that's it for "starting point." "cnn newsroom" with carol costello begins now. blackout, a 34-minute power outage everyone is talking about. straight ahead, why it happened, what the energy company is saying, and did beyonce's halftime show have anything to do with it? can you believe it? baltimore fighting back in glowing purple. the city planning a huge parade to celebrate the ravens. ♪

clydesdales to calvins, tied to taco bell, jeep to that volkswagen ad that everyone is talking about. the 30-second spots you liked best. "newsroom" starts now. good morning. thank you so much for being with me. i'm carol costello in washington. one thing for sure, we will not stop talking about super bowl xlvii for a very long time, along with its electric halftime show and its electric free nightmare, the blackout early in the third quarter, plunging the superdome into darkness. the nfl title game grinding to a halt for 34 agonizing minutes. the loss of power frustrating players and coaches forced to stay on the field. it turned out to be a huge

turning point in the game. and there was also the social media flutter that followed the much hyped commercials, and beyonce's halftime spectacular and her outfit that turned quite a few heads. we have reporters from new orleans to new york covering all that is super bowl this morning. but we start with the most memorable moment, an image the nfl and new orleans want to forget, the power outage that stopped the super bowl. the third quarter off to a roaring start. baltimore returned the kickoff with a 108-yard jacoby jones touchdown. that put the ravens ahead 28-6. san francisco was on the ropes, and then the lights went out. really? look at ravens' coach john harbaugh pointing to the darkened section of the superdome. the 71,000 fans inside and the millions of tv viewers wondering what the heck just happened. >> i didn't know what to think. this is crazy. >> i didn't want to stay in my seat. i wanted to get close to the door just in case i needed to

run. >> i wasn't sure if a rat ate the wire or somebody pulled the chip out of the computer. >> it aingered ravens coach john harbaugh, but later he admitted. >> i made too big of a deal about it. i was worried it would hurt the phones and whether we had to make communications away. >> 34 minutes after the lights went out. >> third down and 13. let's go. >> the ravens held on and won. quarterback joe flacco, he took it in stride. >> it's one of those things that happens. you have to deal with it. >> the super bowl said the outage happened when a piece of equipment designed to monitor an electrical low sensed an outage in the system. it immediately flicked a breaker, and poof. the super bowl apologized for the incident. will this be a bruise to the new orleans image? >> this will be a blip. everyone has been wonderful, kind, happy, and polite. everybody's been great here. >> so did the blackout put a black eye on the big easy?

did new orleans lose a chance to host another super bowl? sunday marked the city's tenth time hosting the big game, but it was the first time since hurricane katrina, and new orleans wanted to put on a good show to be a super bowl host again and again. the city saw hundreds of thousands of tourists come to the city because of this game. cnn's rachel nichols joins us now. rachel, you were at that game. black eye for new orleans? >> reporter: it's interesting you talk about the breaker. it's kind of what happens in your basement, you go flip up the breaker and put it back in. the abnormality you referred to is about the power feed that comes into the stadium. it registered an abnormality in the amount of power coming in here, flipped open the breaker as sort of an auto shutoff to compensate. officials had to go in and reflick it back and get all the lights around the stadium up. you showed john harbaugh, the ravens coach, looking so heated. here's the inside scoop on why a

ravens official told me it wasn't about the power being off and getting the game started. it was when they wanted to restart the game. on the 49ers sideline, their head set, their coaches head sets weren't working. so the officials asked the ravens to turn their headsets off as well to make it a fair advantage. the ravens have a coach up in the box. the 49ers coaches were down on the field. so john said, hey, i'm not going to turn off our headsets if our coaches aren't here. he was asking the nfl to stop the game even longer, get his coaches down, have them stop it again. it was a real back and forth. he basically said his players wouldn't play while the nfl was trying to get them to start. instead, the power came back on and the headsets disaster was averted. we could have had a delay for another half hour. it was really quite a scene. i talked to john about that after the game. >> it didn't even matter in the end because they did such a great job of getting the headsets up and running. i was talking about

possibilities. i shouldn't have overreact the way i did. i felt bad about it. >> reporter: it was something more demanding. >> it was one thing more to manage. i thought the 49ers came back and did a great job. >> reporter: carol, this is the first time this has happened in a super bowl, but it's not the first time it's happened in a major event. in stanley cup finals in 1999, a game was delayed half an hour because of a power outage. and in the '98 stanley cup finals as well. i will tell you that last year in san francisco in a monday night football game, they had two power outages in a game against pittsburgh. san francisco came back out of those power outages and played like gang busters. players said they felt right at home last night. they went rip roaring again. unfortunately, it didn't quite work out for them. >> let's be honest. had the baltimore ravens lost that game, john harbaugh wouldn't be so generous in spirit this morning.

>> reporter: no question. and i think there's going to be more people, now that the game is over, looking at how this happens and why this happened. why they need to take this into account when they arrived new orleans another super bowl. we've been talking about how new orleans wants to get back in this game. it's been 11 years since they've had this event. they consider themselves a super bowl city. and this coincides with the 100th anniversary of this city in 2018. there are questions how they can handle that. the mayor has already issued a statement saying he's looking into the issue. >> i bet he is. rachel nichols live in new orleans for us this morning. thank you. celebrating after the game was baltimore's michael oher and his mom. both gained fame, thanks, of course, "the blind side." >> you can thank me later. >> this team is your family, michael. you have to protect them. tony here is the quarterback.

you protect his blind side. when you look at him, you think of me. >> yes, ma'am. >> you're going to want to get this. >> wow. >> you've seen the movie "the blind side." it's the story of ravens offensive tackle michael oher and his relationship with his adoptive mother leanne touhey played by sandra bullock. the real leanne touhey was at the super bowl. she posted this picture on instagram. look at that 6789 clearly celebrating the victory. some of the ads were funny, but probably the most controversial was a gun control ad targeting the nra. >> the nra once supported background checks. >> we think it's reasonable to provide mandatory instant criminal background checks for

every sale at every gun show, no loopholes anywhere for anyone. >> america can do this for us. please. >> jason carroll is following the story of the ads this morning. good morning, jason. >> reporter: good morning to you, carroll. the ad that you just saw right there was the gun control ad called it's time. a lot of people didn't get a chance to see it unless they saw it online, and that's because it only aired in the washington, d.c. market. the ad was actually bought by the group mayors against illegal guns. new york's mayor michael bloomberg was the one behind that particular ad you saw right there. in fact, he's put his money behind the group, and as you saw it, it features children and the nra's executive vice president wayne la pierre. that video you saw in the ad is him testifying in 1999 where he says he supports background checks. you remember last week during that cnn town hall on gun control, the nra made it very

clear the group's leaders do not support universal background checks. so that ad was created to put pressure on lawmakers and to try to fall in step with the overwhelming majority of americans, which polling shows seem to support these broupd checks on gun purchases. when it comes to these ads, nothing is off limits. >> it seems so. we saw a lot of interesting ads during the super bowl. maybe the most heartwarming. let's talk about that kind of ad. heartwarming ad has to go to budweiser, right? >> reporter: did you see it? i watched it. how can you not have a dry eye when you watch this? this is the budweiser ad. it was a winner by a long shot. if you haven't seen it already. take a look. ♪ ♪ >> reporter: what you didn't see there, carol, earlier in that ad, you see the clydesdale as a

foal, and you see the trainer giving him milk and watching him grow up. then you see him going down this parade route. he's looking at him longingly thinking he's going to turn around, and he does in the end. asymmetrics, the company that rates ads, says that particular ad was one of the highest rated ever. the ad was so well liked, even the people behind the competing ad for century 21 said the horse won hands down. >> i kind of like the taco bell ad, though. i thought that was pretty funny. >> reporter: i loved it just because it was great to see these seniors really having a lot of fun, and that's really what this was all about. seniors escaping the old folks home to get out there and party. you have to take a look at part of this one. ♪

>> reporter: so as you see there, they're out there doing everything a lot of people would do. i guess, if you're elderly and you want to get out of the home and you're craving your taco bell and probably some other things as well we shouldn't mention on tv. they are having a lot of fun. with any winner, there's going to be losers as well. and some of the ads that just didn't seem to rate very well with consumers and watchers, that go daddy ad, the spot between the model making out with the nerd. that really seemed to turn a lot of people off. also, there was the volkswagen spot featuring the guy with the jamaican accent. that seemed to offend a lot of people. and calvin klein, which was there for anyone who wanted to look the aa man in his underwear moving around. that didn't seem to rate very highly as well. maybe he should have done more than just move around. >> a man in his underwear moving around. said like that, it doesn't sound very good. >> reporter: that's calvin klein, what are you going to do?

>> thank you so much, jason carroll. we appreciate it. you've probably seen "usa today's" ad meter, which rates the ads you most like. we'll talk to the people who put that ad together later this hour. girl power took over super bowl at halftime with pop star beyonce bringing down the house. ♪ oh, beyonce's 12-minute concert also reunited her with destiny's child. well, a lot of people believe there was no lip syncing controversy here. nischelle turner is here now. i must say, i was watching that entire halftime show, and i was trying to figure it out, if she lip synched any part of that performance, and i couldn't. >> i was having a hard time figuring it out as well. but if you listen to her tone, it wasn't completely perfect. so you think maybe she was singing live. you know, carol, two weeks ago, what were we talking about? we were talking about beyonce

lip sync gate, and odds are she was going to put on a fantastic show at the super bowl anyway. i think she may have put a little extra oomph in it last night just to silence the critics. its proper name is the super bowl. this year some called it the har bowl. >> the brothers' reaction. >> reporter: but others renamed that little game played in the super bowl as the opening act to the beyonce bowl. ♪ it was arguably the most talked about halftime show in super bowl history. >> this is what i was born to do. >> reporter: buzz built from the moment two weeks ago when beyonce took center stage at president obama's inauguration. ♪ and the rockets' red glare >> reporter: and chose not to sing live but to a prerecorded track of her voice performing the national anthem. critics wondered why when other

performers that day sang live. >> due to the weather, due to the delay, due to no proper sound check, i did not feel comfortable taking a risk. >> reporter: so what does she do now? two weeks later standing in the spotlight once again. ♪ >> reporter: backed by an all girl band, the singing superstar seemed to silence her critics by tearing through her biggest hits, including "crazy in love" and "baby boy." when her former destiny's child members, kelly roland and michelle williams, joined her, super bowl watchers from new york to l.a. dance ed and sang along with "b." by the reaction, lip sync gate is all but forgotten. >> she was phenomenal. >> reporter: you thought so? >> absolutely phenomenal. for someone singing live, that was amazing. >> she fell down after inauguration, but she came up and made up for it. can't be mad no more.

it's over. she threw down. >> hard to sing and dance in heels and do all that. i think she really did a great job. >> reporter: do we need to stop asking these questions or stop talking about the inauguration scene? >> enough about the inauguration! >> reporter: the super famous also weighed in on beyonce's super show. the first lady took to twitter saying, "watching the #super bowl with family and friends, and beyonce was phenomenal. i am so proud of her." the most famous woman with one name summed up the super bowl show with one word. beyonce! and jay-z didn't forget to support his wife as seen on this instagram post. and after the super bowl power outage, jay-z tweeted "lights out. any questions?" any questions have now been

answered. this supersize performance has put lip sync gate to rest. >> she was not lip syncing. >> reporter: after that big squeeze from husband jay-z, beyonce put out a little love of her own. "what a proud day for african american women, kelly, michelle, alicia, j. hud, you were all tal epted and showed super class. it was an honor to perform at the super bowl with you phenomenal ladies." that may have been her mvp speech because alec baldwin tweeted last night as well. his tweet was "the mvp of the super bowl rhymes with beyonce." >> all she needed to do at the end of her performance was just drop the mike. >> drop it. >> nischelle turner, thank you. beyonce, as you heard, wasn't the only singer to rock the super bowl. coming up in next hour, michelle talks about jennifer hudson's stirring rendition of "america

the beautiful" with the sandy hook elementary chorus. and alicia keys with her version of "the star spangled banner." a look at both performances coming your way in just about 40 minutes. first, a check on other stories we're following this morning. in california, tragedy on a narrow sloping highway. a tour bus crashes in the night. [ engine revving ] ♪ [ male announcer ] every car we build must make adrenaline pump and pulses quicken. ♪ to help you not just to stay alive... but feel alive. the new c-class is no exception.

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the death toll in san bernardino, california, just east of los angeles, there was a big tour bus crash, and the death toll now stands at eight. that death toll is expected to rise. authorities believe the bus r r rear-ended a car and then crashed into a pickup truck, and then the bus rolled over. the accident happened in a mountainous area on a stretch of state highway 38 because it's an

area known for its winding roads. it's often dangerous traffic conditions. cnn's paul vercammen is near the crash scene. bring us up to date, paul. >> reporter: carol, when you go up to that crash scene, it is grisly, it is horrific, and it is heart-breaking. right now the coroner's office on scene trying to sort out this mess. there are bodies inside this bus. there are bodies outside this bus. there are tarps covering these bodies, and what's leading to a lot of confusion right now is some of these bodies are so close together they don't have a firm grip on just how many fatalities there are. that's why the california highway patrol has said right now they are setting a preliminary number at eight, but they say that that will undoubtedly change and will rise. also, we know that at least 27 people have been wounded, 6 of them critically, and taken to area hospitals. some of them are children, carol. right now a very active

investigation, and word that we have from caltrans and others is witnesses said they saw smoking from the back of the bus, and all indications are there could have been a problem with the brakes. >> paul vercammen reporting live from san bernardino county, california, this morning. no xwe about it. this year's super bowl wasn't just about football. politics, over the top ads, a much anticipated halftime performance. who were the winners and losers? it's our talk back question today. facebook.com/carolcnn, or tweet me @carolcnn.

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with hand-layered pasta, tomatoes, and real mozzarella cheese. but what makes us even prouder... is what our real dinners can do for your family. stouffer's. let's fix dinner. now's your chance to talk back on one of the stories of the day. the question this morning. who are the winners and losers of the super bowl? super bowl xlvii. truly, truly, one of the strangest trips ever. it had it all. mayors talking about gun control. >> we think it's reasonable to provide mandatory instant criminal background checks for every sale at every gun show, no loopholes anywhere for anyone. >> america can do this for us. please.

>> and there was the president talking about gay equality and the boy scouts. >> my attitude is that gays and lesbians should have access and opportunity the same way everybody else does in every institution and walk of life. >> there were touching patriotic ads honoring our troops, and farmers, doritos, and calvin klein underwear. there was football too. a whiplash inducing game. still you had to wonder who had more to prove last night, the ravens, the 49ers, or beyonce? ♪ >> the game was a blowout until beyonce's overly produced light show blew it out. maybe not literally but still. how many times in your lifetime have you witnessed a power outage after a spectacular 108-yard touchdown run? as tom shales put it in the "chicago sun-times," when the

lights went out, this big huge thing looked stunningly, even laughably insignificant, just a bunch of guys standing around in the dark wearing tight pants and looking lost without a ball to chase up and down a field." social media loved it. twitter lit up during the power outage. 231,500 tweets per minute, one from the dark lord himself, aka lord voldemort from harry potter. he tweeted "the stadium just went into a blackout. clearly the dementors showed up a little late to watch beyonce." black magic aside, the super bowl is quintessentially american, but with a super bowl that lasted all night long, it's no wonder i have a super super bowl hangover. so the talk back question for you, who were the winners and losers at the super bowl? facebook.com/carolcnn. or you can tweet me @carolcnn. t.

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good morning. thank you so much for joining me. i'm carol costello. 30 minutes past the hour. time to check our top stories. the opening bell on wall street. the dow beginning the week at its highest level in more than five years. it posted above the 14,000 mark on friday. ringing the especiallyopening b executives with ellie mae, a company for the mortgage industry. john kerry coming into his new role as secretary of state. he's taken over the job by hillary clinton, and he's had a busy weekend. he spoke to palestinian and israeli leaders and other world leaders as america's new top diplomat. and today you can buy a forever stamp in honor of civil rights icon rosa parks. it coincides with what would

have been her 100th birthday. parks made her way into the history books following the arrest for refusing to give up her constituent on the bus. the moment that got everyone talking about the super bowl wasn't a touchdown, it was when the lights went out at the superdome. the internet practically exploded. some blamed the power outage on beyonce, others blamed it on the batman villain bain. do we know for sure what caused the power outage? >> i slept her last night. is alicia keys still doing the national anthem? we're going to talk about how long it took her to get through the national anthem, carol. that was part of social media. i was on this anchor desk until midnight checking social media, and, yes, my trusty tweet deck was going crazy. i want to show you some of the

tweets that were going through. you mentioned bain and batman. this one viewer said, "people of gotham" -- talking about the classic scene in the last batman movie, where someone took over a movie theater. one viewer said, "luckily the bar for worst power outage at the superdome is set really high." next viewer said, "in hindsight, maybe installing the clapper was a bad idea." you know that clap on, clap off thing. and another said, "the harbaugh sisters shut off the lights screaming stop fighting. can you both just get along?" talking about the harbaugh brothers. let's talk about the hot searches. number one, of course, carol, you know what it is, it is beyonce. over 1 million people still searching for beyonce and people looking up the super bowl commercials, the hot model and the mercedes benz commercial. there's beyonce.

♪ >> obviously, she was not lip syncing last night. she was performing live. among the other top searches, bar refaeli, the hot mode el involved in the kiss with way too much sound, and alicia keys. speaking of alicia keys and taking so long to do the national anthem. you want to bet what the over/under for sporting groups on how long it would take her to do the national anthem. what do you think it was? >> i have no clue. >> one site set the over/under at 2:15. do you know what she came in at? >> l wewell, i think the nation anthem is about 1:35. she added a few words at the end. maybe 1:47. >> she came in at 2:36.34 seconds, only second to natalie cole at 1:52 back in 1994.

>> i thought it was a beautiful rendition. she had to carefully sing it with what happened at the inauguration and all. >> she was great. we're just joking. she was great, but it was long. ♪ for the land of the free ♪ and the home of the brave >> like we said, it was long. now it's time for "the situation room" and wolf blitzer it took us to get that out. >> ray lewis was trying to sing along with her, and he couldn't. >> ray lewis was lip syncing. she was singing. he was lip syncing. >> he was trying. don lemon, thanks so much. that was a lot of fun.

just before the game, barack obama weighed in on the showdown away from the football field. the boy scouts of america could announce as early as today the end to a ban on openly gay members. in an interview with cnn, the president talks about why he feels changing that policy is so important. >> carol, my attitude is that gays and lesbians should have access and opportunity the same way everybody else does in every institution and walk of life. the scouts are a great institution that are promoting young people and exposing them to opportunities and leadership that will serve people for the rest of their lives, and i think that nobody should be barred from that. >> joining me now is peter spriggs, senior fellow with the family research council. good morning. >> good morning, carol. >> peter, your group and many

others bought some ad time in "usa today." what are you saying in that ad? >> well, we're encouraging the boy scouts to stand firm by the timeless principles they've always represented. it's odd president obama talks about what a great organization they are, but part of what makes them a great organization is because they stand on this foundation of timeless moral principles. we think it would be a grave mistake for them to abandon that. >> it seems history is -- i mean, you have football players in the national football league coming out and saying, it's time that we have gay equality in this country. kids are hearing these football players, their heroes, talking about it. you don't want them to hear about it in some place like the boy scouts? >> well, people who want to promote the acceptance of homosexuality have the complete freedom to form their own youth development organization, and

that's what they should do rather than trying to transform the nature of a longstanding organization. we believe that scouts have been well-served by the policy they have. they defended it all the way to the united states supreme court and won. i think it's exaggerated how much society is changing. a majority of americans, according to a recent poll, still believe that it's morally wrong to engage in sexual relations with a person of the same sex, and parents who share that view -- >> let me interject for just a second. it's also true that a majority of americans think that gay people have a right to be married in this country. so times are changing, and thoughts about the gay lifestyle, it's changing. it's just a fact. you see it everywhere. do you really think a gay scout leader is going to become a gay scout leader to push a gay

agenda? seriously? >> the mere fact that someone openly identifies themselves as homosexual means that they are modelling for boys the acceptability of homosexual conduct. and parents who do not agree with that view have a right to protect children from that. they have a right to protect their children just from being egs po exposed to the topic prematurely, and they have a right to protect their children from potential risk at child sexual abuse at the hands of men who might be attracted to other males. >> well, i'll just say that the american psychological association has studied the issue that you just mentioned. homosexuals aren't any more likely to molest kids than straight men. plus you're condemning every single homosexual in the country as being a possible pedophile, and that's not fair. >> without even debating that issue, i think most parents would not feel comfortable sending their daughters on overnight camping trips with men who are sexually attracted to

females. and by the same token, most parents would not want to send their sons on overnight camping trips with adult men who are sexually attracted to males. >> but i believe in the girl scouts of america, don't they accept gay scout leaders there? there doesn't seem to be a huge problem there. >> there's quite a bit of controversy about the girl scouts of america, and that's why some traditionally minded people have created alternative organizations, such as the american heritage girls, because the girl scouts have actually given in to this liberal, politically correct agenda. >> peter spriggs with the family research council. thank you very much. coming up after the break, i'm going to talk with someone on the other side of the debate, a former assistant scoutmaster expelled from the scouts for being gay.

we're continuing our discussion on a historical shift for the boy scouts of america, as a group continues ending its ban, its national ban on gay members. some are praising the potential change. others, including texas governor and eagle scout rick perry, are voicing concern. >> scouting is about teaching a

substantial amount of life lessons. sexuality is not one of them. never has been. it doesn't need to be. >> james dale is a former assistant scoutmaster who was expelled by the boy scouts in 1990 for being gay. he filed a lawsuit to be reinsta reinstated, a suit that was later dismissed after the u.s. supreme court said forcing the scouts to accept him would violate their first amendment freedom of association rights. good morning, james. >> good morning. >> as you listen to governor perry, what goes through your mind? >> i think there are always going to be different opinions out there. governor perry was never particularly sensitive on the issues of racism, and back to the camp episode from about 2 1/2 years, 2 years ago or so. i wouldn't look to him as a model of fairness and nondiscrimination. he's definitely entitled to his opinion. it was unfortunate he made the battleground, when he's talking to young people in the boy scouts. i believe that's when he made those comments. i prefer to direct my attention

to the president of the united states, who's the honorary chief scout executive, who as you mentioned just yesterday, implored that the boy scouts should open their ranks to young gay children and allow them to feel equal and allow them to be respected for who they are. >> you heard governor perry talk about sexuality. you were a scoutmaster. did you talk to the troops about sexuality? >> boy scouts has never been about sexuality. that's where people on the other side of this debate are wrong. it's not about discussing sexuality in the boy scouts. it's about allowing young people to be who they are and not have to lie to meet outdated descriptions of unclean and immoral, as the boy scouts have labeled young children. >> those are the other side of the issue from you would say, hey, you lost in court. so that must mean that we have a valid argument. so why not follow it, boy scouts of america?

>> sure. what the united states supreme court gave the boy scouts the right to discriminate by granting them a first amendment shield from new jersey's law against discrimination. but they in no way said that discrimination is right. and i think what we see going on in the 13 years since that decision is america is changing. if the boy scouts want to be relevant, if the boy scouts want to continue to solicit funds around the country and sort of position themselves as representing everything good in america, they need a change. this is why this issue has come up again. they reviewed the policy, and there was so much backlash from their members, from children in the organization, from parents there, that they had to take another look at it. also from members of their board. now is the time. the boy scouts need to do this once and do it right. they shouldn't allow a half decision saying there can be one troop that discriminates and another troop that doesn't. what the boy scouts must do this week is they need to put an end to discrimination in the boy

scouts. everybody knows discrimination is wrong. >> we'll see what they decide. former scoutmaster james dale, thank you so much for being with us this morning. >> thank you. the ravens won the super bowl, but who won the ad battle? "usa today's" ad meter has the top three spots. we'll talk about them. [ female announcer ] imagine skin so healthy, it never gets dry again. can your moisturizer do that? [ female announcer ] dermatologist recommended aveeno has an oat formula, now proven to build a moisture reserve, so skin can replenish itself. that's healthy skin for life. only from aveeno. with hand-layered pasta, tomatoes, and real mozzarella cheese. but what makes us even prouder... is what our real dinners can do for your family. stouffer's. let's fix dinner.

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talk back question for you today, who are the winners and losers of the super bowl. this from don. beyonce was the real winner. what a great show. i don't normally listen to her jay-z took home the real trophy. from mary, clydesdale jeep, doritos and jennifer hudson and the kids. the harbaughs, of course. keep the conversation going.

baltimore won the super bowl but who won the super bowl ad battle? according to "usa today's" ad meter, anheuser-busch took first place with the clydesdale spot.

procter & gamble took second with the tide ad featuring an image of joe montana on a fan-stainedjers write. chrysler placed third with this homage to the american farmer. >> on the eighth day, god looked down on his planned paradise and said i need a caretaker. so god made a farmer. god said i need somebody willing to get up before dawn, milk cows. >> that's paul harvey. brings back lots of memories. good morning. >> hi, good morning. >> explain to us how the ad meter works. >> so, "usa today," for 25 years, has been getting consumer reaction to the games. we have been doing that by having focus groups for 24 of the last 25 years. we would have smaller focus groups across the country. to rate the ads. but this year we opened it up to adults nationwide so we had them go into a password protected

site and they rated the ads simply from one to ten. let us know how they felt about them. >> most interesting thing to me is the chrysler ad with paul harvey's voice. it was long. it was two minutes long. it wasn't for any -- i mean, seemingly it wasn't for any particular product. what do you think struck people about this particular ad? >> i definitely hi the imagery in the ad struck people. if you are watching a game with lots of high-production ads, lots of celebrities, lots of big production issues, you stop for a minute and you just look at those images and they are beautiful. they are just shot in such an incredibly real way. i think that's what really got people's attention. then you heard that voice. the soothing voice. adding to chrysler's favor a lot of people know to look for the chrysler ads. keeping an eye out for it. >> it struck me just to hear paul harvey's voice. it brought me back to my childhood. i listened to him every day on the radio. the anheuser-busch ad, you can understand why people like that

because it was an animal ad. people love animal ads. >> people go crazy for animal ads. the music in that spot was fantastic, too. it made it very powerful. >> what do you think of joe montana on the fan-stained jersey. that was a funny ad in the midst of lots of funny ads pap what stood out about that one? >> you think a pew reasons why the tide ad stood out. in particular, they did something very different than other marketers. they didn't pre-release the ad before the game. other advertisers put their ad out a week or so before the game to get lots of buzz. spending lots of money on the ad. they want to get their bang for the buck. tide decided to put it up that might and have a surprise ending. i think people hadn't seen the joke before and they laughed at it and it was something new for them. >> that's good. that makes me happy. all the hype doesn't make the ads as excite. >> we all like a little surprise. >> exactly. thank you so much for being with

us this morning. the super bowl fashion winner was none other than beyonce. not only gave as you show-stopping halftime performance but she also had heads turning with her black leather outfit. acle alina cho is in new york to talk about the sexy get-up. >> it was a sexy little get-up, wasn't it? you know, what what an incredible moment for little known designer new york based designer rubin singer. i spoke to him just before he got to new york. talk about inspiration. singer told me the inspiration behindions's super bowl outfit was a warrior woman. found appropriate, doesn't it? the outfit itself took 200 to 250 hours to make. it is made of five different color leather, python, iguana, and two kinds of lamb skin.

there's also lace. you saw that. you saw the beginning of her perfect form answer. beyonce was also wearing a matching motorcycle jacket. cropped one and a skirt. she shed that midway through. singer, who just 34 years old, with a 6-year-old namesake label, told me he beat out some of the biggest designers on the planet. why? he says because he and beyonce were just in sync in their vision of what she should look like on this big night. >> there's certain moments of designers have that define their arrival. and i -- i hope to believe -- i mean, i think that's what's happening here. you know. she has been such a fierce defender of this project with me and supporter that, you know, it has been a gift because of it. it truly has. she has allowed somebody that she believed in and somebody

that she has worked with and somebody that she knew could deliver but the rest of the world necessarily may have not and, you know, here we are. >> ain't credible moment. singer told me he spent the past would weeks or so in new orleans just to be on hand for fittedings. he also designed not just beyonce's outfit but outfits for michelle williams and carol. all 120 backup singers. you know when i spoke to him by phone last night, he -- i said to him, you know, what an amazing gift that she gave you. he said, yes, what an amazing gift and guess what, she knew she was giving it to me. what a moment for this designer. she on his way back to new york now. you can bet his presentation this season will be much more busier than last season. >> i bet so. aclean a cho, thanks so much. next hour of "cnn newsroom" starts after a quick break.

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happening now in the newsroom, blackout. 34-minute power outage everyone is talking about this morning. straight ahead, why it happened. what the energy company is saying and did beyonce's halftime show have anything whatsoever to do with it? gun proposal push. president obama leave thing hour to promote his plan to reduce

gun violence. we will tell you where he is headed. plus, the new controversy over the obama administration's contraception compromise. why some companies are not so happy about it still. you will hear from one. former marine is accused of killing the man known as america's deadliest sniper at a resort lodge. a live update. "newsroom" starts now. good morning. thanks for being with me. i'm carol costello reporting from washington. this just in. we are keeping our eyes on the stock market as we cross the top of the hour. because the dow is tanking. it has been down around 100 points since the opening bell rang 30 minutes ago. alison kosik is at the new york stock exchange. why is this happening? >> so close, yet so far. just when the dow was within striking distance of its all-time high we are seeing this pullback. hey, it was fun on friday

watching the dow hit 14,000. it went past that for first time in five years. now we are watching the dow pull further away from that milestone. what happened was on friday, you saw the dow rally pretty much on an upbeat jobs report from january. that was the reason for that rally. but now the question marks are coming out over whether all of that momentum can continue. especially since there is not much out there to guide investors as earnings season winds down. you have a lot of question marks floating around the market and that's one reason you are seeing the pullback today. >> alison kosik reporting live from the new york stock exchange. to the super bowl. baltimore ravens might have won super bowl xlvii but the game might be forever known as the blackout bowl. the power outage hit early in the third quarter. plunging the superdome into darkness. the nfl title game grinding to a halt for about 34 minutes. frustrating plours and coaches and forced to stay on the field. it proved to be a huge turning

point in the game for a time. it is a moment the nfl in the city of new orleans want to forget. third quarter was off to a roaring start. baltimore returned the kickoff with a 108 yard jacoby jones touchdown. put the i have aens ahead 28-6. san francisco was on the ropes and then the lights went out. really? look at ravens coach john harbaugh pointing to the darkened section of the superdome. the 71,000 fans inside and millions of the viewers wondering what the heck just happened. >> i didn't know what to think. i was -- crazy. >> i didn't want to stay in my seat. i wanted to get close to the door just in case. >> i was than sure if it was a rat that ate the wire or somebody pulled a chip out of the computer. >> power outage did anger ravens coach john harbaugh but later admitted -- >> i made too big a deal about that. it had to do with the phones and -- you know, whether we were going to have communication or we would have to take communication away. >> finally, more than 33 minutes after the lights went out -- >> third down and 13.

let's go. >> -- the ravens held on and won. quarterback joe flacco, he took tonight stride. >> one of those things that happens. you have to deal with it. >> the superdome said the outage happened when a piece of equipment designed to monitor electrical load sensed an abnormality in the system. evidently flipped a breaker and poof, the superdome apologized for the incident. will this be a bruise to new orleans' image? >> this will be a blip. everybody has been wonderful. kind, happy and polite. everybody has been great here. >> the power outage came at a i'm when the ravens were running away with the game. ravens were leading by 28-6 at the time. when the lights came back on, san francisco went on a 25-6 run. it was than enough for the win. cnn's rachel nichols was at the game. good morning, rachel. were the niners simply better at managing the blackout?

>> yeah. you talk to the ravens after the game and they admitted the 49ers won the blackout. they won the game. get some solace there. ed reed said they started talking during the blackout amongst themselves. once you start talking about it, i gets into your head and several guys said they thought it was part of their problem. on the 49ers' side, however, well, they had an unusual practice for the moment that happened last night. had never happened before in a super bowl but last year during the high-profile "monday night football" game against pittsburgh, there had been a power outage and stoppage of play in that game. they had come out of that power outage like gangbusters. they did it once again last night. they felt more comfortable. it was a worrying few minutes for all of the ravens but especially for ray lewis who is retiring after this game. ending a stellar 17-year career. take a listen to what he said

once it was all over. >> i think that's the first time that ever happened in the super bowl. you know. for something that strange to happen, this had to keep your focus. you know. we was on a roll. we was on a roll just then. to stop that momentum the way it did, you know, you saw the way things started to shift. but we finished it. we finished it, man. again, it just shows what our team is built for. you know. no matter what we have been faced with, positive coach co. the coach said no matter what's go on here, it doesn't matter. we are here to finish this race. we finished it. >> roger goodell the commissioner of the nfl, spoke this morning. he says that the nfl is still looking into exactly what happened, abnormality that you referred to. although he noted there were no safety issues on the field. the only injury he said at the superdome was very minor when an escalator stopped out on the concourse. >> rachel nichols, thanks so

much. reporting live from new orleans this morning. beyonce may have stolen the show. alicia keys is crabbing headlines of her own after her rendition of the national anthem. ♪ of the brave ♪ living in the home of the brave ♪ >> alicia keys adding a few extra words to the "star spangled banner." michelle turner joins us now. i thought she was great. >> living in the home of the brave. yes, she was. she was. pitch perfect. in new orleans, when you add a little more on to something, they call it land yap.

she had some of the players on the sidelines in tears. she took to her piano and belted out the slower-paced version of the song, a lot slower. she even took brief pauses during her performance. she stretched the song to a total of 2 minutes, 36 minutes. that made her rendition of the national anthem the longest. >> she set her own record. >> yes. >> let's talk about jennifer hudson. she performed "america the beautiful" with the sandy hook elementary school chorus. it was touching. >> yes. you know, this has become one of the most touching and talked about moments from the super bowl. just as a viewer, it is the moment that stuck with me. jennifer hudson performing with the sandy hook's choir. both hudson and these children have been affected by gun violence in their lives. lot of layers to this performance here. hudson's mother, brother and her 7-year-old nephew were shot and killed back in october of 2008. remember that? by her sister's estranged

husband, william balfour. jennifer hudson's first appearance after that tragedy was singing the national anthem at the super bowl in 2009. it was so point dwroont see her standing there as someone whose life was forever changed by gun violence. with these children who experienced the same type of grief. i don't know anybody who wasn't watching that, my twitter timeline, exploded last night with people saying i'm sitting here and n a pool of tears because that just really stuck. >> it was really touching. michelle turner, many thanks. the moment that got everyone talking during the super bowl was than about my touchdown. it was actually when the lights went out at the superdome. then the internet exploded. some blamed the power outage on beyonce. others blamed it on the batman villain bain. don lemon is following that part of the story this morning. >> i think it was a giant lighted beyonce that made the

lights go out in the superdome. uh-oh. lights just went out here. that was the moment really. that was a moment that everybody -- let's talk about twitter exploding. people are talking about that. they are talking about the night the lights went out in new orleans. first let's go to the tweets now. mo rock. in the cartoon super bowl had just keep playing during the blackout. all you see are eyes. then someone else says, superdome i.d. guy smuggling dinosaur dna samples out of the stadium. someone else says just plug in a generator to beyonce's hips and the problem would be solved. this never would have happened if the superdome had a gun. people getting in on the big gun talk here. van jones, who knew, van jones has a sense of humor. beyonce sings so well, carol, i hardly noticed her outfit or dance moves at all. did she look okay?

very funny. quickly a couple of companies getting in. nabisco, oreo cookie said you can still dunk in the dark. tide said we can't get your black out but we can get your stains out. super bowl tide power. >> they are taking advantage of the situation. right? >> how do you like that? >> i like it. i think you should stick to talking but i like the hand j s gestu gesture. >> i haven't had any sleep. a little punch drunk. >> i understand. by the way, don, later today, super bowl mvp ravens quarterback joe flacco joins brook you a b brooke baldwin to talk about what it was like to be part of one of the most memorable super bowls in history. some say a compromise does not go far enough. why a new white house proposal on the controversial contraception mandate is still

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time to check our top stories. investigators remain at the scene of a tour bus crash in southern california that killed at least eight people. that number expected to rise, too. overturned last night after rear ending a car and then crashing with a pickup truck on a narrow

sloping road. witnesses report seeing smoke coming from the back of the bui with the brakes. dow backing off from last week's momentum. after the opening bell retreated from the 14,000 mark it hit friday. highest day of closing for the dow in more than five years. in other news this morning, the obama administration is offering a compromise on a contraceptive mandate that made headlines and angered some religious leaders under the proposal women will get free birth control. but insurance companies will pay for it. not religious affiliated organizations like, you know, churches. finally, birth control will be offered as a separate benefit allowing groups that are opposed to it to distance themselves. kyle duncan is with the beckett fund for religious liberty and lead council for javy lobby. saying it violates religious freedoms. good morning. >> good morning, carol.

thanks for having me back. >> thanks for being with us again. we appreciate it. so the obama administration is trying to compromise here. it is now ex- -- it exempted churches and -- catholic hospitals and the like from buying their female employees contraceptions. it doesn't apply to private companies likes yours. what's your reaction this morning? >> right, carol. you know, the -- what's being offered is disappointing. thing it doesn't do, it doesn't do anything for religious business owners. that's disappointing, the administration continues to say business owners don't have any religious rights in connection with their business. second thing it doesn't do, it doesn't expand the exemption at all. the administration admits the religious employer exemption, which really separate religious organizations from these -- from the drugs and practices, does not expand at all. what the proposal does is propose a bookkeeping

arrangement. unfortunately it is still going to leave many religious organizations still tangled up with practices that they oppose. it also seems that the government is not really sure how that is supposed to work. especially when an organization insurance itself. it is not clear from this proposal how that is supposed to work. so it leaves really a lot of questions. the main question is -- why not expand the exemption itself to include the religious hospital or the religious charity or the religious university n that's really how our laws have dealt with conscience problems in the past. they have exempted them and allowed the distance. >> it kind of does. it is really complicated. it seems like it is still a work in progress, too. right? >> it does. >> public hearings on it. and -- but i wanted to ask you this. the supreme court denied the claim to avoid this mandate. where does that leave your company? >> all justice sotomayor did was

said she would not get involved at this time and would let the appeals process take its course. these appellate courts are going to be weighing in. it is for to realize so far the businesses are winning by a score of 11-3 on these cases. the courts are really saying you have strong claims. hobby lobby will will get its day in court in the tenth circuit very soon. you have strong claims. it is surprising the administration would leave them completely out of this proposed compromise. it is disappointing and it is surprising since the courts are taking these arguments very, very seriously. >> it is not over yet. thank you so much. >> thanks, carol. joining me, the president of the national partnership for women and families. good morning, deborah.

>> good morning, carol. >> thank you for being with us. you say it is time for krit toy krit toyks stop politicizing women's health. you heard it is a violation of their faith. >> first of all, this issue is really about whether private employers get to make decisions about women's health care. i think the administration has struck a very reasonable compromise. they exempt religious institutions, like churches and houses of worship from being held responsible for providing contraception. if you are a religious organization that's affiliated in a nonprofit way with a religion and against your beliefs, for example if you are a university or if you are a health system, they have made accommodations to ensure that you don't have to be involved in the direct provision the payment, the contracting the referral or any of the

arrangements for ensuring that -- >> what about -- what about private companies like hobby lobby? the owners object on, you know, moral reasons that they don't want to pay for contraception for their employer, employees. >> i know folks have tried to talk about this as a religious liberty issue. that feels a bit like a smoke screen for folks who are really trying to impose their views about birth control on others. there is nothing in this law which in any way impedes an employer's ability to exercise his or her own religious beliefs. but there is nothing which says that religious liberty requires you to impose your beliefs on others. and by allowing for these accommodations for religious institutions but ensuring that -- in the private sector, if you are a business that's operating in the public sector, you have to operate by public

laws, we are saying that employers cannot make these decisions about their women's health -- women employees' health care for them. they cannot impose their religious beliefs on their women employees. and really, if you think about other types of health care and other types of religious beliefs, take, for example, blood transfusions. if you are an employer who happens to believe that blood transfusions are against your religion, we wouldn't say that it would be okay for you to say to your employees, you can't be covered for blood transfusions. there are lots of things that we ask employers to do that are for the public good, for public safety, for public health reasons. and that is part of doing business in the public sphere. >> thank you for being with us this morning. >> thank you for having me. we will be right back.

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super bowl month longer just a football game. it has become like a platform for the culture wars. including gay rights. don lemon managed to snag an interview with brendan. >> besides the commercials and star performances, becoming a cultural war. new battlefield for social issues including same-sex marriage. baltimore ravens linebacker brendan knows all about this battle. i want to talk to you about this platform you wanted to talk

about so much. first of all, to tissue apartment hand, let's talk about the blackout first. you were there at the super bowl. you guy has the momentum going into the third quarter. what was -- what went threw your mind when the lights went out? >> i was like man, they are trying to take the wind out of our sails. they are delaying destiny. we tried to turn it into a positive thing. it definitely helped the 49ers a lot more than it helped us. >> you were -- were you worried, you know, 49ers started to come back and then, you know, ended up being three points separating you and the 49ers? >> yes. i mean, we are definitely concerned. we never lost faith in -- in what we decided to accomplish. 54 weeks ago in new england. nothing was going to stop us from doing that. >> brendon, you have been outspoken about marriage equality for a very long time. you grew up around gay people, people thought that you were gay and some still think you are. you are not. but you are still a proponent

for gay rights and supporter of gay people. we are -- we have been twitter budies and friends for a little bit chatting by text and you have been wanting to come on cnn but your schedule has been busy. why have you chosen this super bowl to talk about, make a platform out of marriage equali equality? >> i don't consider it gay rights. it is rights. it is a cause i have been really outspoken for since 2009. on the biggest platform in the world and everybody's watching, a billion people watching, everybody hears their voice. i decided that -- i knew or begancally it would happen. we were going to talk about equal rights and equality and -- marriage equality and whatnot. but now that i'm a super bowl champion, my voice just projects that much further and hopefully we can lead to even more change and more positive things for the community. >> you said equal rights. when people equate it to the civil rights movement, some people are offended by that. others see it as the same thing. what do you make of it? >> the thing is if you are educate order the issue and sit

down and talk to a gay person, you know, i have been talking to gay people. everyone has been talking to gay people our entire lives whether we know it or not. we really believe that you are born gay and if -- i had plenty of conversation was people that are gay and say they are born gay. no different than me being born this beautiful almond coconut color i am. people are born gay. why treat them any differently? it is time we treat everybody fairly and not only are we trying to dictate who people should love, we are also trying to dictate who people should be. if a woman wants to wear a man clotheors man wants to wear women's clothes, you feel like you are a woman on the inside and you are really a man, who cares? let's just -- let's just treat everybody equally. let's move on and evolve as a culture, as a people. especially, i mean, we think it is bad in the united states. i'm half nigerian. in nigeria i get so many letters from young nigerians being persecuted or thrown in jail or murdered for being who they are. we think we have it bad here. it is not bad here. we can make a change in the united states that can affect

the whole world. >> during super bowl week, chris culliver made controversial remarks over not welcoming gay football players in the locker room. i want you to listen to this. do we have that? apparently we don't have it, brendon. what he said -- not the gay people -- i can't play with any. we don't like that sweet stuff. who do you make of his comments? he eventually apologized for it. >> yeah. i mean, just so ironic because it is a game of football and it is a masculine game. we play so hard against each other and for each other. you ask why did the ravens win the super bowl this year? because we loved each other more than the 49ers loved the man next to them. i love the man next to me. my teammates love me. we won this football game because of love. between didn't win because we are tougher or more macho or anything like that. we won because we love each other more and will do anything for the man next to us.

as s that sweet m i don't know. that's just being a person. just having a task at hand. i think that more than anything that it is going to be a learning experience from him. especially making the comments in san francisco. i was raised in santa cruz, california a little bit south of san francisco. it is considered the hub of lgbt rights. we have to educate people. athletes ally. myself, scott fujita, we are about inclusiveness in sports and treating everybody equally. once we start having this conversation, a lot of people don't have this conversation, they will -- athletes, really will start to real sxiz the nfl and we can make such a big change that everybody is the same. we are all equal. it does not matter. if you put your minds together, no matter what that person's background is oregonentation is, that we can make change and do positive things. it is unfortunate he made the comments.

i know he's sorry for them. i know he will make it right when he gets the opportunity to do go you put yourself really in the bull's eye, middle of this, by talking about it. there were people who were saying to the league commissioner, you need to shut your player up. did you get any backlash from any higherup, anyone our team or anyone in the nfl, because you were so outspoken about gay rights? >> month. not necessarily any backlash. some something did happen that weren't necessarily good but so many more things happened that were great. and monumental. i think the most for thing is in the state of maryland, they went out and voted for marriage equality. that's really trend setting. we are the first state to do so. it was just a culmination of everything that's happened. it is the right time, right place and i just -- i can't think of a better way for things to happen with obama being re-elected and marriage equality being passed in maryland. hopefully it will be passed

federally and won't be up to people's vote. s someone's rights are not your opinion. someone's rights are granted to the constitution. it is just the perfect storm. i think -- i'm so proud just to be a baltimore raven and to be in the state of maryland. we are a state that's making a difference. >> it is hard for us for many people to wrap their heads around it when they go brendon ayanbadejo, for him to say that he must be gay. you are not gay. you have a daughter, you have a girlfriend. brendon is not gay. people don't understand that. when you hear people say that it is -- it is an abomination, that it is a sin and that it is abnormal, what do you say to that? >> well, i say that this constitution gives you the power, it gives you the right to believe in anything you want though believe in. whatever religion is out there, however many thousands of religions are out there, you have the power to believe in that because the constitution grants you that. don't use that same document,

don't use those same rights, to take away or disenfranchise others. it is riddick as me saying no one can cheat cheeseburgers or pepperoni pizzas anymore because that's what it says in the tora or old testament. it is equally as ridiculous saying two people who love each other can't get married. it is a sin, you have those rights to believe in. you are an american and you have this constitution. don't take advantage of those rights and take away rights from others. >> let's talk about the nfl. professional sports. because -- there are people who say this is going to be the next big fight. this is the next big fight at least for equality when someone comes out, especially in the nba, nfl, and not a former player like many former players that come out. in when someone comes out, do you know -- players who are currently -- not that you have to out them, who are currently in the nfl, who are gay, closeted, and are afraid to come

out? >> no, actually i don't know any. but i think that's why i work so valiantly for this issue myself and i mentioned scott. when an athlete comes out, that he has a supporting cast around him and organizations like the 49ers organizations, baltimore ravens, already set a precedence they don't discriminate. all you immediate to do is be a great football player a great person. the rest of your personal life is up to you. we are working hard for this. when our jackie robinson comes out, he will have a supporting cast around him. we are going support him and we are going to treat him just like we treat everybody else, every other teammate, with love and fairness and kindness and compassion. because we know it is going to be a tough burden on that person. >> watching social media here. people are talking about you now. shelley wright, country western singer who came out and said i'm watching brendon 310. that's your twitter. with don lemon. what an amazing ambassador for equality. thank you, brendon.

lot of people are thanking you. i appreciate it. i didn't screw up your name, as i have many times. thank you, brendon. i appreciate and it will talk to you soon. safe trip back to baltimore. >> thanks, don. with love we can accomplish anything. go ravens. >> congratulations, congratulations. carol, congratulations to them. i heard you talking to the scout leader this morning. this has been a huge issue. i read one of the major painers that called it big gay super bowl because of brendon and because of what the 49ers player had said. this issue had never really been brought to the fore. especially it comes to the super bowl as it has this time. >> i think you are right. it won't truly be accepted within the world of sports until some nfl player comes out and proudly says i'm gay. deal with it. >> right. >> hey, i'm surprised you didn't ask brendon if he will go on ellen. he said he didn't want to go to disney world. >> ellen wore his jersey on the show the other day. he texted me. he said i heard you talking about me. ellen one-upped you.

she wore my jersey on the show. i am find out. i will text him. all right. >> thanks, don. >> the big game turning to a big platform for another key issue. that would be gun control. will it help president obama in his push to end gun violence? our political panel weighs in next. male announcer ] it's simple physics... a body at rest tends to stay at rest... while a body in motion tends to stay in motion. staying active can actually ease arthritis symptoms. but if you have arthritis, staying active can be difficult. prescription celebrex can help relieve arthritis pain so your body can stay in motion. because just one 200mg celebrex a day can provide 24 hour relief for many with arthritis pain and inflammation. plus, in clinical studies, celebrex is proven to improve daily physical function so moving is easier. celebrex can be taken with or without food. and it's not a narcotic. you and your doctor should balance the benefits with the risks. all prescription nsaids, like celebrex, ibuprofen, naproxen and meloxicam

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"when a person dies," she said, "someone must open the window so the soul can depart." i smiled and squeezed her hand. "not tonight, britta. not tonight." [ female announcer ] to nurses everywhere, thank you, from johnson & johnson. 40 minutes past the hour. time to check the top stories. investigators expect the number of people killed in a tour bus crash in southern california and san bernardino county to rise. right now they are reporting at least eight deaths. the bus overturned last night after rear ending a car and then crashing into a pickup truck on a narrow sloping road. witnesses report seeing smoke coming from the back of the bus indicating a possible problem with the bus' brakes. hostage standoff in southeast alabama entering its seventh day with the gunman holding a 5-year-old boy in an underground bunker.

police say that he snatched the boy from a school bus last tuesday after shooting and killing the driver. that driver is 66-year-old charles poland jr., remembered over the weekends in a memorial service. next hour, who is who list of political heavyy weights will say good-bye to former new york mayor ed koch at a man hadn't an temple. former president clinton is scheduled to speak. koch died friday of congestive heart failure. he was 88. nfl commissioner roger goodell has addressed the super bowl blackout. he just did that at a news conference minutes ago. here is part of what he said. >> the power outage was an unfortunate incident. we are looking into try to get the facts. there were no safety issues at any point in time. the dome personnel did an outstanding job. exclude our fans and our personnel, our teams. i think everyone stayed calm. and worked through the issues,

obviously, you all know it was about 34 minutes. no indication at all that this was caused by the halftime show. absolutely none. i know that's been out there to say that -- bee jeans halftime show had something to do with it. that's not the case from anything we have at this point. >> would have been much different, though had the baltimore ravens lost. much bigger controversy p.m. officials in new orleans struggle to find out what exactly happened to cause the power to go out for those 34 crucial minutes. we will have much more on the story throughout the day on cnn. gun control, a big platform, of course, for president obama. will it help in his push to end gun violence? you know, having a -- voice during the super bowl. our political panel weighs in next. this is so sick!

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super bowl is one of the biggest events in sports. last might the action on the

field wasn't focussed solely on touchdowns or gaining yards. ♪ beautiful for spacious skies ♪ for amber waves of grain >> those are the children from the sandy hook elementary school choir. they joined superstar jennifer hudson for "america the beautiful." from the pregame to the khmer hales, the gun control debate was a noticeable part of the game. ♪ >> the nra once supported background checks. >> we think it is reasonable to provide mandatory instant criminal background checks for every sale at every gun show. no loopholes anywhere for anyone. >> america can do this, for us.

please. >> that ad was sponsored by the group mayors against illegal guns. today president obama will resume his push. he's now heading to minnesota where he will take part in a roundtable on the topic and one of the major topics will be background checks. welco welcome. >> good morning. >> good morning. >> good morning. els this commercial we just showed, interest only showed in washington. the washington area, because i think that the mayors wanted lawmakers to see this spot and they somehow wanted it to sway them. do you think that's a good strategy? >> no. i don't. i think that the best strategy is what you saw at the beginning of the super bowl which would -- were the survivors of singing "america the beautiful." i was there. i can tell you i was crying.

i can tell you a lot of men around me were crying. the entire stadium gave those kids a standing ovation. i don't think anything resonates greater than a survivor standing up and saying that, you know, i think had is what we need. i can appreciate what the mayors did but i'm not sure if that was as effective as seeing those little angels sing yesterday. >> we are not sure that the nfl was in any way, you know, taking a side in the gun control debate. right, will? >> no matter what side you find yourself on in that debate, i got feedback here, carol. i will try to fight through that. no matter what side of the debate you are on, you will be able to appreciate that moment. it was beautiful moment. trib ought to the survivors, the families, of sandy hook. as far as i'm concerned does not have any bearing on the gun control debate. >> of course over the weekend, president obama released a picture of him skeet shooting.

let's put up that picture now. i don't know. does this help in any way in the gun control debate we are having in this country? l.z., i will give that one to you. >> you know, i have to tell you, i admire president obama a great deal. i like a lot of things he has done in terms of policy. he represents a huge demographic and social change. one of the things that irritates me is when he answered to the crazy people. what i mean by that is, you know, releasing birth certificates and images of him to prove that he is a real american or that he is who he says he is, he is authentic. i hate it when he does that because i don't think it is effective. this photo is another myth to me. all it does is open him up to more ridicule and to be mocked. you don't need to be shooting a gun to talk about common sense gun laws. while i can appreciate the fact he had a certain level of cred in this discussion, his cred is the fact he is commander in chief, not that he has to go out

and show images of himself shooting a gun. >> it is interesting, will, that whenever anyone talks about gun control, they preface the conversation by saying, you know, i believe in the second amendment and i fired a gun. i have a gun. eshg that doesn't convince anyone, does it? >> it is an irrelevant pact in the debate. you and i had these conversations over the past several weeks numerous times. i made the same objection every time. that is -- the details of which we focus on contributes so little to the debate. i don't think the mayor's ad that you opened with the images of the children layered over the appeal for the policy helps analyzing what the policy is worthwhile. does the picture of the president holding and shooting a gun, every time someone says i appreciate the second amendment, i own guns, i hunt. does that help? no. take the proposed policy, last night's ad was a background check. something on the surface everyone agrees with. universal back ground checks, keep guns out of the hands of

criminals. we agree with that. will it work? will it achieve the stated goal? those are the debates we immediate to have. deep into the issue of what you want to accomplish. are you accomplishing it with what you are proposing? >> thanks so much. >> thank you, carol. >> thank you. >> we will be right back. it's lots of things. all waking up. connecting to the global phenomenon we call the internet of everything. ♪ it's going to be amazing. and exciting. and maybe, most remarkably, not that far away. we're going to wake the world up. and watch, with eyes wide, as it gets to work. cisco. tomorrow starts here.

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time to check our top stories. boy scouts could lift the national ban on openly gay members. that decision could be made as early as today when the group's national board convenes in texas. president obama says lifting the ban would be the right thing to do. the city of baltimore getting ready to celebrate the ravens' big super bowl win. it plans to host a victory parade tomorrow. rain or shine. parade will start at city hall and end at the team's stadium. the ravens, as you well know, beat the 49ers. 34-31. they have carb steady, with carbs that digest slowly to help minimize blood sugar spikes. [ male announcer ] glucerna hunger smart. a smart way to help manage hunger and diabetes. but i'm still stubbed up. [ male announcer ] truth is, nyquil doesn't unstuff your nose. what? [ male announcer ] alka-seltzer plus liquid gels speeds relief to your worst cold symptoms plus has a decongestant for your stuffy nose. thanks. that's the cold truth! thanks.

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who are the winners and losers at the super bowl? loser, alicia keys.

what amendment to the constitution gives celebrities the right to make the national anthem their own personal ballad? it was painful to watch and listen. mayors for gun control. please take politics out of our great national game. come on, man. can't we have a break? real losers, politicians that lost sight of the meaning of the game. this from greg. winners were whoever ordered the switch thrown for the accidental blackout so they could have more commercial money. this from dave. ravens were the winners. american morality like ancient rome was the loser. please keep the conversation going. thank you. as always, for the comments. thanks for joining me today. "cnn newsroom" continues in just a minute with ashleigh banfield.

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