delegation and i'm so glad that she's able to go as well. >> well, you're the first gold medalist that we've had on "the lead" and we hope to see you again soon. thank you so much, brian. >> thanks, jake. that's it for "the lead." i'm jake tapper and i'll hand you over to mr. wolf blitzer in "the situation room." mr. blitzer? >> jake, thank you very much. the horrific violence in the ukraine. it may not be heartful but the rocker ted nugent apologizing for the vicious slurs aimed at president obama. is that enough to get him and republican candidates off the hook? and decades after discrimination kept their heroism from being recognized, 24 veteran americans are now finally to receive the nation's highest military honor. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." we begin with an extraordinary turn of events in the ukraine's

capital which has gone from flames, fury and deadly street fighting to a signed peace deal. marathon talks brokered by european diplomats ended this morning with an agreement to holt the slaughter and begin a reform process. but in the blood-stained streets of kiev, there is still so much anger and plenty of doubt. our senior international correspondent nick paton walsh reports. >> reporter: fireworks of victory fired in rage, a hole where the riot police have been. 24 hours ago, this street was the scene of pitch live gunfire between the police and protesters. now, absolutely no police around. they have abandoned this position two hours ago. just protesters to be seen. you can even catch a taxi. a remarkable turn-around. the protesters and now the power here. in the morning, the deal emerged between the president and the opposition that would weaken yanukovych's powers and call for

early elections. but the crowd here scattered and angry at the dozens of dead weren't convinced. it took blunt talk from european diplomats to see it through. then it was signed. the interior minister, the mps, driven around in cars that remind you that power means money here. they now have ten days to appoint a new cabinet. look what happened when the protesters met the president's people. president yanukovych is still president until early elections. this old man screams, we need to kill you. that decision to return to the old constitution, he says, cost the lives of 100 people. it makes no sense. and under the deal, the

protesters must disarm by saturday night and begin clearing the area by sunday. that's not about to happen any time fast. this isn't over yet. wolf, the key question is, do the opposition leaders have to send these protesters home now that they've signed this deal? the 48-hour clock is ticking since that new law was passed by parliament. we saw the huge former boxer address the crowd saying the government is trying to divide us. many of them cheered him back. we are not out of the woods at all because one man took the stage and said, unless yanukovych resigns by 10:00 tomorrow morning, the crowd must act. so concerns this deal isn't enough, it keeps yanukovych in post and the real fears are, where are security forces?

they have been absent from this area. no sign of them at all. do they have plans to retake this if the protesters keep their side of the deal? >> still very, very iffy, as you point out, a dangerous situation. nick paton walsh in kiev for us. president obama called vladimir putin a while ago to enlist his support for the ukraine agreement even though that deal could work against putin's own long-term strategic interests. meantime, the violence in ukraine has already tarnished putin's proud olympic moment. brian todd has been looking into this part of the story for us. brian? >> wolf, this is a time when so much attention was focused on president putin. his perceived hand in this tarnished his image. he was basking in gold in sochi.

photo opps with athletes. and then just when it reached a creshendo, analysts say the violence in the ukraine did to vladimir putin what chechens couldn't. >> we have scenes of potential terrorist attacks and we have the images of the square and streets of kiev where the brutality of the protest movement and clashes with the government. >> reporter: yes, ukraine is a different country and kiev is almost 650 miles from sochi but there's been a heavy hand with the recent problems in ukraine. >> lower gas prices, phone calls with viktor yanukovych that are being reported on, russian envoys going on.

>> reporter: putin's critics say the face we've seen in sochi is for public consumption. when it comes to the ukraine -- >> this is a nonnegotiable issue for putin. >> reporter: anything to keep ukraine under his thumb. >> how frustrated is vladimir putin about what is going on right now? >> he's greatly frustrated because the whole point of the sochi olympics was to encapsulate the new russia which he has resided over since 2000. it's also become a focal point of how things have started to go wrong for him. >> and there's now concern that after the closing ceremonies, when the spotlight is away from sochi, putin may be angry enough to take a harder line in the ukraine. analysts say to keep an eye on one area, the peninsula, that's part of ukraine but there's

russian military there. part of the black sea fleet is there and a lot of russians live in that area. that's a place that vladimir putin could flex his muscles. wolf? >> not only high stakes for russia but for the ukraine. >> that's right. popping up in an unstable ukrainian government with billions of dollars in this situation. one analyst told bloomberg news, quote, meddling with the ukraine could cost vladimir putin and his country a lot of money, wolf. >> thanks very much, brian todd, for that. let's dig deeper. joining from kiev is the senior editor of the knew republic. she's on the scene in kiev. just got there with some good insight. also joining us, the chief national security correspondent, jim sciutto. you got some new information on this deal? >> i do. i spoke to a senior state

official describing the circumstances of the deal. there were 22 hours of negotiations that led to this. but also still to this moment, as described by this official, a very fragile agreement and noting that several of the radicals among the opposition say they will not honor this agreement. also noting that 75 of those victims killed yesterday, remember we were talking about this in the last 24 hours, they were shot by snipers. a real outburst of violence then. and the other thing the state department official was describing to me is he had a call today from president obama to the ukrainian president. >> russian president. >> russian president, rather. that was preceded by nine phone calls from vice president biden to the ukrainian president describing that the u.s. officials have been involved in this for a number of weeks going into december. >> let's bring julia into this discussion. how does this play out for putin? you've been doing a lot of reporting on this. >> you know, so far it's looking

a little fragile. the devil's in the details. the elections that yanukovych has agreed to aren't until december. the changes to the constitution won't be introduced until september. so we don't know if this is going to hold and if it doesn't hold, putin, like your report said, is going to have to take a harder line. >> what does ma methat mean, taa harder line. unlikely you would actually send russian troops into the ukraine. isn't that true? >> i don't know. never rule anything out with vladimir putin. he's been known to surprise pretty much everyone. he's a pretty unpredictable guy. they've frozen the second trench of the loan. so they've accused the west of trying to blackmail the ukraine by threatening sanctions but they are doing the same thing, holding up the loan saying we don't know if this government is

going to hold and if it is not going to hold, how do we get our money back? they are clearly counting on this to continue. >> jim, if the president of the united states and russia speak on the phone for an hour, that's pretty significant. >> no question. this channel of communication has to stay open. the president, the white house press secretary have been saying, this is not a chess board. we're not returning to soviet/u.s. battles over territory here. but the fact is, both of these countries are very involved in this. the u.s. and russia. there's a pull from the east to the west. the opposition figures want to be closer to the european union, the government. the ukrainian government wants to be closer to russia. so that's a fact. so you need the u.s. and russia to be talking and, you know, as we've been hearing, that engagement from the u.s. side has been continuing for some time. >> julia, i don't know if you saw the very strong op-ed

article today, the pussy riot band member that was beaten and detained yesterday in sochi. she writes in the article, among other things, can a pharaoh shut down a city, can he declare a blockade in time of peace? yes, if he lives in russia. that's pretty bold, given what is going on in russia, for someone to be writing those words against putin. >> well, first of all, she's writing it in "the new york times" and, you know, russian authorities don't care so much about what is being written in the western he is from. they only care if it concerns investment and that's been going down the hill for a couple of years now. she's not off the mark. a lot of foreigners have said, hey, look, it's really nice.

we're free to move around. it doesn't seem all that bad but it's really an island. you know, we saw a few protesters who were found guilty today in moscow. some of them had -- you know, it was a peaceful protest that turned violent on the eve of vladimir putin's third inauguration. another is serving a decade in jail for throwing a lemon at a special operation's officer. putin is cracking down on he had independent media, or what is left of it. he's cracking down on opposition. but this is -- the sochi olympics have been effectively kind of, hey, look over here. >> julia, thank you very much. julie is in kiev and jim sciutto is here in washington. up next, americans recruited and trained by terrorists in syria to bring their deadly skills back to u.s. soils. why officials are very worried

that could be the next big terror threat. and the rocker ted nugent is kind of apologizing, sort of reluctantly, for calling president obama a subhuman mongrel. does that get nugent and republicans off the hook? >> too weasel his way into the top office of authority of the united states of america. male as the cat that drank the milk... [ meows ] ...and let in the dog that woke the man who drove to the control room [ woman ] driverless mode engaged. find parking space. [ woman ] parking space found. [ male announcer ] ...that secured the data that directed the turbines that powered the farm that made the milk that went to the store that reminded the man to buy the milk that was poured by the girl who loved the cat. [ meows ] the internet of everything is changing everything. cisco. tomorrow starts here. like carpools... polly wants to know if we can pick her up. yeah, we can make room. yeah. [ male announcer ] ...office space. yes, we're loving this communal seating. oh, it's great. yeah.

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[ thunder crashes ] it doesn't. stop pretending. only flood insurance covers floods. ♪ visit floodsmart.gov/pretend to learn your risk. we're getting disturbing new details about what could be the next big terror threat. americans recruited and trained by terrorists abroad to bring their deadly new skills back to u.s. soils. our pentagon correspondent barbara starr has been digging into the story for us. what are you learning, barbara? >> the threat of bombs in

toothpas toothpaste tubes and shoes may just be the beginning. there is increasing intelligence showing al qaeda operatives inside syria are recruiting americans and other westerners who go there to fight in the civil war to actually train to attack in the west. the u.s. believes when they arrive in syria they are encouraged to go to special training camps to get crucial bomb-making skills and ultimately return to their home countries to launch attacks. >> we're seeing now the parents of training complexes in syria to train people to go back to their countries and, of course, conduct more terrorists attacks. >> reporter: yemen is deeply involved, u.s. officials say. that group has tried to continue to attack the united states. u.s. officials estimate about 70

americans and perhaps hundreds of westerners who don't need visas to enter the u.s. have gone to syria. no one is certain what has happened to them next. >> the greatest fear of western counterterrorism officials moving forward is that al qaeda affiliate in syria will prioritize launching attacks against the west. >> u.s. officials tell us these trains sites often move locations. it's made more complicated by the fact there is also online cybertraining, if you will, going on in syria. the middle of a really nasty war zone making it almost impossible for the u.s. to be entirely certain about the level of involvement of americans at this time. wolf? >> another major terror headache for the u.s. to worry about. barbara, thank you. coming up, a rock star's shocking remarks about president obama, now a reluctant apology. but ted nugent doesn't stop

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the rocker ted nugent has apologized, sort of, for calling president obama, among other things, a subhuman mongrel. nugent, a conservative activist, seems to regret that his language has tarnished republican politicians who welcomed him out there on the campaign trail. the interview came with ben ferguson, who is also a cnn political commentator. listen to this. >> they want me to apologize for using street fighter terminology like subhuman mongrels but that leftist, mindless, soulless, unprofessional dishonest media will constantly level allegations of pedestrian file and draft dodge injury towards me and no one seems to mind that they lie, while i'm just using

metaphorical street language to describe corrupt, power-abusing elected officials who break their vow, violate their vow to the u.s. constitution. >> did you cross the line by calling the president of the united states 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. >> pressed by ferguson, nugent grudgingly apologized a little bit further. >> people are saying it wasn't a real apology. so, again, for the record, are you apologizing to the president of the united states of america, barack obama, for calling him a subhuman mongrel? >> yes. >> if he hears this, and there's 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's an agenda for you. he's violated so many laws. he's violated his oath to the constitution. he has scammed the people so drastically since his campaign back when he was a senator in illinois. he's done so many terrible, wrong things for america. he's literally taking us on the fast track from being the greatest quality of life in the world and the most productive nation in the world to being something much lesson all those levels. >> all right. let's discuss what we just heard with gloria borger and van jones. van, you accept that apology? >> i accept it in the same spirit that it was offered. i'm glad he finally did it and for me i was really surprised it

took him so long. i think a lot of people don't understand what was wrong with what he said. when he says subhuman mongrel, that's not street fighter talk. i've seen a lot of street heights. i've never heard anybody say, hello, you subhuman mongrel, let's have a fight. that's racist. and it's racist of a particular kind. you know, my children are mixed race. and where i grew up in the south, i heard many racist call mixed-race people mongrels. what's a mongrel? it's a mixed-race dog. so he was talking exactly about obama's race and the race of his parents. that is incredibly offensive. and so for him to take this long to say that that's wrong and never to admit that it is actually racially offensive. not street fighter. it's racial lly offensive. i'm glad he finally apologized. >> he was under a lot of pressure by republicans for coming out -- >> yeah. >> i want to play a few clips of what we heard from other republicans right here on cnn.

>> that kind of language really doesn't have anyplace in our political dialogue. it harms the republican party. >> i've got a problem calling the president a mongrel. >> a subhuman mongrel? >> i do have a problem with that. it's an inappropriate thing to say. >> those sentiments there, of course, i don't agree with them. i've never said such a thing and nor would i. >> senator rand paul tweeted this. he said ted nugent's derogatory description of president obama is offensive and has no place in politics. he should apologize. he did sort of apologize. >> look, i think there is a probably a lot of pressure on him from the political candidates that he wants to affiliate himself with because it's very difficult for a candidate to get on the stage with somebody who said something so offensive to the president of the -- about the president of the united states. so if you -- i mean, you put

rick perry in a very tough position yesterday and he had to sort of disclaim it and rand paul, by the way, i think was very smart in just sort of cutting off nugent there saying, you know, you've got to apologize and abbott is now -- abbott doesn't want to be talking about this. he wants to be talking about his platform and how he's different from wendy davis. >> greg abbott, who is running for governor of texas, he's had several opportunities in recent days to condemn what ted nugent said. >> and now maybe that these other politicians have done it, maybe abbott will do it, too. >> i think it shows veries, very poor leadership on abbott's part. you can say mean things. you shouldn't say demeaning things. when you demean someone, because of their race, they are jewish or whatever, you are demeaning somebody because of what they were born with, that's a

different category than saying that somebody is mean or stupid. >> all of us have said things that we've regretted. >> my name was put on a petition that i didn't have anything to do with. but i've apologized for plenty of things that i've said that are dumb. you apologize forthrightly and then you move on. >> also, not only do you discredit the candidates that you want to help, but you discredit yourself because whatever political argument ted nugent is making, which he was making in his last comments to ben ferguson, whatever his disagreements are with the president, legitimate, not legitimate, wherever he comes from on the political spectrum, nobody is listening because what they are listening to is this garbage. if you want to get involved in the political arena, then you have to be able to talk about issues. clearly he's all about the second amendment. that's why abbott --

>> stick to that. >> talk about the second amendment. talk about gun rights. >> you can be for guns without insulting people because their parents are different races. those two things don't have anything to do with each other. >> absolutely. >> someone who sided with ted nugent is sarah palin. >> i will say, that's terrible. you know, sarah palin is a. mo. i would say to her, look, if my kids were in school with your kids or a grand kid and your kid called my kid a subhuman mongrel, i know sarah palin would not accept that from her own children. i know that. she should not accept that from public officials or be cute with this stuff. we're trying to raise a whole generation of americans in the most diverse country in the history of the world. >> the lessons for politicians right now, gloria, if someone who is popular out there with some element of the base of your party says vile, idiotic things, you've got to run away from that person. >> look -- >> president obama when he was running for office in 2008, the

reverend jeremiah wright came out with statements and the president ran away from him as fast as he could. >> the president did and he said, look, i don't agree with what he's saying, these are not my words, and then he moved on and he gave a whole speech on race in this country. >> you do remember that? >> i do remember that. >> but i do think that politicians have to be able to say, this is right and this is wrong. >> and that is the mark of leadership and i'm very concerned about abbott because he's going to have much tougher decisions than this when he's the governor of texas. if he beats wendy davis. if you're the governor of texas and you're stumped by this question, should americans in this day and age be calling people racist names, i am very concerned about that leadership. >> and also if you're running a campaign who said they didn't know about these previous

statements -- >> google. >> rand paul did the right thing last night. he came out with a strong statement. he said that abbott -- that -- he said that nugent should apologize and nugent sort of apologized. >> leadership. i like that. >> rand paul did the right thing. up next, climate change controversy. sent for ted cruz talks exclusive to cnn and calls out the secretary of state john kerry. plus, venezuela is being cr down on cnn as we try to cover the growing political unrest. what one lawmaker is now calling an assault on the news media. 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-- yea, sure ya did. [ male announcer ] introducing at&t digital life.

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he's never afraid to speak his mind and ted cruz certainly has done that sometimes for hours on the senate floor. this time the 2016 presidential hopeful spoke with cnn chief congressional correspondent. listen to the subject on climate change. >> we ought to be allowing the private sector to pursue every form of energy because the energy of the future, it's not going to come from the government picking winners and losers. we ought to open up energy innovation across the board and remove the barriers to every form of energy. >> do you believe climate change is real? >> you know, i'm always troubled by a theory that fits every perfect situation. you know, back in the '70s, i

remember the owe '70s, we were there was global cooling and then that nfaded and then we wee told by al gore that there was global warming a he that was going to be a problem and that faded and then it became climate change. and the problem with climate change, there's never been a history in the day of the world where the climate is not changing. >> reporter: so you don't believe that there's any manmade reason for global change? >> the data are not supporting what the advocates are arguing. the last 15 years, there has been no recorded warming. contrary to all of the theorys that they are expounding, there should have been warming over happened.15 years, it hasn't they don't have an explanation for that. >> reporter: the idea that the arctic is going down, that it is melting -- >> but other parts are going up. it is not -- you know, you always have to be worried about something that is considered a

so-called scientific theory that fits every scenario. climate change, as they've defined it, could never be disapproved. they say it's changing so it proves our theory. >> reporter: secretary kerry said of climate change, it's perhaps the most fearsome weapon of mass destruction. sounds like you don't agree with that. >> well, it is ironic that secretary kerry would say that given that he's right now in the process of negotiating with the nation of iran in what israel's prime minister benjamin netanyahu is said a bad deal. it's ironic that he sees a greater threat from your suv in the driveway than he does from the nation of iran with their radical islamic jihad and , he a greater threat to your suv. >> let's get reaction from

senator cruz. van jones, the host of "crossfire" is joining us. you totally disagree with me. this is a big issue for you, climate change. >> first of all, i applaud john kerry for trying to get this back into the spotlight. there is no other issue that is worse -- we're talking about syria. no one talks about a massive drought there that pushed a million people in the city that set the whole stage for problems and libya, 93% of libya had gone arid right before that. when you have the climate change going on around the world, you get more instability which makes all of our other problems that much tougher. his main argument has become very popular, very dangerous. he's saying in the past 15 years there's been no change in climate. that's not the right way to look at a ball, if you throw it down a hill, it will bounce back up a little bit. but the overall trend is down.

the past 100 years, the overall trend is very, very bad for us. the hottest ten years on record globally since -- >> is it true that in the last 15 years there hasn't been any evidence of warming of the earth? >> that's one argument being made and i think it's an important argument to be made. look, carbon is one factor among many but here's one thing we know. it's a factor we control and we're doing the most to add. let's make this very simple. if you have a kid in bed at night and you put the blanket over the kid, the kid gets hotter, another blanket, it gets hotter. greenhouse gases are like that. this is not a wild theory. >> but why hasn't there been a warming over the last 15 years? >> because these systems have feedbacks. you can throw a ball over a hill and it doesn't come back up and you say there isn't gravity. the trend is it's going down. that's why it's very important that john kerry put this back on the public discussion. one more thing i want to say.

we have a tremendous opportunity to do something about this. 97% of the scientists say that this is happening. 97% of scientists say that hiv causes aids. 3% say no it doesn't. that doesn't mean you don't throw out the 97%. 97% of scientists say that smoking causes cancer. 3% doesn't. you don't throw out 97% scientists on any other issue, why do we on this one? >> a lot of people expect the president to sign the keystone pipeline allowing it to be built from canada down to the gulf of mexico to bring oil from canada through the united states. do you expect that will happen? >> no, i don't. >> what if he says yes? >> he's not going to -- >> what if he does? a lot of his advisers are saying do it, it will create jobs. >> three things that once americans know they will laugh at it and run away from it. do you know how many jobs would be created? first they said a million, then

150,000 and then -- >> quick answer. if he says we're building the keystone pipeline, how disappointed would you be in the president? >> not even an american corporation can build a pipeline to bring toxic goo. it's not even oil. >> do you know how many pipelines are in the united states right now? >> do you know how many are carrying tar sand? almost none. it's not oil. it can't be cleaned up. it's $1 billion per spill. oil, 1 million. i'll probably be a little disappointed. >> let's see what he does. he's under a lot of pressure to support it. all right, van, see you at 6:30 p.m. "crossfire". >> enjoy your night. other news we're following, including colorado's millions of dollars from recreation sales of marijuana.

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after legalizing the recreational sale of marijuana col has found a new high when it comes to tax rev views. we're talking about serious money here for the folks in colorado. >> reporter: big time money, wolf. new tax revenue projections for marijuana beat expectations by billions of dollar. now leaders in the state capital

get to decide what to do with that. high hopes for a colorado greed rush are being realized. >> just exceeded all my expectations. >> reporter: business at the apothecary has more than quad rupe would more than a month after recreational pot sales became legal. people are still lining up at the door to get their hands on the stuff. this place packed when the doors pope this pot shop averages 500 customers a day. and the state of colorado is reaping the benefits as well. sales and excise taxes on recreational cannabis are over 25%. >> your total will be 147.77. >> reporter: marijuana dispensaries were required to turn in january tax reports on thursday. >> we paid about $190,000 in sales tax that we collected during the month of january. >> reporter: while official numbers won't be made public until march the governor's budget office has just released

its own tax projections. it estimates the state will collect $184 million. here's colorado's plan for spending that money. $40 million automatically goes to public school construction. that was mandated by voters. then the governor wants to spend 85 million on youth prevention and substance abuse treatment. 3 million on law enforcement and public safety and nearly 2 million on industry oversight. >> i don't think the people who are buying marijuana want the tax money to be used to discourage adults from buying marijuana. >> reporter: while not everyone agrees on how that money should be spent and although still early, there's no denying the apparent economic boost that's come from recreational pot sales. of course, right now colorado and washington state are the only states that have legalized recreational marijuana. there are about eight other states that we found that are

currently looking at legalizing pot. and when they see this story, when they see that colorado is making this kind of money, you got to think, wolf, that this is going to have some influence. >> i suspect you're absolutely right. thank you for that report. coming up, venezuela's government makes a new move to keep cnn journalists from reporting for there. and decades after discrimination kept her heroism from being recognized, 25 american vets are finally about to receive the nation's highest military honor. (vo) you are a business pro. seeker of the sublime. you can separate runway ridiculousness... from fashion that flies off the shelves. and you...rent from national. because only national lets you choose any car in the aisle... and go. and only national is ranked highest in car rental customer satisfaction by j.d. power. (natalie) ooooh, i like your style. (vo) so do we, business pro. so do we. go national. go like a pro.

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up so we're up early. up late. thinking up game-changing ideas, like this: dozens of tax free zones across new york state. move here. expand here. or start a new business here... and pay no taxes for 10 years. with new jobs, new opportunities and a new tax free plan. there's only one way for your business to go. up. find out if your business can qualify at start-upny.com decades after discrimination kept them from receiving their country's highest military honor, 24 american veterans are being recognized by president obama. our pentagon correspondent barbara starr has the story for us. barbara, tell us what we now know. >> well, the president announced -- the white house announced today there will be this awards ceremony. 24 men courage and valor beyond

the call of duty. now the united states making it right for all of them. sergeant first class melvin morris was just 19 when he became a green beret. he volunteered to go to vietnam. in 1969, under heavy fire, hit multiple times, bleeding, he rescued dead and wounded troops. the army says he showed determination possessed by few men in his ability to lead has rarely been equaled. today at 272, with his wife of 51 years, mary, the pride, the dignity and now a wrong will be made right. morris is one of 24 veterans who, decades late, will receive the nation's highest military distinction, the medal of honor. it is a roll call of bravery and heroism above and beyond the call of duty for men who served in world war ii, cree and

vietnam. only morris and two other vietnam veterans are still living. in 2002, congress ordered a review of jewish and hispanic veterans' war records to find out who may have suffered is discrimination and not been awarded the honors they deserved. potential african-american discrimination was also found. all are now being recognized. >> i'd heard rumors to the fact that there were certain people who people thought should have received a medal of honor. >> reporter: retired marine and vietnam vet harvey barnum received his medal of honor in 1967. his unit also under intense fire with complete disregard for his safety, he moved to save others. now, he has just one message for the vietnam survivors. >> i look forward to putting my arms around them and calling them brother and saying welcome

home. >> reporter: two other living vietnam veterans will receive the medal. radio operator santiago arivia was under fire all day on may 21st, 1969. in total peril, he assaulted a line of enemy bunkers throwing hand grenades and firing his m-16. he came home to work for the postal service for 32 years. his son roland served three tours in iraq. sergeant first class jose redellas' battalion was under such heavy fire september 1st, 1969 it suffered 42 casualties in minutes. army records say the unit was on the brink of panic when he stepped in, physically pushing men to fight even as the unit was still under fire. today, he is in frail health. of the recipients who have passed away, some died in action in europe, cree and vietnam.

but some, like private first class william leonard of new york, who fought in france during world war ii, came home to live out their lives. leonard worked in the auto industry and as a butcher. he died five days before his 72nd birthday sitting in his backyard listening to a new york yankees game on the radio. and the review was in large part sparked by the family of private first class leonard kravitz who died in korea trying to save his other men. he never met his nephew and namesake, musician lenny kravitz. >> thanks for that report, barbara starr. really appreciate it. happening now, breaking news, an alarming crackdown as anti-government protests grow. venezuela takes new action to prevent cnn from reporting in the country. one u.s. senator calling it a dangerous assault on press freedom.

we'll hear from one of our journalists who just made it out of the country safely. plus will the truce hold? we're on the street of ukraine's capital where some police have joined forces with protesters as they face a deadline to disarm. and a diplomatic soap opera. is the producer of a popular daytime drama qualified to be a united states ambassador? questions about the president's nominees and political payback. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." we begin this hour with the breaking news and dangerous new development in the uprising in venezuela. the socialist government there has revoked or denied credentials for cnn journalists in the country, this just hours after president nicolas maduro threatened to expel cnn accusing the network of war propaganda. he's facing the largest demonstrations against his regime since taking power almost a year ago. some have turned violent. u.s. senator marco rubio issued

a statement calling the move against cnn an assault on press freedom that further endangers venezuelans. we're joined now by cnn espanol anchor patricia genio. she's just arrived in atlanta from venezuela. tell us what happened, what you saw on the ground. >> well, wolf, we were taping a special program with the students that were part of the different protests during these past days, protesting the lack of basic products like milk, flour, sugar. they also are complaining about safety. they are complaining about crime. and we were told by the vice minister of communications that our permit to work as a journalist in venezuela has been revoked immediately. so they also asked when are we leaving the country. and this happened just a couple of hours after president maduro,

nicolas maduro went on television saying that cnn needed to correct its coverage about venezuela. he was complaining about cnn espanol presenting an image of venezuela at war, as you have reported there are several protests going on throughout the country. many violent incidents, riots. so far eight people have been killed. and hundreds have been detained and injured. so the country is asking for a dialogue between opposing groups to find a way to stop the violence and to find a way to guarantee some governability for president maduro that now is facing these protests all over the country. >> patricia, you and your producer were detained at the airport by security forces.

tell us what happened. >> well, we were going through the security checkpoint, and i was asked to take off my shoes, as we all do here in the u.s., but they also said that there was an image on the heel of my shoe that might tell them that there was either explosives or drugs in the heels of my shoes. so they took us to a tiny office. they say anti-narcotics. and we wanted to go with my producer. we want to be both of us together and they didn't want us to be together. they said, trying to make fun of us, they made a comment like, they probably are a couple. they probably are a couple. that's why they want to be together. when i was transferred to this tiny room, my producer went to

the bathroom. she wanted to take a moment to either text or call cnn and explain what was going on. and an officer followed her standing there in front of the toilet door waiting for her to get out, to ask her afterwards to erase everything that she has written or videotaped. we videotaped part of this episode. but fortunately, finally, they went with a metal kind of knife through the heel of the shoe and they cut it and they say, well, we know who you are. they asked me my name, are you a journalist? yes, you are patricia -- we know you are not a drug dealer, but i'm doing my job. so put your shoe -- here are your shoes and go to the plane and thank you so much. but it was a very uncomfortable moment and i just wanted to add,

wolf, that in my bag, i had a bottle of water. and we all know that we cannot take liquids through the security points, and they didn't complain about the bottle of water, but they did about my shoes. >> patricia, i'm glad you're out safe and sound. glad you're back at the cnn center. thank you very much for that report. we'll continue to follow what's happening in venezuela. obviously, very, very disturbing. the assault on press, the press plus the other assaults all of which combine for a very dangerous situation. let's get to the situation in ukraine right now which is also we're seeing mass bloodshed to some glimmers of hope. make no mistake there's still enormous concern that the government there and opposition leaders could easily fall apart and that fighting could reignite. we're joined now live from kiev with the very latest. fred?

>> reporter: hi, wolf, you're absolutely right. the situation is still quite tense here in the ukraine ran capital. after that agreement was reached between president yanukovych and the main opposition parties one of the leaders of the parties went down here to independence square behind me and he explained the deal had been reached. people here, quite frankly, were not happy at all. there were some people booing him, there were others saying it was treason and there were others who will say they will not stop short of anything that wouldn't involve president yanukovych stepping down. now what's happened is some police officers have also joined in the protests. we visited them today. have a look. a sight ukrainians have probably never seen before, protesters barking out orders and policemen following. these cops have defected and joined the demonstration on independence square. "we want to make a statement that we cannot tolerate any more

what's going on" the commander says. we're from western ukraine. we want to show everyone that the police is with the people. the men are all aware they might soon have to confront their colleagues on the other side of the barricades if the situation escalates again. some of these officers have committed crimes, he says, by shooting at unarmed people and medical volunteers. those are crimes. the police defectors say they decided to join the protesters when they saw the images of violence in the past days, with dozens killed on both sides and riot police with assault rifles seemingly firing at the crowd. but the violence also appears to have mobilized many additional civilians to come out. the traumatic events of wednesday and thursday clearly haven't deterred anyone from coming here to independence square. many people that we're talking to say they're angry and they don't believe that there can be any solution involving viktor yanukovych staying in power. as they mourn their fallen comrades with roses and photos, the animosity towards the

president is evident and faith in a political solution clearly eroding. >> proposition of the president is bad for ukrainian people. this man is liar. >> reporter: what do you think he should do? >> go away and -- >> reporter: so even as negotiations and diplomacy take center stage in the ongoing crisis, the protesters or independence square are digging in fortifying the barricades but hoping more bloodshed can be avoided. and wolf, the police officers, it's really unclear if they'll face any repercussions for obviously leaving their home

town and coming here to join the demonstrators. i ask the police commander that as well. he said it doesn't really matter to him at this time. his oath has been to the ukrainian people and not to what he calls a bunch of criminals in office. >> new details coming into "the situation room" on peace efforts in ukraine. jim sciutto, what are you learning? >> very intense peace efforts and the talks going on for 22 hours. we're also getting u.s. officials confirming that the ukrainian president viktor yanukovych left for eastern ukraine but the state department says it's not unusual for him to visit his base of support there in the eastern ukraine. there is a new u.s. diplomatic initiative under way as the u.s. works to ensure implementation of this. bill burns will be traveling to kiev. we're getting new details on president obama's call today

with russian president vladimir putin. we're told it was the white house that initiated this call. it lasted about an hour. senior state department officials telling us that it was a constructive phone call, that all sides, they want to encourage all sides to refrain from violence. the russians saying as well that the call was substantive, although they were placing the blame more on the protester, which shows one of the differences between the u.s. and russia on the roots of these demonstrations and this violence. but in that call, president obama and vladimir putin agreeing that all sides need to remain engaged. today president obama called, arguably the most powerful man in ukraine, russian president vladimir putin. the white house has waved off talk of a cold war chess game playing out in the violence and bloodshed on the streets of kiev. the president is correct when he says this is not about the united states and russia or the west and russia, this is about ukraine and ukrainian people.

>> reporter: but critics say that denies an obvious tug of war in ukraine between east and west, the opposition leaning towards europe, the government towards russia. >> the president doesn't think it's a chess game. clearly vladimir putin does. he 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. >> reporter: but how much influence does the u.s. really have? to encourage a political solution, the u.s. banned visas for 20 senior members of the ukrainian government and is considering freezing their assets overseas, but steps beyond that are limited. >> you can have a much wider not only visa ban and economic sanctions but really not being willing to meet with the ukrainian leadership in any conference is short of shunning them. the problem with that, and this is what the europeans say, well that just drives them closer toward russia anyway. >> reporter: u.s. officials are

telling us that a key focus going forward is stabilizing the ukrainian economy and this may be where the president's influence is greatest. russia has offered the ukraine -- ukraine, rather, $15 billion in economic aid to tempt it away from closer association with the european union. the u.s. and its european allies now in effect have to outbid moscow. we do see economic fresh yur can work. we hear that these visa bans on senior leaders really spooked a lot of president yanukovych's supporters because the prospect of them not being able to travel to the u.s. and europe, asset freeze, there's a lot of money going around ukraine, some not to the right hands, was a real pressure tactic that might have led the president to lose some support. >> jim cuto here in "the situation room." does producing a sexy soap opera qualify you to become united states ambassador? we're looking into serious questions about some of president obama's diplomatic choices. but first a doctor who's

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the former democratic senator who declared he's no real expert on china was just sworn in as the next u.s. ambassador to beijing. max baucus was easily confirmed despite his sort of eyebrow-raising remark. but some of president obama's other diplomatic nominees have stirred major controversy. >> reporter: president obama under fire for his picks to be ambassadors after some nominees all fund-raisers for the obama campaign made a series of embarrassing gaffes listen to soap opera producer colleen bell struggle on what should have been an easy question for a potential ambassador to hungary. >> what are our strategic interests in hungary. >> protect the security both for both countries and for and for the world to continue working together on the cause of human rights.

>> reporter: hotel executive george sunos, the pick for norway, called that a fringe group. >> the government has denounced them. the coalition government. >> well, i would say, you know what -- i stand corrected. >> reporter: the man who wants to be visitor to argentina hasn't even visited the country. >> i view this as a very significant post. >> reporter: late night comics had a field day. >> i was in cancun and i dated a girl named tina. is that good? >> it is just embarrassing and we should not embarrass the united states of america. these countries look up to the united states of america. >> reporter: diplomatic expertise isn't a job rirt but critics question the wisdom of rewarding campaign fund-raisers with plum overseas assignment. bell brought in more than $800,000 to re-elect president

obama. president obama promised to choose more career diplomats as ambassadors but the american foreign service association found 37% of his picks since taking office were political appointees. that's more than president clinton and both presidents bush. the white house defended the picks. >> what i can tell you is that being donor does not get you a job in this administration nor does it preclude you from getting one. >> reporter: the nominees still need to be confirmed by the senate. next week the american foreign services association comes out with its own set of guidelines for ambassadors serving overseas. obviously they'd like more career diplomats to get these jobs, but any candidate should have certain qualifications including leadership and management skills and an understanding of international affairs, particularly the culture and u.s. interests in the country they're serving. >> in fairness, though, you've got to remember that has been going on forever since i've been in washington, presidents have named big political fund-raisers

to become various ambassadors. >> reporter: that's right. but what some of these experts say and former ambassadors say, look, a political appointee is fine, but there's a lot of qualified ambassadors and if you're going to be appointed to an ambassador in a state, it should be that you have knowledge of international affairs and you should do your homework. >> you should have at least visited that country before going there as a u.s. ambassador. just ahead, michelle obama comedy star? stand by to see the first lady joking around busting a move on late night tv. [ female announcer ] a classic macaroni & cheese from stouffer's starts with freshly-made pasta, and 100% real cheddar cheese. but what makes stouffer's mac n' cheese best of all. that moment you enjoy it at home. stouffer's. made with care for you or your family.

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ladies and gentlemen in d.c., watch out. >> yeah. >> i have security. so i'm good. >> michelle obama, first lady giving out a warning to all the folks here in washington, d.c. that her daughter malia will be 16 soon, is eager to get her driver's license. it was one of those must-see moments of her appearance with jimmy fallon on "the tonight show" last night. she showed off her comedy skills with fallon and will ferrell who play teenaged girls who host a spoof talk show. >> are you saying what i think you're saying? ew, dance party! ♪ >> really good, the first lady of the united states. that's it for me. thanks very much for watching. i'm wolf blitzer in washington. "crossfire" starts right now. >> tonight on "crossfire," president obama reaches out. >> i'm going to be seeking

republicans who are game to work with us. >> will he find any takers in republican red states or democratic blue states? to be left, van jones, on the right, newt gingrich. in the "crossfire," pat quinn, the democratic governor of illinois, and rick perry, the republican governor of texas. the great divide, red states versus blue states tonight on "crossfire." >> welcome to "crossfire." i'm van jones on the left. >> i'm newt gingrich on the right. tonight we have two guests who represent profoundly different philosophies of governing. here in washington in weekend democratic governors who believe in high taxes, ironclad unions and greater indebtedness are gathering with republican governors who are relentlessly cutting spending and taxes and

letting the private sector fill the gaps. today in the theater of absurd watching president obama in a meeting with only democratic governors attempting to reach tout republicans will be one of the more farcical events of republicans looking back on the ineptitude of this administration. be honest, wasn't that a bizarre moment? >> if you're looking for humor you're bragging on the red states, the red states are actually taking money from the blue states. we're the ones sub ssidizing th wonderful jobs your talking about. we have the wonderful pat quinn from illinois and republican governor -- >> wonderful, wonderful. >> governor perry of texas. i'm glad to have you here, but we're going to have a big fight tonight. i'm mad. you have this whole thing, this texas miracle, everybody is talking about how great the red states are. tell me why we should be trying to emulate you. >> you said all you need to