one that's going to lead. that's why i want them to see this so much. >> montel williams, thank you. >> thanks, michaela. thanks for being with us. a lot of news happening today. let's get over to carol costello and the newsroom. >> thanks a lot, kate. "newsroom" starts now. the russian flag now flying atop the building. >> it's a correct challenge to the authority of the new government here in ukraine. molotov cocktails flying through the sky. america watching closely this morning. plus, the fat fight. >> consumers will understand how many calories they are cob consuming at one time. >> new nutrition labels. the first lady making the big announcement. >> get hyped for healthy snacks and fresh foods. we love it. >> ahead, what you'll need to look for at the grocery store.

also, breaking overnight. >> leave all your belongings and get off this aircraft. >> a smoke emergency. >> we cannot breathe back here. go. >> incomplete darkness. almost 100 passengers rush to the exits. and raising arizona. >> i have vetoed senate bill 1062. >> governor brewer calling for unity after vetoing a bill. i am absolutely thrilled. happiness. it's about time. i knew she was going to do it. >> this morning, where the fight moves next. you're live in the cnn newsroom. and good morning. thanks for joining me. i'm carol costello. we do begin with breaking news this hour. one of the youngest governments in the recalled under assault and caught in the middle of a new cold war between russia and the united states.

angry crowds filled the streets of southern ukraine after dozens of gunmen seized the headquarters of a regional parliament. their first move to raise the russian flag. it's more than symbolanism a country bitterly torn between old ties to moscow and a future more closely aligned with america and the west. bill black is in kiev where demonstrators ousted their pro-moscow president. tell us more, phil. >> well, carol, we expected tension in the south of the country where people maintain close ties to russia culturally, ethically. this is a real escalation. huge crowds in the region known as the crimea. thousand of people, many of them pro russians shouting crimea is part of russia. eventually those clouds dissipated. in the early hours of this morning, a big group heavily armed with automatic weapons and rocket-propelled grenades have

overtaken that parliamentary building. all politicians, civilians inside have left the building. they now control it. but they are refusing to evacuate. they are refusing to recognize the authority of local politicians. they are intent at this point is not known. is really a direct rebuke to attempts here in the capital to establish a new national government. and one that wants to look west to europe and the united states. >> phil black reporting live from the ukraine this morning. now let's bring in cnn's chief international correspondent christiane amanpour in london. you've spoken to all the leaders in the region. what is the sense you are getting? what are the fears? >> i have been doing a lot of interviewing of the opposition in ukraine, those aligned with moscow and other international figures. there is obviously, clearly, a sense of crisis. the nato chief has tweeted just today warning again there should be no intervention by russia,

and that no misunderstanding created at this time. russia continues to insist that it will not intervene militarily. again, a statement from the russian foreign ministry, though those military games, some 150,000 troops along with dozens of aircraft and tanks and other hardware taking place along that border with ukraine is obviously setting people a little bit on a worried course. now what people are saying is the best and most sensible course of action is for the united states to work with russia, not against russia, to make sure this all actually calms down. and to insist by their actions and by their diplomacy that a stable ukraine can happen along with russia's cooperation and that is not about either the -- my way or the highway regarding what next happens in ukraine. so russia needs to be brought in. and the diplomacy needs to be intense. russia needs to be told there will be sanctions for any out of the ordinary activity and that

there needs to be cooperation in moving ukraine forward in stability and peace. >> what americans are most worried about is will the united states be forced to amp up its voice over these protests? >> well, america already is the secretary of state, john kerry has been doing so. so, too, has chuck hagel, the secretary of defense. all making very loud and clear and public statements that they are watching. that they are concerned and that they want this to all be resolved peacely. russia is bound by treaty that it signed with other nations when ukraine first became independent after the fall of the soviet union. voluntarily gave up its nuclear arsenal. russia is bound by treaty, not to intervene in ukraine. so that is the legal basis that people are hoping will be respected. >> christiane amanpour, appreciate your insight this morning. thanks so much. also new this morning, tensions are rising along the korean peninsula. south korea says its communist neighbor to the north, north

korea, has fired four short-range missiles into the east sea. north korea has been protesting joint military drills that are now being conducted by the united states and south korea. a routine flight from los angeles to oakland ended with a quick evacuation in almost complete darkness for passengers and crew aboard a delta sky west jet. >> leave everything behind right now? >> we're evacuating. >> please leave all personal belongings behind. we'll let you back on when we've cleared off the plane. we do thank you so much. >> leave all your belongings and get off this aircraft. go! we cannot breathe back here. go! >> leave your luggage behind for goodness sake. after the flight landed, the smell of smoke filled the cabin.

the plane taxied to the gate where the 75 passengers and four crew members hurried off. >> by the time we got to the gate, the cabin started filling up. smelled like burnt rubber and the pilot just immediately put the plane to a stop. just really came to a jolting stop. and the flight attendants were telling everybody to get off. get off the plane. get off the plane. leave your stuff behind. get off the plane. >> no one was hurt. firefighters could not find the source of that smoke. >> if you do a lot of reading in the grocery store aisles you want to know this. those nutrition labels so riveting to the health conscious among us may undergo their biggest makeover since they were last overhauled more than 20 years ago. our chief medical correspondent dr. sanjay gupta is here to walk us through. they are a little bit easier for me to read. >> i like the glasses, by the way. that makes it easier to read i'm sure, too. >> it's nice to be able to see. >> they didn't have mandatory labels before 1990. i didn't know that.

so they were voluntarily before that. this is the big overhaul. and the key here and you can look at the labels. they want to take the things people are really looking forward and emphasize those. make them much more obvious. take a look at what exists now and what the proposed labels are. these are proposed labels specifically. this will take some time. that's hard to read actually as it turns out. >> there's a better graphic. >> you can see in the middle there, 230. that's the calories. that's something people want to know. sometimes that information is hidden. also vitamin d because there's such a deficiency of vitamin d in so many people. they want that a more obvious thing as well. the big thing you'll appreciate is so many of these things give you that information but then it says this is eight servings. makes you feel pretty good but that's just 1/8 serving. they want to make that much more clear as well. so you are seeing what is in the package versus just one single serving. >> i see you have some props with you. >> the best way to put this. maybe this would have been four servings in the past. what does a typical person

really eat? let's give them that information. maybe this is more like two servings now. and they'll say that. so you'll see the nutrition information for two servings. foreyou a or if you are going to eat something in a single sitting -- would you eat this in a single serving? >> yes. >> we know this is typically considered four servings. but it's likely people will eat this in a single serving so let's put that information on there as well. >> that will be more prominent. so it will say something like ten chips equal this amount of calories and has this much fat? >> it will also say if you eat this whole bag, here's what you'll get. so you don't have to sit there and do the math. it will make you think a little more maybe if you are -- keep eating. >> it's been interesting this shift because just yesterday we were talking about the obesity rates of young children going down. and now we have a change in food labels. school lunches are more healthy. so these are all good things. >> i think these are all good things. and, look. i don't think anyone thinks labels are going to solve the problem or, if you look at the labeling so far in fast food

restaurants, for example, interesting study shows people who read those labels order 10 to 20 calories fewer per meal. not very much but still as you pint o point out, better than nothing. these things start to add up over time. still to come, some amazing pictures from the midwest this morning. an unusually fast flowing illinois river now stuck and frozen solid. there's an ice jam. now residents of illinois are worried what will happen when that ice jam breaks up. [ male announcer ] this is the cat that drank the milk... [ meows ]

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and sparking new fears about what happens when the big thaw finally comes. these are pictures of the kankakee river in illinois. it's one of several waterways clogged with ice jams. when these ice jams break up, the force has the potential to send large chunks of ice and high water into people's homes. cnn meteorologist indra petersons is live in new york with more on this. good morning. >> good morning. we're still talking about this very cold temperature after we had warmed up. we saw a lot of melting and that's the reason we're seeing ice jams. we're cooling off again. take a look at the temperatures this morning. 41 below. that's what's it feels like right now in duluth. also feeling like just the teens on the east coast. this cold air expected to only spread further to the northeast by tomorrow. as far as how unusual this is, look at these temperatures. in the afternoon, the highs only expected to be in the single digits out toward chicago. that's 30 degrees where they should be this time of the year.

the cold air spreads even farther to the east. out west, the big story is finally they'll be seeing some rain. unfortunately too much rain, too fast, the big concern this weekend. >> indra petersons, thanks so much. police in baltimore county, maryland, are investigating an incident between an officer and a young man who was videotaping that officer making an arrest. the student's video has gone viral with the officer telling him he's just his freedom of speech. >> do not disrespect us and do not not listen to us. >> i am not -- >> now walk away and shut your mouth. you're going to jail. >> the young man taking the pictures with his cell phone was not arrested but police say they want to talk to him as part of their investigation. even though he had nothing to do with the person they were arresting here. we'll keep you posted. there will be new restrictions along this year's boston marathon course following

the deadly bombings last year. organizers say backpacks, handbags and containers with more than one liter of liquid are banned from the event. strollers also banned. runners will be allowed to carry clear plastic bags and wear very small fannie packs. new jersey governor chris christie says the investigation into bridgegate is a distraction that will not prevent him from doing his job. on his ask the governor radio show, christie said he won't give in to the hysteria surrounding specific questions into that political scandal that just won't go away. christie says people want to work with him. >> i was at a town hall meeting today in longville township. 525 people there and not one question on any of this stuff. people want me to do my job. i'm going to do my job. if the legislature wants to be partisan and political and block the agenda that the voters voted

for in november for their governor, the only person all the voters voted for, then they'll have to put up with the political consequences that come along with that. >> christie continues to defend his handling of bridgegate as the investigation moves forward into the lane closures last year on the george washington bridge. will she or won't she? hillary clinton hasn't said if she plans to run for president in 2016 but her fiery speeches and her stop this week in the key swing state of florida certainly suggest she's eyeing the oval office. clinton's fiercest critics are already weighing in. our senior political correspondent brianna keilar responds. >> it's only 2014 but the likely presidential candidates are jockeying for position. >> when women are excluded and marginalized, we all suffer. >> reporter: she spoke about gender equality as she ramps up her public schedule. she has a sizable lead among democrats and republicans eyeing the white house are taking aim.

>> i think hillary clinton will struggle to win on multiple fronts. >> marco rubio slammed clinton tuesday for the 2012 terrorist attack on the u.s. consulate in benghazi, libya. it claimed the lives of four americans, including ambassador chris stevens while she was secretary of state. >> they should have closed that facility or provided adequate security. they did not under her watch. i think she's going to have to answer for benghazi. >> reporter: and jeb bush. >> of course it matters. responding to a question about the testimony clinton gave shortly after the attack. >> was it because of a protest or because of guys out for a walk one night that decided to go kill some americans. what difference at this point does it make? >> four americans lost their lives. it matters. it matters a lot. >> rand paul has tried multiple times in the last couple of weeks to make bill clinton a liability for his wife. >> he took advantage of a girl that was 20 years old and an intern in his office. there is no excuse for that. and that is predatory behavior

and it should be -- it should be something we shouldn't want to associate with people who would take advantage of a young girl in his office. >> reporter: it's red meat for conservative voters with intense animosity for hillary clinton. >> she is still an incredibly polarizing figure. and attacking ba rack obama is a great way to fire up your base if you are a republican but attacking the clintons is almost as good if not better. >> reporter: clinton has even factored into a republican primary. >> the secretary hillary clinton. >> one gop opponent of south carolina senator lindsey graham is running this ad that features him hugging her. but for now, clinton is trying to stay above the fray. >> we believe this is the unfinished business of the 21st century. giving women the tools and resources to break through the barriers that keep them from contributing to fully participating in their governments, economies and

societies. >> reporter: stay above the fray but also hillary clinton has been trying to get her message out as she does ramp up her public schedule. last night here in coral gables, florida, she talked to several thousand students, faculty, staff and supporters at the university of miami. and, carol it was pretty fascinating. you could almost hear her fleshing out the themes for a stump speech. she was talking about participation and inclusion for women and also young americans and the underrepresented. >> interesting. brianna keilar reporting live from lovely warm coral gables, florida. thank you so much. still to come -- a major discovery of mistrust inside the united states army. nearly 600 soldiers no longer allowed to help military sexual assault victims or even be drill sergeants because of sexual abuse in their own past. we're going to talk about that next. [announcer] word is getting out.

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588 soldiers can no longer hold a position of trust in the army. they can't be sexual assault counselors, recruiters or drill sergeants. all of them disqualified after an internal review found they'd been busted for everything from drunk driving to child abuse to sexual assault. jackie spear joins us now to talk more about this. good morning. >> good morning, carol. >> it's hard to fathom. 588 soldiers who held positions as sexual abuse counselors or other management roles found to be unfit. your surprised there were so many? >> well, i'm shocked that there are so many. but i am equally shocked by the

fact that this did not -- this was not disclosed by the army. this was a resourceful reporter who dug this up. and it really begs, i think, a bigger question, why weren't these people who are in these positions of trust screened more completely before they were given these posts? much like the air force. we had over 30 military training instructors who were in one way or another charged with having sex or having sexually harassed trainees. many of them 17, 18, 19 years of age. so the military has got to get serious about recognizing that they have a problem of sexual assault, sexual predators within their ranks. >> you routinely speak about military sexual assault victims. you sought to open investigative offices to investigate abuse.

how is your fight been progressing? >> well, the fight is one that i often call a marathon, not a sprint. and we have made some significant improvements to the way the military handles these cases. but it's one of those things that if we don't stay on them it will drop to a lower priority. we need to get these cases out of the chain of command. and i'm working very hard in the house. i have more than 150 co-sponsors on a piece of legislation to do just that. but we can't even get a hearing in the house armed services committee. so we have some people who are deaf at what's going on. and we owe a responsibility to every service member, man and woman, who is serving in the military that they are safe from predators. >> it shocks me that, you know, the house armed services committee doesn't want to talk at length about this because last year, the military said sexual assault rose 30%. but the number of those incidents being reported to

commanders is less than 10%. obviously, we still have a problem. >> we have a huge problem. they don't trust the system. and they have a reason not to trust the system. because although there are 3,000 to 5,000 of these cases that actually are willing to report, the truth of the matter is only 500 of them go to court-martial and less than 250 of them actually result in convictions. so your odds are so bad that your case is going to be handled appropriately. and that's what has to change. more prosecutions and scrub the culture clean of sexual predators. >> congresswoman jackie speier, thanks for your insight this morning. we appreciate it. >> my pleasure. arizona governor jan brewer sides with opponents of a controversial anti-gay bill, but supporters say their fight is not over. ana cabrera live in phoenix this morning. good morning. >> the conversation about religious freedom and

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fears about whether customer information is really safe. tea party ain't over. after five years, what does the tea party's future hold? plus -- >> come with me. >> what are we going to do? >> change the world. >> the "son of god." is he supposed to be hot. why a more appealing jesus seems to be the hot new trend. "newsroom" starts right now. good morning. i'm carol costello. thank you so much for joining me this morning. in southern ukraine a russian flag flies atop a regional parliament office after armed gunman seized the building. this all comes days after pro-western demonstrators ousted the president because of his growing ties to moscow. north korea has fired four missiles into the ec. the question is why. and nutrition labels on food packaging could be getting their first makeover in 20 years. a new label focuses on calories and sugars along with realistic

approaches to serving sizes. wall street looking at a mixed open this morning. trading is mostly flat as investors wait to hear from janet yellin. the new fed sheave testifies next hour about the health of our economy. alison kosik has more from new york. >> this is the testimony that janet yellin was supposed to give before the senate two thursdays ago. that same wake the fed chief spoke before a new house committee and made quite the impact on the stock market because the dow surged almost 200 points during the day. she wound up making it clear she's in no hurry to raise interest rates and the fed would continue dialing back its stimulus. since her last appearance, something different has been happening. a lot of data has come out about the economy. most of it weak. most of it blamed on the weather. carol, today we'll see if she agrees that it's the weather's fault. >> yes, we will. >> in consumer news, we heard

reports of a possible new retail hack attack. tell us about it. >> we're getting this story from "the wall street journal" actually. and verizon is investigating a possible security breach not at one but at two retailers. the article isn't naming which ones but this seems to be a similar m.o. to what happened late last year at target and niemann. verizon has a unit that specializes in cybersecurity. now verizon is telling the "wall street journal" that the findings already substantiate a very real link between these later situations and something that recently happened. and what had happened just to refresh your memory over the holiday season, the data of millions of target customers was compromised. a similar hack nyman maiemann marcus. they got in and inserted malware into target system. as far as the latest report

about two other retailers who got a call into verizon, waiting for more details. a verizon spokesperson can't confirm "the wall street journal" article because they do not discuss customer clipt work, especially in the highly sensitive security arena. >> alison kosik, thanks so much. governor jan brewer's decision to veto arizona's religious freedom bill has opponents celebrating this morning. but supporters of the controversial legislation say this veto will not stop them. they vow to fight on. ana cabrera is in phoenix this morning. good morning. >> good morning, carol. the conversation about religious freedom and discrimination continues here this morning and all across the country, really. the governor here telling us she received more than 40,000 e-mails and phone calls in the last couple of days over this bill here that opponents say would have opened the door discrimination. it's an issue that has created a lot of hurt and divisiveness. again, not just near arizona but

really across the united states. in the end here, governor brewer says she did what she had to do. >> after weighing all of the arguments, i have vetoed senate bill 1062 moments ago. >> it was the news so many had hoped to hear. >> i am absolutely thrilled. >> happiness, happy sentence about time. i knew she was going to do it. >> arizona governor jan brewer vetoing a bill that would have allowed businesses to deny service to gays n lesbians based on the owner's religious beliefs. >> i call them like i see them. despite the tears or the boos from the crowd. >> the governor says the bill was broadly worded with the potential to create more problems than it could solve. >> i've not heard of one example in arizona where business owner's religious liberty has been violated. >> i'm a business owner. and if she had assigned it, i was going to move my business to california. >> the reaction to her veto as passionate as the days of

protesting had catapulted this bill and the state into the national spotlight. >> we did this! we did this! >> the decision came as opsigss reached a fever pitch. with some of the nation's most prominent lawmakers and business leaders joining the fight. the nfl was watching closely and the arizona super bowl host committee for 2015 expressed concerns. >> she didn't want to be known as the governor who lost the super bowl. >> but not everyone was happy with the decision, including former state senator russell pierce, the sponsor of the controversial immigration law that passed in 2010. >> i will not retreat because some radical leftist activists don't like how we do things in arizona. >> the governor answering her critics with a call for unity. >> going forward, let's turn the ugliness of the debate over senate bill 1062 into a renewed search for greater respect and understanding among all arizo n arizonans and americans.

>> so let's talk about the bigger picture. we know at least a handful of other states that have looked at or are considering similar legislation. right now there's a bill that's working its way through the georgia state house that essentially would allow businesses, private companies to ignore laws altogether in this state on the basis of religious pleef beliefs. supporters say they are just trying to protect religious freedom while critics say that measure in georgia is largely aimed at denying services once again to gays and lesbians. >> ana cabrera, thank you. this is cnn breaking news. >> we've been telling you all morning about the worsening situation in ukraine. in the southern region at a parliament building there. the russian flag has been raised and protests are growing more violent and certainly more vocal. this as the united states on alert. barbara starr is at the pentagon. christiane amanpour is in london and phil black is covering this

from kiev. barbara, what are u.s. diplomats saying? >> well, carol, we've been talking to our sources all morning here in washington. and their problem right now is to try and figure out exactly what the russians are up to. both russian capabilities and russian intentions. let's go to capabilities first. with those russian military exercises now on the ukraine border, what u.s. officials are telling us is, this has given vladimir putin the ability to position forces closer to ukraine and to, if he made that decision, move them into ukraine very quickly. that will be very difficult for the u.s. there will be very little warning time, we are told. u.s. intelligence, the u.s. military will find it very difficult to track any russian movements that quickly. it could all happen, and then the u.s. might notice it. that goes to capabilities. russian intentions, of course, the deeper question. at this point, they still do not believe that putin has any

intention of ordering russian troops in. but he is positioning and certainly he is sending the message the u.s. believes we are told sending the message that he is willing to protect russian interests in ukraine if it comes to that. carol? >> thank you, barbara starr. i want to go to phil black and ask a question about u.s. involvement or more u.s. involvement in ukraine. do people there want it? >> i don't think the people here want to see things escalate to that point certainly, carol, that would be a terrible eventuality in the point of view of the, i cranian people. these people want to look westward and firm up their relations with europe and the united states. they are looking to the west for financial assistance. in the event any of sort of russian incursion into ukraine, if it were brief, they'd certainly perhaps tolerate, not very happily if it were to be large scale and extended. then that would obviously be a

massive escalation and certainly under those circumstances they'd be looking for support. moral if not practical to some degree from europe and the united states. but i think for the most part, everyone here certainly in kiev, childrenly those very much supportive of the change in government here, are simply hoping that russia does not act in any way that further destabilizes, considering the situations here recently. >> do you suppose vladimir putin is bluffing? >> look, you know, everybody is trying to figure out what are mr. putin's options. we have had some serious conversations with people who are right at the heart of the negotiations that eventually led to yanukovych basically fleeing and this new opposition government. we have been told that it was a phone call between yanukovych and, we believe, president putin over the weekend that caused yanukovych to see the writing on the wall and to essentially agree that somehow he had to

shorten his time in power, agree to new elections. obviously, then, events took over and he fled. and now we have the situation that we do. many people have told us that it simply would not behoove putin to intervene militarily in the ukraine. that he doesn't need to do that. that he could just sit and wait to see how the eventuality plays itself out. we have had these massive military maneuvers, redeployment of more than 150,000 troops, hundreds of tanks, aircraft and other military hardware by russia towards the border with ukraine. but we're being told, and the world is being told, that this is just normal, they say, military maneuvers to protect their areas of interest. russia is obligated by treaties signed in 1994, along with the u.s. along with the uk, to respect ukraine's territorial integrity. there is no legal justification for any kind of intervention. in addition, we don't exactly know who these people are who

have taken over the parliament in the crimea and have raised the russian flag there. according to the established official, the premier of the crimea region, he's not even able to talk to these people. are they acting totally independently? who are they? what are they doing? we simply don't know. remember, we saw quite a lot of this taking over of government bases and ministries and the like in kiev by the opposition during the hype of the uprising. the new interim prime minister in kiev has also issued strong warnings today that there must be no attempt to intervene militarily by russia inside ukraine. but i will say that one of the key eu foreign ministers also said that the new ukrainian officials, the interim government, need to reach out to the ethnic russians in crimea and other parts of ukraine. need to reach out to russia and absolutely make it clear that the new ukraine is the ukraine for all ukrainians, whether they

be ethnic russian or not. and, for instance, this law that they passed trying to pan the russian language in those parts of ukraine, needs to be rescinded and it was needlessly provocative. so those kinds of things need to be now dealt with very, very carefully. >> christiane amanpour, barbara starr, phil black, thanks to all of you. and we'll revisit as things continue to develop in ukraine. we'll be right back. [ park sounds, sound of spray paint ] ♪ we asked people a question, how much money do you think you'll need when you retire? $500,000. maybe half-million. say a million dollars. [ dan ] then we gave each person a ribbon to show how many years that amount might last. ♪ i was trying to like pull it a little further. you know, i was trying to stretch it a little bit more. [ woman ] got me to 70 years old. i'm going to have to rethink this thing.

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the tea party turns five years old today. it's holding a big birthday bash in washington, d.c., with special speakers like michele bachmann, rand paul and ted cruz. while the tea party movement is looking to make a big impact at this year's primary and general election campaigns it may not have the fervent following it's had in the past.

mark preston joins us now to talk more about this. good morning, mark. >> good morning, carol. five years ago, the tea party came to life. you know, largely because of obama care and president obama being elected into office. they really came to life out there and helped the republicans take back the house of representatives. the 2010 elections, they were credited with helping restore some sanity when it came to spending here in washington. they were credited with being critical of the republican party which a lot of people thought was a little out of control during the bush years when it came to spending, but they were canned when it came to their rhetoric when it -- the discussion became division and the fact that they didn't want to compromise, carol. that they didn't understand how to govern. they were very much into bomb throwing. they didn't want to come to the table. so after five years, as you said, they are here in washington. and now they are discussing the way forward. carol?

>> a couple of things, right? for the first time, a slight majority of americans have a disfavorable view, awn favorable view of the tea party. 51%. that's the gallup poll. this is "the new york times" poll. but the gallup poll, 51% have an unfavorable view. michele bachmann once headed the tea party caucus in congress. is there such a thing right now? has it gone away? >> it's still there. the tea party is at this interesting crossroads right now. they still have a bit of energy, certainly, throughout the country. but they are at this crossroads about where do they go? you know, the tea party is largely a grassroots organization, but again, people right now are very frustrated and angry at washington. if you look at "the new york times" poll today as well, you know, they had this interesting number about how frustrated people are at gridlock in washington. and a lot of people think that's due in part to the tea party.

if you look at right now, how much influence does the tea party have over the republican party, look at that right now. a lot of people think that the tea party has too much influence over the republican party. 37% right now, carol, you know, think that the tea party has too much influence. in fact, i was talking tofact, came on the air here and a republican strategist said they did do some good things. they talk about the spending but they were not able to come to the table. they talked too much about division and they didn't know how to governor it. carol? >> mark preston, thanks so much. the new movie "son of god" is hot, and even sparked this hash tag #hotjesus. does jesus really have to be sexy now?

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jesus is back on the big screen. "son of god" is the first movie about the life of jesus since "passion of the christ" in 2004. >> do you need help? >> there's nothing to help with. >> what are you doing? >> going fishing. >> i'm telling you, there's no fishing out there.

>> how did this happen? >> come with me. >> what are we going to do? >> change the world. >> maybe this looks familiar? because "the son of god" is an adaptation of the miniseries "the bible." in california, one congregation bought after single seat at a 16-screen movie theater. "son of god" is generating a lot of heat because jesus is so sexy. take a look at the actor. he looks like brad pitt. he's caused loads of swooning women and also my op-ed at cnn.com. he inspired the hash tag

#hotjesus. he said he doesn't want his looks to distract from the movie but if the message of jesus was love, hope, and come passion and i can bring that to the big screen. the question for me became, must jesus be sexy, too? father james martin is here to discuss this. he's the author of the new book "jesus the pilgrimage." welcome, father. >> thank you very much. >> first off, it would be extremely difficult to find the exact right actor to cast as jesus. the filmmaker said as much. but through the years, jesus has morphed from good looking to sexy. why is that? >> well, in first century palestines, his disciples did not follow him because he had

six-pack abs. i think we need to look at priorities. >> was jesus sexy? >> you know, physically we have no idea what he looked like. ironically, though, back in the first century palestine, it was more likely that he was short and darker. i don't think he looked like brad pitt, though. >> it's funny, if you look at the actors around diogo, they actually would look more like jesus than diogo. >> i noticed that. it's funny. he seems to be the only one that being looks like he has highlighted hair. everyone else has darker skin and curly black hair. it does seem a little out of place among his disciples and followers. >> you told me that people have a hard time accepting jesus who is not perfect. they feel uncomfortable about jesus being human. what do you think of that? >> christian belief is that jesus is fully human and divine.

we mean in all things, he got sick, sprained an ankle, he got tired. there's difficulty among some christians to accept his full humanity. he was fully like us in all things except sin and that's hard for some people so i think we tend to move towards a perfectionist jesus, even in terms of his appearance. >> and why is it important for jesus to also be human? is it because it makes him more accessible, perhaps? >> well, that's at the heart of the christian message. god became human in order to show how much he loves us and also in order to show how much we relate to him. jesus was a relatable person. he was from a very small town in nazareth and people said, who is this, is he not the carpenter from nazareth? >> father james martin, thanks

for the discussion. i appreciate it. >> my pleasure. >> read my entire op-ed at cnn.com/opinion. the next hour of "newsroom" after a breath.

happening now in the "newsroom" -- >> i call them like i see them despite the boos from the crowd. >> arizona's governor kills the bill that caused a national

outcry. but now the fight may be headed to other states. plus, dark and panic on a flight landing in california. >> we cannot breathe back here. go. >> passengers rushed off the plane after the cabin started smelling like smoke. and a new push for healthy eating. >> folks are starteding to think about how eat they are and active they are. >> the food labels on your food are about to get a makeover. the second hour of "newsroom" starts right now. good morning. i'm carol costello. we begin with chilling echos of the cold war. in southern ukraine, one of the younge youngest governments is under assault. the street fights broke out

after dozens of gunmen seized t the headquarters of a russian parliament and immediately rose the russian flag. there are more concern for the russian troops now holding military exercises near the ukrainian border. barbara starr has more from the pentagon. good morning, barbara. >> good morning. harkening back memories of the cold war. chuck hagel at a nato defense minister meeting spoke to reporters and weighed in say that he is concerned about the russian military exercises, that he's watching them very closely and does not want to see any escalation of tensions. why is the u.s. pretty concerned about the russian exercises? it goes to the question of russian military capabilities and intentions. these exercises on the russian/ukraine border would, if ordered, give russia the ability to move the troops very quickly into the ukraine. that's the u.s. assessment.

if that were to happen, it could happen so quickly the u.s. might not see it right away, may not have the time to fwhea diplomatically and try to urge russia not to do it. it shortens the warning sign because they are so close. that's the assessment about capability. the key question, of course, as our own phil black has been reporting from moscow for the last several days, vladimir putin's intentions. he would actually order troops into the ukraine? at this point, the u.s. doesn't think so. he doesn't think they are doing more than sending a message to the world that russia would have the capability to do it, that russia would be able to protect its own interest. they don't think he will order russian troops to cross the border but this certainly is raising tensions. carol? >> barbara starr, reporting live from the pentagon, thanks so much. let's head to the korean peninsula where new tensions are

flaring. north korea has fired four short-range missiles into the east sea. that's according to its ally, south korea. >> hello there, carol. about four hours ago, north korea launched four short-range missiles into the sea. they were fired off the east coast of korea. a u.s. official told cnn that these missiles with short-range scuds. they were so short range that they never left north korea waters. they were fired north to russia and that's very significant because that's nowhere near where the exercises are under way. this type of test was routine, they added. >> north korea has done this before but as you said, they are upset at the military exercises going on right now in the region? >> you're right. north korea has done this before. but this is not a repeat of what happened last year when we saw that dramatic ratcheting up of

tensions. the conditions here are very, very different. last year the north tested this multistate throughout intercontinental potential and then conducted a nuclear test. what we have here is very different. it's that very short-range scud missile test. it's designed to send a message not likely going into north korean waters, not likely to cause any significant rise in militar military tensions. back to you. >> kristie, thanks so much. janet yellen is testifying before the senate banking committee about what the fed has planned for its stimulus program. alison kosik is live at the new york stock exchange following this for us. good morning. >> good morning. we're going to be really looking more at the q & a session that comes after the prepared testimony. no one is expecting her to veer off from the testimony that she

gave two days ago before the house but the wild card here is that a lot of the data that we've seen since she game the testimony before the house, a lot of that data has come out weak. you may see senators press her a little bit on the sluggish retail, manufacturing and home construction reports that we've gotten. they are going to want to know if those reports have changed her outlook on the economy and interest rates. another big question they are going to want answered, how concerned is she about the recent weakness that we've seen in the labor markets. job reports are nothing to write home about. we'll see if there is a lack of momentum in the labor market. the new head of the fed had quite an impact the last time she spoke. the dow jumped 200 points on the day. right now we're seeing the dow in the red but she has yet to get started on her testimony. carol? >> all right. you'll continue to cover that for us. thank you so much, alison kosik, reporting live. if you do a lot of reading in the grocery store aisles,

you'll want to know this. the labels will undergo an overhaul for the first time in over 20 years. jan janet is a nutritionist. let's talk about this. when they list the amount of calories, the type is much bigger. you see how much bigger that is in the middle than the nutrition facts on the left. and i suppose that's a good thing. why? >> it's a great thing. i mean, this is really to address the obesity problem in america. so calories are important. the serving size has gotten a reality check and that is even more important. actually how much you are eating. so now you'll -- because we tend to eat in units. if you think it's a single serving bag, you'll likely eat that entire serving. you don't want to have to do math when you're eating. so now you'll see the amount of

calories in that full bag. or that 20 ounce bottle of coke, for examp for example, it will be a single serving. because we're likely to drink the whole thing. >> definitely. you get a bag of potato chips and it has the calories listed, it's only for 10 chips, not the whole bag. >> yeah. and you're going to likely eat the whole bag. i think that's a major advancement. as a dietitian, i think that is terrific. that's probably the biggest change, is calories. and we've got the portion size of figuring it out. also added sugars. the addition of that on a food label is another big change and i think that's terrific as well because right now people are -- a lot of people consider sugar the new trans fat. there's a lot of concern about added sugars that we are eating. this is going to make it easier for people to track how much added sugar they are getting in their diet.

>> when you say that, sometimes sugar is listed on labels, like fructose is sugary syrup and that's not included in the number of sugar in the product. is that going to be taken into account for? >> now you're going to see added sugar. before it was a total sugars, a reflection of naturally occurring and added sugars. now they have pulled out added sugars so you'll know what is maybe some syrups or all sorts of other things that are not naturally occurring because those are the types of sugars that we need to look to reduce and the more information we have, the greater chance that we're going to make the healthier changes. >> okay. so i was talking about this with one of my producers pam and we were pondering how many people actually read those food labels. do you think many do? >> well, that's the trouble. i think hopefully this discussion, we're revamping it for the first time in 20 years.

we're talking about it more. maybe that will motivate people to turn the package around and look at the label. when they do, it does make them more mindful and maybe look and stop and look at the amount of food and calories they are eating. that's the first step. if we're going to make it not -- there was some confusion, some folks thought. it's going to be a little clearer, calories front and center. maybe we'll start to see some improvement. >> i hope so. janet helms, that's for the inside. appreciate it. still to come, bridgegate is still a distraction for chris christie. is the media to blame? we'll talk about that next.

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checking our top stories at 13 past the hour, a routine flight from los angeles to oakland ended with quick evacuations for passengers and crew aboard a delta skywest flight. >> we're evacuating. >> please leave all of your belongings behind. we'll let you back on when we clear off the plane. >> leave all of your belongings and get off this aircraft. go! >> we are! >> we can not breathe back here. go! >> can you imagine that? people were trying to take their luggage out. there was a smell of smoke in the cabin. the plane taxied to the gate

with the 74 passengers and four crew members were eventually hurried off. >> by the time we got to the gate, the cabin started filling up. it smelled like burnt rubber and the pilot immediately put the plane to a stop. we really came to a jolting stop and the flight attendants were telling everyone to get off the plane. get off, leave your stuff behind, get off the plane. boston marathon organizers are offering new restrictions. backpacks and containers with more than one liter of liquid will be banned from the april 21st event. strollers are also banned. they can wear fanny packs for medications and cell phones. >> we know it's intrusive but it's a necessary evil. >> it will be received well.

if you are a couple miles in, it's not going to be on your mind. you're going to be thinking about the race and that's it. >> unregistered runners who have been invited to jump in in previous years will not be invited in time around. governor chris christie blaming the media for keeping the bridgegate scandal alive. the investigation is still going on to figure out whether it was political payback. the governor says only the media is talking about this. >> you folks are the only people at the moment who are asking me about this. >> uh-huh. >> i've been to two town halls for the past 28 days and there has not been one question on this. i will be damned if i let this get in the way of -- >> blame the media. come on. >> he doesn't like to get the questions, carol. this was supposed to be the year

of chris christie, right? he beats a woman in a democratic state, wins women voters, latino voters. he's supposed to be traveling the country. he's supposed be to the front-runner for the republican nomination and right now he's having to deal with bridgegate, something that chris christie doesn't like to do. really the big question for chris christie is how does he answer the questions? does he get his anger out? does he lose control? as you know, carol, sometimes he tends to get angry and that's the big question. how does he handle the question when he's asked. last night he got angry about that. we'll see how he handles it because it's not going to go away. >> well, his approval ratings are slipping and by the way, isn't his office still investigating bridgegate? >> his office is and very smartly so. they are doing an internal investigation and perhaps we'll see some findings within the

last couple of months. they are doing so at the time that the u.s. attorney is investigating bridgegate and as a special investigative committee is investigating as well and by doing so i think they are trying to make sure that anything that comes out from the legislative committee or the u.s. attorney's office, christie can try to get out in front of it. certainly i think that he wants to find out any wrongdoing or at least he's saying so before the legislative committee does so or it's the u.s. attorney's office that finds something. >> okay. so we won't ask any more questions about an ongoing investigation or should i say ongoing investigations? mark preston, many thanks. still to come in the "newsroom," the calendar says spring is three weeks away but it definitely doesn't feel like it, indra petersons. >> we're talking about another winter storm. details coming up in just a bit. . ...return on investment

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. oh, our winter of discontent is still growing stronger. it's cold here in atlanta, too. states in the upper midwest look more like the frozen tundra with the latest frigid blast and, guess what, it's heading east. indra petersons is in new york with the details. good morning. >> good morning. i'm glad you're breaking the news this time and not me. it's going to take the weight off of me because these are the current windchills. when you're talking about 40 below, that's what it feels like in duluth, that's when things get dangerous. boston, feeling like 9 degrees and new york city, 18.

more cold air is going to spread to the south and to the east. even by the afternoon, the departure from average, 9 degrees. that's going to be your high in chicago. that's 30 degrees even for the wintertime below where you should be. high in chicago, 9 degrees. 20s as your high over the weekend. the temperatures really kind of back off and that's the concern here. this is really just the story for the east coast. a really big story is what has been going on out west. keep in mind, look at the rain totals. they have seen less rain than they have seen since we started recordkeeping. places like l.a., they haven't seen rain all season and now you have a complete bull's-eye, the biggest storm that they have seen in three years. the soil is not going to be able to absorb this water. it's going to be a huge

snowmaker for the midwest and northeast. a lot is going on. >> there certainly is. indra petersons, thank you so much. the tea party is experiencing the tea party celebration in washington. so how has the tea party changed our country, changed american politics? we'll talk about that next. i'm dr. sanjay gupta and today i'd like to show you a different side of dubai. certainly it's a city known for their skyscrapers, beaches, and shopping. but dubai has a lot of different activities, including skiing. yes, snow skiing. i've never seen anything like this. there is something counterintuitive about skiing indoors. they also provide you with a

helmet and as a surgeon, i think this is the most important thing. i'm going to give it a shot. there's something sort of unnatural about skiing in the middle of the desert. but i think just the novelty of it makes this pretty extraordinary. a lot of fun. so who would have thought, i'd come all the way to the desert here in dubai and i'd get to go snow skiing. what a terrific day. wow, this hotel is amazing. oh no. who are you? who are you? wrong answer. wait, daddy, this is blair, he booked this room with priceline express deals and saved a ton. yeah, i didn't have to bid i got everything i wanted. oh good

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and ask about all the ways you could save. liberty mutual insurance. responsibility. what's your policy? good morning. i'm carol costello. thank you so much for joining me. this morning in southern ukraine, breaking news to tell you about, echos of the cold war, a russian flag is flying after armed gunmen seized the building. it's escalating the east-west tension as americans raise concerns about the russian troops now holding military exercises near the ukraine border. phil black is near kiev. it's been several days since the president was ousted. is there a sense that the crisis is getting worse?

>> reporter: certainly in the southern region and to the east of this court, the part of the country that has close ties to russia, yes. we're seeing clear outbreaks. a lot of unhappiness about the events that are taking place at the capital. number one, it's the ongoing standoff at the parliament building in crimea. people are stormed the building, taking control, refusing to negotiate and refusing to acknowledge the local authorities. and at the same time, not yet declaring precisely what their intention is, what they hope to achieve by doing this. all we know is that they are heavily armed and they are not negotiating, carol. >> and just a question for you about u.s. involvement, do the people of ukraine want the u.s. to get more involved? >> reporter: the people of the ukraine, particularly those in the capital, those in the west, those who very much support the

changes, the political changes that have been taking place here, they very much want western and european support, support for the united states in order to stabilize this country. and really, they are taking what they can possibly get. before the crisis really started to unfold in the south this morning, the number one concern is the economic support. what they need is cash loans from the international community. the united states has indicated it is willing to help. this is a country that says it needs $35 billion over the next two years from international loans. so, yes, certainly looking for that sort of support and as this ongoing tension increases and as russia is on the border, then, yes, certainly political support in the coming days is something that this country would be very grateful for. >> this fluid situation in the ukraine may put more of a strain on the u.s. and russian

relations. jim sciutto is joining us with that side of the story. so, in your mind, does the u.s. have any more plans other than just talking loudly at this point? >> well, that's a good question. in those words, there's a lot of meaning. officials delivering very stark warnings to the russians to be careful not to move in. you heard secretary of state john kerry saying yesterday it would be, in his words, a grave mistake in the russians move in. now you have defense secretary chuck hagel who is traveling saying that russia should not make any moves that could easily be misinterpreted. we know they are watching closely. i think we can assume that they are working very much behind the scenes to deliver that message as well. and that shows that they are concerned. what else can they do beyond those concerns, it's a fair question. we don't know.

it's hard to say what else they can do. >> what is the biggest concern? >> the biggest concern is that russia moves in. we've seen this story before. you remember in 2008 when russian troops moved in to georgia, as it happens around the time of another olympics, when eyes were looking in another direction in another part of the world, it's the view of u.s. officials that putting an outside military force, a russian force on the ground does not raise the tensions. we've talked about this. a lot of sharp divisions between the east and the west. to put boots on the ground, tanks on the ground, it's the view of the u.s. that would increase the risk of a violent breakup or violent outbreak rather than a decrease. it continues to be the u.s. assessment that russia is moving its troops in the right direction but it continues to be their assessment that is not currently the russian intention. but they are watching closely to see if that changes.

>> jim sciutto, many thanks. >> thank you. still to come in the "newsroom," the tea party lives on. the tea party is celebrating its fifth anniversary. so is the tea party still a strong force in american politics or is it almost done? we'll talk about that next. [ tires screech ] [ car alarm chirps ] ♪ [ male announcer ] we don't just certify our pre-owned vehicles. we inspect, analyze, and recondition each one, until it's nothing short of a genuine certified pre-owned mercedes-benz for the next new owner. [ car alarm chirps ] hurry in to the mercedes-benz certified pre-owned sales event. visit today for exceptional offers. ♪

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the tea party is celebrating its fifth anniversary trying to regain the momentum it had in 2009 when the tea party was born in dramatic fashion at the chicago mercantile exchange. >> how about this, president and new administration, why don't you put up a website to have people vote on the internet as a referendum to see if we really want to subsidize the loser's mortgages or we'd like to buy

houses and homes in foreclosure and give them to people who might have a chance to prosper down the road and reward people that could carry the water instead of drink the water. >> rick, that's a novel idea. >> what? who thought of that. >> they are like puddy in your hands. >> no, they are not. this is america. how many of you people want to pay for your neighbor's mortgage that has an extra bathroom and can't pay their bills? raise their hand. president obama, are you listening? >> cnbc's rick santelli went on that epic rant after the obama administration offered to bailout the auto industry and homeowners who were under water. then the tea party was born. since those days, the tea party has tanked. 51% of americans have now a negative view of the tea party.

the lowest since the creation. joining me now, kelly spoke moments ago at the tea party fifth year anniversary event in washington. larry, director for the senator of politics at the university of senator, and john avalon, cnn's political editor. thank you for joining me. >> thanks, carol. >> it's great to have you all here. kelly, i want to start with you. why has the tea party image suffered in five years? >> well, we have a lot of people in the media. we have people in the permanent political class. people in the democrat party that are trying their hardest to smear us and smear our name but if you actually look at our values when those values are pulled, the vast majority of americans are with us. for instance, we want a debt-free future. they want to eliminate our debt and they are on the same page as us. who cares what people think about the name. >> well, it has nothing to do with the tea party.

>> people stand for freedom. i tell them what the tea party stands for. they agree with me. they say, wow, i had no idea. everything i've heard about you is from what i said. and they don't necessarily go to those meetings. >> i'll pose this question for you, we watched rick santelli. he called homeowners losers. since that time, we've heard that many of the homeowners were duped by big banks, for example. jpmorgan agreed to pay $13 million in settlement claims because of their part of the mortgage crisis. also, you can see bank of america, citibank agreed to a

settlement due to foreclosure abuse. so those loser homeowners were not losers after all. should the tea party tweak its message? well, rick santelli had a rant and it was not well thought out. we all remember the 1976 movie "network." rick santelli was howard beal on "mad as hell" and that was the mood for many americans. now, obviously that's changed. things have getting better, slowly but surely. party's infactions wax and wane. it waxed in 2010 when, for

example, 16 of their 20 candidates won. they waned in 2012. we'll final out how well they are going to do it and whether they wax and wane in 2014. >> ted cruz is a really good example. the tragedy of the tea party is it began as a protest. people who were frustrated and anxious at the height of the recession, our economy was in free fall and they saw themselves as a movement that was across party lines for fiscal responsibility. but over time people like sharon eng lchl e and others could only see the obama derangement

syndrome. and that's the disconnect that exists. while it's had a huge impact on american politics, this consistent tone of its leaders and congress is not misinterpretation by the media. it's a way that can get ugly and out of hand at time. people who talk on your behalf. >> let's talk about when democrat congresswoman say that the tea party members can go straight to hell. i want to know if you're going to hold the democratic base responsible. >> let's talk about when allen west said there were -- let's talk about michele bachmann. >> we always talk about michele bachmann and allen west. we never talk about things that are totally unhinged. we don't ever talk about the democrats. i'm sure "the daily beast" never talks about the democrats. totally unhinged and nasty things about american citizens. >> that's not true. >> well, then send me something.

i'd be happy to read it. >> we have to end it there. thank you so much. >> i'd be delighted to send it to you. >> keli, john avalon, thanks to all of you. we'll be right back.

new documents from edward snowden detail even more disturbing details from spy agencies. that's according to "the guardian." gchq, along with the nsa, has been taking and storing webcam images of yahoo! users, some of them sexually explicit, without their knowledge. atika shubert is in london. you're kidding? >> yes. this is a pretty incredible revelation from the nsa documents. it was something called operation optic nerve. and basically what it did is that it took the web chats of millions of yahoo! users and

took one snapshot every five minutes. and stored it in a huge database. and the important thing here is that this was clearly bulk collection. this wasn't specifically targeted e-mail users, by any means. this was all swept up from millions of yahoo! users and stored. it looked like it was part of an experimental program where they were trying to test out facial recognition technology and we don't know yet exactly how this information was used but according to these documents, they were all put into a massive database and it was conducted by the british spying service, the gchq. we reached out for yahoo! and they said, if true, this represents our users' privacy and it's completely unacceptable. we are committed to preserving the trust and security and expand efforts for inscription across all of our services. yahoo! putting out a very angry

statement. as you mentioned, one of the interesting things about this, because of the bulk collection, a lot of the photos that they were collecting were actually pornography. as much as 11% of the photos that they were getting involved nudity. so it was about how to screen out all of the nude things they were looking at when they were looking at all of them. >> that's strange. i'm sure much more will come out later. atika shubert, thank you. president obama will meet with the palestinian prime minister. he's taking up a more active role in the palestinian peace talks and will likely put a pressure on both sides to accept a framework laid out by secretary of state john kerry to accept a generalized road map for peace negotiations. got all of that? jim sciutto is on the phone to

tell us more. >> this is about the president attempting to rescue peace talks alt this stage that are going nowhere the palestinian president abuse said so far he considers them a failure and there were reports in the palestinian newspaper that he was enraged that the framework you mentioned did not make jerusalem or east jerusalem the capital of the future palestinian state. and the framework did not include that and he expressed that anger really to u.s. officials. secretary of john kerry when they met in paris. so you have a peace effort here that is not going well and i think it's a sign that the president is getting involved is a sign that they know they've got work to do. >> you know, the thought comes

to mine, has the peace talks ever gone well between these two? >> that's a good question. they've never reached a positive conclusion. they've certainly been healthier but, as you and i know, over the last 10, 20 years, there's been a lot of efforts going back to the early '90s that have not born fruit. it's been a great diplomatic effort, persistent diplomatic effort led by john kerry on this. really an issue that no one else wanted to touch and a lot of folks that looked at him as he was making these efforts that said, really, is it really going to go anywhere this time? but if you listen to the public comments from people like abbas, it doesn't look like it's in a very good place. >> jim sciutto reporting for us, thank you so much. >> thank you. with a stroke of a pen, governor jan brewer ended a week of controversy. she's vetoed the religious

freedom bill that opponents call anti-gay. >> i have not heard of one example in arizona where business owners' religious liberty has been violated. the bill is broadly worded and could result in unintended and negative consequences. >> the decision to veto was greeted with huge applause with crowds gathered outside of the statehouse in phoenix. they are hoping that the states can move past the controversy. >> i think this is a real wake-up call for arizona. to see a bill even move through the house and senate, it may even land on her desk, is really very discouraging for the lgbt community and gay rights throughout. not only in our state but really throughout the country. it's really a setback but in her vetoing the bill, i hope there's a chance for reconciliation in our state and we can move forward past this sort of unfortunate chapter. >> supporters of the bill, though, vow to fight on. nutrition labels on food

packaging could be getting their first makeover in 20 years. the proposed new label focuses on calories and sugars along with a more realistic approach to serving sizes. still to come, "12 years a slave" is up for nine oscars. one of the nominee, the director, sits down with nischelle turner. >> carol, we are just days away from the oscars. and coming up, we sit down with steve mcqueen and we talk about everything "12 years a slave," what he thinks about the movie and what he thinks about his chances going into sunday. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ told ya you could do it. (dad vo) i want her to be safe. so, i taught her what i could and got her a subaru.

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[ female announcer ] crest 3d white whitestrips keep the whitening ingredient in place, guaranteeing professional level results. crest whitestrips. the way to whiten. . no black director has ever had a movie win a best picture oscar. but that could change on sunday night for steve mcqueen who directed "12 years a slave." the film is up for nine academy awards, including best picture. cnn nischelle turner sat down with steve mcqueen. tell us what he said, nischelle. >> 12 years a slave is nominated and he's directed for best director. we sat down at the oscar luncheon to talk about the movement that's followed and the

effect going forward. >> i was born a free man, lived with my family in new york. until the day i was deceived. >> we talked about how it felt to direct the movie and as a director. but as a man, what does this mean to you, seeing this on the screen? >> it makes me feel good in a way that one could engage in a past, an unfortunate past and grapple with it and to share with it and to move on and hope for a better future. >> and i just saw recently sha solomon northup's work has just been released. >> i'm very proud of that. what we want to do in the book is to get it into schools. >> we've heard about black cinema and the movies that have shown the black experience. do you think this is going to make a difference going forward in the types of movies that are made? >> one would hope so. it's a success for hollywood financially, it's very important for them, but also critically and -- it's been a fantastic year and i'm hoping that that

will just lead the way for more diverse shows, not just about the black experience but people's experience. >> bring her here! >> what is it about you and michael fassbender? >> there's obviously a chemistry. i don't question it. it's like falling in love in a strange way but at the same time you want to do the best for him. >> have you looked ahead to oscar night? do you start formulating in your mind, what if? >> no. again, it's just so humbling to be nominated. i'm not just saying -- it sounds like everyone sets the same thing but it is. where we came from and where we are right now, it's incredible. >> now, carol, you heard steve mcqueen say they want to give "12 years a slave" in the schools and solomon northup's writings will be used across the country. it seems like the impact is going to be realized and, of

course, it will go further if the movie wins best picture and he wins best director. >> "american hustle" was so much more commercially successful. that seems to matter in these things. >> well, these two pictures have carved out as the front runners for this film. sometimes with the academy, they do like to go and acknowledge a more -- and i don't want to say "american hustle" is an important film, but an important film. this film is that. so i don't know if i'd call it a long shot. i think it has a 50/50 chance on sunday. >> nischelle turner, many thanks. thanks for joining me. i'm carol costello "at this hour with david and michaela starts right now. >> a big announcement that would revolutionize your diet.