who live in that area of the world. >> reporter: the president's constraints are also on display in this north american summit. canada's prime minister is complaining he may have to wait for a new u.s. administration to express the protested keystone oil pipeline. immigration reform in the u.s., something the president cannot deliver without republican help. and mr. obama would like expanded authority from congress to conduct new trade deals, but on that issue it's his fellow democrats who are saying no. >> everyone would be well advised to just not push this

right now. >> reporter: the state department says it is watching to see whether or not this recently announced truce in ukraine will hold. as for that warning of consequences against ukraine, as senior administration official says it's not lost on this white house that the president, when dealing with syria, once warned of a red line op chemical weapon use, then chose the path of diplomacy. this senior administration official is cautioning that when it comes to ukraine, they still have not yet made a determination as to what the consequences might be saying there's a full toolbelt of options. >> jim acosta traveling with the president in mexico. the u.s. says it won't issue visas for members of the ukrainian government and others responsible for the deadly crackdown on protesters. looking at live pictures right now. a state department official says the u.s. is ready to take additional steps if the violence doesn't stop. we're joined by the former u.s. ambassador to ukraine, steven pifer who is now with the

brookings institution. thank you for coming in. >> happy to be here. >> i want to show you and our viewers new video we're just getting in. this is tuesday night. look at this. i'll shut up for a second as we watch this. all right. so you see, this is tuesday night, 26 people were killed in these demonstrations that occurred on the streets of kiev. you spent three years there. when the president says there will be consequences if this continues, this crackdown, what does that mean? >> well, i think the united states and the european union, they don't have a lot of tools, but one tool is visa sanctions and potentially financial sanctions that will target people and say, you need to avoid the use of force but also you need to push for a peaceful

solution here. >> do you think that that's going to be enough to stop this crackdown, if you tell these leaders in the ukraine you won't get a visa to visit the united states or there will be some financial sanctions on ukraine, you think that would deter them? >> no, these would be financial sanctions on the people directly. there's an inner circle. one man is the wealthiest oly gark in the ukraine. he has an 80 million pound apartment in london. if he can't go there, he's going to worry. if he didn't push yanukovych to move off this course of force and try to find a peaceful settlement. >> i'm really worried about potentially a resumption -- you and i are hold enough to remember the bad old days of the cold war when there was this rivalry between the u.s. and the then-soviet, given the differences the u.s. has with russia, ukraine, syria, iran, even venezuela, is that kind of bad old days of a cold rivalry

returning? >> i'm not sure we're going back to the cold war, but a much more complicated relationship than you had even four years ago. >> why is that? >> differences of opinion. for the united states, u.s. policy going back 20 years is aimed at seeing ukraine develop as a stable independent country that can choose its own course. and ukraine appears to want to draw closer to europe. for vladimir putin, that's a real problem. and you've then got that competition. >> it sounds to me that there's a potential here for some sort of ethnic civil war, ethnic russian ukrainians versus ethnic ukrainians. >> i've heard from people who have been on that maidan, on that square where you see the fighting going on. you hear a lot of ukrainian but you also hear a lot of russian. >> among the opposition. >> among the opposition. >> that's encouraging. >> 20 to 25% of the people have come from eastern ukraine which are traditionally seen as the pro-russian areas. what's going on in kiev is not

the east, west dividing ukraine. there are a lot of people in eastern ukraine who may have supported yanukovych who are appalled by this. >> viktor yanukovych is the president. >> that's correct. >> steven pifer, a former u.s. ambassador to ukraine. beaten in sochi, disturbing new video. band members in custody and under attack in the olympic city. aflac.

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cnn is trying to get answers from russia about a disturbing video that shows members of a

punk band being beaten in the olympic host city. our senior international correspondent ivan watson is in sochi. >> reporter: this is not what the winter olympics are supposed to look like. russian cossacks whipping members of the dissident punk band pussy riot. the attack coming as these outspoken kremlin critics try to film a music video in the heart of the olympic city. hours later we caught up with members of the band at the gates of a hospital in sochi. at first a security officer denies them entry calling them provocateurs. >> translator: in russia there's no possibility of speaking out. if you want to say that you don't agree with the current policy, you will be chased away. you will be thrown in jail. you will be beaten and possibly even killed. >> reporter: this isn't the first time pussy riot have gotten in trouble in sochi. the band live tweeted photos of their detention on tuesday when

police brought performers along with at least seven human rights activists and journalists to this police station just a short drive from the olympic park. the police say they were investigating a theft at a hotel. within hours the police dropped all charges and let the detainees go. pussy riot says this was the third time they've been detained and interrogated over the course of three days in sochi. the husband of band member blames russia's president for the crackdown. >> so basically we do feel that vladimir putin personally sanctions all these forms of harassment. >> reporter: the two served is nearly two years in prison after they performed this song in a moscow cathedral slamming putin and the russian orthodox church. they were released just before the olympics, and the women immediately went back to denouncing putin in public.

these are not the first people who have been detained and/or arrested since the start of the olympic games. within the last week, a prominent environmentalist and an leader of the ethnic minority both who came out criticizing the winter olympics have both been arrested. the environmentalist is now reportedly on hunger strike. putin has repeatedly said that at the olympics, politics should not mix with sports. those who try to challenge that edict may be in for a beating. ivan watson, cnn, sochi, russia. >> we're just getting this in from our nick paton walsh who is in kiev, live pictures from the square there. opposition leaders now confirming that a cease-fire has been agreed, but they're somewhat circumspect, nick says, saying they'd like to be convinced the government of president viktor yanukovych is genuine.

we'll continue to monitor this story, of course, for you throughout the night here on cnn. we also have new information on the breaking story we've been following, a new warning to airlines to be on alert for a possible shoe bombing attempt. an airline industry source now telling cnn the alert targets 35 to 40 specific cities all have nonstop flights to the united states. they include johannesburg, cairo, paris, london and some cities in the middle east. the united states has warned airlines that fly those routes that there will be an increase in the screening of people the tsa has deemed suspicious as well as randomly selected fliers. we'll stay on top of this breaking news store you for you as well. that's all the time i have. i'm wolf blitzer in washington. "crossfire" starts right now. tonight on "crossfire" -- fires in kiev. chaos in the mid