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selfie sticks. welcome to our viewers here in the united states and around the woshlgdrld. i'm rosemary church. >> i'm errol barnett. this is "cnn newsroom." it is now 10:00 a.m. in irinner -- in gerbil. >> it is the capital of kurdistan and not far from the isis stronghold of mosul. a kurdish official says there are many isis casualties and that coalition air strikes helped. for more on the situation, let's bring in cnn's tim lifter live via skype from irbil. there was concern that it was not safe for air strikes to be carried out.

that decision has been reversed. now we're hearing about heavy casualties being inflicted on isis. what do you know about the situation on the ground right now? >> reporter: it was quite a wide front, rosemary. several villages attacked simultaneously by isis. they've often probed this area. there have been assaults in the past but the scale of this of much greater than anything in the recent past at any rate. the fighting went on for at least five hours overnight. didn'ten until 3:00 local time this morning. it was only toward the end of the fighting when the two side were separated as it were that coalition air strikes came in and helped eradicate the remainder of the isis fighters who'd come across the river where kurdish defenses are strung out along a very long line. they're fairly meager it has to be said. there are not many kurdish peshmerga fighters along the line. any tampa by isis to break through the line could be a big problem for the peshmerga and

the kurdish regional government. this front seasonal 45 -- front is only 50, -- 45 or 50 kilometers from them. it will cause considerable problems if the opposing side had managed to cross and stay across that river. >> and tim, talk to us about the weaponry that the kurdish fires have and also explain to us why is isis laurening attack specifically in this area. >> reporter: isis is launch ag attacks along a wide front sporadically. the front is 1,000 kilometers long. isis has plenty places where it can pick and choose. its overriding aim is not to take irbil. it is to draw the peshmerga away from mosul, the crown jewel for

iraq. that city is being strangled essentially by peshmergaa force on three side. anything isis can do to draw the peshmergaa away from mosul and cause it problems elsewhere is something they're very interested in doing. as for the peshmerga foesz, well after visiting about seven different front line positions over the last ten days they are not well armed. they have very little in the way of defensive armor. a lot of the casualties, of course by ieds. they have very little to stop the suicide bombs in humvees, one of their favorite weapons. they have light arms. they've recently received a lot of german machine guns which has helped. but they node heavy armor to be able to deal with an jenny has after all seized a great deal of equipment from iraqi armories over the last eight or nine months. and it's well equipped. in fact the kurd are reduced to repurposing humvees that they catch, that they seize from isis. >> we will of course be watching the situation in irbil closely.

and that is where our tim lister is reporting live via skype. the kurdish fighters are, of course part of a coalition fighting against the milltants. the u.s. intelligence community is trying its bev to track the movements of isis leaders hoping to take them out. new details from pentagon correspondent barbara starr. >> reporter: the u.s. has a secret list of the top isis operative in syria and iraq it wants to kill. number one -- isis leader al baghdadi. it's been months since the last intelligence report about where he is hiding a senior u.s. official tells cnn. the u.s. believes he knows warplanes are hunting him so he moves cautiously even as his influence has grown beyond syria and iraq. >> the fact al baghdadi has become this pan islamic

caliphate boss boss of bosses is pretty distressing. but it also means that we we come the command and control might actually be like. >> reporter: the u.s. has already killed a dozen or so isis operatives including a chemical weapons expert. isis executioners like so-called jihadi john are still in the u.s. cross hairs, but the list focuses on targeting those who's deaths will broadly hurt isis. isis operatives are added to the list as intelligence often from cell phone intercepts is gained. the kill list may now expand as the u.s. struggles to understand an isis command structure made more confusing with isis moving into egypt, yemen, afghanistan, pakistan and libya. one calling -- those labeling themselves as isis may have very different goals. >> we have to take each

terrorist or cult organization in every country as a separate entity. we can't look at it as part of one big group. you may miss the most person targets when you're doing that. >> reporter: the beheadings of egyptian christians on the libyan coastlion underscores -- coastline underscores the problem. the u.s. wants to identify the killers on the videotape, but the broader worry -- isis' position in libya. it now has a stronghold in durna and operates across libyan coastal areas within reach of southern europe via busy shipping lanes. >> it's very difficult to have the same kind of controls over people who might be getting on boats, who might be working as laborers on ships that are coming into european ports. >> reporter: there's no dhagz isis is planning some sort of maritime attack from ports in libya, but u.s. and nato warships continue their patrols of the southern mediterranean with the job of looking for any

illicit activity. barbara starr, cnn, the pentagon. we are getting new information about the man behind this weekend's terror attacks in copenhagen. the head of the jewish society of denmarks the gunman omar abdel hamid hussein appeared drunk before he kill a guard at a synagogue on saturday, but it may have just been an act to get closer to his victim. the 22-year-old el hussein pledged allegiance to the lord of isis before he shold a film-- he shot and killed a filmmaker at a free speech forum. police responded to what turned out to be a false alarm bomb scare at the season of one of attacks. investigators now say that the terror attacks in paris last month were in fact coordinated, according to a respect from the french newspaper "l' m o-- "le

"le monde. ". >> reporter: hours before the horrific attack on "charlie hebdo" the culprits communicated in person and by text message with the shooter in the dead low assault on a kosher market that will follow two days later. citing french investigators, the french paper "le monde" reports that one of the "charlie hebdo" gunmen sent a text to amedy coulibaly hours before the rampage at the french satirical newspaper. two days later coulibaly would kill four customers in the kosher market before police killed him. the text was sent at 10:19 a.m. on the morning of the "charlie hebdo" attack from kouachi to one of the 17 cell phones. a phone french investigators believe of bought specifically to communicate with the kouachi brothers. only six tejss were sent. the text sent that morning of the last.

this new reported would in further corroborates a communication between the kouachis and coulibaly. cnn reported in january that the wife of coulibaly and one of the kouachi brothers had 500 phone calls between them during the year before the attacks. the paper reports this evidence from the phone shows this coulibaly and kouachi also met in person sometime likely between midnight and 1:00 a.m. on the morning of the attack. >> they were satisfied with the operational security taking the opportunity to meet in person is a bit of a chance. but it is also, of course, it deep them from communicating certain fax and details electronic low. >> reporter: and from the phones, one more bizarre detail. investigators sell the paper that the january 7th attack almost canceled the day before when the gunman came down with the stomach flu. cnn, washington. we'll take a short break now. next a police officer in the u.s. is accused of solar systeming a man and his late --

in his late 50s to the ground paralyzing him details on when may have triggered the alleged incident coming up. plus, an accused killer's words are in the spotlight as prosecutors wrap up their case in the so-called "american snoirp" trial. daughter: do you and mom still have money with that broker? dad: yeah, 20 something years now. thinking about what you want to do with your money? daughter: looking at options. what do you guys pay in fees? dad: i don't know exactly. daughter: if you're not happy do they have to pay you back? dad: it doesn't really work that way. daughter: you sure? vo: are you asking enough questions about the way your wealth is managed? wealth management at charles schwab. the real question that needs to be asked is "what is it that we can do that is impactful?" what the cloud enables is computing to empower cancer researchers. it used to take two weeks to sequence and analyze a genome;

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been charged with assault after slamming a visitor from india to the ground. eric parker though enter a not guilty plea and is now free on bail. >> a police statement said suresh bi patel of taken to the grown, you see it there, after officers tried to pat him down. and he attempted to pull away. patel was walking through a neighbor in madison when packer and another officer were answering a call about a suspicious man. patel of left partially paralyzed -- patel was left partially paralyzed and needed spinal fusion therapy. parker's trial is schedule for april 29th. police in las vegas are searching for a man who is suspected of killing a woman in an aparliamentarian road rage incident. >> yeah. new details are revealing that the victim went back to fine the suspect after the first confrontation. a wrinkle to what we first realized about the story. as cnn reports, many cases of road rage are often caught on

camera. >> reporter: an autopsy revealing the terrible truth about how this las vegas mother of four of killed in an apparent road rage incident. tammy meyers died of a gunshot wound to the head. police say the suspect followed her home and shot her after the two argue over a traffic incident -- two argued over a traffic incident. this is the man police believe killed her. her case an extreme example of the potential dangers on the road. in a 2013 "washington post" poll the number of drives who reported having uncontrollable angeler for other drivers on the road has doubled since 2005. now with the proliferation of cell phones, some of that rage is being caught on camera. in february in austin texas, a driver loses his temper and is spitting mad when a woman photographs his license plate after he allegedly drove reckless low. >> [ bleep ] black power -- >> reporter: he was charged with reckless driving and later apologized for his actions. in january, in north carolina a

mother begins videotaping an aggressive driver. >> this person is a character right now. >> reporter: a minute later, an attack. [ bleep ] [ crying ] >> stop it! >> reporter: who can forget this -- new york city a confrontation between the driver of an suv and microlifts. police say -- motorcyclists. police say it happened when they harassed the driver and slowed down. one driver got hit. the motorcyclist attacked the vehicle. the suv driver hits the gas, running over throw of the bikers. it ends when the bikers pull the driver from his car and beat him. several of the biker have been charged. and then there's this in 2013. a doctor stwoern do no harm rages against another driver when the driver pulls out a cell phone to capture the doctor's aggressive driving. >> he doesn't like that. and he slams on the brakes. >> reporter: eventually the doctor pulls a gun. no one of hurt.

despite our natural instincts to pull out our cell phones and videotape everything, consider this -- experts stay might actually escalate the situation. >> you're taking a chance of shooting footage of someone who is enraged and could that further enrage them? it's hard to say. you're taking a risk. we'll say the most important thing from aaa's perspective is to get out of the situation. you don't want to escalate it to the point where someone's so enraged they're not thinking about what they're doing. >> reporter: cnn, los angeles. to another story we're following for you. prosecutors have rested their case in the trial of a man accused of killing chris kyle the subject of the blockbuster movie "american sniper." prosecutors played this video in court on tuesday showing eddie ray routh talking to police after he allegedly shot kyle and his friend. routh told police he felt "paranoid, schizophrenic "all day and didn't know whether he was insane or sane.

routh's mother also testified for the defense tuesday describing her son's history of menial illness. jurors in the aaron hernandez murder trial watched surveillance video of the former nfl star dismantling his cell phone. this footage recorded in june of 2013 shows him removing the battery and cover and making calls on a borrowed phone out a police station. prosecutors have previously said the video shows him calling earnest wallace, an alleged accomplice in the slaying of odon lloyd. and you can of course follow all the developments from the trial simply by going to our website. that address is cnn.com. all week we've been talking about the very cold weather in the u.s. northeast. now this the heavy snow has waned, the coldest weather in decades is setting in for parts of north america. our meteorologist, pedram javaheri joins us with more on that. pedram? >> gosh guys you know the snow is not going anywhere any

time soon. give it at least three four months, i think, in parts of the northeastern united states. interesting to know fenway park has about 50 inch of snow on the field. and there's about 52 days left until the official opening day. the next air mass in place, origins generally across the hudson bay, northern ontario, some of the most inhospitable places on our planet. the temperatures are going to be displaced from that part of the world, following through friday morning, lock at the blue shading parked over portions of d.c. baltimore, on into new york. temperatures across new york city and also in washington, d.c. by the way, this happens a couple time over the next couple of days. temperatures there could be as cold as minus two to minus three degrees. the coldest since 1994 there. here's the current perspective -- minus flee minneapolis. seven, balmy to what's in store. 26 in atlanta. 44 in jacksonville florida. again, new york and washington have warmed to the teenz and 20s. you -- teens and 20s.

you get multiple blasts of cold air. this is next wednesday, still getting the blast of air in place. well below average for a seven to ten daye period. the morning lows in chicago, mountain us eight. you factor in the wind easily 15 to 25 below zero. 11 in the nation's capital thursday. 14 in atlanta. tampa, florida, should be into the mid 70s for highs. they'll wake up to 39 degrees even across portions of central and southern florida. and then fast forward to friday where the air has really settled. mountain minus two. the cold ever since 1992 in the region. hudson bay, between pier 92 and pier 4. yes, a lot of ice accumulating across the region. speaking of ice, leave you with this video out of the state of new jersey. we had some rescues take place, dramatic footage out of the lake. some three people ventured on to the open waters about 30 feet

out is what they ended up. 90 or so meters over what was once the open water. when you have snow covering lakes and the folks apparently thought that this of frozen solid. when you have snow on it, it acts like a blanket and insulates the ice, so you have thin pockets even though it looks solid. it's a very dangerous situation. you see that way too often this time of year. >> i'm sure they know that now. >> absolutely. >> lesson learned. many thanks. with a cease-fire agreement unraveling we get a look at the front lines in ukraine. an exclusive report coming up. what does it mean to have an unlimited mileage warranty on a certified pre-owned mercedes-benz? what does it mean to drive as far as you want... for up to three years... and be covered? it means your odometer... is there to record... the memories. during the mercedes-benz certified pre-owned sales event now through march 2nd, you'll get complimentary

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welcome back. the ukrainian military and russian-backed separatists are refusing to become down from a fierce battle for the strategic town of deboltseva. >> that's despite a cease-fire last week in minsk. in this report fred pleitgen shows the report seems meaningless on the front lines. >> reporter: the cease-fire remains elusive in this town. the fighters load their weapons with yet care then head to the front lines. we're on the road here with a ukrainian battalion called the east corpus battalion. they say that they still get shelled all the time, this there's attacks from pro-russian separatists, and they're doing

their best to try and hole the town. they've already lost a considerable moon to the pro-russian separatists in the last couple of days. right now, only about 1/3 of the village is under our control, this man says. with pro-russian separatists close by, we need to move carefully. and frequent low run for cover. >> so the men tell us we have to be careful because they believe there's a sniper in the distance. they say they take fire pretty much every day and several times a day. so they really don't believe in the cease-fire going on. they stay never really took hold here. the cease-fire's a farce, says the commander. the fighting is continuing now the way it did before. any continue to attack us shell us they use artillery and mortars. and sometimes they launch raids.

it's impossible to tell which side is responsible for breaking the cease-fire here. but to the few civilian we saw, that didn't seem to matter. they were packing any belongings they could and leaving. "the fighting here is very heavy," this woman says. "all the window of our house are broken. it's terrifying. we save all our lives to buy our house, and now we have nothing." to get back the safety the fighters -- back to safety the fighters lob a smoke bomb. at least in this village in eastern ukraine we can see that the cease-fire is not working. there appear to be many many infringeless. there certainly isn't any sort of faith that things will get better any time soon. cnn, ukraine. the u.n. security council wants everyone to respect the

cease-fire. let's talk about this more with our erin mclachlan joining us from moscow with more on the diplomatic force. good morning to you. you know seeing in fred's report ukrainian forces calling the cease-fire a farce, essentially ducking to avoid snipers, you wonder which side will really lay down arms first. what has the russian president been saying about that? >> reporter: hi russian president putin gave a press conference yesterday on a state visit to hungary. and out of the press conference he called on kiev to allow, in his words, the ukrainian military to surrender to the separatists in bdeboltseva. the key of the cease-fire fighting. separatists saying they're in control of over 80% of the city. the ukrainian military saying it's standing its ground but the separatetives are saying that the cease-fire does not apply to the town. and the russian president

weighing in. take a listen. >> translator: i expect that the officials in charge in the ukrainian leadership would not prevent the ukrainian troop and servicemen to lay down arm if they cannot -- if those leader cannot make such order by themselves. and i hope they will not per cute people who want to lay down arm and save lives. >> reporter: now in a phone conversation german chancellor merkel called on president putin to "use his influence on the separatists" to get them to cease-fire in the town. neither side seeming to back down on the issue. >> and you just worn what it will take. dow have this u.n. security council resolution calling for all sides to abody by the cease-fire.

but what were some of the comments out of that meeting? and can it -- is there hope that it will make any difference? >> reporter: well, when it comes to deboltseva, diplomacy seeming to have little impact. the u.s. ambassador to the united nations saying it was bitterly ironic that russia was the one to table the resolution passed by the u.n. security council that call for all sides to abide to the cease-fire agreement. take a listen to what she had to say -- >> russia is committed to peace it doesn't need a u.n. security council resolution to prove to. there are easier ways to prove it. you, stop arming the separatists, stop sending hundreds of heavy weapons across the border in addition to your troops. stop pretending you're not doing what you are doing. and start calling on and

insisting. the separatists observing the cease-fire around deboltseva. >> reporter: now power allege -- sorry, that russia armed and trained the separatists that are now fighting for the town. she noted that the t lies between 30 to 40 kilometers within the cease-fire line that was agreed to on the minsk agreements last week. now, u.s. vice president joe biden also weighing in on the matter saying this the costs to russia will rise if it continues to violate the minsk agreements. something that russia is denying, has long denied its direct involve. in a conflict in eastern ukraine and the russian ambassador to the united nations yesterday saying that the comments were -- power's commence were offensive and he said that russia is for a peaceful resolution to the crisis. errol? >> you know why they called it

offensive? samantha power also saying russian behavior is like a dangerous feedback loop. any say one thing, and she claim they are behaving in the exact opposite way. live in moscow just past 10:30 there. thank you very much. let's take a quick break. next here on "cnn newsroom," comic book superheroes who battle extremist ideologies. also coming up it is the most prestigious event on the canine calendar the westminster dog show. we'll tell you which pooch took top prize.

you are watching "cnn

newsroom." thank you very much for staying with us. i'm errol barnett. >> i'm rose row. it is time to check -- rosemary church. it is time to check the headlines. the french newspaper "le monde" says last month's terror attacks in paris were coordinated. the paper says one of the gunmen in the "charlie hebdo" massacre sent a text just before the attack according to investigators. it went to amedy colin powell bale who killed four -- coulibaly who killed four people days later. a terrorist in copenhagen may have acted drunk on avoid suspension. denmark's jewish society shows video showing him staggering toward where he killed a guard. police were on alert after he kill a filmmaker at a free speech forum. kurdish forces have retaken control of an area near erbil after an attack by isis. this video of shot earlier this month when cnn visited the outpost. kurdish fighters say they inflict heavy casualties on isis

during 15 hours of fighting. now one key to the success of isis is how the terror group is somehow able to recruit fighters from all over the world. >> they use social media to send out 90,000 online message to supporters each day. kyung lah reports. >> reporter: the boy appears only 10 years old. he stand before hostages holding a handgun. next to him, a bearded isis fighter reciting religious verses. cnn cannot verify the authenticity of the video, but the boy the gun. [ gunshot ] >> reporter: the hostages slump to the ground. just one video in the arsenal of the online war wageded by isis. the terror group is known for boldly flaunting its presence. recent emergency showed dozens of armed vehicles driving through libya including police vehicles in benghazi waving the isis flag. another recent video believed to be from isis showing hostages

paraded through iraq in cages. just weeks after isis burned a jordanian pilot alive if a cage trying to top the horror of the beheading and murder of these innocent hostages. and then there's this -- isis' last known western hostage appearing to predict his own death. >> hello. i'm john cantley. in the last film in this series we're in a city that has been at the heart of the fighting since summer, 2012. >> reporter: we know isis' propaganda via twitter, facebook, and youtube, is no force for shock and horror. but muslim activists say it's also disturbingly effective. >> the problem is you have violent extremist recruitures who use online mechanisms to lure people into thinking that committing acts of violence is somehow glorious or somehow godly. >> reporter: it's admittedly an uphill climb of catchup. isis for months has been using fires speaking english. >> i originally come from

canada. >> reporter: to connect with westerners especially teenagers, on the same social media sites. this 50-page guide book for recruits looking to travel to syria. how to get there, who to call and what to pack. it's a world that oddly tries to portray normalcy the softer side of isis. educating future fighters. among this group of children a cause indication boy with red hair -- caucasian boy with red hair. terrorists seeking to redefine civilization one propaganda video at a time. kyung lah, cnn, los angeles. and you just workplace what the answer is. how can isis propaganda be counted aside from military action. one artist believes the terrorist group can be neutralized with comics. >> we have more on the comic book characters fighting enemies with extremist ideologies. >> reporter: meet element zero. a special forces operative fighting extremists.

he's one of the superheroes created by jordanian artist. >> they grow occupy spider-man, batman frozen. in large parts in the middle east kids grow up on joe hood ideology. that's -- jihad ideology. that's dangerous. that's what all extremeists want. one version of the narrative. their own narrative. >> reporter: a few years ago he started researching extremist ideology ideology their strategies and narratives and how they influence children. >> i asked kids who are your heroes. they said they hear a lot about bin laden and those. they said the west is there to kill muslims and they're defending us. of course that's -- i mean that's the ultimate narrative for all extremist groups. >> this is the land of -- >> the biggest threat we face in the middle east is terrorism disguised as heroism. see, the way they pitch their ideology and their extremist

ideology as this hero journey providing youth with a sense of purpose, sense of identiti. a glamorous call to adventure. >> reporter: realizing that he set out on a mission. >> i want to provide the youth with an alternative hero journey. show that a sense of purpose, sense of identity and adventure in life can be achieved by service to others. by resilience by hope not will have and hate. >> reporter: some of his comics are about contemporary military heroes who are easy to embrace, he says. others also aim to change stereotypes like this one about an all-female counterterrorism unit. with some government funding ten years ago, he says he was able to print more than a million copy of his comics and reach children across the country. and he says it made a difference. now with no funding, he says there's little he can do. and with a tech-savvy group like isis he believes the need to counter the narrative now is more pressing than ever. >> even if tomorrow we kill every single terrorist with the press of a button the ideology

still thrives. the narratives is still spreading faster than ever. it's going global. >> reporter: he says a few years ago his work left him with a scar. >> i got attacked out of my office. two extremists with a raiser blade slashed my face -- razor blade slashed my face. i assume it was an attempt to scare me or stop me from my work. >> reporter: that incident he says only made him more determined to continue his fight on this different kind of battlefield. cnn, aman. we turn to haiti's capital now where an incident during the national carnival parade has left at least 16 people dead. investigators say it began when a singer on a mardi graw float was election -- mardi gras float of electrocuted by a power line. >> authorities say at least 68 people were hurt as people scattered from the scene. haiti's president calls this tragedy a grave incident. the victims were remembered at a

memorial as official cancel carnivale activities and call for three days of mourning. the australian prime minister tony abbott, is piling the pressure on indonesia over its plans to execute two australians who were convicted for drug trafficking. he's warning of diplomatic consequence and says indonesia owes it to australia to spare the men. >> we are doing no more for our citizens than indonesia routinely does for its own citizens. and if it's right and proper for indonesia to make these representations, if it's right and proper for other countries to heed indonesia's representations, it's right and proper for us to make the representations and for them to be heeded. >> indonesia says it does not respond well to threats. it maintains that this is a law enforcement issue, and innerference is not welcome. now a place in the u.s.

that's been a flashpoint of police relations. a police department in st. louis, missouri now under fire turning off a dash cam during a physical arrest. >> while the camera is rolling, you see officers pull the driver from the car, kick him repeatedly then stun him with a taser. then one of the officers walks back and turn the camera off. listen to what she says. >> i want all of you to hole up -- hole up. everybody, hole up. if you are worried about cameras, just wait. >> red is slang for a rolling camera. the officers pause before the video ends. the confrontation happened last year but the video was just released after the driver in the footage filed a lawsuit. >> you worn why did she say that -- wonder why did she say that? to put this into context, it was the police department in nearby ferguson missouri, that came under intense scrutiny last summer after unarmed teen michael brown was shot and killed by a police officer

there. the "st. louis dispatch" report the mayor of st. louis asked a tloir delay releasing -- a lawyer to delay releasing the video after riots and protests broke out after the shooting. we'll take a break. stay with us here on "cnn newsroom." [engine revving] [engine revving] [engine revving] ♪ introducing the first-ever 306 horsepower lexus rc coupe with available all-wheel drive. once driven, there's no going back. lease the 2015 rc 350 for $449 a month for 36 months. see your lexus dealer. hey, girl. is it crazy that your soccer trophy is talking to you right now? it kinda is. it's as crazy as you not rolling over your old 401k. cue the horns... just harness the confidence it took you to win me and call td ameritrade's rollover consultants. they'll help with the hassle by guiding you through the whole process step

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celebrations are underway in the united states even though festivities don't begin in china until tuesday this. of the beautiful scene tuesday in new york city. >> in china the celebration is in full swing. millions of chinese workers are making their way home for the holiday. it's the world's largest human migration with nearly four billion individual trips expected to be made this year alone. >> do have a lot of humans there. in fact china now a major force in the movie industry with hollywood blockbusters vying to get a share of that enormous market there. >> david mckenney offed one director who -- mckenzie offed one director who could be startation foreign trend of foreign producers starring in chinese. >> reporter: seven years in the making the epic wolf totem tells the story of a young man's awakening to the harsh world of nomadic life. it's based on the best-selling chinese novel of all time. and it's the first major chinese

production directed boy a foreigner. academy award winner jean jacques arnaud. why do you think they reached out to you to direct this film? >> they put it in simple terms. they said we don't know how to do what you do. therefore, we need you. >> reporter: the choice is surprising to many. annaud directed "seven years in tibet." the film its lead actor brad pitt and annaud were all banned from china. he claims he didn't have to apologize and says the producers for wolf totem came to him for his seminal work in films like "the bear" and "two brothers." to portray the tussle between wolf and man, they bred three generations of mongolian wolves. you've worked with animals in several of your film. obviously very challenging to do. how were wolves different? >> well they're a pack. therefore, you don't have one wolf in front of your camera

you've got several. stow multiplies the -- so it multiplies the difficulty. the beauty with wolves is they've got great eyes. they are predators, therefore everything goes through there. and it's very appealing for a director. ♪ >> reporter: while the thofl is seen by many -- novel is seen as many as a critique of the communist party, annaud focused on the environmental message that he says is critical to a chinese audience. >> thecountry is so industrial, the country is making every object we wear we use, so they have factories. and at the same time they need breathe. it's becoming a nationwide problem. more than ever and more than in our countries, it's -- a preoccupation. people want to change it.

>> very cool there. now, by now you have probably heard about a little device to help you take a picture of yourself without having someone else to it. a little click here. now some museums around the world are starting to ban selfie sticks. we'll explain why. well, a mortgage shouldn't be a problem your credit is in pretty good shape. >>pretty good? i know i have a 798 fico score 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.

welcome back everyone.

the new york yankees' third baseman, alex rodriguez, is apologizing to fans after sitting out the 2014 baseball season. he was accused of using performance enhancing drugs and having ties to the biogenesis clinic in florida. the founder of the clinic was sentenced to four years in prison tuesday. in a handwritten letter, rodriguez writes "i take full responsibility for the mistakes that led to my suspension for the 2014 season. i regret that my actions made the situation worse than it needed to be." remember the days when people asked someone else to take their picture? i remember those days. those days apparently are numbered. the so-called selfie stick which is really just an extendible pole that you attach your phone to let you take those self-portraits without anyone's help. >> come on, it's cooler than that. the stick can be used for group pictures. no one gets left out. no one's angry at you on the face page when you can't tag them. take a look at this -- even u.s.

president barack obama has one. so you know, it's presidential. >> everyone getting into the act, right? however, museums around the world, they're starting to ban the devices citing fears they could damage artwork or perhaps hurt other visitors. >> our next guest, zoe lee has written about selfie sticks on cnn.com. check out the opinion article. as you saw, it says "why the selfie stick must die." she joins us live from hong kong with more on. thanks for joining us. >> it looks like you've got it in for the self stick. why do you think it should die? >> let me clarify. what i mean is selfie sticks should die in crowded areas because i do agree with what some of the world-class museums around the world are saying which is that they are kind of anousance . they are a danger to other people when you're in a really crowded room. everyone's jostling to get that perfect shot. and suddenly there's a metal rod swinging by your face. you can imagine that that would

change your opinion about whether the selfie stick is good or not. >> and you also write that what really dwrienz your gears here is that we're all becoming a bit more narcissistic. while we should be at these museums and landmarks appreciating culture and artwork, instead we're just kind of uncertain ourselves into the image -- inserting ourselves into the image. is that what you're saying here? >> well i understand that selfies -- throughout history, everyone's been interested in painting self-portraits and expressing themselves by depicting themselves. the selfie is just the latest form of that kind of art. i wouldn't say i'm completely again the selfie. i'm guilty of taking selfies myself. but when we're traveling, you'd hope this we could turn the lens away from ourselves and more to the new thing, new experience that we're encountering which would make for a more satisfying trip. if we're less concerned about documenting the trip and more involved in the present moment.

>> you know i mean we actually took some pictures -- are we going to show those? we took some pictures in the newsroom today. there it is. >> there's the team -- >> look how useful it is. you can get these great aerial shots. you can get great crowds. i mean that's the first time i'd actually stein. you have to agree this -- seen it. you have to agree that there are great opportunities with the selfie stick. it's just a matter of being smart. i don't want to see them in museums either with the potential they have to destroy things. >> definitely. it's about being smart about it. and you know we've seen incredible photos taken by selfie sticks. people who have climbed to the tops of buildings and used the stick to get a really beautiful wide shot of where they are to show, you know, that kind of selfie. you have to have something that extend your arm so the camera can get a bigger shot. so for sure, i not that there is a place and a time for that perfect selfie stick shot. but not in the museum not in a crowded landmark tourist area.

>> okay. >> have that on set, live on television. one quickly -- >> take your time now. >> thank you very much. it's a very interesting topic. of course something we can all chime in on. >> bait fun. many thanks to you. >> you're welcome. thank you. it is the biggest event in the canine world, the 13 th annual westminster kennel club dog show. this year more than 2700 dogs competed for the honor of best in show at the pageant in new york city on tuesday night. in this dog-eat-dog-world, it came down to seven of the best. >> four-year-old beeg miss p. claimed top honors as best in show. miss p. is the second to win the prize following the vic trow in 2008, who can forget that? reserve best in show went to the sky terrier. good time charlie. >> i know it's him. and you are watching "cnn newsroom." i'm rosemary church.

>> i'm errol barnett. coming up next in our next hour more on our top story. kurdish fighters say they have repel an isis attack near the northern city of erbil. ♪ [epic music] ♪ introducing aleve pm... the pm pain reliever. that dares to work all the way until... [birds chirping] the am. new aleve pm. it's the first to combine a safe sleep aid plus the 12 hour strength of aleve. for pain relief that can last all the way until morning. new aleve pm, for a better am.

kurdish peshmerga fight back afteris on militants launch a major assault in iraq. the u.s. accuses russia of undermining the latest cease-fire in ukraine. and the never-ending winner extends its grip across the u.s. creating havoc deep in the south. hello and a big welcome to viewers here in the u.s. and around the world, i'm errol barnett. >> i'm rosemary church. this is "cnn newsroom." we begin with the latest in the fight against isis. as kurdish forces say they've regained control of an area just outside the northern iraqi city of erbil. >> that is the self-declared capital of the kurdish region and not far from the isis stronghold of mosul. skies fighters launch -- isis fires launched a major assault on the area tuesday. a