an extremely tense situation escalating tonight in ukraine and a warning today from president obama. take a look at this video the we've just gotten into. crimean television says there are russian helicopters entering ukraine. this is from earlier today. but we just got this video. they say those are russian helicopters. the growing concern tonight, russians getting close to crossing a dangerous line, sending troops to the crimean region. armed men outside two airports and surrounding the major state broadcaster. a complicated situation on the ground, one that's far from clear at this point. we want to make sure everybody knows that it is far from clear but it's the assessment of the u.s. government and their belief the russian military forces. we don't know at this hour what their operational orders are. we do have this statement just in from the house intelligence committee chairman mike rogers "it appears that the russian military now controls the crimean peninsula. it's aggression is a threat to

ukraine and the region's peace and stability. russia's latest action is yet another indicator that vladimir putin's hegemonic ambitions threaten u.s. interests and allies around the world." president obama today said the ukranian people deserve the opportunity to determine their own future and he is in daily communication with russian officials. more of what we said. we made a late decision today to address the press in a briefing room. >> we are now deeply concerned by reports. >> this is just being reported as i drove over here. i don't want to confirm it yet. if it's true obviously it's a

major escalation in what russia is doing inside ukraine. but even if it's not true, it's a very dangerous situation, extremely tense.

>> here you have pro-russian forces who have been put into place. >> jim, obviously the fact that president obama himself spoke out about this underscores the concern within the white house right now. congressman mike rogers saying russian forces control crimea. what's the latest from your sources? >> reporter: the u.s. believes these are russian troops. whether they have the markings on their uniforms or not. and i think in light of our intelligence capabilities you can be pretty confident they

know the scale of the number of troops and so on on the ground there. remember, you're looking at those videos in fact of helicopters coming in. that's a russian airplane. that's a russian helicopter that the russians used coming across into ukranian territory. the question what are the russians' intentions? they've taken over the airports, sent more troops to their sea ports there, appear to be forces around a pro-russian television station. are there intentions to protect some russian interests in crimea or do they have greater intentions to take control as representative mike rogers said at the crimean peninsula. administration officials are saying they're still assessing what the intentions are. but the fact is, whatever their intentions are beyond what we've seen already this is already beyond what u.s. officials wanted. we've talked about this over the last 24, 48 hours they have repeatedly u.s. officials been warning russia not to send troops into the country. so what we've seen to this

point, it's already crossed that line as defined by u.s. officials. >> and in terms of threats that the u.s. has made, they say the u.s. might not attend the g 8 summit in russia in june if russian troops are in the ukraine. russian yeah wants involvement in the g 8, doesn't want to be punished in its membership in the g 8. but that's far down the road in terms of a threat. >> reporter: there's time between now and then. conceivable if the g 8 becomes the g 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, get some u.s. allies in europe to do the same, this is going to be a marquee event for the russians inside sochi olympics. that would be a blow to not have the u.s. show up. they say the russians have been reaching out for greater economic and trade ties, that that's something that the u.s. would not pursue in light of this. but it's interesting. even john boehner when he issued a statement today, critical

statement of the president saying in effect the u.s. has been too weak to this point. he talked about maximizing economic and political punishment at this point. evenly he was not mentioning military or a more kinetic responsibility in that sense. really when you think about it, the practical tools that are available to the u.s. are largely in the economic and diplomatic sphere. there are other steps you could take. senator john mccain was on our air earlier talking about revisiting putting u.s. missile defense in the czech republic. remember russia's response to that when we went through that a couple of years ago. that to this point is something we've not heard the administration is considering. >> and you're on the ground in kiev. what's the scene like there? how are people responding to what's going on in crimea? >> reporter: the government here is definitely very concerned, anderson. they see this as an invasion by the russians as a part of annex

crimea as part of russia. they're looking at a diplomatic effort now. no doubt the ukrainance could not go blow to blow with the russians. they don't have the fire power that the russians do. so they're looking abroad. and that look goes towards the united nations. they're asking the u.n. security council to get involved. it's unclear what role they would play as russia as you know has veto power in the security council. and moscow has been concerned over the ethnic russians in the crimea. one thing the ukrainen government has asked to send monitors into the crimea to show ethnic russians aren't being discriminated against or oppressed. really one thing we should bring up, there was a peace treaty, a mehmet okmbe a memorandum, budapest memorandum signed in 1994. but u.s. and ukraine saying they

will respect ukraine's national integrity if ukraine gives up their nuclear weapons. so countries are going to have to be held accountable who signs this memorandum, anderson. >> certainly russia is saying what's happening right now in crimea does prescribe to binational agreements that currently exist. ian lee, thank you, diana and jim as well. >> joining me national security analyst fran townsend, member of the skai and dhs external advisory boards. general marks, when you look at what these russian troops have done, seizing two airports, surrounding this television station, it seems like coup planning 101 these are the first steps people always do in any part of the world when they're seizing a area, correct? >> it's not a coup, it's an invitation, anderson. i think we can state clearly, albeit the administration has

not come out and stated this with this degree of certainty, that the russians have invaded the ukraine. remember that crimea is a part of the ukraine. there isn't any additional sovereignty that crimea enjoys beyond what the ukraine has right now. so this type of activity by russia clearly is an effort on their part to ensure that their influence isn't waning. clearly the united states cannot by itself take a leadership role. but there are activities that we can take and we can encourage with our partners in nato, primarily through the partnership for peace, and that kiev can call for, which is through part for paeace with th affiliation with nato can say we'd like to request different types of delegations to come in here and provide some degree of surveillance or at least some additional insights into what's taking place. also we have a mission in kiev. i would hope that defense

attache right now is on his way to crimea to do some first-hand reporting on what in fact is taking place so we can get a better sense and give our administration some additional political ammunition to be used to declare what this really is, which is an invasion. >> and fran, it doesn't seem like we have a clear idea what russia's next step is. you can talk all you want about the u.s.'s next step, but we don't know what the russian intentions are. >> no. and anderson, this i is a very difficult intelligence environment to operate in after all, the russians have been so sort of nervous about western and in particular american presence in ukraine and other states on their borders. they threw out people from nonprofits and nongovernmental organizations that were providing sort of social support and democratic training and leadership training because they believe that they were age ents

of the american government. nothing could be further from the truth. but it tells you something about this being a real tense environment. you go to all your technical means of intelligence. satellite, electronics surveillance. you be sure that all the assets of the u.s. government and our allies around the world are being used to understand military what the order of battle is, exactly what assets they're moving closer and into the crimea. but spider marks is quite right. this is an invasion. it is what it is. and to sort of threaten that in june we won't show up to the g 8 isn't really -- tells you we don't have a lot of leverage over the russian. let's remember the president and the white house need vladimir putin and russia on iran and the negotiations, they need him on syria, they need him as we begin to remove assets out of afghanistan. we're not the ones holding the power here. and i think that you see that in

the president's statement. >> general /*. >> how much do you think this is bullying russia bullying the new government in kiev as they start to calm down and plot the future of their country, are going to be deciding between the west and between russia. does this try to just remind them of the importance of russia on their border? >> oh, anderson it does very clearly. this is recitivist behavior. he's irrelevant. he's in russia speak out. we shouldn't do anything with that. we should let that go. he's irrelevant to a possible solution moving forward. i think moscow understand that. but clearly, putin does not want to lose an opportunity to make sure he maintains preeminence in that part of the world. >> they have a navy base in crimea. >> this warm water port called

sebastapol is the only warm water port russian ye owns now. everything else is covered with ice. and russia will never allow that thing to get in extremis if you will this. activity clearly is design to ensure that overall ukraine is not going to spin in a direction that they'd prefer it not to and to ensure that what they have in sebastapol remains intact. >> all right, general marks, fran townsend, appreciate your perspectives. let us know what you think. follow me on twitt twitter @andersoncooper. coming up why yuksz mukrain matters. also ahead, torrential rain soaking southern california. evacuations are under way and growing fears the mudslide and flash flooding. get a live update and tell you where the weather is headed next in the use. [ male announcer ] you've never watched her like this before.

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ukraine says there's been an armed invasion by russian troops in the crimea reasonable. president obama warning there will be costs for any intervention in the ukraine. the first news came hours ago when gunmen showed up at two separate airports in crimea. here's what happened when our reporter tried to ask them where they're from. >> can we ask you guys where you're from? you're from russia? [ speak foreign language ] >> understand what happens there. recent history along with geography can help put things into context. tom foreman has that tonight. >> reporter: ukraine a little smaller than texas. 4 million people living here, 2

million in crimea. most of them feel stronger ties to this gray area over here, to russia, than they do to the rest of the ukraine. why? because russian is their first language. some of the older ones will even remember when they were actually part of the soviet union until 1954 when they were given to ukraine as part of a big deal back at that time. how far is it from crimea up to kiev? it's about 400 miles or the same distance from new york to pittsburgh. moscow is much further away, about twice as far. but look again at the russian border over here. it's not so far. and if you talk about russian troops coming in, all of this red area is more pro-russian, so much so that this color doesn't even change if you look at the last election results. that was the area that supported the now ousted president yanukovych. and because of this ethnic

breakdown, this very russian nature of the eastern part of the country, that's why you have to watch it very closely as these events unfold. anderson? >> and pulitzer prize winning journalist david remnick is an expert on russia. has written extensively about the country. >> david, what do you make of what's going on? >> it's very very dangerous. if in fact -- and this is what people in the white house are saying -- that these are russian troops, this is extremely scary not only from the point of view of ukraine but from a geopolitical point of view. and at the very best we're looking at the possibility of a cold war-style conflict. and that is extremely worrying. >> a conflict that leads where, to a divided ukraine? would more russian troops come in? there are so many unknowns at this point. >> well, let's be clear.

i'm not sitting in the meetings in the kremlin to say the least. but the difficulty here is that russia is asserting what it sees as its interest, its sphere of influence and it could not be more interested than its ties to ukraine. russia has been tied to ukraine historically for half of forever. the seat of russian power originally was in kiev. and there's a long history there. crimea itself was transferred from russia to ukraine in the 50s by nikita krushchev in soviet times. the population there is extremely sympathetic to russia, as is eastern ukraine. what's happened here in general in ukraine is so complex, you have a democratically elected leader who also was extremely corrupt and is guilty of killing his own people, who's now fled to russia and who's saying he's still in power.

and you have a leader of the russian republic who's trying to reassert power not only in ukraine and in the area around russia but globally as a way of recovering from what he sees as the geopolitical catastrophe of the collapse of the soviet union in 1991. all of these factors are in play. >> the just departed u.s. ambassador to russia told cnn's new day today that the situation is dire. do you agree with that? >> you're talking about michael mcfarland? i couldn't agree more. vladimir putin is playing with fire here. and i think to some extent, he's enjoying the spectacle. he's enjoying the spectacle of seeing europe and the united states squirm and also daring the united states and europe to do something about it. this is a really dangerous situation. >> and how do you think the obama administration has reacted to this? we heard from the president today. the u.s. is calling it an

uncontested arrival of russian forces, not an invasion. is there a real difference there? >> you can have distinction without a difference. i think you can only imagine the oval office meeting in which they looked over that language. to be fair, we're not absolutely sure who these unmarked troops are, whether they're all russian troops coming in from the russian fleet, whether some of them are sympathetic to russia and ukranian. we will find this out in the hours to come. but there's no question, there's absolutely no question that this is extremely dangerous. >> the 2008 there was trussian invasion of georgia which was a different situation. what can that tell us what might happen in crimea? >> it's part of the larger picture. the soviet union collapsed in 1991. and this president of russia feels that the west has been dancing in the end zone ever since. and he's sick of it.

and he feels insulted by the west, lectured to by the west. he's constantly reminding us that in fact it was the united states that's very prone to invading other countries, namely iraq. we're in a real bad way with our relations between the united states and russia. and the ukraine is georgia writ large. ukraine is an enormous country of 40 plus million people. it's deeply divided within itself. it's a political mess. it's broke. and russia does not want to allow it to drift to the west, to drift toward the european union and drift into the sphere of influence beyond its reach. and by sending troops today -- and again i caution us to wait to see what the final story is on how many of these troops are actually from russia itself. let's be very cautious. nonetheless, nonetheless, vladimir putin is clearly trying to set down a marker. and unpredictable consequences

can come of it. >> david remnick, appreciate you joining us. thanks. you can find out more on the story and others at cnn.com. just ahead tonight, march anyti coming in like a lion. with floods and mudslides. where is it heading next. plus the oscar pistorius murder trial just days away from starting. [ male announcer ] research suggests cell health plays a key role throughout our lives. one a day men's 50+ is a complete multivitamin designed for men's health concerns as we age. with 7 antioxidants to support cell health. one a day men's 50+. did you run into traffic? no, just had to stop by the house to grab a few things.

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powerful storm is slamming southern california tonight. take look at this. nasa satellite image, the view from space, that shows just how huge this storm system is. on the ground it is wreaking havoc, bringing torrential rain to a bone-dry region that certainly has needed rain. california is in the thick of its worst drought in 100 years. wildfires have created ideal conditions for flash floods and mudslides. that's the problem now. evacuations have been under way all day. six inches of rain are predicted for some areas. kyung lah has the latest. >> reporter: it happened in minutes. fire scorched land couldn't hold the rain, so mud poured down from the glendora foothills below. >> that's havoc. it's bad. it's bad. it hasn't been this bad in a long time. it wasn't like this 20 minutes ago. >> reporter: they're getting out while they can. >> you're not taking anything with you. just grabbing your dog? >> no. we've got my laptop.

i don't need too many things. everything's going to be fine. it's all replaceable. >> reporter: just a couple of inches of rain and you can see the effect here when the ground which is burned by the fire can't hold all of this. and something you'll notice, the debris. it shows it's been scarred by wildfire. 1,000 homes are under a mandatory evacuation order because they sit below the scorched hills. two months ago it was wildfire. today, mud into their pools and backyards. california's been in drought for months. the sudden rain caught some by surprise. two people were found stranded in a tree trying to escape the rising water of the los angeles river. take a closer look. it's not just people but their two dogs. you can see the rescuers, the los angeles firefighters, as they carefully move the frightened animals out of the tree one by one to the nearby

rescue boat. and there's more rain coming. which is bad news for kim and dennis craley. they chose not to listen to mandatory evacuation order. their one road in and out too covered in mud to drive. >> you can't get out. >> no. not right now. until they clear this, we're stuck here. >> what has mother nature been like the last couple of months for you? >> we had fire, drought, and now torrential rain. >> wind. >> pretty much everything. >> yeah. we've hit all four elements at this point. i think we're done at this point with any more crazy storms. >> it's unbelievable how much mud. kyung lah joins us now live. so there's more about the recent evacuations? >> reporter: the evacuation is actually being widened in an area just to the west of me. we learned about it via twitter. it's a neighborhood that looks very much similar to what this is. it's in an area right below a burn area. and in all caps the police there

said, evacuate immediately. they're even asking the local reporters to please report that they want people to get out of these neighborhoods. a lot of these people, anderson, are not leaving their homes. and the reason why this is dangerous is that you can see how dry it is behind me. just a short time ago, water was rushing down here. the weather here is very unpredictable when you talk about the burned areas meeting these water areas. it is flash flood conditions. >> you mention more rain coming. how much more rain? how many more days is this supposed to go on for? >> reporter: we are only about halfway through. so saturday into sunday, more rain is predicted. a total of 6, perhaps even more inches for this area. and it's very difficult to predict exactly how much rain these lands can actually hold on. to and it can completely dry up, anderson, in a couple of weeks. maybe the land will give way then. so that's what is really scary to the people who live here. >> all right.

kyung, thanks very much. amazing video seeing those dogs being rescued. another part of the country that's getting walloped, an arctic blast bringing sub zero temperatures to the midwest. gary tuchman has been on ice jam duty for us this week. we sent him out into the cold again tonight. he joins us live from illinois. gary? >> reporter: we've seen some changes, anderson, on the kankakee river. although it's still frigid it ways a little warmer today. the ice levels have gone down a little bit. that being said, i know i'm very safe here. i have the confidence of an issue fisherman because i'm several feet above the kankakee river right now. we know it is sturdy, there won't be flooding but it will be coming in the next several days. the top levels of the ice are soft now. it breaks like glass. you hear that. that's just the top level. there's still three to five feet below me of ice. what's amazing about this is just last week, saturday as a matter of fact, there was no ice like this at all on this river. it was iced over but it was as flat as a hockey rink.

then the weather got warm, it started melting, then it got frigidly cold. that's why this developed. old timers we've talked to who live in this area say they've never seen it like this before. but issue is starting about this thursday coming up the weather is supposed to be above freezing. it's supposed to last that way for several days. two weeks from now it's supposed to be in the 50s and 60s. that's when the danger occurs because this will all melt and the people nearby could be in some trouble. >> so what are they doing to prepare for the potential flooding? >> reporter: well, it's interesting. when we cover floods and hurricanes, a very popular and important and wise pastime is to put sandbags in front of your house. but because so many people here don't know what to anticipate because they've infonever seen anything like this before we see almost no sand bags. if it gets warm very fast it could be catastrophic for the homeowners who live neither river in illinois. >> gary thanks for the update. for more than a year oscar

pistorius has stuck to his story. on the eve of his murder trial beginning on monday we'll look at how the place unfolded. the first openly gay nba player jason collins interview. ♪boots and pants and boots and pants♪ ♪and boots and pants and boots and pants♪ ♪and boots and pants... voice-enabled bill pay. just a tap away on the geico app. ♪ huh, 15 minutes could save you 15% or more on car insurance. yup, everybody knows that. well, did you know that some owls aren't that wise. don't forget about i'm having brunch with meagan tomorrow. who? seriously, you met her like three times. who? geico. so i got the new nokia lumia icon. it's got 1080p video, three times zoom, and a twenty-megapixel sensor. it's got the brightest display, so i can see what i'm shooting -- even outdoors, and 4 mics that capture incredible sound. plus, it has apps like vine -- and free cloud storage.

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welcome back. on monday the world's most famous amputee athlete oscar

pistorius will go on trial for murder. being called south africa's trial of the century. the man at the center a sports idol who has fallen far in some people's eyes. the olympic runner is charged with murdering his girlfriend riva steenkamp whom he says he loved more than anything in the world. he does not deny killing her but claims it was a terrible mistake. for more than a year we've been hearing about the case the prosecution is likely to make. days ago a judge ruled that cameras would be allowed in the courtroom for the first time in south africa. tonight randi kaye reminds us how all of this began. >> reporter: valentine's day 2013 marked not by romance but by gun fire inside the home of oscar pistorius. neighbors say they heard arguing. pistorius says he heard an intruder. whatever it was it left pistorius's girlfriend, reeva steinkamp, dead, shot in the head, arm and hip. >> so was it murder or a terrible mistake? oscar pistorius detailed his side of the story in a rare affidavit given to the court.

hours before the fatal shooting, pistorius wrote "it had been a normal evening at home. a quiet dinner, tv and bed for him, yoga for her. he told the court hours after they went to bed he was jolted aawake, filled with fear after hearing a noise in the bathroom. pistorius proet "i grabbed my 9 mm pistol from underneath the bed and screamed at the intruder to get out. then he said he fired shots at the toilet door and shouted to reeva to call the police. >> if only to say hey honey did you hear that? you do that first before you move in the bathroom to fire shots. >> reporter: according to the affidavit, pistorius who said he did not have his prosthetic legs on at the time of the shooting found steenkamp slumped over adding she died in my arms. pistorius's agent got a frantic call at 4:00 a.m.

>> just had this voice frantically shouting please you have to come to oscar pistorius's house. >> reporter: prosecutors say this was no tragic mistake, that missio pistorius calculated the perfect angle. there's a floor plan of the apartment, which the state says pistorius could not have crossed the bedroom without realizing steenkamp wasn't in bed. photos leaked to the media by police show the bloody crime scene. ri ri riva steinkamp was just 29. these are some of the last photos the couple had taken

together. reef /* reree -- >> did she enter the bathroom unnoticed? why lock the door? was she trying to protect herself from pistorius or from an intruder? what about the bloodied cell phones inside the bathroom? how did they get there? pistorius was charged with premeditated murder, but released on little more than $100,000 bond. he's been awaiting trial here at his uncle's multimillion dollar mansion. >> oscar is like we all are, still very traumatized. >> reporter: some who know pistorius tell cnn they're not surprised this happened. >> he would have a trip switch. he'd get violent and angry and fight with people. he would cause a lot of problems. the incident with me and him was because he was drunk at a party and he started shouting. >> reporter: pistorius's past will be on full display at trial. the blade runner himself is

expected to testify, as are former girlfriends and forensic experts. and the cameras will be there. randi kaye, cnn, new york. >> let's get caught up on some of the other stories we're following. susan hendricks has a 360 bulletin. kerry kennedy was acquitted of charges of driving under the influence of a drug. the 54-year-old daughter of the late senator robert f. kennedy was charged with driving while impaired after swerving off the road and into into a tractor trailer. actor philip seymour hoffman died from a toxic mix of drugs, including heroin, cocaine, benzodiazepine and amphetamines. the new york medical examiner's office released its findings today ruling the death an accident. a house next door to spike lee's former home in brooklyn was vandalized just days after the director made a

profanity-laced critique of gentrification. someone spray painted do the right thing on the building's facade and broke the glass on the door. "do the right thing" was the name of spike lee's film. a coroner had pro nowed this man dead at his home. his heart started beating again. now he's in a hospital. >> so bizarre. crazy. susan, thanks very much. jau. jason collins is making history as the first openly gay player in the nba. up next a cnn exclusive he opens up about how his week back has been and the story behind the number on the jersey he's been wearing for years. hey guys! sorry we're late. did you run into traffic? no, just had to stop by the house to grab a few things. you stopped by the house? uh-huh. yea.

alright, whenever you get your stuff, run upstairs, get cleaned up for dinner. you leave the house in good shape? yea. yea, of course. ♪ [ sportscaster talking on tv ] last-second field go-- yea, sure ya did. [ male announcer ] introducing at&t digital life. personalized home security and automation. get professionally monitored security for just $29.99 a month. with limited availability in select markets. ♪ afghanistan, in 2009.

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player and first on any major u.s. sports teams, jason collins signed a 10-day contract with the brooklyn nets last sunday. this week his jersey with the "98" became the top selling one in the nba. last year when he came out as gay he revealed he chose the number for a special reason. he's paying tribute to matthew shepherd the wyoming gay college student whose own dreams ended in 1998 when he was killed. collins met matthew's mother, father and brother and gave them an autographed jersey with the special number. our own rachel nichols got an exclusive interview with collins. it's going to air later tonight the full interview on our show "unguarded." so many changes for jason collins. what did he tell you about what it's been like to be back in the game, back on the court?

>> it's been a very positive experience. he was on the visiting team coming into colorado. but the denver fans gave him a nice ovation. that shows the support he's gotten around the league. he told me he is happy people are thinking of him as this big historymaker. but what he also loves with each game he plays people are starting to once again think of him as just another basketball player. take a listen. >> you have a great line when you first came out. you said i've been showering in the nba for 12 years. clearly it hasn't killed anybody. >> yeah. >> you're back in the locker room, back in the training room now. have you noticed any difference? >> no, it's the same environment. everything is the same. just like i said before, 12 years in the nba, not a problem, not an issue. year 13 not a problem, not an issue. same old same old. >> do you feel that you're inspiring some people out there? have you heard good things? >> yes. i definitely have. i've met some other athletes who

sort are in the same position as i am. and we're sort of like a fraternity just trying to help each other, just trying keep inspiring each other. whether it be robby rogers or michael sam or the list goes on and on of so many great athletes i've met along my journey. and it's really great to hear each other's stories and keep inspiring each other. >> jason's had a lot of people celebrating him. he was of course the guest of michelle obama at the state-of-the-union. when he played his first nba game earlier this week he had a bunch of celebrities courtside in los angeles. but he said really the most special thing he got was a text from billy jean king after his first game. i guess one trailblazer to another, anderson. >> he's worn this jersey number 98 for awhile. just now people are realizing the significance. you talked to him about that. >> absolutely. after he first came out he did

explain what the 98 was for. matthew shepherd's parents were stunned. judy shepherd, matthew's mother, was able to put in a call to jason. jason told me a little bit about their conversation. she of course told him how touched she was, how proud she was, but she also told jason, now, you don't let the haterers get to you, she said. you just keep doing what you're doing. of course jason loved the fact that the 61-year-old white woman from wyoming was telling him not to listen to the haters. so when they met last night, he made sure to tell judy shepherd he was following her advice. >> so he had a ten-day contract or has a ten-day contract with the nets. is that likely to be extended through the end of the season? >> they haven't said yet for sure. but certainly the indications are that they would extend his contract and that they would sign him for the rest of the year. they need a big man. they need a guy who can get in there and bump some bodies around. that's what he does as a player what he's always been good at. he's not a scorer. he's a big presence underneath

the basket. and doing his job right now which is all he ever wanted to do. >> you can see more of race ihe exclusive interview on "unguarded" at 10:30 eastern on cnn. stick around for that. "the ridiculist" is next. i'm beth... and i'm michelle. and we own the paper cottage. it's a stationery and gifts store. anything we purchase for the paper cottage goes on our ink card. so you can manage your business expenses and access them online instantly with the game changing app from ink. we didn't get into business to spend time managing receipts, that's why we have ink. we like being in business because we like being creative, we like interacting with people. so you have time to focus on the things you love. ink from chase. so you can. being carried in your arms...

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time now for "the ridiculist." tonight we're delving into art appreciation, specifically focusing on the garden of earthly delights. painted around the 1500. still a wonder especially for a college student named amelia. >> it's the most bizarre painting. it's so huge and there are all these tiny details. it's kind of like a 500-year-old where's waldo poster. >> so recently, amelia was up late at night looking at it with friends as college kids are want to do when she noticed something, a small detail that stood out to her. >> it was 1:00 in the morning. we were bored. and we saw the dude's butt with music on it. i was like, i got to inscribe it, guys. >> that's right. being a cheeky college student and a music major at that, amelia didn't just sit on the information, she got to the bottom of it. transcribed the music and thus apparently became the first person ever to do so.

>> i did it as a joke. and i put it on my blog. and apparently it was historically significant. >> so what does 500-year-old butt music sound like, you ask? amelia played it on a piano even though she also plays tuba which i believe is the preferred instrument for butt music. any way, here it is. ♪ >> not exactly catchy. could use some percussion, maybe a little back beat. in defense of the song there were some limitations. >> there wasn't a clef listed on the painting. most gregorian chant i've seen it was c clef. i thought this is a really bad gregorian chant. >> i like amelia.

someone on line turned it into a gregorian chant. ♪ >> all right. so now you know. for the record amelia never expected this would be her magnus opus at 20 years old. >> it's not on earth what i expected to ever be famous for if i was ever to be famous at all. >> amelia. that does it for us. thanks for watching. "piers morgan live" starts now. this is "piers morgan live" exclusive tonight a $2.5 billion man. the man who knows just about everything there is to know about winning. exhibit a, this buzzer beater last night at mad or square

garden. dallas mavericks edging out the new york knicks 110-108. the maverick billionaire mark cuban talks or in this case walks right across the court. he's never afraid to say exactly what he thinks. >> swag is being able to tell other people what they need to do and not having to worry about them telling you what to do. >> i'll ask him about winning in sports. >> i said would you sell the team he said yes. i said what's your price and i didn't negotiate. i just wrote the check. >> winning in business. >> it wasn't about how much money i had. it was how hard could i work and what could i accomplish. >> and efforts to make it big on "shark tank." >> it want it to sink in on you very very hard, so it just reverberates three your whole body. what was my last question to you? >> would i take the 90,000 for 40%. >> you had a chance to close, didn't you? >> tonight mark cuban for the hour. the mark cuban is a man who wears many hats. dallas mavericks owner, access tv chairman, "shark tank" investor. lots to talk about tonight. mark joins me exclusively. welcome to you. >> thanks, piers. >> where doe