hollywo hollywood's biggest night is over, but we're not done talking about it. i'm abby huntsman. from the crash of twitter to the pizza man with a special delivery, we'll get to that and maybe the awards, too. what cannot be done is for russia with impunity to put its soldiers on the ground and violate basic principals that are recognized around the world. if, in fact, they continue on the current trajectory that they are on, that we are examining a whole series of steps, economic, diplomatic, that will isolate russia. this will be a costly proposition for russia. >> t-minus nine hours until what some are calling russia's deadline for ukrainian troops to pull out of their own territory. we're now fielding conflicting

reports about the seriousness of that so-called ultimatum. it all has to do with one region, the crimean peninsula. 6,000 russian troops moved in and peacefully took control this weekend after the local leader requested moscow's help to "ensure peace and tranquility." right now, ukrainian military bases there are surrounded, the navy's in blockade and the region's airports are under russian control. russia is now redrawing its borders through occupation, cutting the peninsula of crimea off from the rest of ukraine. the question now is will putin extend that power deeper into the former soviet space? he made another show of military might today, ordering army drills and sending fighter jets into ukrainian air

other key lawmakers are trying to define what the u.s. should do in terms of diplomatic pressure. >> this notion of taking him out of the g-8 has already been suggested by the administration, some members, and i think it's the right thing to do. >> i think we should revisit the missile defense shield that we talk about so often. >> i would just cancel in sochi. i wouldn't talk about the planning session. i would cancel it. >> i would like to create a democratic news around putin's russia. >> we start north of crimea with nbc's ian williams. ian, there's been a lot of claims and counter claims today. what's the latest there on the ground? >> reporter: it's a confusing picture, toure. we've seen a lot of so-called deadlines come and go, which we've heard from russian news agencies, from the ukrainian government. but it does seem that russia is pretty well in control of crimea. and the question now, and it's something which john kerry is going to be looking at closely

tomorrow, on how he can under it, is what russia does next. and the focus will be on this region here, where i am today, in east ukraine. this is the second biggest city in the country, the industrial heartland, kharkov. many people here have been encouraged with what's happening in ukraine and would ideally like the russians to come in here, too. behind me, you probably can't make it out now, but there is a huge statue of lenin under which there is a group of pro-russian protesters. they occupied this and hoisted the russian flag, and in violence between them and kiev government supporters, many dozens of people were injured. today in doniesk, another area, pro-russians occupied government offices there. the fear is that russia is trying to create the sort of chaos and instability here to justify intervening on behalf of the russian speakers.

now, not everybody here would be happy to see the russians come. and clearly, one of the key focuses of john kerry's visit tomorrow will be discussing with the new government in kiev what measures the west can take and how russia can be deterred from further interference, from further aggression in this, the industrial heartland of east ukraine, toure. >> all right, ian williams, thank you very much. stay safe. we turn now to damon wilson. he ran european affairs on the white house national security council under president bush and was part of the administration when moscow went into georgia and norm ornstein, resident scholar at the american enterprise institute. damon, why is this region so important to putin that he would go in and risk international standing for it? >> look, we see before us unfolding a strategy from president putin that is basically to reconstitute empire, but on a russian model. and he's very committed and going to all lengths to prevent

countries of the former soviet union from essentially moving away to europe, moving to the west. and while he thought he could control them through plint political leaders like president yanukovych, he's realized that he actually can't control these populations, these people's aspirations for a better future, for a democratic future, so he's turning to taking territory. crimea and ukraine. we've seen it in georgia and moldova as well. by gaining this territory, he maintains his leverage, his control, and prevents these countries from moving from moscow's orbit. >> norm, to bring it back home a little bit, it's no secret that there's a real lack of appetite here in the united states to intervene really anywhere in the world. i was talking to a group of friends over the weekend about this, and there was this common consensus of what is our role in this? we have enough problems here at home. ukraine is not one of them. and john kerry hit on this last week. he said, "there's a new isolationism in america," and basically, with this attitude, "we are beginning to behave like

a poor nation." norm, help us understand the main reason for involvement. is this about supporting ukraine's independence or is this really about sending a message to putin, that his actions are not acceptable? >> i think it's both, abby. and you know, we do have an interest in making sure that there's self-government and that regimes are not taken over by outside thugs. but you know, this is a case where, unlike vietnam, there is a domino effect. and if we just let this go without some sort of punishment for putin, then we're going to see similar things happen in the baltics, where there is substantial russian-speaking populations, and we're going to get some intimidation on other countries as well. this has implications that go beyond ukraine, but of course, ukraine also has implications that go beyond georgia or moldova. it's a bigger, richer, more important country as well. so, there's a lot at stake here, but our options are pretty limited, just as they were in the previous incursions. >> norm, the issue of russia

came up in the 2012 presidential debates, and president obama used it as a format to essentially mock mitt romney. i want to play that clip for you. >> you said russia. not al qaeda. you said russia. in the 1980s are now calling to ask for their foreign policy back, because you know, the cold war's been over for 20 years. >> first of all, russia indicate succeed a geopolitical foe -- >> not a -- >> excuse me. it's a geopolitical foe, and i said in the same paragraph, i said, and iran is the greatest national security threat we face. russia does continue to battle us in the u.n. time and time again. i have clear eyes on this. i am not going to wear rose-colored glasses when it comes to russia or mr. putin. >> mitt romney showing a little bit of his own note arstra damah the aforesight. about eliminating al qaeda, expanding a drone program, is president obama and his team --

the "washington post" writing an editorial today calling their foreign policy a fantasy land -- are they prepared to deal with this threat? is this presidency now going to be defined by this threat? >> well, i think the foreign policy is going to be defined in part by this one, but you know, we're going to have a lot of other threats as well. and part of the complication here is that we have a lot of other interests, including one that mitt romney mentioned, iran, where we are hoping to get at least some cooperation from russia, the same with syria. so, it's more complicated than just cracking down hard on the russians or as hard as we can. and at the same time, our options are limited if we don't have all of our european allies going along, and it's not entirely clear from the conversations that the president's had with angela merkel and others, that everybody is ready to march in lock step. so, it's a complicated world. it's easier to make it simple during a campaign, and mitt romney was on target when it comes to russia, and we've had two presidents in a row, i

think, who needed to have a different view of vladimir putin, but it's very difficult to figure out what you can do where you can have a huge influence over events. >> well, damon, help us understand how things could potentially play out on the ground in ukraine, as toure was reporting. we were hearing reports that there was some sort of ultimatum issued to ukrainian forces to surrender. unclear how serious, whether that deadline was actually serious or real or not. but to say the least, the tensions are incredibly high. ukraine's military forces have been placed on high alert. their reserves have been called up. could we actually see this come to military action on the ground in ukraine, not for the u.s., but a war between ukraine and russia? and if that happens, will ukrainian forces from kiev and from the western part of the country, will they actually step up and fight? >> absolutely that's a

possibility. president putin has been testing, he's been probing. we saw this in georgia in the run-up to 2008, where he began with the incursion, absentia, but his craving grew and we thought he wanted to get on to the capital and topple the government. i think we have to worry in a different way in ukraine, that if he doesn't see a sufficient reaction from the international community to what has been a blatant act of aggression by seizing crimea, that he's going to assume he can actually get away with more. there are forces mobilizing on the opposite side of the border, both to move into crimea in greater numbers, but potentially into the more russian-speaking cities of harkeev, dunesk and the east. this would be a disaster of geostrategic proportions. so, i think part of what we do have to face is the reality of an outright war happening. this isn't in a remote location. this is on nato's border. nato's border, poland and ukraine share a border here.

so, that's why i think the reaction today, tomorrow, the next day is so important not just in seeing how we lay the groundwork to roll back what happened in crimea, but to serve as a check for perhaps a greater appetite to move to topple this very fragile and new ukrainian government. >> and damon, we keep hearing in terms of our role that there are so few options. when you actually lay them out on the table, tell us what is doable. does it come down to sanctions or isolating russia? are those the two options? >> there are some tools available. they're not all easy, but they're possible. we've heard many of them discusses about expelling, helping russia and putin feel the cost of what is essentially a pariah state, a state that's acting as a rogue, ignoring international norms, expelling them from the g-8, blocking their entrance to trade organizations. these are prestige factors that matter for putin, but i think more importantly, the challenge right now that president obama is facing and working on is

trying to rally the international community around more biding costs, sanctions that target both individuals, that can freeze the assets and deny visas to those in the russian government that are involved in this act of aggression as well as businesses that support that in crimea. but russia today, unlike the soviet union, is integrated into the global economy, is much more dependent on international trade, our banking systems. so, there are some ultimate prices that could be paid by excluding russian businesses from international banking stems if you want to actually have consequences that bite. >> damon wilson, thank you very much. up next, the other big story of the day, the weather. it's march and it's still snowing. are we ever going to get a warm-up? what's going on? we'll ask the experts as "the cycle" rolls on, monday, march 3rd. it's eb. want to give your family the very best in taste, freshness, and nutrition? it's eb. want to give them more vitamins, omega 3s,

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cut! [bell rings] this...is jane. her long day on set starts with shoulder pain... ...and a choice take 6 tylenol in a day which is 2 aleve for... ...all day relief. hmm. [bell ring] "roll sound!" "action!"

from here in pittsburgh, back to my fellow cyclists in new york, we pretty much escaped this latest snowstorm, but the nation's capital really got clobbered. about half a foot of snow fell today. more than three-quarters of the flights at reagan have been canceled. the government is pretty much shut down through tomorrow. and just outside of the beltway, a state of emergency has been declared in my home state of virginia. let's start in washington with nbc's tom costello. and tom, looks like the snow is stopped, at least. >> reporter: it's stopped, but it's brutally cold here and expected to drop into the single digits here in the next few hours. and that's going to mean a really dangerous night. you know, we only got in

downtown d.c. about 4 inches. however, it rained and rained and rained last night, and all of that rain turned into a really good coating of ice when the temperature dropped, and then we had 3 to 4 to 5 inches on top of it. and so, it became an ice skating rink with snow on top of it very, very quickly. so, the streets are really treacherous. the d.c. public works department has already done a very good job in clearing many of these roads, but boy, throughout the region we've got an awful lot of ice. the snow, not as much as many expected. we had been hearing predictions of up to a foot of snow here in d.c. we only got officially 4 inches at the airport, 5 to 6 depending on what part of town you're in. 2,600 flights canceled today, mostly those affected on the east coast. so, washington, philly and then up into the new york region because of the flight cancellations here. and this storm has now moved out, but as i said, the temperature dropping, and it's going to be a cold few days here in the nation's capital.

we're hoping we climb back to 50 or so by saturday, but until then, we are back in the ice box and the kids, yet again, have another day off school. you know what's interesting about that? virginia, maryland, d.c., all these area schools have had so many school snow days that they now are going to have to make up school days at the end of the year. they're going to go into june and make up school days, and already, some school districts have said, you know what, we're not celebrating presidents' day, last week or two weeks ago, and they had the kids go to school on presidents' day. but all these snow days now eating into the entire school year. my kids are not too happy about that. guys, back to you. >> all right, tom costello in d.c. thank you so much. now let's head up to fiphil and richard lui. richard, how much did you guys get up there? >> reporter: well, krystal, as you heard tom talking about the ice box, that's a big concern here in philadelphia. in the next 24 hours,

forecasters saying we could see 5 degrees. have we hit 5? we have just broken a record going back 142 years, but they may have dojd a bullet in a way here in philadelphia, because the type of snow that came down is that light, fluffy stuff, and we got probably 2 to 3 inches on the ground right now, and the vegetation, you can see the sort of light powder that is on the leaves, and they're glad, because if they had that freezing rain, these branches here would not be as dry as today. reason being that once we get that freezing rain, you get the power lines coming down, and philadelphia, pennsylvania remembers not too long ago about a month, when they saw $100 million at least in damages, says one local electric utility. and because they have that dry snow here, krystal, the roads, the pathways are clear. over in the streets, we have cookie dough. that cookie dough, though, the concern is it's wet, and what will happen is that for folks like these residents and these people that are coming through

independence mall, it will get dangerous for them as they are walking through and driving through the streets. as we look forward, though, krystal, the interesting part is, there are no college classes in some places here in philadelphia, not because of the weather. they're out celebrating spring break. >> there you go. all right, richard lui, thanks. always seems like richard's having fun out there. >> yeah. >> i wouldn't exactly say nbc's ron allen hit the jackpot, but he is on the road in atlantic city. [ laughter ] >> reporter: hit the jackpot, yeah! we're down here in casino alley. actually, the beach is just over in that direction. another block. you can look over there and you kind of just let your mind think about spring and summer and all that, but when you look in this direction, you see what we've got, just complete roads covered with snow. fortunately, it has stopped snowing here in the last hour or so. so, the maximum was about 7 inches or so in some areas. the forecast called for 8 to 11.

i have to stop at a traffic light here, which is, of course, the rules. so, it wasn't as bad as thought. the other problem, of course, the weather, the temperature. it's down to about 20 degrees. we've been hovering around 20, 18 or so, so everything is iced over. this is the southern part of new jersey. up in the northern part of new jersey, there were still snow mounds. unfortunately, the storm went south, and the northern and central parts of the state escaped yet another blast of winter, because again, the snow's still on the ground up here. down here, schools were closed. in new jersey, it's a 180-day requirement, so yep, they'll have to make up a few days, a few more days. businesses are closed for the most part, as we've been driving down the roadways. so, they're losing revenue. they're also losing money, and so they're going to have to make that up. and that's what this storm has been about. yes, it's been an annoyance, yes, it's been a cost, but it's actually causing a of hardship for people. the state of emergency was declared here at 9:00 last night, perhaps a bit premature in hindsight, but the governor

here taking no chances. they don't want to have especially schoolkids out in the roads when there's treacherous problems. but now, again, here in atlantic city, i'm not sure if the casinos are hope. we haven't stopped to take a look, but there's not a lot of activity here, but just drive along here. this will be a completely different place in a few months when summer does arrive. it always does. so, we have that to hang on to as we continue here. kind of along the boardwalk in atlantic city, which is completely snow today. back to you guys. >> all right. i'll bet those casinos are open, ron. >> yeah, always open. always open. >> ron allen, thank you so much. >> get that paper. >> there you go. now let's head to weather channel headquarters. kelly cass, tell us what to expect next. >> hi, krystal. think, heat and humidity, right, just around the corner. yes, we are dealing with another wintry blast, currently dealing with moderate to heavy snow at times across maryland and delaware. that i-81 ride right here in western virginia pretty treacherous right now. we've oveven had sleet mixing wh

snow in the high country of western north carolina as well. even west of d.c. and south of d.c., still coming down, meaning problems for the roadways, especially as you make your way through salisbury, maryland, where it is still snowing pretty good right now. an additional 1 to 3 inches of snow can be expected across this region, and we are expecting another very cold night tonight. as tom costello just reported, temperatures down into the single digits in parts of the northeast. so, all the slush and even some of that rain that you had during the day across north carolina is going to flash freeze out there on the roadways. so, especially the bridges and the overpasses, that is where it's going to be very, very slick going into your morning commute tomorrow. but in all, we're talking an additional 1 to 3 inches where you're still getting the snow, but it looks like d.c. to philly to new york, things are winding down as we head through the next few hours. back to you, krystal. >> all right, the weather channel's kelly cass. thank you so much. and up next, mother nature was kind to the stars. no washout on the red carpet, but there were some glamorous, frosty fashions to behold.

memorable moments from the academy awards, that's next. ♪ i'm nathan and i quit smoking with chantix. when my son was born, i remember, you know, picking him up and holding him against me. it wasn't just about me anymore. i had to quit. [ male announcer ] along with support, chantix (varenicline) is proven to help people quit smoking. it reduces the urge to smoke. chantix didn't have nicotine in it, and that was important to me. [ male announcer ] some people had changes in behavior, thinking or mood, hostility, agitation, depressed mood and suicidal thoughts or actions while taking or after stopping chantix. if you notice any of these, stop chantix and call your doctor right away. tell your doctor about any history of mental health problems, which could get worse while taking chantix. don't take chantix if you've had a serious allergic or skin reaction to it. if you develop these, stop chantix and see your doctor right away, as some could be life threatening. tell your doctor if you have a history of heart or blood vessel problems, or if you develop new or worse symptoms. get medical help right away if you have symptoms of a heart attack or stroke. use caution when driving or operating machinery.

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and now, for the oscar for "the cyclist" who most correctly picked the oscars. >> seriously? >> are you serious? >> and the nominees are -- ari, "the experience" melber. >> this is so dumb. >> abby "i know it" huntsman. >> this is such a joke. are we really doing it? >> krystal "i see it" ball. luke "i'm from washington" russert. >> i came up from d.c. for this? >> and toure. and now, the winner is, the one who picked all of the top six categories correctly -- toure.

>> yes! thank you, steve! >> oh, my god. >> and thank you to the academy for all the people and movies i thought would win. >> what about me? >> i feel gratified, i feel vindicated. >> me. >> really vindicated, brian. you know what i mean. >> i wonder who wrote this lead, guys. >> i've got to thank my agent and my kids. i love you. go to bed. look, the oscars were great and with ellen in charge, really fun. for more on all things oscar, let's bring in keith simminton, managing editor of "imdb," the number one website in the world for all things movies. keith, you say that, you have a funny story about jennifer lawrence to tell us? >> yeah, you know, when she came up to present, she said, you know, why are you laughing at me? looking down into the crowd. >> right. >> found out backstage in the press room that what happened was she was actually talking to jared leto. and jared leto wasn't laughing at her, per se, but ellen degeneres was on the side as jennifer lawrence, who had slipped last year going to

accept her best actress award, and slipped on the red carpets this year, was doing this as she was walking. and so, jared leto was laughing. letto's laughing and that's what she was -- >> that totally explains it. thank you. >> that's amazing. >> for explaining that for us. >> insider info. >> of course, the night ended as some thought it would with "12 years a slave" winning, which was a really amazing gesture. great to see hollywood give it to such a powerful film that talks about how hollywood can do serious things in a serious way. and i'm even more excited for steve mcqueen, who has been an extraordinary director for many years. his previous film "shame" was incredible. and when you win this sort of an oscar, you get more power in hollywood. and i'm pleased to see somebody who's a talented visionary getting even more power now. >> well, he's a great director, you know? he is a visual -- he's got a command of the medium, much as alfonso cuaron, who won for best director, does.

it's a great thing. people have been complaining, the season is too long. but one of the great things is that as "12 years" kept winning best picture, it made everybody who had a screener at home or who had an invitation in the academy go, okay, we need to go watch this. it's, you know, we know it's going to be tough, but it's time to go watch this, which was actually the tag line for a consideration ad, which was, it's time. it's time to go do this. >> keith, how special do you feel right now that you get to be on a segment the day after the ossi the oscars with toure? all the pinstripes. you've got to be feeling amazing. >> 6 for 6! >> that is pretty good. >> you're a lucky man, i will say. but i want to talk about matthew mcconaughey because i was rooting for him the whole time, was thrilled that he won. let's take a look at part of his spch. >> all right. >> this person comes up, says who's your hero? i said i thought about it. you know who it is? it's me in ten years. so, i turned 25.

ten years later, that same person comes to me and says, so, had you a hero? i was like, not even close, no, no, no. why? because my hero's me at 35. every week, every day, every month, every year of my life, my hero's always ten years away. i'm never going to be my hero. >> so, i think people took this speech a few different ways. i took it as actually a great message of instead of trying to be someone else, try to be your own hero ten years from now. toure and i disagreed on this a little bit. >> how incredibly and embarrassingly self-involved. >> i disagree with that, but keith, i would like your take. how do you think people took it. >> i think people took it exactly as you two have described it, which is either, you know, egomaniacal or actually, you know, really someone with some foresight. and i would go with the latter. he talked about, again in the press room, he talked about, you know, he's got not just a job or a hobby, he's got a career, and it's something he loves to do. he was actually incredibly

eloquent, and somebody asked him about his mcconaughsance, like the mcconaughey renaissance, together, which he agrunged to. i think setting out a plan for yourself, it obviously worked for him. >> do you think mcconaughey at 50 or whatever, ten years in advance will look at "magic mike" and say good job? >> absolutely. >> learn from it. >> absolutely. actually, i think he's great in "magic mike," as he is in "mud," as he is in "killer joe." >> and "dazed and confused." >> i don't see why you wouldn't see it in the best possible light. i love the idea of looking at yourself and looking towards the future as your best days are ahead and you're going to be your own hero. but the person i loved all night was ellen degeneres. >> oh, yeah. >> i'm a huge ellen fan, abby also. >> the best. >> huge ellen fan. she's not pretentious and it's an event that can be very pretentious, and i think she brings a great humility to it. her opening monologue was funny.

she popped up in such a cute way behind sandra bullock and leo dicaprio, like sort of surprised them. she had the great pizza delivery bit, which by the way, guys, i was thinking, i had this idea. it is my daughter ella's 6th birthday. >> aww. >> happy birthday, ella! >> "the cycle" loves the kids. >> i was thinking -- there she is -- why not order a little celebratory pizza to the set today? can we make that happen? >> great idea. >> there's the pizza guy! >> i don't know about you guys. look! >> look at that. >> abby, can you take care of this guy, please? >> are you actually the delivery guy? >> yes, yes, i am. >> you know what? i don't know where we ordered from, but -- >> the low-carb diet, but hey, for television. >> the delivery was so good, i even got some in pittsburgh. isn't this amazing? >> how nice. >> even in pittsburgh i got some. pretty incredible, huh? >> do you have some for keith? >> sorry, keith. on the east coast, we'll get you. >> good thinking.

>> in all seriousness, keith, what'd you think of ellen last night? >> tell you what, what i'm not hearing today from anybody was, oh, they were so stojy, they've got to youth it up, you know, they've got to freshen it up. >> that's right. >> i mean, the twitter, blowing up twitter, just that very familial feel as she does on her show, i think she achieved, and by the ratings, she achieved exactly what they wanted her to do. get this more involved. for goodness sakes, they had "frozen" on there, you know, there's a bunch of kids hoping and praying that "frozen's" going to win. so, i think they brought the youth into it, even though john travolta screwed up a name. >> i am going to be that guy who says this entire format needs to blow up. i thought the oscars was a complete snoozefest. i didn't see any of the films because i, like many other people my age, they wait for them to come out on netflix, or more importantly, easier consumed at your home on your comcast on demand. >> hey, we got keith a pizza. >> oh, good.

>> but i want to ask, how much longer can the oscars go on like this, a half hour of great moments sandwiched in between three hours of total boredom? or is this the new normal because they can still sell the ad space with live tv? will there ever be a change or will we continue down this path? >> that's a good point, longer it is, the more ad slots you can get in. but there is a lot of integrity in keeping these things, the short animated, short docs. it's kind of weird, because in the press room, what happens is, like jared leto wins early on, and he comes in and he talks and they cut all the sound. so, i kind of miss out on, you know, best special effects and a lot of the things that seem to really drag people down. so, for me, it just clips right along. >> i thought the show last night definitely clipped right along. ellen made it move pretty quickly. >> they should make it one hour long. >> our oscar scrooge didn't win it. 43 million people did, a ten-year high -- >> i fell asleep and i'm a night owl. >> they should just tweet out the winners. >> yeah, we'll probably get to

that. >> social media made it tolerable. >> you can go to ibdv.com/oscars for anything we didn't cover. >> there's a lot more coming up, including michael vartan. no two people have the same financial goals. pnc investments works with you to understand yours

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plus, it comes with a resealable wrapper for discreet disposal. you'll be ready to wear anything with the tampax radiant collection. in the "news cycle" today, day one in the murder trial of oscar pistorius. the gold medalist blade runner has pled not guilty to murdering his girlfriend, reeva steenkamp, on valentine's day 2013. instead, he insists he thought she was an intruder. pistorius's neighbor took the stand, recounting the blood-curling screams she heard that night. nbc's roe health kachroo is there for the trial. >> oscar pistorius going on trial, pleading not guilty to all the charges against him in pretoria today. he's accused of killing his girlfriend, the model reeva steenkamp, by firing four times through a locked bathroom door

at their luxury home on the outskirts of pretoria. today, the mother of reeva steenkamp came face to face for the first time with pistorius. she glared at him as he came into the court and sat to plead not guilty to those charges. on the front row in the public gallery were a dozen members of the pistorius family, sat right next to a dozen members of the steenkamp family, divided only by a wall of silence. then we heard from the first prosecution witness, neighbor michelle burger, who lives 177 meters away from pistorius's home. she describes what she said were blood-curdling screams, followed by gunshots on the night of the 14th of february 2013. but her memory of those events was challenged. she will return here to the court in pretoria in the morning for further cross examination. >> thank you. now to a market alert.

the fear of all-out war with ukraine and russia sending the financial markets south today with the dow jones down over 175 points. the s&p and nasdaq also in the red. but just this morning, legendary investor warren buffett seemed unfazed, for now. >> when people start to think, wow, this could be the beginning of something really bad, it could be even a world war iii situation, it could be a return to the cold war, does any of that ever go through your mind? >> well, if you tell me all of that's going to happen, i will still be buying the stock. you're going to invest your money in something over time. the one thing you could be quite sure of is if we went into some very major war, the value of money would go down. i mean, that's happened in virtually every war that i'm aware of. >> so says the oracle of omaha, a billionaire investor whose advice has the power to move world markets. just this weekend, buffett released his widely circulated,

influential annual letter to birk shire hathaway's shareholders saying america's best days are ahead of us. he reported $19 million in profit for berkshire hathaway in 2013, so i guess there's reason to be optimistic if you're warren buffett bringing in that many bs. ira stole is with futureofcapitalism.com with a piece on "the buffett century." ira, thank you for joining us. appreciate it. >> glad to be here. >> i would like to ask you a question about ukraine right off the bat. 25% of europe's national gas comes from russia in pipelines that go through ukraine. ukraine is a country right now that's on the brink of economic default, billions in debt. there is obviously the whole reason why this conflict arose was because whose economic system will they follow, more in line with russia or with the european union. for the average investor watching right now, how much of a negative effect could this crisis in ukraine have on anyone in the united states's portfolio

or the emerging markets in general where a lot of folks seem to have been putting money? >> well, i think what you heard warren buffett say this morning on cnbc, and one of the reasons that i think a lot of people admire his approach, is taking a long-term approach. i mean, warren buffett has been managing berkshire hathaway for 50 years, and if you've invested with him over that time, you've done very, very well. he's the second richest guy >> ira, i find warren buffett to be such a fascinating personality. i mean, thousands of people go out to omaha to hear him speak, they wait for this letter to come out. and what i love about him is he lives the same way that he did 50 years ago, in the same three-bedroom house. he likes to drive himself. he likes to travel commercially.

is this part of why he is such a cult of personality? >> well, i think that's another thing people admire about buffett. he has his grandfatherly personality. but i think if you read between the lines, there's a lot to admire about buffett, his joy in the dynamism of capitalism. they call that annual meeting the woodstock of capitalism, and he talks in his letter this year about rose blumkin, who came to america not knowing a word of english and never went to school in her life and her family built this furniture mart into stores that do almost $1 billion of business a year. but i think you also have to be careful and watch him closely, because sometimes when it comes to public policy, he's calling for higher taxes or he's cutting deals with the government. he writes in his letter this year about renewable energy. one of his utilities has invested $15 billion in, mainly in windmills. and he's saying, i'm counting on

regulators, essentially to force americans to buy that st so, there is good capitalism and there is sort of crony government capitalism, and i think buffett is a little bit of both. >> but you know, ira, warren buffett is hardly the only wealthy investor who is banking on government goodies here. i mean, a lot of the reason why large corporations and why banks are doing so well is because of favorable tax treatment and subsidies and goodies that they get from the government. >> i think that's true, and i think that people need to watch out for that. and it applies to buffett as well. >> ira stole, thank you very much. up next right here at the table, star of film and tv, michael vartan on his new role in "bates motel," the prequel to a hitchcock classic. nice morning, scott?

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made with real chicken and salmon, it's high in protein like a cat's natural diet. and no added artificial flavors. we've come a long way. and whatever's ahead, we'll be there for each other. naturally. purina cat chow naturals. [ screaming ] most of us were first introduced to norman bates in the classic 1960 hitchcock thriller "psycho." and if that movie taught us anything, it's that norman had some serious mommy issues. >> yep. >> the one question the film never answered, though, was what turned the seemingly nice guy into a complete psycho. well, that acclaimed a&e series "bates motel" aims to do just that. it follows a young norman bates and his mother, norma, after they moved to a small town and buy a motel. the second season kicks off tonight and one of the new

characters this season joins us in the guest spot, michael vartan, known for his role in "alias," and one of my favorites, "never been kissed," plays norma bates' new love interest. welcome alien." thanks, for having you. >> thanks, for having me. >> it's interesting the dynamics between norm sma and norman. you get pulled into their show. >> you must be norman, i'm george. >> yeah, how are you? >> nice to me meet you. is your mom ready? >> george, hi. >> wow! hi. you look fantastic. i was just meeting norman. shall we? >> thank you, i'll see you later. >> you were telling us before you auditioned, you never seen the show. tell us about this character and about the show. >> well, you know, george, my character, is pretty much the only nice guy in the world in "bates motel."

>> you will get killed? >> i can't divulge secrets. when i got the job, he said, he's a nice guy, norma's love interest. we want her to have a chance with a normal interest. sorry. yeah, shooting that seen. i called him norma like four times he has this subtle creepiness, he's not like that at all in real life. it's impressive. >> i try not to step on her lines. there were a few instances she was shooting emotional stuff. i caught myself, i was in shock. inspired and completely intimidated by her talent. it's amazing. she is literally the best actor

i have ever worked with. >> there is obviously not an easy task this type of show, because you are trying to be a prequell to the iconic horror movie of all time. you got great recrews. how have you been able to appease the traditionalists and bring in a new audience same simultaneously? >> i believe there are moves that could benefit. it's interesting. you want to know how this relationship got to where it ended up in the movie and this is the journey of that. and, yeah, i just was so lucky when i got the call. the craft this is fantastic. >> i kind of like to join this cast. thank you for being here. i look forward to the show. up next, torey's take on hollywood. how it's treating women these days. .

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this incredible recognition. it doesn't escape me for one moment that so much joy in my life, thanks to you, so much pain in someone else's. so i want to salute the spirit of patsy for her guidance and for solomon, thank you for telling her story and your own. >> i'm still buzzing after a great oscars where an emotionally powerful and expertly made film about a critical part of american history won best picture. "12 years a slave" was truly the best film of the year. even if the academy takes a step of celebrating movie theaters. it's walked predominantly by women. though 6,000 members are overwhelmingly male, they are

made by films made overwhelming ily by when. women get shafted. one is the test. iconic cartoonist allison beckdale, popularized the test that asks the movie three questions. is there more than one named female character in the movie? if so, do those two women ever talk to each other? if so, do they talk to something other than a man? most movies fail the test and pore pech wait the notion that men are central and doers while women are nurtureers and adjunct and male centric. yes, the test is limited in the individual passing doesn't necessarily mean the film is good or anti-sexist as the bling ring in spring break in spite of rampant criminalality and run, lola run fail because of their unusual structures. when you look at the entirety of hollywood and see how many films fail, you see how often it doesn't give women meaningful

roles, perpetually women and their conversations and feelings are trivial. a screen writer once blogged, shelves taught by her professors quote the audience doesn't want to listen to a bunch of women talking about whatever it is women talk about. if you don't know what they're talking about. how do you know the audience doesn't want to hear it? we see it is bais baked into the system. even if that perception is not born out by the box office. they focused. looked at the top 15 grossing movies of the year and found in 2013 the films that passed the bechtel test, "frozen," "hunger games two" they didn't pass the test by $1.5 b. amazingly, there is an audience for films that take women's lives more seriously. one film that does that was introduced to me on friday by our guesstimatet singer. >> there is a lot of upgrades to films. there is one i saw "short term

12" absolutely blew my mind. made me cry like a baby. i watched it saturday on demand. dam, it was good. it's the story of life in a group home. the young adults that helped 51st teens and there are moments in the film when female characters talk about their feelings. >> i am on the floor every day with those kids. >> that girl sat next to me and cried and tried to tell me the only way she knew how. >> it is an amazing film that has not gotten enough attention. vote with your wallet to get forms like "short term 12" and blue is the warmer color and "juno." they're not just movies, people. it shows us how we shape society an ourselves, better films that will see how our doubtss and sons see themselves and for the cycle, it now start now. the chest pieces in the former soviet republic are moving quickly.

it is monday, march 3rd. and this is "now." massive storm. washington, d.c., seems to be getting the worst of it right now. >> one more big test for the obama administration. this is the biggest strategic crisis the united states has faced since 46911. >> europe's borders are being redrawn by force. >> who do you want to restore the russian empoo ir? >> russian forces have invaded and now have complete control of the country's crimea region. >> ukraine is the crown jewel. >> this is most seriously the biggest deficit of our lives since the cold war ended. >> pressure is on the mid-west to do something. >> this will get worse before it gets better. >> you got to believe it's over. >> we have to be in this for the long haul. >> it's now unclear just what the west can do about it. >> john kerry arrived in ukraine tomorrow. >> putin is not going to back off this w