toe take it back from isis. according to a central demand official in april or may as early as april or may there could be as many as 20 to 25,000 iraqi and kurdish forces that would attempt to retake the town from some 2,000 isis fighters. now the timetable gets a little squishy actually because some of knows iraqi forces still need to be trained up and this official said look if those iraqi forces are not ready, we're going to push the timetable out. there would be a slight possibility at this point that u.s. boots on the ground forward air controllers to call in air strikes, perhaps even special operations forces could get involved in going after isis leadership targets inside of the -- of mosul. but at this point, that would still require the authority and approval of president obama. >> and jim, on the president and the white house's response jose

diaz just spoke to josh earnest. >> why telegraph the attack? >> you have to talk to the department of defense what the specific strategy is but we have over the last several months had american military personnel in iraq working with iraqi security forces to train them and to equip them and ultimately make sure it's iraqi security forces who are on the ground fighting for their country. >> jim, you've seen a lot of rollouts of these kind of operations, is it to the white house's advantage that they publicize these plans in advance? >> here's the sense i get from military officials when i ask that very question. there appears to be an effort here to set isis back on its heels slightly. the hope is actually that they would pour more of their forces from outlying areas into that area to give -- to give the iraqi forces and kurdish forces

sort of a centralized target. but keep them in a defensive crouch as opposed to launching offensive operations and at the same time you get a sense that the u.s. military certainly feels somewhat besieged over all of the negative reporting coming out of iraq that there's -- has not been enough advancement by american air strikes and the like that they would at least like to prover up the possibility of a big one. >> we'll look more closely at the fight against isis including an interesting take about the humanitarian devastation in this region on the ground. thanks, jim. always a pleasure to get your take. a disturbing story from london. scotland yard is asking for the world's help to find three missing school girls. the teenagers traveled from england to turkey earlier this week. authorities believe they are on their way to syria. investigators are saying the priority is to get the girls

home to their families safely. following this in london alexander smith. what do we know about the plans and where they were headed? >> well these three girls were all friends from east london age 15 to 16. they were last seen at their homes early tuesday by their families. officials say they gave plausible excuses for what they were doing that day and met and flew to istanbul on a turkish airlines plane. they believe -- this is why the trail runs cold. they think they are headed to syria and while they stopped short of mentioning the extremist group isis in the same briefing london's metropolitan police did say that they are increasingly worried about young girls from britain traveling to the islamic state in syria.

>> this kind of home grown extremism and recruitment of young people more and more a feature of this clash. alex smith, thanks so much. in geneva a friend round of talks between the u.s. and iran are kicking off over iran's nuclear program. they are trying to strike a deal to perfect vent iran from developing a nuclear bomb in exchange for sanctions. despite political opposition from hard liners in the u.s. and iran, those talks are kicking off as we said and should be under way for the next two days. secretary of state john kerry is scheduled to join them on sunday. conflicting reports this hour about a potential settlement to avoid bankruptcy in greece. greece has until midnight tonight, you may recall to come up with the solution to this in the 11th hour there have been talks of extending greece's bailout but that hasn't been confirmed. fears over the outcome of these talks actually scared the u.s. stock market as well just after the opening bell. it jumped to reports of a

possible settlement. we'll keep you updated on how the markets adjust and what goes down in greece. back to washington, where president obama is asking 800,000 people to wait to file tax returns. those 800,000 were all healthcare.gov customers and sent incorrect tax information. following this at the white house, kristen welker. what's the administration saying about how this happened? >> well ronan, officials here are still investigating trying to determine how this glitch could have happened. here's what we know so far. we know that this has to do with a tax form that helps users calculate what type of tax break they might be entitled to. we know those tax forms had a piece of erroneous information on it. those erroneous tax forms went out to 800,000 people as you say. an official here estimates of those 800,000 people about 95% have not yet filed their taxes. so the message here from the white house, hold off on filing your taxes.

they say notifications have gone out. they are also going to follow up with e-mails as well as phone calls and they hope to have the corrected tax forms sent out in early march. again, they are asking people to hold off on filing their taxes. as for people who have already filed their taxes, they say they are still working through how to help those people. this is really an unforced error in what has otherwise been a pretty smooth season in terms of signing people up for the president's health care law. the white house saying that more than 11 million people have signed up this year so far. they say that that was close to the target that they were hoping for. one more announcement that i will tell you about related to this, the white house also saying that they are delaying the deadline for millions of people to sign up who might have to pay tax penalties, democrats, pressuring the white house to do that. a lot of people are confused about not only the deadline but tax penalties they might be facing. a few more weeks to sign up for

those folks. >> it's a good thing for the white house that unforced errors associated with obama care have never been exploited by anyone. >> president obama will have a live town hall next wednesday. you can submit your questions to him using #obamatownhall. the white house had little to say publicly about one political spat former mayor rudy giuliani doubling down on comments about the president. he's not backing down. he was starting an event for scott walker and the former mayor said i do not believe -- and i know this is take horrible thing to say, but i do not believe the president loves america. then here he was last night on fox. >> mr. mayor, do you want to afollow guys for your comment? >> not at all, i want to repeat it. the reality is from all i can see of this president and all i've heard of him, he apologizes

for america and criticizes america and he talks about the crusades and how the christians are bar bar yans and leaves out the second part of the sentence muslims were barbaryans also and he sees christians slaughtered and doesn't hold a press conference although he holds a press conference for the situation in ferguson. >> joining me from washington, mark murray good to see you. first read which you contribute to, said of giuliani officially entered donald trump territory. why keep this going from his perspective? >> the donald trump territory, that is somebody who's off on the political sidelines and is very well known but saying tons of controversial things. when you cover american politics, people say controversial things all the time. but what was really striking in this story, really how the potential 2016 republican candidates reacted to it. so we ended up seeing scott walker who was in attendance at

that event where rudy giuliani first had remarks and later asked about it and said i have no comment at all and shrugged his shoulders and ended up seeing bobby jindal who might run for the presidency in 2016. he embraced what rudy giuliani -- >> what rudy giuliani had to say and it was a striking contrast to what we saw in 2008 when a republican presidential kond candidate mccain, i think president obama is an arab or can't trust him. he said disagree on the issues but won't go into personal attacks. >> based on that response does rudy giuliani have future prospects as a legitimate voice? are people still listening to him? >> i don't think so. he's been out of office as new york mayor for more than a decade now. he's certainly not running for the presidency in 2016.

i think it's more interesting to focus on the potential 2016 candidates like scott walker and bobby jindal how they are reacting more than what rudy giuliani ended up saying. >> always a pleasure, mark. >> thank you. >> remember we were complaining about the cold a few weeks ago. doesn't that seem practically tropical? that siberian express, we can't believe they are calling it that broke more than 50 records overnight. look at those images there. it is so cold in western new york that this fountain grew into a 50-foot tower of ice. that's an actual thing that happened there. freezing his fingers off in covington following the siberian expression kerry sanders. >> reporter: ronan, it is cold here. i think the best way to see the cold is through a demonstration. i've got boiling water here right off the camp stove. we're going to pour it in the cup here and now here you go.

there you go. instantly vaporizes and we see the steam. noup as you look behind me can see the ohio river, we watched the ice grow across the river here. one of the concerns of course is that the ice could prevent the barge traffic, which is sort of an important thoroughfare here for a lot of commerce here and on the allegheny. the u.s. coast guard is doing patrols to make sure the ice isn't getting so thick it prevents that traffic to continue coming through here. meantime, it's an old expression when you hear somebody say it's so cold you could bang a nail with a banana that you leave outside. we're going to give it a test here. i did a little starter hole here and now we got our banana. sure enough i think ronan, it is that cold. back to you. >> thanks, kerrie.

we've got a big story up next and there's one word it raises to mind alarming. look at this. the u.n. to send food aid to those in syria and iraq alarming reports of how the food is being manipulated by isis to their benefit. that's next. ♪ how did i set a new personal record today? i started with a test run. then i got a solid night's rest in a great room. and before i hit the road, i hit the breakfast bar where i got my fuel for the next 26 miles. great endings begin here. and now when you choose choice twice, get a night at no price at 1,500 hotels. book now at choicehotels.com

so i got this listing. 3 bedroom, 3 bath. i have a client that lives out of state. just knew it was for her. so i tried to get her on video chat. i'm on verizon. i... i'm not. so it's not a problem. my video chat isn't working so i try to send photos but even that doesn't work. she saw the granite counters and the fire pit she went nuts. so i'm trying really hard to describe it but words are not my thing. that was all it took. i mean what do you want, i'm a realtor, not a poet. join us and save without settling on the largest most reliable network. start the interview with a firm handshake. firm, but not too firm. make eye contact...smile. ay,no! don't do that! try new head & shoulders instant relief.

it has tea tree and peppermint that cools on contact. and also keeps you 100% flake free. i use it for cooling scalp relief in a snap. mi bebé ha crecido tanto. try new head & shoulders instant relief. for cooling relief in a snap. what's that thing? i moved our old security system out here to see if it could monitor the front yard. why don't you switch to xfinity home? i get live video monitoring and 24/7 professional monitoring

that i can arm and disarm from anywhere. hear ye! the awkward teenage one has arrived!!!! don't be old fashioned. xfinity customers add xfinity home for $29.95 a month for 12 months. plus for a limited time, get a free security camera call 1800 xfinity or visit comcast.com/xfinityhome. right now isis is advancing on the people of iraq and syria but so is another invisible force, hunger. in syria winter is setting in and the humanitarian crisis there is deepening every single day. violence cut off access to aid groups and left infrastructure shattered and life sustaining services gone. one of the few still in the

fray, the united nations world food program struggle to sustain 4 million people inside syria and 2 million refugees in neighboring countries. struggling to save them but as we speak running out of money, putting those millions of lives on the line. executive director of the world food program is leading that desperate effort. how jeopardized are your operations? we see world leaders talking about joining in the fight and protecting people but they are putting their money where their mouths are. >> the challenge is it's not enough. so we're now -- we've been forced to cut rations by 30%. we're giving 70% of a ration during the worst time of the year inside syria. >> and can you just convey to the audience what does that ration look like that's not a lavish meal? we provide a monthly box to a family and there's rice and beans and bull gur wheat and salt and sugar. those are the staples and that's

what we give them pasta when we can and that's what we had to cut. at one point we were giving canned meat and we had to cut that. it's a very basic meal as much nutrition as we can but it's limited. >> if the wfp has to cut off operations because of lack of funding, how many lives are at stake? >> that's 4 million people inside syria that depend upon food from the wfp that have no other access to food but what they receive from us. if we can't get it there, they go hungry. >> so in addition to the bullets killing people the hunger killing people there's the cold setting in. how is that affecting your ability to operate? >> it's a challenge when you try to get into areas that are already under siege and now the roads are more dangerous for us to drive and it makes it more difficult. but we get there. we do. >> do you think in the conversation politically about standing up against isis and protecting civilians in this part of the world there's enough foik us on these humanitarian

circumstances surrounding the situation? we were looking at pictures of the devastation. it seems like people are talking about the military and for getting these equally important killers? >> the challenge when we talk about scaling up the escalation advances against isis we forget there are people in the communities living there with their children. and they are the victims of the escalation of the violence which because we can't get food to them, we can't get in there when the fighting starts. that's when we stop. that's the only time we try to get in as much as we can when we know they are coming and then soons there's a break in fighting we get back in again. but it's a challenge when your mother and you're expecting food and it doesn't show and the bullets are flying and you don't know when we're going to come. >> and in an odd sense, wfp is one of those rare cases where the work is humanitarian but

you're on the front lines of a mill tarrized conflict. i understand isis we've seen reports, haven't confirmed this at nbc, has been actually labeling the wfp food assistance to try to their own advantage? >> there was a very small amount that was stolen from a warehouse that was under the control of one of our partners the syrian red crescent. and what they did was exploit that very small amount of food they were able to steal from us. and put it out on social media as though they were really distributing food to large numbers of people. they are not. we work to protect our food to ensure that doesn't reach the hands of those who should not have access to the food. and the challenge is ensuring that everybody knows this is humanitarian assistance. it should not be plitoliticizedpoliticized. when the media says isis is

getting to the food we can't get the job done. >> how culpable is isis for the devastation on ground and humanitarian situation being as bad as it is? >> there are areas in syria where we can't get into those areas on a regular basis. working with ngos, wfp is able to use the cross borders to get into the areas on a periodic basis, we're not there regular enough. and what that does is put people in a situation where they are vulnerable. whenever they are vulnerable. if you're a mother you don't care who's giving you food. >> does that vulnerability that people are experiencing play into the hands of isis? >> unfortunately it can and our responsibility is to ensure that we are there, we are visible and that people recognize the world has not forgotten them. because that's when you're vulnerable, when you think nobody cares and think the world

is not -- has left you on your own and the only ones there are isis. it's important to have the resources so those who are on the ground otherwise trapped know that the world still cares. >> and of course even for those who don't care about those individuals struggling to survive in this particular part of the w0r8d, it's spilling over into the broader region? >> it can spill over into the broader region and can spill over outside the borders. weaver seen a tacks by extremist groups across europe and challenge is that whenever people feel as if the world is not supporting the activities that they believe in then they are vulnerable. and so we need to make sure that we continue to carry a banner that says that they are not alone and that there's an opportunity to do something different than listen to isis. >> what you are doing is at the heart of winning the fight against these kinds of terrorists and heart of protecting people. i hope the cry is heard.

>> thank you very much. >> stay with us. up ahead, something a little lighter if you can imagine such a thing. clowns, would you be afraid if you saw this clown? pretty much anywhere. it's terrifying. our special freaky friday daily spike after this. [alarms blaring] ohhhhh... whoa whoa whoa! who's responsible for this?!? if something goes wrong, you find a scapegoat. ...rick. it's what you do. ahhhhhhhh! what'd you say? uh-oh! kelly! if you want to save fifteen percent or more on car insurance, you switch to geico. it's what you do. rick. don't walk away from me. ahhhhhhhh!

♪ know your financial plan won't keep you up at night. know you have insights from top investment strategists to help set your mind at ease. know that planning for retirement can be the least of your worries. with the guidance of a pnc investments financial advisor, know you can get help staying on track for the future you've always wanted. it's happening. today, more and more people with type 2 diabetes are learning about long-acting levemir® an injectable insulin that can give you blood sugar control for up to 24 hours. and levemir® helps lower your a1c.

levemir® comes in flextouch® the only prefilled insulin pen with no push-button extension. levemir® lasts 42 days without refrigeration. that's 50% longer than lantus® which lasts 28 days. today i'm asking about levemir® flextouch®. levemir® is a long-acting insulin used to control high blood sugar in adults and children with diabetes and is not recommended to treat diabetic ketoacidosis. do not use levemir® if you are allergic to any of its ingredients. the most common side effect is low blood sugar, which may cause symptoms such as sweating, shakiness, confusion and headache. severe low blood sugar can be serious and life-threatening. ask your doctor about alcohol use, operating machinery, or driving. other possible side effects include injection site reactions. tell your doctor about all medicines you take and all of your medical conditions. check your blood sugar levels. your insulin dose should not be changed without asking your doctor.

get medical help right away if you have trouble breathing swelling of your face, tongue or throat sweating, extreme drowsiness dizziness, or confusion. today's the day to ask your doctor about levemir® flextouch®. covered by nearly all health insurance and medicare plans. something even more frightening than the baseline frightening oeshl media always shows, what are you hiding in there, intercontinental ballistic missiles? eyebrows half shaved off? file that off with things that paulied has in common with dictators category. louie the clown, an icon at an

amusement park who disappeared a decade ago because someone what's doing a public service and tried to nuke it for orbit. good god, look at those eyes. mentions are accelerating on facebook 18% faster than the average story. more than 6500 shares in the last seven hours. police just found him in the home of a convicted sex offender. >> and result going to be louie the clown will return to its rightful owner and i have you know i still have the case -- a district attorney's appointment on monday and we're going to pursue charges on this case. >> and we're scared because he's a horrifying antique clown. last but not least, kim kr dash yan's husband, the job description alone chills our hearts. the art of breaking the internet is strong with both halves of the couple about staring into the abyss. he wrapped up a 28,000 twitter mentions in a mere two hours today for people using hash tags

like batman or superman but more of a pension for ruining taylor swift's night. we wish we could say there was real news behind this. apparently he gave a weird interview talked about having to shower 30 times after his relationship with a previous girlfriend amber rose. just ahead, drive the iphone, ipad, i car, could the next apple of your eye have wheels?

that detergent was like half the price! and we'll have to use like double! maybe more! i'm going back to the store? yes you are. dish issues? get cascade complete. one pac cleans tough food better than 6 pacs of the bargain brand combined. cascade. now that's clean. your mom's got your back. your friends have your back. your dog's definitely got your back. but who's got your back when you need legal help? we do. we're legalzoom, and over the last 10 years, we've helped millions of people protect their families and run their businesses. we have the right people on-hand to answer your questions backed by a trusted network of attorneys. so visit us today for legal help you can count on. legalzoom. legal help is here.

♪ ♪ ♪ "here i am. rock you like a hurricane." ♪ fiber one now makes cookies. find them in the cookie aisle. i don't know wha

in our house, we do just about everything online. and our old internet just wasn't cutting it. so i switched us from u-verse to xfinity. they have the fastest, most reliable internet. which is perfect for me, because i think everything should just work. works? works. works! works? works. works. quick update from the white house briefing josh earnest just spoke out on controversial comments about rudy giuliani about president obama. >> many of you have been in the room when the president has delivered speeches and talked about his love for this country or how the united states is a force for good in the world and

in fact it's the greatest force for good the world has ever seen. and so we can tell you those example examples, both in this country and around the world. more generally i can tell you it's sad to see when somebody who attained a certain level of public stat tour and admiration tarnishes that legacy so thoroughly. and the truth is i don't take any joy or vindication or satisfaction from that. i think really the only thing that i feel is i feel sorry for rudy giuliani today. >> keep is classy politics. over to the big tech story, they revolutionized phones and music, but can apple change the way we drive? new reports are out and apple is designing an electric car. the evidence so far, well this weekend an electric car battery

operated sued and apple hired former tesla employees and mercedes and ford and others. dawn is our expert on this been following the mystery throughout. dawn, how firm is the evidence so far this is in the works? >> it's very suggestive. let's just say for the record apple is not confirming any of this. apple won't speak to it. that's not a huge surprise for apple watchers but there's a lot of suggestive evidence this lawsuit brought in massachusetts by a maker of electric batteries who claims that apple has poached five of their top research and development people. that's interesting because they are specializes in large size electric batteries. that's intriguing. apple picked interesting designers like mark newsome, designed furniture to apparel to watches and also developed the pro toe type for ford that was on display.

all of this is suggesting that apple at least is exploring this as a possibility. >> do we have any sense from all of this leaked intel what direction they would be taking with their auto technology? >> well it seems that apple has a real interest in renewable energy. apple has just a couple of weeks back announced it invested over $800 million in renewable energy here in california but to power all of its facilities in california from its headquarters to all of the 50 something stores here in the state. apple really seems to have a commitment to try to find new sources of energy that are renewable. and so developing an electric car would be consistent with that broad goal. it would also represent a new and potentially lucrative market for apple, certainly not as lucrative as making an electronic device with double digit profit returns but something that if apple gets it right, even getting one percent of the market could be $45

billion in revenues according to one estimate i read this morning. >> how does an apple venture stand to change the landscape of the car business? >> i think it's interesting, there's been a lot of talent raiding between apple and tesla, tesla snagging one of apple's ui designer and apple poaching some of tesla's engineers. i think this sort of investment in creativity and exploration perhaps will push the traditional automakers to create products that consumers want competition, i think maekz everyone better. >> right after the i foep 6 was revealed, tim cook told charlie rose this. listen to this clip. >> there are products that we're working on that no one knows about, yes. that haven't been rumored about yet, yes. and part of some of those are going to come out and be blow

away and some of those will probably decide you know that one we're going to stop. >> how likely is this to be one of those scrapped initiative? >> it's so hard we're not inside infinite loop at the apple headquarters but apple does a lot of exploration, even if apple never builds an electric car, all of the devices would benefit from foundational research and how to improve rechargeable batteries, everything needs to be recharged today. i would certainly love for an improved rechargeable battery. even if apple never makes a car, if it makes some advances in lithium battery technology, that would be a boom for all of us. >> how much for tim cook? >> at least in the first couple years of his tenure is under the microscope. i think investors were looking closely to see if he was going to be able to deliver something

as revolutionary as his predecessor, as you mention, apple has reinvented music and telecommunications with the iphone, the pressure was on tim cook to deliver something revolutionary and when apple unveiled its new watch, which will be coming out in april, when they unveiled it last september, i felt like a bit of pressure was off on tim. he found a new category of product. i think the pressure has been alleviated on tim. but apple will be under the microscope for trying to deliver something new and groundbreaking. >> and also for shareholders, dawn, appreciate it. up next deadliest, roadside bombs and suicide attackers, explosive devices as the u.s. draws down in afghanistan, new details on just how far up civilian casualties were this past year. that's next.

denver international is one of the busiest airports in the country. >>

there's a gap out there. that's keeping you from the healthcare you deserve. at humana, we believe the gap will close when healthcare gets simpler. when frustration and paperwork decrease. when grandparents get to live at home instead of in a home. so let's do it. let's simplify healthcare. let's close the gap between people and care.

. a new united nations report out this week is putting a harsh spotlight on the conflict in afghanistan that the u.s. is looking to put behind it. the headline 2014 was the deadliest year for civilians in afghanistan since 2009 when the u.n. first started tracking these numbers. 3,699 civilians killed up almost 25% from the year before. the property said more improvised explosive devices and more ground fighting led to the spike in casualties the conflict clearly is far from over. served five tours of duty in afghanistan and iraq and earned a silver star bronze star and purple heart during that time and also the author of "green on blue" about the war in afghanistan. thank you so much for being

here. your personal impression how do you see afghanistan changing since the time you spent there? >> i don't know if i've seen it really has changed that much since the time i spent there. you have these cycles of violence been going on since 1979 when the soviets invaded. one of the great challenges is how to break out of the para dimes of violence. that's what we're seeing in this report. >> is enough being done by the u.s. to put in place safeguards for civilians as we draw down? >> i think what you saw, when general mcchrystal took over years ago, he tried to put them in place, restricting the use of close air support and artillery strikes. those safeguards in some respects protected afghan civilians at the cost of putting u.s. troops at risk. they were very controversial america you are measures, an uptick in fighting also because afghan troops are going head to head with the taliban. >> let's look at the quality of troops on pt ground.

combat operations formally ended this year but still troops there to train essentially supposed to be the focus of the mission. how equipped are afghan national security forces to ent counter the taliban. >> i think all military, especially infantry ground forces, they are built out around cultures military cultures. and we've been trying to as americans build that within afghanistan, with mixed effect and with mixed effect in iraq. but central to the strategy of this idea that you can create a truly national security force that holds in afghanistan, so one way or another for the u.s. to succeed there that's ha to work. >> which has proved to be a fallacy for every occupying presence in afghanistan during the time frame you mentioned. >> i think what's difficult the afghan national army has been recruited nationally but if you look for many afghans, they view the first allegiances along tribal lines and localized

lines. if you recruit a security force that was localized, then you start flirting with ideas of war lordism where you kind of wind up with a futile country. how do you create an army with a national identity in a country that doesn't have a national identity. >> without speaking to intelligence, it's been out there in the press and among human rights groups that u.s. has had close relationships with war lords on the border. >> absolutely this is the nature of the conflict you're involved in and the border is a somewhat pore us border that's been drawn and redrawn and the real equities you're dealing with it's not a borderline but the tribal boundaries and those identities. >> given those obstacles on ground, should the u.s. be paying to attention to ghani saying please slow down on the troop withdrawals, they want the

u.s. on the ground there. >> we've had an interesting example in terms of what's going on in iraq after there was a troop withdrawal and we've seen iraq descend into chaos at the hands of isis sunni tribes which once worked with us now aaligning themselves with isis they are determining the most responsible way to have a u.s. exit from afghanistan. >> another piece of news in afghanistan some found troubling this week the possibility of negotiations with the taliban. this has been an old question that dogged this administration. there was some doing talks quietly early on. now there's potential to do it openly. there was supposed to be a talk with members of the taliban this week. is that a wise move? >> i mean listen whether americans like it or not, the taliban are significant players in afghanistan. the only way you'll have a negotiated peace is by dealing

with the taliban. in the early days right after 9/11 they were clearly lumped into the narrative as being affiliated with al qaeda, which they were in terms of safeguarding of osama bin laden. but there were real and well documented breaks between the taliban and al qaeda. this sort of blanket terrorist label that's been leveled against the taliban isn't particularly constructive for creating a more nuanced piece. there's a lot more than is presented. >> the question has gone from do we want to be talking to the taliban to do we have a choice. i do want to talk about your novel, fascinating set in the midst of all of this we're talking about. what inspired you to novelize that experience? >> sure, well when i served in afghanistan i was an adviser to afghan troops. in many respects my war buddies, weren't other american soldiers but afghans. we fought together bled

together but when i came home these weren't guys i could friend on facebook get a quart of beers at at the local vfw or call long distance. the novel i wrote told in first person from the perspective of a young afghan soldier really was my attempt to render their world as a -- >> it pulls back a curtain on a world not talked enough even as numbers get worse and stakes get higher for people you talked about leaving behind. it's an important voice that you're adding to that conversation. we're going to tell everybody to read it and put it up on the website. thank you so much sir. up next everybody, something much lighter, significantly, can you imagine even lighter than death tolls in afghanistan? yes, the oscars are looming. that's our word for the final block of today, oscars. and the odds around the oscars specifically playing the odds.

those banking big on this weekend's ceremony. know that chasing performance can mean lower returns and fewer choices in retirement. know that proper allocation could help increase returns so you can enjoy that second home sooner. know the right financial planning can help you save for college and retirement. know where you stand with pnc total insight. a new investing and banking experience with personalized guidance and online tools. visit a branch, call or go online today.

you, my friend are a master of diversification. who would have thought three cheese lasagna would go with chocolate cake and ceviche? the same guy who thought that small caps and bond funds would go with a merging markets. it's a masterpiece. thanks. clearly you are type e. you made it phil. welcome home. now what's our strategy with the fondue? diversifying your portfolio? e*trade gives you the tools and resources to get it right. are you type e*? have you heard of the new dialing procedure for for the 415 and 628 area codes? no what is it? starting february 21, 2015 if you have a 415 or 628 number you'll need to dial... 1 plus the area code plus the phone number for all calls. okay, but what if i have a 415 number, and i'm calling a 415 number? you'll still need to dial... 1 plus the area code plus the phone number. so when in doubt, dial it out!

here is something that caught our eye from california. it looks like something out of a movie but it is a real-life and it is there in california and it is a helicopter in the lates of interstate 15. it was being towed behind a truck and struck an overpass. two cars were damaged but thankfully nobody hurt. one thing everybody is talking about is the oscars and. they are not just something to tolerate from your couch. but a high-stake game from the odds. predicting the winners, turning into a betting market. and a tayler made -- tailer made numbers game and demand for

number crunchers to make that sing. one star in the new scene, the hollywood reporters go-to source, ben zasmer. thank you for being here. and i'll go over the numbers. but you have 70% success so far. how do your predictions work? >> so i'm looking at the different categories and for each category i'm looking to see which predictors have done well in the past. for example, the directors guild does well in predicts the best director and picture so the better they have done the higher of a weight they get mathematically in my model. >> so you are looking at prior awards. >> exactly. it is based on the premise, sometimes true and sometimes not, so if the baftas were a good predictor last year they

are a good predictor last year. >> and you found that to be the case. what is the number one predictor? is it the baftas or the dga's? >> it is different. it is the dga's for some and it is different for different categories. >> and let's look at the predictors and as you mentioned best picture, people talking about birdman and boy poodhood and what is your prediction? >> birdman and boyhood. the map agrees with what the intuition in hollywood is saying. for picture, it is looking like birdman is slightly over boyhood. and the director of birdman, the comfortable front-runner with boyhood in second. >> could american sniper sneak into the results considering how dominant it has been in the box office? >> a lot of people have been talking about american sniper

in the last couple of weeks, a controversial film but it is a long shot. it did not win the bafta, the golden globe, the producers guild, the screen actor or director's guild things that are good oscar producers did not pick it. best sound editing, it is close up there with sound mixing with whiplash. but for the top prize of the night, american sniper would be a surprise. >> do you find that high-profile controversial films are helped or hindered by controversy? >> i stay away from that. i use purely ones and zeros and i don't want my opinions in there and how controversial a film is is a difficult thing to ascertain mathematically and say how important is it. >> and subjectivive. and best aektor.

steven hocking's portrayal, i haven't seen it yet, gang busters. and michael keaton in birdman and could they split the vote and it could go to someone else? >> it is a preferential movie doesn't win and then your second choice is your first vote. it seems unlikely. it is suggesting the imagine -- the math will be keating. >> and any redictions. >> some of the predictions i make are not the same everyone else is making. birdman winning the both two is one and grand budapest hotel cleaning up in the art categories is not a prediction that everyone is making. ida for best foreign film is a debatable one. so some things the math agrees

with intuition and some it doesn't. >> ben zausmer, check out his work. and we asked you to whittle down today's holidays into five words. laurie says giuliani needs to zip it. and for macat navy blue skies. giuliani not a match. and mickey skelton said east coast is expletive deleted cold. and alarming clowns drive deadliest oscars which makes perfectly sense in a funny way. join us into putting the headlines into five words every day. thank you for joining me. it is final for "the reid report" with my colleague joy reid up next. don't miss it. with answers anytime, day or night.

i'm lauren, and i've got your back. there's nothing more romantic than a spontaneous moment. so why pause to take a pill? and why stop what you're doing to find a bathroom? with cialis for daily use, you don't have to plan around either. it's the only daily tablet approved to treat erectile dysfunction so you can be ready anytime the moment is right. plus cialis treats the frustrating urinary symptoms of bph, like needing to go frequently, day or night. tell your doctor about all your medical conditions and medicines, and ask if your heart is healthy enough for sex. do not take cialis if you take nitrates for chest pain as it may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. do not drink alcohol in excess. side effects may include headache, upset stomach, delayed backache or muscle ache. to avoid long-term injury, get medical help right away for an erection lasting more than four hours. if you have any sudden decrease or loss in hearing or vision or any symptoms of an allergic reaction stop taking cialis and get medical help right away. why pause the moment? ask your doctor about cialis for daily

use. for a free 30-tablet trial go to cialis.com how much money do you have in your pocket right now? i have $40 $21. could something that small make an impact on something as big as your retirement? i don't think so. well if you start putting that towards your retirement every week and let it grow over time, for twenty to thirty years that retirement challenge might not seem so big after all. ♪ ♪

congratulations. you're down with crestor. yes! when diet and exercise aren't enough, adding crestor lowers bad cholesterol up to 55%. crestor is not for people with liver disease or women who are nursing, pregnant, or may become pregnant. tell your doctor all medicines you take. call your doctor if you have muscle pain or weakness, feel unusually tired have loss of appetite, upper belly pain, dark urine or yellowing of skin or eyes. these could be signs of serious side effects. i'm down with crestor! make your move. ask your doctor about crestor. good job! still running in the morning? yeah. getting your vegetables every day? when i can. [ bop ] [ male announcer ] could've had a v8. two full servings of vegetables for only 50 delicious calories.

good afternoon and welcome to "the reid report." i'm joy reid and we start with a developing story. an international search is underway for three british girls believed to be en route to syria to possibly join the terrorist group isis. scotland yard has issued these pictures of the girls, 15-13 and three names. police are appealing to the public for any information about the teen-ager's current whereabouts. alex is joining me from london where he is following the latest developments. alex? >> reporter: we know these were three teenage girls from london age 15 and 16 and they went to school together. they were last seen on tuesday morning by their parents where officials say they gave plausible reasons for where they would be that day and they went and went to the airport and took a turkish flight to istanbul.

officials believe they are still in turkey but they fear they are about to cross into syria and meet up with a fourth girl who went there in december. families are devastated but officials believe they still can have some hope of bringing the girls back with this public request for information. >> and alex girls aged 15 and 16, do authorities know how they could buy those tickets or afford to by them or who bought the tickets for them. i imagine somebody would have had to obtain the flights. >> this happened during the school holidays but the police haven't given information about how they were able to obtain the tickets. but they are concerned about the number of girls out to syria to join isis. the total number of british people who have gone out there is thought to be