thanks, everybody, for watching. wolf blitzer, that's just about to start. to start. have a great friday. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com right now, ted nugent apologizes. he says he crossed the line when he called the president of the united states a sub human mongrel. also right now, a peace deal reached in the ukraine. the president and the opposition agreeing to the terms. now the world watches and waits to see if the deal will really hold. and right now, new information coming in about al qaeda in syria. the group may be recruiting americans to carry out attacks right here on u.s. soil. hello, i'm wolf blitzer, reporting from washington. a surprising apology today from ted nugent for calling president obama a sub human mongrel. was he sincere? you can judge for yourself. here's what he told conservative

radio talk show host, ben ferguson, just a short time ago. >> sub human mongrel -- is a derogatory term. most people agree with that. did you cross the line by calling the president of the united states of america that, and if you saw barack obama, would you apologize to him for saying that about him? >> yes, i would. i did cross the line. i do apologize. not necessarily to the president. but on behalf of much better men than myself, like the best governor in america, governor rick perry, the best attorney general in america -- just think if america had an attorney general as great as greg abbott like here in texas. so on behalf of those pro preshl politicians and those who put their heart and soul of representing us so accurately, like the gentleman i just mentioned, i apologize for using the street fighter terminology of sub human mongrel, instead of

just using more understandable language, such as violator of his oath to the constitution. the liar that he is. the president lied when he said we can keep our doctors, and we can retain our health care, period. and that -- his department of defense and department of terrorism at ft. hood workplace violence. those are the real offensive occurrences in america. so, yes, ben, i apologize for using the term "sub human mongrel" and i will try to elevate my vernacular to the level of those great men that i'm learning from in the world of politics. >> are you apologizing to the president of the united states of america, barack obama, for calling him a sub human mongrel? >> yes. >> if he hears this, and there is a good chance it's going to be played later today and he's watching or listening, what would you say to him directly?

>> good lord. there is an agenda for you. >> and ben ferguson is joining us now. ben, thanks very much. so he apologizes. qualifies it a bit. what was your take on that apology? >> well, i think he apologized more because of the message it's taken and hurt people that he admires and respects in greg abbott. i asked him later, as you heard me press him again, do you apologize to the president, outside of that. and he said yes. and from his tone, i've been around ted several different times. i think he really does feel bad for the words he used. he feels bad for what it's done to the people he surrounds himself with. and that's the reason why he apologized. that's not something that is usually something he does. if anyone presses him, he usually ups the ante, so putting it in the context of ted nugent, i think i was a little surprised by him saying "yes, i apologize to the president." >> because he's been coming under an enormous amount of criticism. and people really don't care

that much what he says. but the way he has embarrassed the attorney general of texas who wants to be the next governor, rick perry was with me yesterday here in "the situation room." let me play a few clips of what they said and what senator mccain has said as well. >> it's a free country. but that kind of language really doesn't have any place in our political dialogue. it harms the republican party. i'm sure that it harmed that candidate there. and it should be obviously repudiated. >> i've got a problem calling the president a mongrel. i do have a problem with that. that is an inappropriate thing to say. >> those sentiments there, of course, i don't agree with them. you've never heard me say such a thing and nor would i. >> and senator rand paul last night tweeted, he said, ted nugent's derogatory description of president obama is offensive and has no place in politics. he should apologize. so he's come under enormous pressure from people who made

earlier times been willing to stand with him, invited him out there on the campaign trail. but they didn't want to have anything to do with him after he used those derogatory, vile terms of the president of the united states. >> well, and i asked him about that. and ted, i think, if he could go back 40 days ago or 43 days ago, as he put it, he wouldn't have used those words. he said i'm going to learn from the people around me in politics that i admire. i should not have used those words and they were the wrong choice to refer to the president of the united states of america. and for ted nugent, for him to say it that way, i personally was a little bit surprised that he apologized as he did, because that's not his style. and i think he realizes the damage that was done. i also think he realizes that what an opportunity this gave wendy davis to raise money against greg abbott, who he wants to be the next guy in charge in texas. and he wanted to help. and i think that's where he really felt bad, is he didn't want to help out the democrat. he didn't want to help out wendy

davis. and that was something he made clearel sw on the show. >> did he apologize to cnn for calling us a nazi propaganda machine along the lines of joseph goebls? >> he did not apologize for that. he did, however, give a nice accolades to erin burnett and said that when he had to cancel on her show the other night, as he put it, he said it was because of medical issues. he said she is a classy journalist and he likes going on her show. so he did clarify why he had to cancel the other night on her show. >> ben ferguson, thanks very much for joining us. ben ferguson is the host of "the ben ferguson show", the one who got the apology from ted nugent. thanks, ben. thanks very much. in other news, a deal has been reached with ukraine that could end the bloody confrontation in kiev. the opposition group comes after several deadly days in the city's independent square. the deal was put together after representatives from russia and the european union went to kiev. joining us now from ukraine is

our nick paton walsh, who has been on the scene since these demonstrations developed. so what's in the deal, nick, and is there a part in there that calls for an investigation into the dozens of deaths during these protests? >> reporter: there's a lot of -- a lot of stuff in this deal. but most of all, a timetable that was pretty strict in many ways. first thing, the constitution to reduce the powers of the president. parliament has already pushed that through at this point. we are waiting to see if the prote protesters' obligations, which is to disarm 24 hours from now, they will do that the end of saturday and start clearing out of public places like those behind me by monday at some point. you might be able to hear behind me the noise of the crowd jeering it seems. not a huge reception. we can't quite work out what they're trying to say, but the

opposition leader is here, come on the stage. so we're going back, wolf, to where we are here. we are looking at a deal that within ten days should have a unity government organized within ukraine. the key issue here, the one that's got people concerned, is that by december only, might victor yanukovych stop being president. it's not entirely sure if those conditions will be adequate for those in the crowds below me who we walked through moments ago and showed no signs of packing up and leaving, wolf. >> do we see any signs that the protesters are starting leave that independent square there in kiev? >> reporter: at this point, no. we walked through, there was morning, candlelight vigils for those who died in the past few days. but no sense they were packing up or going home.

i believe they're waiting for leaders to give them a signal as to where they should go next. the barricades have been heavily reinforced around there. there are many people still on the street. and what's so remarkable is an absolute absence of police wherever you go. they have pulled back entirely. almost like a ghost town, where before there were many, many riot police lining the streets all over. so we have a deal. it does have a lengthy timetable for the potential eventually departure of victor yanukovych, but does not give the immediate resignation many in the crowd behind me would have hoped for, wolf. >> nick payton walsh in kiev, thanks for that update. a potential threat coming out of syria. al qaeda. al qaeda may be recruiting fighters to attack the united states. our pentagon correspondent, barba barbara starr, is working this story for us. what exactly is al qaeda trying to do? >> reporter: wolf, there's some very dangerous new wrinkles emerging. intelligence has been gathered by the united states that shows al qaeda elements, al qaeda

operatives in syria, may be specifically trying to target americans and other westerners with western passports coming to syria to fight in the war there. we know they have been trying to recruit outsiders to come fight in that ongoing civil war in syria. but now al qaeda, we are told by several sources, targeting americans, targeting westerners, and then when they get to syria, taking them or attempting, rather, to take them to special training so they can be trained on how to return to their home countries and carry out terrorist attacks. of course, the big worry is there are al qaeda operatives in syria, the u.s. believes, from al qaeda in yemen. and that is the group, of course, that poses the most direct threat to the united states with that master bomb-maker named al aseary, the guy we're hearing about tied to the shoe bomb threat. so all of this getting very concerning, wolf. >> are there a lot of americans

actually going to certify i can't, being trained in syria, to fight side by side with those anti-government elements? >> you know, it's a really interesting question, because, of course, nobody can really say for certain. but u.s. officials are telling us, they believe there may be as many as -- as 70 americans, u.s. citizens, that have gone to syria for a variety of reasons. and, of course, they contract them through international passport controls, transiting across borders, that sort of thing. but it's a very rough estimate. they don't really know. and people come and go all of the time. so the problem is, this is a very tough place for the u.s. to keep an eye on and get really solid intelligence. >> barbara starr with the latest on that front. very disturbing information. thank you. making a big pitch. the first lady of the united states did that on "the tonight show" starring jimmy fallon. you're going to hear what she said about the affordable care act that got a big laugh from

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we put members first, because we don't have shareholders. join the nation. ♪ nationwide is on your side gno the white house making a major push for obamacare before the march 31st enrollment deadline. the first lady, michelle obama, took to the airwaves last night, appearing on "the tonight show" starring jimmy fallon to deliver a direct message to uninsured young adults. let's listen. >> well, thanks to the affordable care act, young people can stay on their parents' insurance until they're 26. but once they hit 26, they're on their own and a lot of young people think they're invincible.

but the truth is, young people are knuckle heads, you know? they're the ones cooking for the first time and slice their finger open, dancing on the bar stool. >> young people. yeah, yeah, yeah. >> i don't know. you're dancing on the bar stool, right? >> no. >> so she is making a major pitch. they have five weeks. they've got to really get a lot of young people enrolled. and i assume that's why she decided to go on that show, which a lot of young people watch. >> right. march 31 is the deadline if you want to be insured for this year. so they're trying to get these young people enrolled. also, if their risk pool is going to work, you have to have a mix of people. you've got to have the young, healthy people with the older, less healthy people. so the push is really on, because as no one has to remind us, this program got off to a really rocky start, wolf. so the push is on to get those young people back, which is why you have the president out there, the vice president out there. and you have the first lady out

there. >> republicans still believe this is going to be a huge issue for them. >> sure. >> going to the midterm elections. >> and that's why they didn't pick a fight on the debt ceiling. they want to stick with the question of obamacare, which, by the way, is still not popular in the country. people have a lot of questions about it. but when you talk to democrats, they're now ready, and you saw this in the president's remarks this week. they're now ready to take it head-on. and they're going to say to republicans, okay, you want to get rid of obamacare, what are you going to take away from people? are you going to take away coverage for preexisting conditions? are you going to take their children up until the age of 26 off their health care policies? so what is it exactly that you want to take away? so democrats are not going to shy away from it. republicans, on the other hand, believe, look, they've got -- they say it's not going to work. and i think at this point, it's really too early to tell. we've got to wait and see how many people are enrolled, and

the vice president this week said that they may not reach the 7 million goal. they had sort of a goal between 6 and 7 million in april. but i was talking to a senior administration official who said, if they only reach 5 million, that will still be okay, if they have the right mix. that's the big question. because if they have the right mix, people won't get premium shock when they get their insurance premiums. because if it's not the right mix, insurance rates could go up and then republicans will have something they can really campaign on. >> and they really feel those republicans in those red states, where there are democrats up for re-election. >> sure. >> whether louisiana or north carolina. >> right. >> alaska, some of those states. they think obamacare will really help a republican challenger to the democratic incumbent. >> and that's why you hear red state democrats talking about fixing obamacare, talking about getting rid of certain parts of obamacare. talking about delaying the penalties for not enrolling,

because of the bad start that the program got off to on the web. so you have some democrats saying, let's look for fixes in it, because they understand how unpopular it is, particularly in the red states. so you're going to see some dirvelss with some of those democrats and the president. >> we'll see how many more young people especially enroll between now and march 31st. >> i think they'll go on jimmy fallon every night if they have to. >> great new show, by the way. have you been watching it? >> i love it. >> very funny. thank you very much. just ahead, tornadoes. ed the midwest and east coast. and later, the battle for ukraine as the russian president, vladimir putin, flexing his muscles over the former soviet state. we'll take a closer look. all stations come over to mission a for a final go. this is for real this time. step seven point two one two. verify and lock. command is locked. five seconds. three, two, one.

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tens of millions of people from boston to miami are facing a severe weather threat today. they could get hit with damaging winds, large hail and is tornadoes. that risk became a reality for parts of the midwest and southeast yesterday. as many as 11 suspected tornadoes hit central illinois. several buildings were destroyed, 24,000 people lost power. but there are no reports of major injuries. take a look at the lightning strike in nashville, tennessee. the wind there was also intense, with gusts reaching 70 miles per hour. cnn's chad myers is over at the cnn weather center with the latest on the tornado threat. where is it, chad? what's going on? >> the real threat would be the delmarva and also eastern north carolina. that's where i think it's still warm enough to put down some spin. these storms have been small in

comparison to an f-4 or f-5 we talked about in moore, oklahoma or anything that's out really to the midwest. these have been small threats, small tornadoes. but if it hits your house, it's a big threat, i guess. all the way from new york state all the way down into florida is where the cold front is. and along that line, along that cold front, that's where the risk of the severe weather is today. so we're seeing it move through baltimore toward dover and into the del mara, near salisbury off the eastern shore of maryland there. down farther to the south into virginia and north carolina, the storm still has a way to go before they move off shore. so there are still tornado watches in effect in those areas, which means something could happen, not that it's happening. that's the warning part. it's the longer word. the more important word. but still if storms are spinning, they could put down tiny f-1 and f-2 tornadoes today, at least until probably after dark. >> and we're told, chad, you'll know a lot more about this than i do, another shot of very cold air on the way next week. what's going on?

>> yeah. this is a cold front. but this has nothing on the next one. the next one is coming down from the poles, and it's going to take this arctic air all the way in and push itself all the way to the gulf of mexico. it might even be cold in cancun. that's how far this cold air is going to go south. it's going to be 20 to 30 degrees below normal from new york, for philadelphia, for buffalo, for detroit, all of the big cities are going to go down probably very close to zero for morning lows, at least sometime wednesday, thursday or friday of next week. >> all right, chad. we'll be on top of that story, as well. hopefully won't be that bad, but appreciate it, as usual. thank you. >> you're welcome. up next, president obama, he's coming under fire over the ukrainian fight. did he underestimate russia's influence? we'll take a closer look. 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? yea. yea, of course. ♪ [ sportscaster talking on tv ] last-second field go--

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this is cnn breaking news. >> breaking news coming out of the white house right now. a senior administration official telling cnn, president obama will be calling the russian president, vladimir putin, later today. they obviously have lots to discuss, especially about the situation in ukraine right now in the capital city, the blood clashes this week have given way to a piece meal of sorts, changes within the government potentially within the next to days. the country's old constitution will be put back in place, limiting presidential powers. this picture tells the story, that's the president,ian covich, on the right, shaking hands

after the deal was signed. as part of the deal, new presidential elections will take place this year instead of in 2015. back to the phone call. we will hear later today about the content of that phone call between the president of the united states and the president of russia. but our own jim sciutto is here, looking at this story very closely. there seems to be echos, echos of that cold war rivalry developing in recent weeks and months. >> no question. the president said yesterday, he doesn't want to look at this as an old cold war chess board, but in effect, that's what we have here. and you're not talking about returning to the soviet union, necessarily. but russia wants to keep the country and its fear of influence inside that sphere of influence. and that's what really started these protests, when the ukraine was going oh to sign the agreement with the eu, closer into the sway of the european, the west. russia comes in, offers them $15 billion ask says no, join our union. they want to start their own eurasian union to be a counter

balance. so the president may not want it, but in effect, it is something of a cold war chess board. >> certainly has that feeling, especially those of us who remember the bad old days of the cold war. the senator, john mccain, he was on with piers morgan, last night. he's very tough in his criticism of president obama's handling of this crisis. >> the president just displayed his incredible naivete about vladimir. remember after i'm re-elected we'll tell vladimir after i'm re-elected he'll be more flexible. he doesn't -- the president doesn't think it's a chess game. certainly vladimir putin does. vladimir putin wants a restoration of the russian empire, of which ukraine is the crown jewel. and i'm very worried about what actions after the olympics that putin may take in order to ensure that. >> those criticisms, you hear it not just from mccain, from a wide range of foreign policy types that the president has

been inconsistent. >> putin has been consistent, but this a way we don't like. old hands saying you're seeing a return to soviet style tactics that forces the only answer and not just in the ukraine, but seyri syria. the question is, you saw these sanctions this week against 20 leaders in the ukrainian government. has an effect on them, but does it move the dial inside the ukraine? maybe not. i am told by a number of people watching this crisis, the real key, the real way the u.s. can influence this positively is with an economic aid package, following a political agreement that has to be clearly more than $15 billion, right? what the russians have offered, in effect. to help get the ukrainian economy back on its feet. they're in danger of a default. but also gives a carrot in effect for staying on this side of that east-west divide. >> and if you look even in kiev

but outside kiev, long, long gasoline lines in ukraine. people, 50, 100 cars waiting to fill up their tanks. you go to an atm machine, no money, no cash. people worried about their life savings right now. that's going to have a dramatic impact internally in this struggle. >> no question. in all these countries, just like here, bread and butter issues make a difference. i saw this when i went to iran. this is a driving force for an iran deal. the iranian people, weak economy, the government has to get itself out from under it. and that's where not just the u.s. but the european union's influence can be. here's your incentive, economic incentive, to join the west, in effect, and not go back into the sway of the soviet union. >> we'll see what happens from this phone call between president obama and president putin. >> on that note, i ran into

bring zin ski. and he said here's the key players, politically and economically. >> he may be right. he knows about russia. >> he does. >> he knows about the u.s. >> he does. >> thanks very much. jim sciutto. we're also standing by. the white house briefing is beginning. we'll see what happens there. up next, putin's great showcase, the winter olympic games in sochi. but are the games now being tainted by the unrest in ukraine? and later, american voters weigh in on hillary clinton, and why their opinion could be putting her political rivals on edge. to quote from whitman, "you are here." "that life exists and identity." "that the powerful play goes on, and you may contribute a verse." "that the powerful play goes on, and you may contribute a verse." what will your verse be?

breaking news. we have been reporting the president of the united states, president obama, will be making a phone call to president vladimir putin of russia to discuss the escalating situation in ukraine right now. there has been an agreement of a truce of sorts. just moments ago, the white house press secretary, jay

carney, offered this assessment of what's going on. >> on the agreement in the ukraine, what's the president's message for president putin today in that phone call? >> the president either is right now or is about to speak with president putin. and obviously they will talk about ukraine. and we'll have a fuller readout of that conversation after it's been completed. the fact of the matter is, it is in russia's interests for the violence to end in ukraine, as it is in the interests of the united states and our european friends and, of course, most importantly, the ukrainian people. and we welcome the cessation of violence, and we welcome the agreements that have been reached, and we -- and the measures that have been passed through the parliament were still at an implementation stage, and we monitor this very

closely. i'm sure these issues will all be discussed in that conversation, and i think as my colleague, tony blanken noted not long ago, you know, our european friends, foreign ministers from germany, poland and -- sorry. were very much engaged, as were the russians -- and france, sorry. france, poland, and germany very much engaged, and russia observed the agreement. and russia's efforts on behalf of creating the cease fire and these agreements were obviously welcome. >> jay carney referring in that statement to tony blinken, the president's deputy national security adviser. the winter games in sochi, by the way, will wrap-up this weekend. it's been a showcase of sorts for the olympic city, and in particular for the russian

president, vladimir putin. brian todd is here, joining us. a lot of people are taking a look at what was going on in sochi. but they're also looking to what's going on in ukraine. and they're wondering, has there been an upstaging of sorts? >> and most analysts believe there has been, wolf. vladimir putin was at the opening ceremonies, we have images of him beaming, this great satisfied look on his face, visiting athletes, going to the different venues. this was a success in the olympics by most measures, have been a success so far. then in the second week of the games as they're about halfway through, disaster breaks out in ukraine. you've got now the split screen nightmare for vladimir putin. on one screen that we're watching, the sochi games a success. on another, incredible violence in the ukraine, and most analysts believe that violence has tarnished vladimir putin's image right at the time he counted on it being bolstered by sochi. the reason is because he is seen as having a really heavy hand in ukraine. even this week, reports of at least one phone call and probably two, at least, between

him and victori yanukovych, the impression he's trying to influence things on the ground. russia held back some of the money they were going to give to buy back their debt while all this was going on to see what was going on. russians exerted their leverage in ukraine, not making vladimir putin look good. >> financially could cost him, as well. >> that's right. analysts are saying this meddling in ukraine does not make russia look good as an investment destination. they are seen as propping up this unstable government with financial aid and losing money in the process, they could lose a lot more money. here is a report from a bank of america analyst saying, quote, meddling with ukraine certainly hurts russia's image as an investment destination. at a time when he might have been counting on investment money coming into russia after sochi and successful games, now you've got. this so hurting him on a lot of

fronts. >> good point. thanks very much. we'll have a lot more on ukraine coming up here on cnn throughout the day. there was an outcry at the end of the women's figure skating in sochi and russia. it was ex tessy over winning gold. the front pages cried foul and claimed putin himself had a hand in the result. south korea's defending olympic champion got the silver. and then there are the americans, ashley wagner finished seventh overall. she said she felt robbed by her result, and questioned the judging. so did gracie gold's coach. gold finished fourth. lots of controversy going on there. coming up, we're going to get some new insight into where hillary clinton stands with american voters right now. and her potential republican rivals. and later, 7 billion reasons to be glad the federal government bailed out the mortgage lenders, freddie mac and fannie mae. mayo? corn dogs? you are so outta here! aah! [ female announcer ] the complete balanced nutrition

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new jersey governor, chris christie, is skipping dinner with the president this weekend. the sunday dinner is a traditional part of the annual national governor's meeting here in washington. christie says he's going home to celebrate his daughter's 18th birthday instead. christie has come under fire from some fellow republicans in the past for being too friendly with the president. hillary clinton is making news today for what american voters are saying about her. there's a brand-new poll that is out that may rattle the nerves of some of her potential 2016 political rivals. our political director, mark preston is here, going through the numbers. tell our viewers what the polls show. >> she almost looks inevitable if you look at the gallup numbers. they match almost every poll we have seen right now. you look at the numbers right now, wolf, it shows the american public is happy with hillary clinton. 59% favorable rating, almost astronomical when you look at political figures right now. it's ticked down since she was

secretary of state, about the middle 60s. if you remember, when she was the first lady, though, wolf, she was down in the 40s at that point. but she has slowly risen up and as secretary of state, you tend to have a higher favorability rating, because you're overseas, doing the country's work. i have to tell you, though, she has nowhere to go but down though, because she is no longer going to be seen as a secretary of state, as a diplomat. she is going to be seen as a politician, especially if she decides to run. >> the history, at least in the past of these situations. michelle bockmae bachmann t americans they're not ready for a woman president. i think there was a cache about having an african-american president because of guilt. people don't hold guilt for a woman. i don't think there is a pent-up desire for a woman president. those are pretty controversial words. >> and something can be said for that. geraldine ferraro tells a "washington post" reporter in a book she wrote about breaking

the glass ceiling where geraldine ferraro on super tuesday in 2008 calls her daughter and says "who did you vote for her" and her daughter says i voted for barack obama. geraldine ferraro was the first woman on a major political ticket when she was vice presidential nominee and geraldine ferraro was infuriated because she said how could you not vote for hillary clinton? don't you want the first woman to win? and her daughter said, but is it more important to have the first african-american president? and i think we're in this time now, certainly were, when we saw barack obama and hillary clinton running for the democratic presidential nomination that there was more of a thought that to have a first black president was more important. it might now be the time for the first woman president. >> senator mccain, who likes -- he's a straight talker, was on piers morgan last night and said this about what bachmann said about hillary. >> i would bet, my friend, as much as i hate to admit it, that right now this is why we have campaigns. but right now, if the election

were tomorrow, hillary clinton would most likely be the president of the united states. and i wish -- she wouldn't be my candidate. i just have a very different reading of the american political scene. >> he worries if the election were tomorrow. the election is not tomorrow. we'll see what happens down the road. we've still got a while to go. >> that's right. look, that's what polling shows. hillary clinton would be elected president. the interesting thing is, if hillary clinton decides not to run, who will be the next woman president? if you look at the ranks of both democrats and republicans, i don't know who would actually fill that void then? there's some senators on the democratic side that you could potentially look at. i'm not sure who would be on the republican side. so a lot of people are looking at hillary clinton to be the person who breaks that glass ceiling. so that's why there's a lot of pressure on her to run, even if she might be hedging that she might not want to run. of course, we don't know what she is going to do. >> probably governor susana martinez is one name you sometimes hear mentioned. elizabeth warren, senator from

massachusetts on the democratic side. so there are women out there whose names have been floated. >> but are they at the level of hillary clinton? susana martinez has to run for re-election. warren is just a freshman senator, although i guess barack obama was just a freshman senator and look where he is now. >> good point. >> thanks very much for that. how healthy is your heart? it's a matter to everyone's well being. there clear cut ways to track and maintain heart health. important information. it's all in the numbers. >> being heart healthy is a numbers game. they need to keep track of certain numbers like blood pressure and cholesterol and heart rate. numbers like these can tell you how heart healthy you really

are. which are the most penitentiary? i decided to give you the top five. the american heart association said watch your blood pressure. that's the pressure your blood is going to put on your blood vessels. this is measured with two numbers. systolic and diastolic. i remember saints over devils. good blood pressure is around 12o over 80 or less. the higher the more likely you are to develop a heart attack or stroke. know your sugar or glucose levels. that is associated with diabetes, it can increase your likelihood of having a strike or diabetes. lest around 100. a good cholesterol level is under 200, but there two types of cholesterol. the good and the hdl or bad that is ldl. i remember l for lousy.

a healthy level is above 40 for men and above 50 for women. ldl for both is under 100. ask your doctor whether your weight is in the healthy range. something they can tell you. these numbers are for healthy people without preexisting conditions. it's best to talk about all the numbers and aggregate and figure out which levels are best for you. >> just ahead, another government bailout loan repaid, this time with a hefty profit to u.s. taxpayer. ♪

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but it looks like maybe we should ask your doctor about pradaxa. in a clinical trial, pradaxa® (dabigatran etexilate mesylate)... ...was proven superior to warfarin at reducing the risk of stroke. and unlike warfarin, with no regular blood tests or dietary restrictions. hey thanks for calling my doctor. sure. pradaxa is not for people with artificial heart valves. don't stop taking pradaxa without talking to your doctor. stopping increases your risk of stroke. ask your doctor if you need to stop pradaxa before surgery or a medical or dental procedure. pradaxa can cause serious, sometimes fatal, bleeding. don't take pradaxa if you have abnormal bleeding or have had a heart valve replaced. seek immediate medical care for unexpected signs of bleeding, like unusual bruising. pradaxa may increase your bleeding risk if you're 75 or older, have a bleeding condition or stomach ulcer, take aspirin, nsaids, or blood thinners... ...or if you have kidney problems, especially if you take certain medicines. tell your doctors about all medicines you take. pradaxa side effects include indigestion, stomach pain, upset, or burning. if you or someone you love has afib not caused by a heart valve problem...

...ask your doctor about reducing the risk of stroke with pradaxa. yeah... try new alka seltzer fruit chews. they work fast on heartburn and taste awesome. these are good. told ya! i'm feeling better already. [ male announcer ] new alka seltzer fruits chews. enjoy the relief! . take a look at the big board. the dow, s&p and nasdaq have been tracking slightly higher for most of today. take a look at where things stand right now. the dow is up one point. government bailouts have resulted in significant gains for american taxpayers are the loans are repaid. the latest to close the books, the federal mortgage lenders.

allison is joining us now with details that taxpayers spend billions bailing out. what's the bottom line now? >> it's been more than five years. taxpayers are finally getting their money back and then some with the deal. after taxpayers shelled out $187 billion, fanny today is saying it's going to go ahead and pay the government 7 billi$7 billio profit. it was the taxpayer who is had to shoulder the heavy cost of bad decisions happening in the mortgage market. fanny's reimbursement means they would have recouped $192 million coming out $5 billion on top. it was the bursting of the housing bubble that caused massive losses not just for both fannie and freddie. today comes the pay back with the profit. wolf? >> billion dollars they have

gotten back. what about the huge bailouts we were familiar with during the height of the economic troubles five years ago? >> not everybody came up with a profit. general motors came up $10 billion short. more than $1 billion short when you look at chrysler. they are not the only firms to pay back more than they got. taxpayers made almost $23 billion of profit on the aig bailout. they made $22 billion from the combined bank plouts and that includes citigroup that paid the most back. not just for the banks, but the automakers as well. they shouldn't be in the business to step in had to rescue private companies. the government's argument was hey, without the intervention, letting them go belly up would

have had a bigger impact and cost us jobs and made the reception more painful. this is really even after the companies approximate continue to pay back the money, it's a debate that really continues. >> they said aig, the big banks, fannie and freddie, they were too big to fail. let's see if they can repay taxpayers for what they are oh,ed on their part. thanks very much for the update. sad note, we lot of a terrific journalist to cancer. garric utley died and served as a correspondent decades and a moderator on "meet the press." he was a colleague of ours at cnn for five years shown here during the 9/11 attacks. wherever he reported from, he was the ultimate professional

and a great journalist and a wonderful man. our deepest condolences to his family and his friends. that's it for me. thanks very much for watching. i will be back at 5:00 p.m. eastern in "the situation room." newsroom starts right now. don lemon filling in. >> hello, everyone. don lemon for brooke. a huge day of news. let's get right to it. president obama will talk to russian president vladimir putin by phone. it's not clear everything they will discuss. we know the violence in the ukraine will be a topic. we'll bring you updates as we get them. a breakthrough in the crisis that turned one of the world's most beautiful cities into this. i can