hello. welcome. the united states and around the world, coming up this hour into the two hostages that must wait. the attack on kirkuk. we have more on that story. plus does a new king mean a new outpost for the heavy weight saudi arabia or break it down with the -- this is finally the closest you can get to harry potter's magical world in real life.

analysts say it may be a push to take over the city's vast oil reserves or it could be part of the diversionary tactic. fred plankin explains. >> these are the sounds residents of kirkuk woke up to this morning. heavy gunfire around this former hotel. that's now used as a base by police. the police says militants raided the building and put snipers on the roof while kurdish fighters surrounded it and fired back. then kurdish special forces moved in and retook the building. the mill tantsz detonated a car bomb this general says. then about three terrorists who stormed into the hotel started firing at our troops. after a period of time our forces were able to kill two militants and wound another. the military operation ended. the situation is now stable.

in the morning hours the extremists invooid have aeded an area southwest of stet. this video from a kurdish news agency shows the battle that killed five peshmirga fighters. >> a well known general is seen here speaking to our senior correspondent arwa damon last year. he was also among those killed today. isis released these photos showing areas he lamz to have captured from the kurds. cnn cannot independently var fire their authenticity. kirkuk is a major oil-producing region in iraq. there's a long-standing dispute between the kuds and the central government for control of the area and its natural resources. the isis assault comes as the militants are increasingly under pressure. after sweeping much of western iraq last year beating back the iraqi army and attacking kurdish areas, the kurds have recently won back a significant amount of

territory helped by coalition air strikes. charlie winter a counterterrorism think tank believes today's attack may have been an attempt by isis to prevent the kurds from launching an assault on their stronghold mosul, iraq's second largest city. >> there was a hands this could be -- today's attack on kirkuk is something to draw peshmirga away. >> while isis may be retreating on some fronts the attacks on kirkuk show the terror group still has a lot of firepower and is still capable of launching large attacks on forces allied with the west. fred plankin, cnn, london. well meanwhile, there's still no word on the fate of a japanese journalist and jordanian pilot being held we isis. the terror group has threatened to kill the pilot. that deadline has come and gone.

good to see you. jordanian officials say they were willing to swap the terrorist if there was a proof of life. any sign of that so far? >> it's been 24 hours since the passing of the deadline. this is a very strong concern. they're about the safety of these two men. the japanese journalist and the jordanian air force pilot. there is now real concern. i suspect a follow-through on the threat to kill those two men as it said it would do. what it wanted was jordanian authorities to release the bomber by some said on thursday. that was the demand as you say. jordanian authorities expressed their willingness to do so and first they wanted proof, evidence that the jordan yan pilot was safe that he was

alive. evidence of his physical well being. they say they can get there and so despite their willingness, he is simply unable to proceed. since then from isis publicly at least, there has only been an ominous silence. no more on-line messages no videos monthing to indicate whether or not they have indeed followed through with their threat to have killed those two men immediately. that was the word they used at the time. beyond their deadline. very real concern. very real anxiety. there the pilot's family are warning all the jordan yan people will be turned against isis in the event that isis has carried through with its threat and, of course a lot of anxiety in japan as well.

ling to be successfully part of an attack in 2005 to kill more than 60 people in the jordanian capital. what is the game here that isis is trying to play? certainly there's a feeling among some analysts that they are trying to raise their level and trying to negotiate as not just an organization but almost as an equal, a state, if you like but, of course from the west from many countries, they do not view isis this way. they are merely a terrorist organization. had he say public pressure decided they are willing to hand over this captive, but it's not ready to depart from a standard negotiating procedure when dealing with hostage negotiations. proof of life it is a standard process to follow. isis hasn't come through with that requirement, and so at the

moment at the best it is perhaps deadlocked. at worst these negotiations have collapsed, and, again, in the very worst case scenario these two hostages may have already been killed. now almost ten minutes past. now, new talks aimed at brokering a cease-fire between ukraine and pro russian separatists was supposed to be happening in bella reduce. there are now conflicting reports on whether they've been delayed. that news comes as the number of dead continues to rise. the fighting killed at least 67 people not involving the wlikt over a four-day period starting january 26. then on friday separatists say shelling killed 12 in the city of donetsk. one woman who found her husband dead in the street says she's ready to take up the fight and get vengeance.

nick payton walsh. we have to warn you the images are you about to see may be disturbing. >> one hit here meters away from dozens cueing for a food hand-out. fall under sheets. families destroyed in the blink of an eye. one man simply at the wheel of his car. ne number to enlist. i'll call. i'll go. i'll fight. i don't have any reason to live.

wropt to live. i want vengeance for my own. sergei used to joke if something awful happened to him here. he wanted to be blown apart, and i used to say that if something happened to him, i would go and fight for him. >> it's shocking scenes of random civilian deaths like this which many local residents will surely blame upon the ukrainian army that increasingly sar fiz the population here and make the swrob of those in minsk trying to negotiate a settlement increasingly frought. those peace talks barely got underway given this back drop. two more dead seen at the nearby train stop. that morning donetsk has been dealing with the injured from the last big strike. julia is 22. after a shell hit a bus stop last week had he has neither a right hand or left leg.

don't give up she says. write every day. i'll be with you all the way. well my left hand. he replies. you'll learn very fast. more an they sayic. her grandmother only here. her mother dead. the journey alone. such unknown ahead for a police office manager who now can't walk or type in russia alone. >> we're on the blockade he says. we will buy russian food if we don't have enough money, we'll

print our own. so many motivations swirling around here. russia is helping her, but also battling the separatists who seized this city. so many who didn't want this war. all the same ruined by it. nick peyton walsh, cnn, dontsk. >> we want to turn your attention now to west africa where 123 boca haram militants are dead after a battle with the army in northern cameroon. the army convoy was attacked along the border with chad. three soldiers from chad also died in the fighting. in another example of chad's recent success to expel the terror group from the region on thursday chadian troops fought out boko haram fighters that they've held since last year.

the man south africans nicknamed prime evil will soon be a free man. a justice minister has granted parole. he was one of apartheid's most infamous assassins, leaving a death squad to kidnap torture, and murder black activists in the 1980s and 1990s. in the mid 1980s he headed up the notorious c-10 counter insurgency unit. in reality death squads that murdered anti-apartheid operatives west of pretoria. >> nearly 20 years later the man known by south africans as prime evil is out of jail. >> in the interest of nation building and reconciliation i have decided to place him on parole. >> paroled in part for his

apparent remorse. some whose family members he killed and have publicly forgiven him. in part too, for the help he is providing to south africa's missing persons task force. >> certainly for the families for whom we are able to recover remains, it is a profound step forward. they've been stuck in a particular place for 20 or 30 years and they're little to know any information, unable to perform rituals of closure or burial. i think particularly for those families the ability to bury or the ability to know what happened is a step forward. >> it was an undergrouped operative that was able to escape. >> i knew that after they squeezed the information they want from me i'm going to be killed. yet, now you're happy that you're out. you met him? >> yes, i met him, and i bought

him some clothes. two shares. he was certainly -- >> why? >> i don't know how can i say, but as humanity. >> both names that were associated with some of the darkest atrocities of the apartheid era, but they were other perpetrators and he has always said that he was just following orders. that there were others at the top of the chain who have never served time for the crimes committed in apartheid's name. cnn, south africa. well south african journalist exposed existence of the death squad. he says the cops release a significant decade of apartheid. take a listen. >> all the politicians and all the generals cut away some of the food soldiers got to amnesty from the truth commission, and he is a guy that sits in jail and he spills the beans.

he pointed the fingers at president p g.w. bush and all the swrens and said i acted on your behalf. he looked at white people and said i was your hero. i did it on your behalf. >> well the day that kock is released, it will not be made public. >> the second day of a former nfl player's murder trial. we'll take you through it just ahead.

now, the number of measle infections in the state of california dropped dramatically over the last week. there are now 91 confirmed cases in california 54% increase from nine days ago. more than half of those cases are linked to an outbreak at a disneyland amusement park. mexico and at least seven other u.s. states have also reported measles cases. now, it was an emotional day with the family of a man who prosecutors say was shot and killed by a former nfl player. jurors were shown grisly crime scene photos from aaron hernandez. the judge issued a warning to the jury before they left for the weekend. >> aaron hernandez's defense team comes out swinging in opening statements this week asking why? why would such a promise, outstanding young athlete killed

his buddy, odon lloyd. >> why would you kill his friend? aaron had the world at his feet. aaron hernandez was planning his future. not a murder. >> yet, testimony from odom lloyd's -- appears to question how close hernandez and lloyd really were. jenkins told the jury lloyd only knew hernandez about a year. the beginning stages of a friendship. they smoked marijuana together. that lloyd sometimes made joints for the football player. as seen in this photo, cnn first showed it in its special report downward spiral. >> he showed me a picture of a bunch of them rolled up and stacked on his phone. >> and when was that in relation to his death?

>> right before steam. >> for the second time in as many days emotion in the courtroom. jenkins wiping away tears and lloyd's mother leaves crying but photos of lloyd's body with gunshots are shown. and on this super bowl weekend a reprieve for the jury. the judge telling them to enjoy watching the super bowl but warning them to steer clear of any possible mention of aaron hernandez. by the way, he won't be able to watch his former teammates play in the big game because the jail where he is staying bans television for high security inmates. >> that is our suzy candiotti reporting. in southern california former rap music mogul suge knight will be in court after hitting a man with his pickup truck and killing him. knight casually smoked a cigar just before surrendering to police in los angeles.

witnesses tell authorities some sort of altercation ended with knight backing over two people and then going forward and hitting them again as he drove off. one man died and the other is in hospital. knight's lawyer claims knight was being attacked and that he was trying to get away from the situation. a gas truck driver and two assistants are being detained in connection with a deadly gas sploex explosion that levelled am a -- two are being currently fleeted hospital. cnn correspondent rosa flores spoke with a police officer and survivor who is trapped beneath the rubble. >> it's been morning 24 hours that sent shock waves through this mexico city neighborhood. you can see behind me those still working, sift throughing the rubble, and this hospital what it was. it's been a pile of debris that first responders have been going

through. i talked to one of those first responders a police officer, and this picture became very popular on social media because he has an infant in his arms and he is running away from the scene, and here he says he is no here wroe. he is very humble about what he says that he did. he said that he did just anything and everything that any other human would have done. now, here's what we know from horts. mexico city mayor telling cnn what happened here. he says that there was a delivery truck that was refilling a butane tank at this hospital. now we know that three people are dead including two infants and a woman. at least 70 others are also hurt lug at least 20 infants. now, as for the three operators of this delivery truck, all three were injured. all three have been arrested and as for the company that they

work for, that company did release a statement saying they are cooperating with authorities. rosa flores cnn, mexico city. well just ahead, the story behind this breathtaking video of a man making history on one of north america's most famous waterfalls. we have the story just ahead.

we want to show you

incredible video out of the state of new york. take a look at this. this is ice climber will gann make being history. numerous daredevils have tried to ride down niagara falls. he is the first person to climb up them with a wall of water rushing down next to him. the canadian climber used only ice hooks to scale the frozen cliffs at terrapin point and nearly 45 meter section. he didn't take one of the frozen walk just once but three times taking about an hour each trip. just imagine they had to insure not only fatigue and ice where i cold weather, but he also had to avoid 50,000 tons of water flowing over the crest, as you can see. pretty impressive there. now another snowstorm is forming across the united states. the world weather center. daria, how bad is this one? >> well we're actually saying good-bye to one storm that's just moving off the new england coast, but another one is developing across the southwestern portions of the

united states that you can just start to see enter into the side portions of your tv monitor. we'll talk about that in just one moment. first thing is first. storm that's impacting into just about the boston region we have winter storm warnings that affect where you see that shagged of pink. lots of snow as you know from the recent blizzard across this region and you add in the stronger winds across the region we're going to see blowing and reduced visibilities as well. with the wind we have temperatures well below freezing. this is actually what it feels like outside in new york city at this present time. 17 below. that's celsius. more of the same for portland maine. boston 21 degrees below freezing and look at these minimum temperatures going forward over the next four days. needless to say, old man winter is here to stay. right through the weekend and the early parts of next week. just want to take note that a new snow band has just formed over the eastern sections of

massachusetts, including boston. could be travel delays coming out of that region. double-check your flight. we do have quite a bit of wet weather in the arizona region at the moment but that should clear out just in time for the big game. 3:30 in the afternoon local time. temperatures will top 21 degrees. it's actually this moisture that's going to be responsible for our snowstorm that we alluded to earlier in the weather bulletin. here it is taking shape. cold air from canada thanks to a cold front, and then all that moisture changing over from liquid riptation into the frozen variety, creating a swath of snow from dmr, iowa through chicago, into portions of detroit, cleveland, and then perhaps into pittsburgh. the exact path of this still uncertain.

still as the computers come together we'll have a better understanding of how much snow exactly will fall across the east coast of the u.s. back to you. >> thanks very much derek. thanks for that. now, you are watching cnn. the iraqi woman on death row in jordan that center of the latest isis hostage controversy. her name is hashida, and up next what makes her so important to the terror group. it's the scandal that was in u.s. first lady michelle obama visiting saudi arabia without wearing a head scarf. up next why many say a cultural shift in this country has already happened. both of their stories just ahead right here on cnn.

welcome back. an update of the top stories we're following for you this hour. a top kurdish military command is dead after heavy fighting with forces in and around this iraqi city of kirkuk. the e-mail tants also attacked police head waters there on friday. kirkuk is known for its vast oil reserves. the kurds took the city from the iraqi government last june. the uncle of a jordan yan pilot captured by isis they'll face the anger of all of jordan if they kill him. wills still no word on the fate of the swrap knees hostage. isis demanding jordan release a female terrorist. one of south africa's most notorious apartheid killers will be out of prison soon. a justice minister grants parole to the death squad commander saying his release is in the interest of national

reconciliation. he spent nearly 20 years in prison. he was sentenced to two life terms, plus 212 years. want to bring you now the top story. the new isis in the norp iraqi. kirkuk is one of the only few cities in north that hasn't fallen to isis. the kurds controlled their last june after the iraqi army fled during an isis attack. chief u.s. security jim has more. >> reporter: a new front in the war against isis. isis militants launching a coordinated surprise attack on the oil-rich iraqi city of kirkuk. a hail of gunfire as kurdish forces fight back against isis fighters holed up in this abandoned hotel in the center of town. here kurdish fighters raid the building to retake control. >> it's no surprise to us that

they contain or can demonstrate the ability to continue to wreak violence. >> reporter: on the other side of town isis advanced. among the dead there kurdish commander brigadier general fata shown here in an interview with arwa damon last summer. he was the highest commander in kirkuk. representative on the house intelligence committee sees isis desperate to demonstrate its strength. >> they've lost ground in the kurdish areas. they've lost ground to iraqi special forces. they had the symbolic loss in kobani. at the same time they're very lethal but they are worried i think about pressure being put on missoul, and supply lines being cut off to missoul. >> iraqi forces are now planning a major assault to retake mosul possibly as early as the spring.

tonight the fight of isis hostages the joord action newsian pilots and japanese journalist kenji goto remains in limbo. nearly 24 hours after the terror groups latest deadline passed still no proof of life for other ones. the only update japan's government spokesperson can offer today was there is nothing i can tell you. >> that was jim reporting there. well ice es's demand that jordan -- release female --

>> that has generally captured the imagine yags. >> the terror group wants jordan to release her for this japanese hostage. they want their pilot back who is recently captured by isis. a middle east official tells cnn isis is engaging in psychological warfare and it all swirls around this woman who until this moment had been largely forgotten for nine years languishing in a jordanian prison. november 2005. sa somewhere ita and her husband are part of a band of suicide bombers that attack three hotels in amman, jordan. by all accounts he had little or no romantic connection to her husband. they married just days before to make it ease wrer for them to get into jordan from iraq and sneak into a wedding celebration in amman. in a televised confession she

described the mission. >> she took another one. there was a wedding in the hotel. there were women and children. my husband executed. i failed. >> al rashawi ran from the scene and was later captured. her husband and their cohorts killed nearly 60 people in three locations. sajita have reportedly been moesh ated clearly by revenge. >> we do know that one of her he wouldest brothers was very close to an al qaeda commander and was given charge of some part of the region and that her first husband was also a part of al qaeda and two other brothers were killed, all killed by americans in operations in iraq. >> one of her brothers who was killed was a top lieutenant to the murderous leader of al qaeda in iraq which morphed into isis. that will brother might have been of the same rank and been close to the current leader of isis. with its deep and personal

connection to sajita what would ice esdo with her if she's brought back into the fold? >> she's probably not a great jihady operative. don't they need her as a leader. there's no evidence that she has leadership qualities. what she is a propaganda piece. she is someone you put in front of the camera and she says the right things, and she praises isis for even nine years later never forgetting about her. >> matthew says she has unwittingly given isis something it really never had, something it's desperately craved. equal footing in negotiation with a top u.s. ally. she gives isis at least the appearance of some legitimacy as a state even if only temporarily. brian todd cnn, washington. now, the paris gunman that killed four hostages apparently reported his deadly attack on a digital video camera. sources close to the investigation tell french media that he reported seven minutes of video during his standoff with police.

the video reportedly includes footage of three of four victims being murdered. sources also say he sent out images of the attack before police killed him. that's raising concerns that footage might surface on-line in the future. after saudi authorities accused him of adopting liberal thought and assaulting islam from his -- his injuries from the first 50 lashes wrerl this month was severe enough for doctors to postpone the next round. many in saudi arabia wonder if the ushering in of a new regime following the death of king abdullah will help stop change in the middle east heavy weight. as cnn nick robertson explains he sees a change already. >> what should you think about saudi arabia? well i tell you what i think since i came back. it's been six years since i was in rehab. when i left there were two

towers driving from the airport. we passed about ten new towers. this is a city that's changing. militia obama came with president obama the other day. she came without wearing a scarf, without wearing -- ten years ago people tell me that would have been a scandal. she shook hands with the new king with king sal ma an. this was unheard of a few years ago. what has made this change? what else has changed? king abdullah did make changes while he was here. they might be subtle and not significant it seems from the outside. he put more than 100,000 young saudis into education overseas. he paid for them to go study at universities overseas knowing full well that when they came back they would bring back some of the outside values and this is where an inside society brings about change. when you talk to women, there's

much more than are they allowed to drive. it's about their participation into society on an equal basis to men. there's been a greater dialogue under king abdullah allowing that to happen. okay. he didn't see it all through. this is a slow gradual progression. the hangs of the arab spring that happened in the region around here woke wrung people up in saudi arabia to the strength of social media to what the internet can do. saudi arabia is no longer an island. the new king inherits all of this. while he doesn't want to see his country become unstable and his people don't want to see the country become unstable like yemen to the south. he is still got to manage all these expectations. where he it hasn't progressed at the pace we might expect but by its own terms in the relative measure, it's progressed hugely. people here feel that hang

really for saudi arabia can't really be stopped. could it happen faster? what is the royal family holding on to? like any people in power, no one wants to really give that up but do they seem to recognize that change is coming and happening? king abdullah did. he was working towards it and all those people educated all the wrung people educated overseas those are the seeds that he has planted for future change. they will come back. they will have seen a different possibility for a different future. they will work for that. they're meeting there today. they're in the background now. the talks of them today, and they know that their future is coming.

>> there was the third announced. they would not be happening. >> i have been asked and will certainly be asked again if there are any circumstances whatsoever that might develop that could change my mind. >> the 2012 republican nominees say while he is sure he would have made a competitive bid, he might not be the candidate that makes the most sense in the general election. the u.s. state of ohio is delaying executions of seven death row inmates this year. the state is looking for an adequate supply of drugs to use in this new lethal injection protocol. that's after a combination of drugs used last january that caused one inmate to suffer for ten minutes before he died. this is according to witnesses. many u.s. states have been forced for find new drugs after european manufacturers band the use of drugs in executions.

up next where the country's first catholic church was built and why it's so important to that community. plus what to watch if you are one of the people not planning on watching the nfl super bowl this weekend. both those stories right here just ahead on cnn.

welcome back to cnn. it's the first time since the revolution cuban catholics are getting a new church. the island has been officially 8

wrist since fidel castro took power. patrick takes a look at the seen of changing times. >> reporter: father castro holds mass in a converted garage. there are no walls, just a tin roof. he doesn't always have enough chairs, but this is the closest thing. the isolated cuban town of sandino has ever had to a catholic church. after the service castro takes me to the site of a new catholic church. the first to be built in cuba in over 56 years. not since the cuban revolution seized control of the island. i hope the church doesn't stay within these four walls. they will go farther than that. then with the building of the new church there will be more people of faith. right now the building's cornerstone sits in an empty

field, but when the church is completed in 2017 father castro tells me it will hold 200 people. the new church represents a mending of realses between the catholic church and cuban government which in the first years of the revolution seized church property and expelled thousands of priests from the country. for the residents of sandino, the church has added significance. it's an isolated town deep in the cuban country side. here's where nearly 1960s many people consider to be enemies of fidel cast rose's revolution and were sent by the government -- for them life in sandino was nothing short of a punishment. david martinez's family were among the hundreds perhaps thousands of people when the early 19 0s were considered to be opponents of the cuban government and moved to sandino. they brought us here she says. it was a process to make the

community for those who were called political prisoners. had he took away our farm and made us come here. church officials say the new building is not about rigt old wrongs but at long last meeting the needs of the parishioners. >> it has to be built, he says. it can be the first, the second the third. it doesn't matter to me. the important thing is people build what they need where they need it. but here and elsewhere in cuba as old rules and restrictions fall, there's a sense that slowly hope is returning. patrick, cnn. now a transgendered man is making a surprising claim. he said he had a personal meeting with pope francis after making an appeal for acceptance. has pope francis taken another step to push for tolerance in the catholic church?

yes, says diego, a transgender man who says he had a private audience with the pope in late january. he was born as a girl in spain and raised as a devout catholic. but after his sex change operation eight years ago many people scorned him in church here in his hometown and he stayed away from mass. i've never lost faith ever he says but the other thing is the rejection. seeking answers he wrote to the pope last year and says his local bishop helped get the letter noticed. next according to him, came two phone calls from pope francis and a discreet audience on a saturday evening at the papal residence, cassia st. marta. vatican spokesman decline to confirm or deny the meeting insisting the pope's private agenda is private. this man loves the whole world,

he says. i think there's not in his head in his way of thinking discrimination against anyone. i'm speaking about him, not the institution. but church doctrine says s. change procedures do not change a person's gender in the eyes of the church or in church birth records. diego naria, a civil servant, says he is not ab activist for transgender people and doesn't expect changes overnight. but if this pope has a long life which all of his followers hope he says i think things will change. and he has already seen a hang at home. just the fact that you have met the hole where i father he says without knowing what was said people now seem to look at you in a different way. c cnn, spain. a school that looks an awful lot like a famous magical campus. we'll take you there after a short break.

[ male announcer ] meet jill. she thought she'd feel better after seeing her doctor. and she might have if not for kari, the identity thief who stole jill's social security number to open credit cards destroying jill's credit and her dream of retirement. every year, millions of americans just like you learn that a little personal information in the wrong hands could wreak havoc on your life. this is identity theft. and no one helps stop it better than lifelock. lifelock offers the most comprehensive identity theft protection available. if jill had lifelock's protection, she may have been notified before it was too late. lifelock's credit notification service

is on the job 24/7. as soon as they detect a threat to your identity within their network they will alert you by text, e-mail, or phone helping protect you before the damage is done. and lifelock offers the proactive protection of bank account takeover alerts. lifelock's comprehensive identity theft protection helps guard your social security number, your money, your credit, even the equity in your home. it doesn't matter how old you are or how much money you have. identity thieves steal from everyone. you have to protect yourself. i protect myself with lifelock. [ male announcer ] while identity theft can't be completely stopped, no one helps protect you better than lifelock. and lifelock stands behind their protection with the power of their $1 million service guarantee. you have so much to protect and nothing to lose when you call lifelock right now and try 60 days of identity theft protection risk free. 60 days risk free. use promo code: onguard. order now and get this document shredder

to keep sensitive documents out of the wrong hands. a $29 value free. call the number on your screen or go to lifelock.com/onguard to try 60 days of lifelock identity theft protection risk free and get a document shredder free. call the number on your screen right now. welcome back. the last year's game was seen by more than 11 million people in the u.s. alone making it the most watched tv program in u.s. history. millions more will tune in on sunday when defending champion seattle seahawks take on the new england patriots. the game will be broadcast in 230 countries and territories worldwide, but if watching the new england patriots take on the defending champion defending seahawks isn't your cup of tea,

our senior producer lease wra france have some ideas for other things you can watch instead, like us. >> _#let's go. >> first i have to start off by saying yes, i'm wearing my ravens hat. that's my hometown team. they are not playing in the super bowl. because of it and i guess because of some of the issues that the nfl has had lately i'm a little deflated about this year's super bowl so i'm going to tell you some of the things that you can do instead of watching the super bowl. let's start off with my all-time favorite one. >> for more than a decade the world has watched, and it's almost here. >> animal planet has the puppy bowl. it's not on the same time as the super bowl but, you can always dvr it and watch it in place of the super bowl. who doesn't love adorable puppies running around? super, super cute.

there was a fishbowl one. it's literally two fish in a bowl. they take them out to the pond and you can sit and watch the fishbowl. last year people thought this was a joke. they were like are they seriously just going to have us watch a fishbowl for four hours, but people watched the fishbowl for four hours. if you can watch a yul log at christmas, why can't you watch a fishbowl during the super bowl? i think it's genius. you can also get ready for the grammys happening on february 8th. you can listen to some music if you're not into the sports thing this year. the grammys are supposed to have killer collaborations. lady gaga and tony bennett, rihanna with kanye west and paul mccartney. you might want to catch up before the fwramies also can always of course binge watch. house of cards is returning to netflix on season three. you may want to go binge watch instead of watching the super bowl just to get yourself ready. >> you want to know what takes real courage? holding it all together. >> you can also go and catch up on all the academy award

nominated best films. >> is this for real or are you shooting a film? >> a film. >> you people are full of [ bleep ]. >> awards coming out february 22nd. there are eight films nominated for best picture, so you can go to the theater and check those out if you don't want to sit around and watch the patriots versus the seahawks. i'm not super sad about the super bowl this we're. i'm lying. i'm so sad that my ravens aren't playing. i'm boycotting the super bowl except for the commercials and, of course the halftime performance. i have to watch those. >> lisa france there. you can binge watch or watch us instead. now you won't find harry potter dumbbelldore around even though it looks like they belong there. the campus of the fine arts looks a lot like hoggwarts from the "harry potter" series with its four castle-like buildings. it's just -- that's it for us for this hour. thanks for joining us. another hour of the world's top

stories after a short break. do stay right here with cnn. when it comes to medicare, everyone talks about what happens when you turn sixty-five. but, really, it's what you do before that counts. see, medicare doesn't cover everything. only about eighty percent of part b medical costs. the rest is on you. [ male announcer ] consider an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company. like all standardized medicare supplement insurance plans it could really save you in out-of-pocket medical costs. so, call now and request this free decision guide. discover how an aarp medicare supplement plan could go long™ for you. do you want to choose your doctors? avoid networks? what about referrals? [ male announcer ] all plans like these let you visit any doctor or hospital that accepts medicare patients,

with no networks and virtually no referrals needed. so, call now request your free guide, and explore the range of aarp medicare supplement plans. sixty-five may get all the attention, but now is a good time to start thinking about how you want things to be. [ male announcer ] go long™.

what's that thing? i moved our old security system out here to see if it could monitor the front yard. why don't you switch to xfinity home? i get live video monitoring and 24/7 professional monitoring that i can arm and disarm from anywhere. hear ye! the awkward teenage one has arrived!!!! don't be old fashioned. xfinity customers add xfinity home for $29.95 a month for 12 months. plus for a limited time, get a free security camera call 1800 xfinity or visit comcast.com/xfinityhome. while the world awaits the fate of hostages being held by isis the terror group launches a surprise assault on the iraqi city of