isis captures an iraqi town drawing american troops closer to the conflict. u.s. warplanes circling overhead. a live report is straight ahead. >> a cease-fire in ukraine is due to start in a matter of hours but continued fighting threatens to derail the deal. and athey've got the snow ready to go, but nothing can stop the blizzard that's coming for boston. good morning, good afternoon and good evening to our viewers in the united states and around the world. i'm george howell. this is cnn. and we start the show this hour in iraq where isis has pushed into anbar province and taken over a town there also putting a strategic air base with u.s. troops on alert.

early friday, coalition warplane warplanes buzzed over the western iraqi town of al baghdadi. forces seized control of that city. and a few hours away u.s. apache helicopters had to be deployed after a batch of isis fighters. after the dust settled, 25 iraqi militants were killed by ground forces. while u.s. military said u.s. forces were not directly affected by the attack the u.s. pentagon said quote, no question they were in danger. let's go live to phil black live on the ground. what are you seeing on the ground? >> reporter: george here in northern iraqi, it's a different situation than what has unfolded a few hours ago. the kurdish peshmerga is very

much more in control, successfully contains pushing back isis although it still does contain and control major cities. whereas in the rest of the country as we've seen isis still has the ability to move forward. it controls a wide part of anbar province. some 70%. and most recently has taken control of that town you mentioned al baghdadi. we understand american forces to retake that town have not proceeded beyond the perimeter of it. ice u.s. still controls the center. they say themselves they're taking over the police station in the center of the town freeing all the prisoners who are held inside. so far, there has no further assault on that nearby air base al asad air base. not since 25 militants approached that facility wearing iraqi uniforms we're told eight of their number were suicide bombers, but they were all stopped. they were killed they did not

breach beyond the outer perimeter. but the expectation is there will be more attacks which does seem likely if isis is able to hold on to that foothold in al bag didadhdadi itself. >> and phil there is concern with isis militants so close to that air base. are you hearing they are concerned about zwlis. >> reporter: the pentagon itself said they do expect more attacks, it is a facility that has come under attack not substantially so. it's a big sprawling air base city-like in size. they've come under rocket fire in the past but the pentagon describes that as being ineffectual. this is the most substantial attempt to breach that facility. they do expect more attacks in the future. george. >> cnn's phil black joining us

live in iraq. phil we appreciate your help there. and less than 13 hours from the expected start of a cease-fire between government forces and pro-russian separatists. our own cnn cruise in donetsk reports and the crew is expects more gunfire. and telling us it's been significant throughout the morning. cnn senior correspondent matthew chance has more from moscow and has the latest on why this round of violence could lead to more sanctions against russia. >> reporter: well as the deadline for cease-fire approaches there is concern that the latest truce may be under effect before it's begun. the ukrainian president petro poroshenko is warning a deal to end the fighting in the eastern part is now in danger. it reports heavy fighting.

and it's continued around the strategic town the government-held territory between rebel areas. there are also reports of a government offensive near the port city between rebel areas and the southern crimea peninsula which was, of course annexed by russia last march. well as the violence continues the united states has expressed concerns of reports of heavy wednesday crossing from russia into ukraine. russia denies support of troops. european leaders have warned the kremlin that it could face additional sanctions if the negotiation in minsk earlier this month is not respected. and a mother in eastern ukraine is asking what cease-fire? she says after the peace deal was reached, shelling continued and killed her three young children while they took a bath.

senior international correspondent nick paton walsh went to the family as home and shares their story. >> reporter: it was here thursday night when the family got their first running water for a week. and she made the kids a bath. 2 1/2-year-old and age 14 and 7, their godmother explains. then the first shell hit. direct here. on the bath itself. allel three were killed. but their parents were both in the front bedroom whose windows didn't even shatter. this civilian area is still being shelled here. 34 rounds before a cease-fire. the family is now a shell. numb in mourning. the tiny coffins ready for tomorrow.

>> translator: i went to get them a towel in the other room. the lights went out. everything flew into the house. what cease-fire? i curse every day at those who killed my children and all of those of the country. people want to live peacefully we lived, grew up took our children to school. these are not people. >> reporter: the father dennis is alone, talking to himself. peeling vegetables for the wake. minus grandchildren were killed she says innocent mr. poroshenko your cease-fire. any quiet the cease-fire may bring will hollow numb mere hours too late here. >> that was our nick paton walsh

reporting. later this hour we will go to another ukrainian city that is braising for what comes late in the conflict. u.s. secretary ban ki-moon is warning that the brink of civil war with rebels tightening their grip on the country at the seize of power back in september. and as the instability grows in that country, most of the country is the closing their embassies due to security fears, listen. >> let me be clear, yemen is collapsing before our eyes. we cannot stand by and watch. >> ban's statement to the security council on thursday came just as al qaeda-linked fighters seized a large army base in yemen which reportedly housed 1,000 troops. the united states is one of those countries suspending its operations at its embassy in yemen. but there are fears that it could undermine counterterrorism

suspects there. specifically in the arabian peninsula which calls yemen home. cnn's brian todd has the story. >> reporter: at the fortified u.s. embassy in yemen a scramble to get out. documents and weapons were destroyed, and all americans inside even the marines evacuated from the country. analysts say before the pullout, this embassy was often buzzing with intelligence operations. now -- >> you simply cannot put officers on the ground. you can't go out to meetings. you can't drive around or go in the country. so we are, again i'll say it effectively blind there and this was a huge setback. >> reporter: former cia agent bob baer who took part of the operations in yemen says now that the yemen has for most measures closed dozens of operatives have left yemen and with them crucial listening capability and human intelligence. the cia won't comment. it's now drawing major concern

because al qaeda's most dangerous branch one of america's most formidable enemies operates out of yemen. al qaeda in the arabian peninsula claimed responsibility for the attack in paris. and behind the christmas day underwear plot. and the attempt to put bombs in printer cartridges. both of those bombs targeted the united states both succeeded. the mastermind behind those plots is still at large. and with the u.s. evacuation analysts say that al qaeda branch is emboldened. >> acip now took ahold of that attack. >> reporter: and they just overran a prison in southern yemen and freed six of their militants. u.s. officials tell cnn their

counterterrorism capabilities inside yemen have been impacted by the chaos. but they insist they still have assets in place to combat al qaeda. >> we still have a military counterterrorism capability inside yemen. we do have some number of special operations forces still operating in yemen. >> reporter: and u.s. forces say they're training yemeni forces. there have been drone strikes in recent days. >> but analysts say there is still a major void with few if any intelligence operatives on the ground to work with their yemenmi counterparts. that was always seen as crucial in the operations against al qaeda. brian todd cnn, washington. and the news continues here on cnn. and if you live in the northeastern united states brace yourself for this. may sound like a broken record in fact but more wicked weather is on the way this valentine's day, blizzard conditions hurricane-force winds and cupid

will definitely need a snowplow for the snow here -- straight ahead. nearly half a million cars were stolen in 2012, but for every car stolen 34 people had their identities stolen. identity thieves can steal your money, damage your credit and wreak havoc on your life. why risk it when you can help protect yourself from identity theft with one call to lifelock, the leader in identity-theft protection? lifelock actively patrols your sensitive, personal information every second of every day, helping to guard your social security number, your bank accounts and credit, even the equity in your home -- your valuable personal assets. look. your bank may alert you to suspicious activity on your credit or debit card. but that still may leave you vulnerable to big losses if a thief opens new accounts in your name or decides to drain your savings, home equity, or retirement accounts. and your credit report may only tell you after your identity's been compromised. but lifelock is proactive protection

and watches out for you in ways that banks and credit-card companies alone just can't giving you the most comprehensive identity theft protection available. whenever the patented lifelock identity alert system detects a threat to your identity you'll be notified by phone, text, or e-mail, helping you to stop identity thieves before they do damage. you even get a $1 million service guarantee. that's right. if your identity is ever compromised, lifelock will spend up to $1 million on experts to help restore it. you wouldn't leave your car unprotected. don't leave your money, credit and good name unprotected. call now, and try lifelock risk-free for 60 days. act now, and get this document shredder free. that's a $29 value. ♪ or go to lifelock.com/go. try lifelock risk-free for 60 days and get this document shredder free -- a $29 value -- when you use promo code go.

call now. welcome back. there is a new report that claims president barack obama has gotten a secret letter from iran's supreme leader. according to "the wall street journal," ayatollah ali wrote a letter asking for iran's

commitment in fighting isis. the white house would not comment about that letter. the u.s. president called the murders of three college students in north carolina quote, brutal and outrageous. investigators say the three were all shot in the head by a neighbor. craig stephen hicks turned himself in and has been charged with the murders. local police believe a dispute over a parking space led to the shooting. in his statement, president obama said quote, the fbi is taking steps to determine whether federal laws were violated. no one in the united states should ever be targeted because of who they are and what they look like or how they worship. switching to the weather, a blizzard set to strike. meteorologist is here with the weather. >> i hate to be the bearer of

bad news but epic snowstorm after another. boston has two official blizzards within the period of the seen remember for blizzard conditions to actually take place, the specific criteria that needs to be pet, that being 35 per winds reducing visibility for over a quarter of mile and taking place for a duration of three hours. at the moment across the entire united states we have roughly 34 million people under some sort of winter weather advisory. whether that be a blizzard warning. or winter storm warning or advisory as you can see shaded in purple. about 5 million people currently under this blizzard warning that extends from the new england coast all the way to boston massachusetts. we're expecting very strong winds and impressive snowfall totaling coming out of the system which we'll get to in detail.

near new york city you are under a winter weather advisory. and the cold weather going to be a factor. but this is not going to be a major snowstorm per se for new york city. so they dodged a bullet. here's the storm. it actually started as a clipper system coming out of canada and once it reaches the relatively warm atlantic ocean it's going to strengthen or deepen very quickly. that means we're going to have a very tight isobar gradient bringing in strong winds and also an arctic blast of air behind this storm system heading into the first part of next week. so yes, all of our computer models are in agreement that that this is going to be a big storm for the new england coast. and over a foot of snow for boston once again and certainly for the coastal regions of maine. where do they put the snowfall? this is footage coming out of

the region this is what a car looks like. that's three or four feet of snow. dude where's my car? boston has hired two snow melting machines that cost about $4,000 per hour. it melts 350,000 tons of the white stuff per hour. that's 30 truckloads full. so yeah lots to talk about, to say the least, george. and so many is variables and connections that we want to get to aside from the heavy derrek two quick questions, do these storms have anything to do with climate change? >> very interesting that you asked that question because the innergovernmental panel on climate change that's kind of like the world's leaders, all the world coming together with

their top scientists there's actually been a 71% increase in top precipitation across the united states. so this is some of the world's top scientists claiming that which is pretty impressive considering boston has had its largest top-ten snowstorms. and new york city with significant snowstorms since 2000. >> i saw that you had a bag packed headed up to cnn new york to cover and be in the place of the snow but will we get snow in atlanta? >> good chance. we actually have three different chances of getting snow in atlanta. >> we'll see how the city of atlanta fares this time. hopefully better than last time. thank you. the news continues. the governor of one state is leaving off over his fiancee's

scandal. the salacious accusations and his history-making story. that story straight ahead. simply type in a name and you're taken on a journey. a journey that crosses generations. and continents. all to tell the most amazing story. yours. discover your story. start searching for free now at ancestry.com

female announcer: through presidents' day, get 36 months interest-free financing, and save up to $300 on beautyrest and posturepedic. even get three years interest-free financing on tempur-pedic. plus, free delivery, set up and removal of your old set. and sleep train's 100-day money back guarantee. keep more presidents in your wallet. this special financing offer ends presidents' day at sleep train. ...guaranteed! ♪ sleep train ♪ ♪ your ticket to a better night's sleep ♪

welcome back. the governor of the u.s. state of oregon has resigned. embroiled in an ethics scandal. the state's attorney general is investigating the governor and his fiancee and as suzanne malveaux explains this isn't the first time she's been in the legal cross hairs. >> reporter: it's the end of an era in oregon politics. john kits has beener who was

reelected to a fourth term last november and first took office in the state in the early 1980s bowed to mounting pressure to resign. >> oregonians will see that i have never put anything before my love for and commitment to oregon in faithfully fulfilling the responsibilities of the public offices i've had honor to hold. i've always tried to do the right thing. and now the right thing to do is to step aside. >> reporter: the stunning fall comes amid the first lady cylvia hayes. investigators are looking into concerns that hayes advised state employees on energy policy while getting paid for a group advocating for a specific position. the state attorney general has given hayes seven days to disclose her private e-mails regarding state business. this is not the first time controversy has swirled around hayes. in 1997 she married an

ethiopian immigrant for $5,000 to help him get a green card. she also bought land with an ex-boyfriend that year allegedly to grow marijuana, but denied financial involvement. today's news caps a week of will he or won't he speculation. on wednesday it seemed kits has beener was ready to step down. he requested his designated replacement, secretary of state kate brown, to fly back from washington, d.c. to oregon. but then it appeared he had a change of heart. brown detailed the exchange in a statement thursday saying i asked him what he wanteded to talk about. the governor told me he was not resigning, after which he began a discussion about transition. this is clearly a bizarre and unprecedented situation. >> what is also unprecedented is the history brown will make as the nation's openly bisexual governor. the human rights senator put out a statement that he'll make

history as the state's first lgbt governor but that she's capable of leading the state to days ahead. in the meantime oregon's attorney general said the governor's resignation will not deter them from their ongoing criminal investigation. suzanne malveaux cnn, washington. accusations a deadly bombing cover-up that coupled with a prosecutor's unsolved death continue to tarnish argentina's president. now a judge will decide if an investigation against her and the bombing incident will proceed. our rafael romo has the story. >> reporter: the formal accusation against president cristina fernandez de kirchner is just the latest twist in the story. accusing de kirchner of hashing a plan for those responsible for a 1998 bombing of a jewish center in buenos aires.

the prosecutor filed the formal accusation against the president and her foreign minister among others. it is only the first step. the accusation must be confirmed by a judge. he was found dead in his apartment just hours before he was to testify before congress. argentina's top prosecutor friday named nut team that will be in charge of the investigation into the bombing. 85 people were killed. attorney general says her country has a debt with the families of the jewish community center bombing. >> translator: the circumstances demand that the attorney general's office give an answer to the victims, their relatives and society which all together have been root for truth and justice for 20 years. those 20 years are have a debt

that they must strengthen. >> a president's top aide said the move against de kirchner is a clear move to destabilize democracy in the south american country he also said that the action lacks judicial value of importance. canadian authorities track a woman with powerful ties to the group isis. see what clues they may have left behind for investigators back in toronto. plus aaron hernandez, the former nfl star on trial for murder. new details on what investigators found at the crime scene. everyone's life. that's why so many people are turning to delsym for longer lasting cough relief. delsym has an advanced time release formula that helps silence coughs

for a full 12 hours. up to twice as long as other cough liquids. all night... or all day. female announcer: through presidents' day, get 36 months interest-free financing, and save up to $300 on beautyrest and posturepedic. even get three years interest-free financing

on tempur-pedic. plus, free delivery, set up and removal of your old set. and sleep train's 100-day money back guarantee. keep more presidents in your wallet. this special financing offer ends presidents' day at sleep train. ...guaranteed! ♪ sleep train ♪ ♪ your ticket to a better night's sleep ♪

welcome back to our viewers in the united states and around the world. i'm george howell. this is cnn. the headlines this hour -- boston is bracing for another round of wicked weather. a winter storm this valentine weekend. blizzard warnings are in effect for saturday night through sunday morning for most of the eastern part of the u.s. and the state of massachusetts. snow accumulations could top 30 centimeters that's about a foot of snow with hurricane-strength winds expected in this storm system. isis fires have taken control of the western iraqi town of al baghdadi. several u.s. apache helicopters had to support the military as isis launched an assault on a strategic air base about 15 kilometers away. a u.s. official said as many as 25 isis fighters were killed most of them wearing iraqi

military uniforms. the south china morning post is reporting the catch a ferry involved in a deadly collision in hong kong has been found guilty of manslaughter. the captain of the other ship in the crash was acquitted of most charges. during the trial, both captains blamed each other for causing the 2012 crash that left 39 people dead. shelling is being heard in two eastern ukrainian cities right now, ahead of a cease-fire deadline that's just to take effect in 12 hours. that's according to our own cnn teams on the ground. they say both incoming and outgoing artillery could be seen on the city of mariupoll. it's of special lotion given its location to the sea. cnn international correspondent fred pleitgen has the story. >> reporter: it's a city on the edge. we drove through the streets

here earlier, what we saw, many checkpoints also patrols going around the streets, checking vehicles. the people here saying that they had believe the city may be infiltrated by pro-russian separatists. one of the things that's been going on here there is a reasonable force of those pro-russian separatists situated just outside of the city several kilometers away. what's happening here and not happening in other places along the front line here it appears to be the pro-ukrainian forces that have the initiative. one of the things that happened a force the italian volunteer force, managed to make gains 10 to 15 kilometers outside of mariupol although there was considerable fighting along the way. we know on friday there was a tank battle that took place where tanks traded shots for a while.

we heard from the battalions that there were apparently no casualties. the big question that people in mariupol are asking whether or not the pro-russian separatists might start a push to take the city before it gets put in place with the cease-fire. it's a strategic importance because if the separatists manage to get the city they would have a land corridor from russian territory to crimea which, of course was annexed by russia just last year. fred mrielgten, cnn. a female isis in syria has those in edge. she was living in toronto. paula newton has more on what researchers are calling toronto jane. >> reporter: from the streets of toronto in november to the treacherous battleground just a few weeks later, a young

canadian identified as l.a. and toronto jane is geo tracked leaving toronto for syria by a journey traced by her mobile phone every time she posts on twitter. >> why is a female there? and the only thing that we can come up in terms of operations she's doing spying activities for isis. >> reporter: this is a research with al bravo tracking those at risk. if indeed she's the one sending the tweets he says toronto jane's covering the access to the front lines is unprecedented for a woman even moving through isis enemy territory. >> after arriving in had iraq she starts traveling all over syria. again this is something we have never seen before. >> reporter: she arrived in the so-called isis capital moves to aleppo and all the way to mosul and iraq, with stops in between. she then pops up on twitter on

another isis front line near kobani. her twitter posts are in arabic most in praise of isis. quote me she writes they treated me as a sister and i have seen no kindness like theirs. >> even online you're seeing women engaging with isis engaging to the ideology of isis to the extent we've never seen before. >> what is the attraction from the social media posts you've seen what makes them gravitate to that? >> from the social media group there's never been a group like isis engaged in the propaganda. >> reporter: researchers know her name but are not releasing it and toronto jane is now under investigation by police here in canada where new and proposed laws would mean she would likely be arrested the minute she tried to return. >> so that's a very interesting case because the only evidence they would have is twitter post that's speech. now, in this case she's gone to

syria, and i would expect that they would have additional evidence what connection she has, who arranged her travel who financed the travel and what was the purpose of her travel. >> reporter: and they also want to learn about her toronto connections. >> what information is she passing along to isis now that she's over there and can relay that information. and did she have any supporters while here in toronto. that would be a greater question to try and figure out. >> reporter: definitely a possibility she could have been a threat? >> oh definitely. >> reporter: in one of the last posts she defends the savage burning of the pilot by isis. if you were looking for evidence torturing by fire was exempted by the prophet and we empty what he exempted. they say they have no idea if toronto jane is being followed but the twitter account has now been deactivated.

cnn, toronto. also in canada police there say they stopped a suspected valentine's day shooting spree. they had claim a 19-year-old canadian man and a 23-year-old u.s. woman planned a mass shooting at a mall before killing themselves. police say the plan was not related to any larger plots. >> i wouldn't classify it as a terrorist event pipe would classify it as a group of individuals that had some beliefs and were willing to carry out violent acts against citizens but there's nothing in the investigation classified as a terrorist attack or terrorist incident. >> the 19-year-old shot himself to death. the woman and two others were taken into custody. it was another riveting day of testimony in the trial of the man accused of murdering american sniper chris kyle and his friend. an ex-sheriff's deputy testified that eddie ray routh told him he

shot the men gone they wouldn't talk to him. the officers said that routh made the comments about four months after the shooting while he was an inmate. the former deputy said routh also told them he felt bad about killing chris kyle and chad littlefield but he was sure they had forgiven him. routh admitted to the killings but pleaded not guilty. graphic evidence was shown in court on friday in the murder trial of former nfl player aaron hernandez. police also revealed what they encountered when they arrived at hernandez's home after the victim odin lloyd was killed. i do want to warn of disturbing images. susan candiotti has the story. >> reporter: on the day of testimony for the first time snern lettered the evidence. the night odin lloyd's bullet-riddled body is found among dirt piles isn't an

industrial park police find clues. >> inside of that wallet we were able to locate a massachusetts driver's license which we were able to identify the young man as mr. odin lloyd of boston massachusetts. >> reporter: and keys to a car rented by former patriot tight end aaron hernandez. about four hours later, it leads investigators straight to the star football player's home about 10:00 that same night. this video from his own security cameras showing two investigators trying to find him. >> is and what is trooper sherman doing? >> knocking on the door. >> what are you doing? >> ringing the door bell. >> reporter: lights are on but no answer. jurors see them looking around the house. at one point, one cop boosts his partner high enough to look inside the window looking for the rental car. the defense demands to know why

hernandez should answer his door at that hour? >> do you have any requirement that a private citizen has to answer his door at 10:30 at night, sir? >> no he does not have to. >> reporter: finally, hernandez comes outside telling him he was watching them on his security system. police asked him about his rental car. >> he informed us that he was up this way yesterday. >> reporter: police testifies that hernandez becomes agitated. >> he became ago stated and upset. >> reporter: he goes towards the police station voluntarily but is not arrested until nine days later. prosecutors also show new crime scene photos. two bullets, one with fiber, they say, sifted with dirt below the victim shot six times. and a .22-caliber pistol found in a wooded area just out the crime scene. it's not the murder weapon -- still missing. on cross-examination, the defense repeatedly attacks

investigators accusing them of sloppy work in measuring the crime scene. >> when you wrote five to ten feet in your report that that was not accurate is that what you're telling us sir? >> it was an approximation, sir. >> so when you said five to ten feet in your report would you agree that was a mistake? >> i indicated it was an approximation. >> did anybody measure it? >> no we did not. >> reporter: next week we could see another potentially powerful video. aaron hernandez seen in a surveillance video in a police parking lot taking apart his cell phone and then borrowing his lawyer's phone to call earnest wallace who is also charged with odin lloyd's murder. now, the defense said this is a violation of attorney-client privilege but the judge said that aaron hernandez had no expectation of privacy in that parking lot. susan candiotti, cnn, massachusetts. and a rescue vessel is rushing to save a damaged

fishing ship with 27 people on board. a look at the daring attempt to reach them. core thanks to the tools and help on experian.com. kaboom... well, i just have a few other questions. >>chuck, the only other question you need to ask is, "what else can you do for me?" i'll just take a water... get your credit swagger on. become a member of experian credit tracker and find out your fico score powered by experian. fico scores are used in 90% of credit decisions. everyone loves the way dark clothes make them feel... and no one wants that feeling to fade. that's why there's woolite darks. without harsh ingredients, it keeps darks vibrant for over 30 washes. so your love for dark clothes doesn't have to fade. for the love of darks.

woolite darks. it's just you and your honey. the setting is perfect. but then erectile dysfunction happens again. you know what? plenty of guys have this issue not just getting an erection but keeping it. well, viagra helps guys with ed get and keep an erection. ask your doctor if your heart is healthy enough for sex. do not take viagra if you take nitrates for chest pain; it may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. side effects include headache, flushing, upset stomach and abnormal vision. to avoid long-term injury, seek immediate medical help for an erection lasting more than four hours. stop taking viagra and call your doctor right away if you experience a sudden decrease or loss in vision or hearing. ask your doctor if... ...viagra is right for you. we needed 30 new hires for our call center. i'm spending too much time hiring and not enough time in my kitchen. [ female announcer ] need to hire fast? go to ziprecruiter.com and post your job to over 30 of the web's leading job boards with a single click; then simply select the best

candidates from one easy to review list. you put up one post and the next day you have all these candidates. makes my job a lot easier. [ female announcer ] over 100,000 businesses have already used zip recruiter and now you can use zip recruiter for free at a special site for tv viewers; go to ziprecruiter.com/offer5. markets closed at record highs on friday. the s&p 500 closed at 2096 beating its december record. the dow also finished strong at 18,000. analysts say the boost came from hopes that greece and its creditors will strike a deal over its debt. strong economic data from other parts of europe also helped.

u.s. president barack obama says dealing with the threat of cyberattacks requires unprecedented cooperation between government and industry. the president was speaking at the birth place of some of the world's biggest tech company, stanford university. the president's words were echoed by apple's ceo who said cyberattacks affect us all. >> the personal impact of these security breaches can be devastating. by clicking on the wrong link or simply using your credit card too many people have had their identify stolen their finances threatened and their lives turned upside down. >> mr. obama finished his speech by signing an executive order which will lead to more information on cyberattacks being shared between tech companies and the government. the president said it was the

only way cyberattacks would be beaten. >> there's only one way to defend america from these cyberthreats and that is through government and industry working together sharing appropriate information, as true partners. >> the order is meant to get companies talking to each other and to the government. it sets up hubs for the parties to share information about cyberthreats. the administration still insists the order isn't a substitute though for congressional action. the event was also an attempt to bridge the divide between washington and silicon valley. tech executives have been at odds with the white house over government surveillance even though the summit was held in the heart of silicon valley the heads of facebook google and yahoo! all stayed away instead sending security personnel in their place. a u.s. coast guard ship has just reached an australian

fishing boat stuck in ice near antarctica. more than two dozen people are on board that vessel and the vessel can't move because its propellers are damaged. aem laporte has more on the rescue operation. >> reporter: antarctica it's the most unforgiving place on earth and now the scene of a dramatic rescue. 27 pima ronned. their fishing boat stuck in the ice in one of the most remote places on earth, some 900 miles away from land radioing for help after three of the four properils on the 63-meter australian fishing vessel were destroyed by a huge chunk of ice on tuesday. now, a rescue attempt. a u.s. coast guard icebreaker the "polar star" barging its way through several miles of thick ice floes to save the victims. the commander of the ship

telling cnn what they're up against. >> we've been battling a few little snowstorms here and there. the challenge right now is the ice coverage. we're in 100 miles of ice cover. sykes feet of snow massive blocks of ice all around us everywhere you look there's big tabular icebergs. >> reporter: without a rescue mission, he says things could have been deadly. >> if we wait here they would have to wait for a serious shift in had wind and that might not come. they do potentially had to be wintered down here. >> reporter: and this isn't the first time a ship happens rescued in icy waters. just in january of last year the "polar star" was called to break through ice also to free a chinese ice breaker that found itself stuck to try to save the russian boat. with a spike of the number of people willing to venture into the the polar seas one thing the

u.s. coast guard says for sure this won't be their last rescue. a sobering reminder of just how treacherous and hostile these icy continent can be. amy laporte, cnn, atlanta. the media world saw its fair share of tragedies this week. we'll wrap up the week where the news became the news -- next. e your car unprotected. but a lot of us leave our identities unprotected. nearly half a million cars were stolen in 2012, but for every car stolen 34 people had their identities stolen. identity thieves can steal your money, damage your credit and wreak havoc on your life. why risk it when you can help protect yourself from identity theft with one call to lifelock, the leader in identity-theft protection? lifelock actively patrols your sensitive, personal information every second of every day, helping to guard your social security number, your bank accounts and credit, even the equity in your home -- your valuable personal assets.

look. your bank may alert you to suspicious activity on your credit or debit card. but that still may leave you vulnerable to big losses if a thief opens new accounts in your name or decides to drain your savings, home equity, or retirement accounts. and your credit report may only tell you after your identity's been compromised. but lifelock is proactive protection and watches out for you in ways that banks and credit-card companies alone just can't giving you the most comprehensive identity theft protection available. whenever the patented lifelock identity alert system detects a threat to your identity you'll be notified by phone, text, or e-mail, helping you to stop identity thieves before they do damage. you even get a $1 million service guarantee. that's right. if your identity is ever compromised, lifelock will spend up to $1 million on experts to help restore it. you wouldn't leave your car unprotected. don't leave your money, credit and good name unprotected. call now, and try lifelock risk-free for 60 days.

act now, and get this document shredder free. that's a $29 value. ♪ or go to lifelock.com/go. try lifelock risk-free for 60 days and get this document shredder free -- a $29 value -- when you use promo code go. call now.

welcome back. it's fair to say our own profession the journalism world was in the spot light this week with the deaths of two iconic journalists along with a few career shake-ups along the way. cnn's john berman has more on how the news industry made its way into the headlines this week. >> just a short time ago we got word that veteran cbs news and correspondent bob simon has died. >> reporter: more than any week we can remember in the history of this business the news was the news. >> columnist david carr has died at the age of 58. >> reporter: and that news was bad. all of it. in just this one short week the world of journalism became less smart, less brave, less raw, less credible. >> it is time for someone else to have that opportunity. >> reporter: the word came when jon stewart was leaving "the daily show" in a few months and brian williams was leavinge ginge

ging nightly news for a few months. >> there has never been a tumble just like this. >> reporter: the word came when the glint in his eye media reporter from "the new york times" himself was gone forever, what you wanted -- well you just wanted to cry. >> i don't know what we're going to do without him. he was the best and most important media reporter of our time. >> reporter: for those who say this is a case of media self-absorption -- no. it is a shock to the system, any system when you lose an idol your critic your scribe and your moorings all at once. you can't watch, you can't read you can't trust the way you did a few days ago. >> there were katyusha rockets passing underneath the helicopter i was riding in. >> reporter: for the case of brian williams saying this is a feeding frenzy a case of piling on no no delight, just dread. too many people have worked too

hard too long for reporting the facts and telling the stories. the real stories to engage in schadenfreude. bob simon went everywhere. if there was war, had was there. suffering he was there. unanswered questions, he was there. he spent 40 days as a prisoner in saddam hussein's iraq and died in a car crash in manhattan. >> every aspect of your life! >> reporter: and jon stewart, david carr wrote mr. stewart will leave his desk as arguably the most trusted man in news. maybe. even if his targets were real. but his presence at that desk will be missed. >> why? [ laughter ] why? [ laughter ] >> reporter: he held up a mirror to our industry and we need it. so yeah it is sad he is going. but when we look in that that

mirror now, there are too many faces missing. and that that's tragic. what a week. >> what a week indeed. our thanks to john berman for that report. it is valentine's day weekend, and that means love is in the air. but if you don't have a significant other to spoil with chocolates and roses newt ss not to worry. you can pretend to have one at the with the help of a crafty website. >> getting off work coming bystrawberries. >> reporter: it's a holiday for those in love lots of love and romance. >> for someone wanting nothing to do with this romantic holiday, they're able to focus on their personal life. >> foot loose and fancy-free. >> reporter: that's where the

website invisible girlfriend and boyfriend come off. you can give off the appearance of having a relationship. >> there are some that think our product shouldn't exist. but there seems to be this situation pressure out there that even i find myself kind of judging people from time to time on their relationship status. and i've learned to hold back. >> hello, i'm here. >> hi. >> hi i'm samantha. >> this is not creating a love interest but only the perception of one. complete with text messages photos and voice mails. the reason for signing up the service range from trying to fend off an unwanted suitor to making someone jealous to trying to appear more desirable. >> we had someone tell us he was on a date with a real person. when we went to go to the bathroom he left his phone in a very strategic place. his girlfriend or girl across the table looks at the text and all of a sudden seemed far more interested in him.

>> reporter: the louis company has gone viral and received inquiries around the globe and even the subject of a parity situation on conan. >> after six month, your facebook account demands you become official. after one year, it moves in for an additional $30 a month. >> reporter: but the company is no joke it's only three weeks old and already upon a prize at a startup event and has been featured in magazines, newspapers and network shows. the company has already 50,000 accounts created, more than half from outside the u.s. and we thank you for joining us on this live news coverage here on cnn. i'm george howell. we have more straight ahead this hour where my colleague linda kincade will join me. you are watching cnn, the world's news leader.

. 12 hours remain before a cease-fire is set to begin if eastern ukraine. but right now both sides continue to fight for territory. [ gunfire ] isis continues its advance in iraq attacking an air base houses hundreds of u.s. troops. and another blizzard is headed for a u.s. region that's seen its share of snow and doesn't really want to see any more. welcome to the viewers in the u.s. and around the world. i'm linda