i would. switch to comcast business and get the fastest wifi with the most coverage. comcast business. built for business. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com hello. i'm wolf blitzer. it's 1:00 p.m. here 9:00 p.m. in saudi arabia. wherever you're watching around the world, thanks very much for joining us. we begin with turmoil and transition major transition in the middle east and the impact on the united states and the fight against terror. here are some of the major headlines right now. a new king inherits the throne in saudi arabia following the death of king abdullah. king abdullah's half brother salman was quickly pointed to replace him. the white house says president obama will be calling the new saudi king shortly.

the king inherits a long list of challenges from iran to yemen to isis and a whole lot more. speaking of isis the fate of two japanese men held hostage by the terror group is uncertain. the deadline for japan to pay $200 million ransom has come and gone. isis threatens to kill the men if japan doesn't pay. and they're now facing their own major troubles. yemen's president resigned after the prime minister and entire cabinet stepped down. still not clear who will take charge. the u.s. has reduced their personnel staff in the embassy because of all the concerns. here with us our chief national security correspondent jim sciutto, and researchers and cnn business correspondent richard quest who's joining us from davos, switzerland. jim, let me start with you. the resignations in yemen.

there were drone strikes against al qaeda terrorists in yemen. that's going to be much more difficult. >> this former government a very close ally public ally. president hadi would make public statements on the drone campaign which is difficult for a leader in the region to do. so the loss of that friendship, assuming he stays out of government that would be a loss. that said the drone operation can operate independently if the u.s. believes there's a danger there. but it will strike and it we receive that before when we've had less cooperative leaders in place there, but of course you want cooperation on the ground. president obama said it cited yemen as a success story. >> but that u.s. drone campaign relied heavily on cooperation from the yemeni government for intelligence, for information, on who was where. they had good assets in that part of the country.

>> yes, however there were some mistakes that were taken place, some intelligence that the government decided were not accurate. >> and the yus wound up killing innocent people? >> yes. it seems the information they got was not that reliable considering the government that just resigned didn't have influence all over yemen. >> so what happens next? what's going on? you're well plucked in over there. >> they handed over the parliament. the majority of this parliament belongs to the political party which is the people's general congress. however it doesn't seem that that's the case right now. the houthi rebel movement wants hadi in place. they don't want to accept his government's resignation and overall it seems it's going to take a period of three months to have new elections and see who the president will be.

>> for the team being the houthis are in charge. >> it seems like that. they're in charge on the ground but legally speaking the vice president should be in charge. president hadi did not have a vice president. so legally speaking the speaker of the parliament would be next in line but that doesn't seem to be the case. >> let's go to davos, switzerland, richard quest, our man on the scene. let's talk about saudi arabia the death of king abdullah richard. this is a major development obviously. you spoke, i understand with the secretary of state john kerry. what about the reaction over there at the world economic forum which you're covering? >> reporter: well john kerry was leaving after giving his speech and i managed to grab a sentence from him. i asked him if he saw any difference, anything changing in u.s./saudi arrangements and he said no not at all, not from the conversations i had, he didn't see any change. that seems to be the view of many people here because they knew that king abdullah had been ill and infirm for some time.

the brother had been running things for quite some time. the king has moved very quickly, wolf to put in some of his own people for example, as chief of staff, head of security. but crucially he has left the existing ministers in place. now, this is all very good but you know very well wolf what can happen in the first few days is people choose to test the vacuum that might exist, and that's why we saw a spike in oil prices just a small one, wolf but a spike in oil prices. the transition looked smooth but there's little doubt that it will be tested. >> the saudis clearly, jim, they're critical allies of the united states in a whole host of areas including oil for that matter but the president is now planning on going to pay his respects personally to saudi arabia, is that right? >> that's right. it's going to be the vice

president, vice president biden. he didn't go to funeral. typically the funeral happens in 24 hours, but it's a smaller funeral, just leaders in the region. but vice president biden will be going to pay his respects. >> the saudis hate the shiites. they didn't like the shiite uprising that took place. >> that's right. now it seems with the change we have to sit and see whether salman is going to be hard core or not. it doesn't seem that way but it's too soon to speak. >> thanks, guys very very much. a rare one on one. i sit down with the secretary of state roberta jacobson. she's in havana. she's leading the delegation right now. i asked her weather the obama

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after more than 50 years of animosity animosity, delegates from the united states and cuba have taken the first historic steps now to re-establish relations. it comes after last month's dramatic announcement by president obama and the cuban president raul castro that the countries would restore full diplomatic ties. in many parts of latin america there's still a long long way to go. just a little while ago, i spoke

with the u.s. assistant secretary of state for western hemispheric affairs. and joining us now, the assistant secretary of state roberta jacobson. roberta, thanks very much for joining us. i know you've about had a lot going on in havana these past few days but, kwukly i understand you had a chance to meet with some cuban dissidents earlier today. what did they have to say to you? what was their message? >> well i think, wolf their message overall was one of unity in being firm in their desire for democracy and human rights in cuba. and even where there may be a diversity of views on the u.s. policy they were unified in their belief that there needs to be change in cuba to empower them as political actors and to bring greater freedom to cuba. >> are they happy president obama made this historic decision to normalize relations with cuba?

>> well there was a diversity of views, as i said. some of them support the measures, some of them don't necessarily believe this is the best way to go. but overall it was a really positive conversation in that there's nothing like hearing from people themselves on the ground incredibly brave and valiant people who have struggled, many of them for years, been in and out of prison what their changes are and how we can work together in the future. >> these first round of talks, i understand they went well according to you. how much -- how much more time is necessary, do you believe, before there will be full diplomatic relations between the united states and cuba, u.s. embassy, and cuban embassy in washington and exchange of ambassadors? >> well, i think the talks went well in the sense that you had these first conversations, and most importantly, both sides

were able to put on the table what their needs were what their requirements were, and the full range of agenda, but it is going to take more conversations. we think it's critically important that the cuban people have free access without cuban officials taking down names of those who enter our embassy. we think it's critical that our personnel be allowed to travel more freely around cuba. the cuban government has things that they want to get resolved. so i would say that it will take some time for us to work this part of things out. i don't have an exact time frame. but, remember that opening embassies is part of opening it. but we'll move as quickly as we can and obviously both sides have to agree to the opening of embassies. >> but you're talking about months not years, right? >> oh certainly, certainly.

>> so in the next several months. when is the next round of negotiations the next round of talks? >> well we haven't fixed a date yet, but we would hope that they can occur in the next couple of weeks. we certainly would like to do so. i think there's a desire certainly on the part of the u.s. administration to have these conversations as quickly as possible. you certainly saw with the president's announcement and then the publication of the regulations by treasury and commerce within a month that we are moving quite quickly. that's a reflection of the commitment and the urgency that we feel and we hope the cuban government feels the same. >> have you invited the cuban diplomats to s tos to come to washington for the next round of talks? >> we have invited them to washington, but we still have to work on date. >> as you know there's a lot of opposition a bunch of republicans and some democrats as well don't like this normalization of relations with

the communist regime of castro in cuba. senator marco rubio has told me on a few occasions he'll block any funding or try to block any funding for an embassy in havana. he'll vote to reject, not to confirm or impose any u.s. ambassador to cuba. what do you say to these critics? >> well i think that we certainly urchs that there are criticisms. the president took actions that are fully in his power to take and the power of the executive branch and the executive branch's pursue and will continue to implement changes within the executive branch purview. there are obviously things that will need to be done in consultation with congress. we will continue to have those consultations. there are many members of congress who have been supportive of the change in policy. we will have conversations with both sides -- both sides of the

aisle, both chambers and with opponents and supporters but we will be able to move forward on diplomatic relations, for example, which are within the purview of the president. and then if there are things we need to move forward with such as the confirmation of an ambassador which obviously requires the advice and consent o of the senate we'll do so. that's all part of the process and we hope to convince them that our ends and our goals remain the same and that the past 50 years have proven to us that the previous policy did not work but that, frankly neither do we have any illusions about rapid change with this government in cuba. >> i also asked the assistant secretary of state roberta jacobson whether obama is ready to remove those responsible for terrorism. stand by. also we spoke about the new

russian spy ship that's now docked in havana. what is it doing there? she weighs in on that and a whole lot more. that's coming up. plus new information. awe poreful prosecutor is found dead just hours before he was to testify in a high-profile terror case. it sounds like a hollywood script. it's very real and it's playing out right now in argentina. e announcer ] you wouldn't ignore signs of damage in your home. are you sure you're not ignoring them in your body? even if you're treating your crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis an occasional flare may be a sign of damaging inflammation. and if you ignore the signs, the more debilitating your symptoms could become. learn more about the role damaging inflammation may be playing in your symptoms with the expert advice tool at crohnsandcolitis.com. and then speak with your gastroenterologist.

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all right. this just coming in to cnn. the secretary of state john kerry just announced he will be traveling to nigeria on sunday, one of the deadliest terrorist

groups boco haram operated in nigeria. they'll emphasize the importance of ensuring nonviolent elections. meanwhile as they try to restore full diplomatic relations with cuba many have asked if the secretary will travel to havana. i posed that question to the assistant secretary of state for western hemispheric affairs. your boss the secretary of state john kerry, he spoke about possibly visiting cuba himself. listen to what he said. >> when it is timely when it is appropriate, i look forward to traveling to cuba in order to formally open an embassy and begin to move forward. >> do you think that we're all months away from that? >> i think -- i think nobody says that better than my boss and he used the words "timely"

and "appropriate." he knows better than anybody that when you have to move forward on something that has to overcome 50 years of distrust and difficulty it's not easy and that it has to be something done by mutual consent. so neither of us has unrealistic expectations. we certainly don't anticipate that this will take years to get done, but it's very difficult to put a precise date on it because it depends not only upon us and how quickly we can get things done but also upon the cuban government which has not always moved swiftly in response to thinks that we would like to get done. so we've just had our first round of conversations, and i've learned over the years to predict how quickly things will go is sometimes not the best -- not the smartest move. >> as you know, the cubans they want the state department to

remove cuba from the lit of state-sponsored terrorist countries. are you ready to do so? >> what we are doing is what the president asked the secretary of state to do which is to review the designation of cuba on the state's state's state-sponsored terrorist list and review it with him in six months. we began that process immediately after the president's announcement and we will continue that process without prejudging outcome of it. we did hear from the cubans their request that they be removed from that list and we told them what i'm telling you, which is we've begun that process. we don't know exactly what the outcome will be, but we will do it as quickly as possible understanding that it is both important to them but more importantly has been requested by the president and by my boss

the secretary of state. one final question. this russian spy ship that docked in havana earlier this week what's going on here? >> well what i can tell you, wolf, is that you know i have no information on why that ship is here. it is certainly something that we have seen before in the past. the fact that cuba has a relationship with russia of longstanding is not exactly news but i don't know the particular reason that it's here right now, so i couldn't really comment on the particular timing of it or why they're here. but it is something that has occurred in the past. >> roberta jacobson is the assistant secretary of state for the western hemisphere. thanks very much for joining us. >> thank you, wolf. up next protesters take to the streets of yemen.

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who have already enrolled in the only medicare supplement insurance plans endorsed by aarp an organization serving the needs of people 50 and over for generations. remember, all medicare supplement insurance plans help cover what medicare doesn't pay. and could save you in out-of-pocket medical costs. call now to request your free decision guide. and learn more about the kinds of plans that will be here for you now -- and down the road. i have a lifetime of experience. so i know how important that is. welcome back to our viewers in the united states and around the world. i'm wolf blitzer reporting from washington. there is major uncertainty right now in yemen, and that has led the u.s. state department to begin reducing its embassy

personnel. staff has been reduced but not yet completely emptied. the move comes in the wake of yesterday's presidentyemeni president stepping down. they called for the president who quick yet to stay in power. adam baron is reporting from yemen. your sense, because you know a lot about yemen. u.s. embassy personnel, military personnel, there are supposedly a few hundred there. are they still in danger? >> i think it remains a volatile situation, wolf. the fact of the matter is it's very obvious the former president was a close ally of the united states and they were caught off guard by the resignation resignation, so there's a concern of anything could happen. there's anxiety regarding security concerns for the u.s.

embassy. >> an official from the yemeni embassy here in washington said there were thousands of duo yemeni-american citizens. right now i don't know if there's any contingency plans to get those citizens out of there. do you know their fate? >> i think when it comes to the duo, for the most part, the ones living in yemen, there's not a great degree of anxiety. obviously they're anxious about what's going on as yemenis but generally speaking they're very used to the situation hopping in and out of yemen and the u.s. very few of my friends seem to be basing their decision to go back based on the turmoil. obviously yemenis are concerned with what's going on but not as yemeni americans specifically. >> what do you think about the situation. the yemeni president seemed to have resigned. the houthis seem to be in

charge. walk us three what's been happen and what will be happening in the coming days and weeks? >> i think sunday will be the crucial day. they'll decide whether to accept the president's resignation. anything could happen after that at this point. if they reject the situation that means the president effectively despite his resignation becomes president again. there's a question of whether there would be early elections. there's a question of whether some sort of political power would create a transitional council and whether the south will break off and form its own country. we've seen meetings and protests today working toward the aim of the south regaining its independence. so when it comes down to it wolf anything can happen. it's one of the most uncertain periods in yemen's history i would say since the overthrowing of monarchy in 1962. >> some in washington have told me this is all good news for al qaeda and the arabian peninsula,

a kwu ap p a aqap, which is based there. would you agree with that assess assessment assessment? >> i would say it's not that far off. aqap feeds on one of two things. number one, they feed on certainty and a power volume and this recent political turmoil has exacerbated the power vacuum in yemen. number two, they feed off disgruntled groups of yemenis. there are many who are angry, especially those sympathetic to houthi islamists. they're doing their best to reek out to them. they're employed secretarytarian language. they're calling those destined to destroy yemenis. aqap is doing its best to provoke this in order to make gains off of the turmoil. >> a lot of the sunni countries in the region saudi arabia the emirates and a whole bunch of

others they're very worried with the success of the shiite houthis, this represents a bonanza potentially for iran. do you buy that? >> i think to a large extent this is much more of a political crisis than it is something that's rooted in sectarian issues. the reason the houthis have been able to do what they do is not because of their overwhelmingly identity. number two, they're a very small minority in yemen, 33% of the country. so the houthi gains have come due to their political agenda their ability to benefit on the disagreements of many yemenis. i think what's really making saudi arabia and the other golf countries nervous is the fact that they're a shiite group but the fact their rise has brought a great degree of uncertainty

and turmoil. while they have recently come into power saying they were going to bring stability, we have yet to see signs of it. indeed obviously with the resignation of the president, of the cabinet, with in fact the only political group in the country is the parliament that was elected in 2003 yemen is arguably at one of the most unstable points it has ever been, so that's something that obviously concerns the golf states. >> and the ramifications for the golf and the region, indeed the refd of the world given the houthis' presence there in yemen. add anam adambarron baron, thanks for joining us. we're going to have more on the fallout and the joint session of congress. at the corner of this dispute tweet netanyahu and obama, iran. stay with us. ♪ ac/dc: "back in black" ♪

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president obama has told benjamin netanyahu to stay out of the sanctions here. since the latest fallout over the invitation for the prime minister to address a joint session of congress on the issue of aryan, that invitation coming from the house speaker john boehner. let's talk about all of this with aaron david miller. middle east negotiator and now a discontinuetinguished scholar at the woodrow wilson here in washington. just one question. it's very very serious. >> it is. it is and it's ongoing, wolf since '09. it's an ongoing soap opera which has had different issues and different episodes but the dysfunction is real. it's driven by different personalities, different policies and it's reached a

level where you have a perfect storm. we're almost in the end game in the next several months over whether or not there will be a deal or not and you've got got the republican controlled senate to oppose the president's policies and demonstrate its own muse cue later when it comes to foreign policy and as if it's not enough you have israeli elections march 17th. so you've got this perfect storm that's resulted in mistrust, miscalculation and is capable of doing significant damage to the relationship. >> it's extraordinary, though for a foreign leader to come to washington to address congress and for the administration the president of the united states and the secretary of state, to learn about it when there's an official announcement from the house speaker, isn't it? >> without precedent, at least from my experience. again, it reflects the fact that speaker boehner and some republicans are determined to marshal every conceivable

resource and the prime minister is exhibit a. clearly in a democrat and republican congress, exhibit a is laying out the case why we have to distrust iran and why diplomacy may not succeed. so it's unprecedented. and, again, i think if netanyahu is re-elected or there's a national government and the president will serve out the next 18 months it will be another 18 months of a roller-coaster ride. hold on for a minute. our correspondent is in washington. i understand there's fierce criticism of the prime minister for in effect siding with the republicans in washington and abandoning what has traditionally been an israeli policy trying to make sure democrats and republicans support israel. the reaction that this could backfire for netanyahu. that's what some israeli

analysts are suggesting elise. >> very much so wolf. i've been talking to administration officials all day. a week before the "state of the union" president obama said to president netanyahu, listen butt out, i need some space here. i need to get this deal going with iran before the end of march. if we don't get a deal,'ll be the first one to line up with sanctions. instead prime minister netanyahu went the opposite and they went behind his back, plotted to come to washington and get this very critical speech going at a very critical time to boost his own political credibility in advance of elections. and here in israel they're crying afoul. right now the u.s. officials are so upset at the way the relations are going right now. obviously u.s. support and security remains in trouble. that could hurt prime minister netanyahu because he's going to

hear from congress. if it's any indicator of the last speech he made he's going to get this rousing applause but when you hear this criticism coming from the administration it doesn't look like he's the wonderful arbiter of the relationship. that's very important to the israeli public here wolf. >> it certainly is. you know, aaron, there's one way out of this mess for the israeli prime minister if he decided, you know what i'm not going to come to washington rngs after all, it's too close to the israeli elections. do you think he can back out of this? >> if he doesn't or he doesn't, the reality is the damage has already been done. you're right about this wolf and so is elise. two weeks before an israeli election to have an israeli prime minister talking with the white house doors shut and the state department doors shut israelis want prime ministers who can manage the most important relationship between the country and their closest country. this is the thing that brought

down a previous president in 1992. >> right. they want to have a strong relationship with their closest ally the united states of america, and if they believe this prime minister up for re-election is not able to do so they may not vote for him. >> it may have been too clever by half and these soerts of political maneuvers often are. >> you probably know this as well. i'm told within two weeks or so of an israeli election they can't televise campaign speeches and now a judge is going to decide if he comes to speak before a joint session of congress will they be allowed to show that speech on israeli television and that's a question a judge is going to decide in the coming days. >> the cruelest of ironies. a major campaign announcement which we addressed that wasn't broadcast to the electors. >> we'll see how they fix this problem. aaron david miller thanks so much. >> thank you. >> elise, thank you as well.

a prosecutor in a major terrorist case now found dead. first they say it was a suicide. now not so fast. the reason for a stunning reversal and a whole lot more. stay with us. ♪ ♪ you're only young once. unless you have a subaru. (announcer) the subaru xv crosstrek. symmetrical all-wheel drive plus 34 mpg. love. it's what makes a subaru a subaru.

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originally it looked like a suicide but now authorities say it may be a murder. the facts are laid out for us. >> reporter: argentine prosecute er prosecutor nisman laid out a case. just hours before he was set to testify before congress he was found dead inside his buenos aries home with a bullet wound to his temple. next to his body, a shell casing leading the president and investigators to label his death as a suicide. but now new details causing argentina's president to make an about-face writing on her facebook page the suicide that i'm convinced was not a suicide. investigators now revealing no gun powder residue was found on nisman's hands, indicating he may not have pulled the trigger himself. in a 289-page report citing wiretap phone conversations nisman alleges the president,

foreign minister and other argentine officials conspired to cover up iran's involvement in the country's deadliest terror attack the 1994 bombing of a juicish community center that killed 85 people all to help facilitate trade deals between the two nations. it's a charge argentina's government strenuously denies. this video shows the prosecutor arriving in the buenos aires airport meeting with an unidentified person. this week accusations spread among the argentinian jewish community. one member calling the prosecutor's death a blow to the investigation. but, he says they will not allow it to be the death of his cause. so far no arrests have been made in his death. >> so what's been the public reaction there to the president's about-face.

>> reporter: well wolf i'm standing here in front of the apartment building where nisman's body was found. we receive police going in and out. the investigation continues. but what we're hearing from e. so when you had the president initially coming out referring to it as a suicide and then just two daze later saying no she's convinced it wasn't this is really gotten people riled up people who were calling for justice and going out on the streets. they say this just shows how little faith you can have in our government for them to so blatantly change sides and because the evidence is now going against them. they say they really want to see this particular case carried out with transparency and quickly. remember the 1994 bombing, that investigation was not concluded. they are saying they hope this doesn't drag out another 20

years. >> thank you very much. it's not every day you see the president of the united states with a woman wearing green lipstick. his interview led to some unusual, some would say awkward moments. we will have the video for you. all that coming up. you only know in a fire to get out, to escape and now ok you are outside and you are safe but what do you do now and that's where the red cross came in... . we ran out of the house just wearing

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this just coming in right now. the nfl is now making its first public comments on allegations of cheating against the new england patriots. the team has come under a lot of fire when it was found that the footballs they used in sunday's win against the colts, those footballs were under inflated. here is part of the nfl's official statement that just came out. 't involved. they don't know anything about the deflated footballs. we will continue to watch this story for you throughout the day and the coming days as well. other news we are following

on a very different note. they weren't your usual interviews with the president of the united states. president obama taking questions from three youtube stars. they posted for selfies with the president afterwards. there he is. one of the more awkward moments came during the interview with glozell. she asked him about relations with cuba in her own candid way. >> the guy puts [ bleep ] in dictatorship. i'm trying to understand how do you justify dealing with them? >> here is what's happening. we have had the same policy since i was born which was we were going to have an embargo. we were going to cut off all contact, all communication. and nothing changed. >> let's discuss what's going on with our chief political analyst and the host of cnn's "reliable

sources." gloria you have been speaking to folks over there. why did the president use this shall we say unusual format for the post-state of the union interview? >> i was talking to senior administration officials asking about the new paradigm which it seems to me. what's the rational for it? and what he said is that we're going to go where the conversations are happening and engaging with those communities, in this case youtube. he said it's not instead of mainstream media, such as you and me but rather in addition to. i think the problem with that of course is that sometimes the president, as you just saw wound up in a tricky situation there, which i thought he handled pretty well. but the question is whether it diminishes him in some way to be in that situation. the white house clearly believes it doesn't. >> they have a lot of followers,

brian, on youtube, these three youtube stars. white house officials have said we want to reach that audience who may not necessarily be reachable via traditional broadcast or cable news. >> that's exactly right. youtube is a way to reach young people teenagers and 20 somethings that don't tend to watch as much information. bethany has 8 million followers on youtube. that's something few news organizations can say. the white house has an all of the above strategy for press. next week the president will give a pre-super bowl interview as he always does because he wants to reach that audience. but he wants to reach the audience on youtube. i have a feeling they will continue this strategy. >> i do too. don't forget that during the healthcare debate that they were trying to get people to log on

to the website. the president went on and what they discoverrded was there was a 40% increase in traffic on atthe affordable care act website the next day. i think they're trying to use that as a model in the future. there's a down side to it because you could put the president in an awkward situation, as we saw. the up side is you are really broadening his appeal. >> any additional numbers, how many people were watching that youtube interview with the president? >> you know it doesn't compare to television ratings. over time it could. that's the thing about youtube is that it's on demand. people might watch this a week or month from now and it might have the impact that when you have a television interview is it's big and then go away quickly. on demand on youtube, it could have a long life. >> we will see. brian

brian, live 11:00 a.m. eastern for all of our viewers. thanks very much. that's it for me. i will be back 5:00 p.m. eastern in "the situation room." "newsroom" with brooke baldwin starts right now. here we go top of the hour. i'm brooke baldwin. we have breaking news from the nfl now specifically responding to the so-called deflate-gate involving the new england patriots and questions as to whether or not they cheated. we have heard from the coach and the quarterback, both of whom saying they have no idea what happened. the heart of this the 11 of the 12 balls -- each team brings its own balls. they are inspected. they were played. here is what we have from the nfl now official. they are saying this. they said they have conducted over the