l.z. granderson and anna smith. good to see you both. happy new year. let's start with the fiscal cliff and strategizing that newt gingrich did. he says the process has become a complete diversion from what's really important. >> we are now going to spend 60 days or 90 days fixated on the next big crisis and then the crisis will go down to the white house and then secret meetings and once again will produce 2400 pages no one will have read. it is exactly the opposite of healthy self-government. >> it is interesting, because he called it a distraction. newt gingrich criticizing the process. no one really seems happy with what happened or how it happened. is this how things are going to get done in washington these days, governing by crisis? let's start with you, anna. >> well, you know, i agree with that part that he just said. this is absolutely not healthy governing. i love newt gingrich. he was in miami over the holidays e was having a little diversion himself. i suspect when he was spea

l.z. granderson and will cain, both cnn contributors. good morning, guys. >> good morning. happy new year. >> happy new year. i'm so glad to be back. i've been on vacation, and i feel like i'm talking about the same stuff, which i am. i wanted just to lay out the idea of a government shutdown for people who can't remember as as far back as 1995 because it had the following effects. it cost taxpayers about $800 million. new social security claims were not processed. medicare recipients were delayed, their applications, that is. the cdc, the centers for disease control hotline shutdown. if that happened today, there is a flu outbreak going on. national parks shut down. is a government shutdown really a good negotiating tool, l.z.? >> of course not. this is some of the reasons why. there are other things as well. back then, there were like 600 toxic waste areas or spills that weren't cleaned up during those 28 days, which the government was shut down. we're not just talking about things that

right as we go. >> l.z.nderson, will cain, thank you very much. >>> the fight is on to keep assault weapons off the shelves of the nation's largest retailer as thousands of people call on walmart to honor a pledge it made almost a decade ago. >>> the push for stopping gun violence is coming to the front door of the nation's largest retailer. tomorrow protesters will deliver a petition to walmart, demanding it stop selling semiautomatic weapons. george howell has more. >> reporter: a month after the tragedy in newtown, some gun control activists are turning their focus on the world's largest retailer and a top gun seller, walmart. the company, which pledged after the brady bill expired in 2004, that it would not sell assault weapons, actually does sell semiautomatic firearms in many of its stores, that many people would describe as assault weapons. on tuesday, the advocacy group, someofus.org will lead a protest in front of the walmart in newtown to present a petition. a spokeswoman for the group tells cnn, "

i'm joined by lawrence zarian, fashion expert, l.z.y my side watching some pretty amazing styles. >> we get to see them all walk down the red carpet. >> i don't know if we have the shot up right now. we're guying "glee" cast members. lea michele is standing there in pink on the red carpet. i will get your quick reaction. >> she's been really pushing it when it comes to high fashion dressing, but this is so sweet. it is so sophisticated. it's sexy and i love that you focus on the face and those drop earrings. spectacular. look at alfre woodard. looks beautiful. >> let's talk about one of the big nominees tonight, jessica chastain, of course, is nominated for "zero dark thirty." she's young hollywood right now and i have to imagine for all the fashion designers she's one of the most sought after actresses by every designer saying i want to dress her. talk to me about her look. her favorite design ser di or and she didn't disappoint. she's wearing a dior haute couture gown. when you have a style team like jennifer lawrence does, you have

l.z., always great to see you. the fashion is on its way down the red carpet. let's dig right in and start with one woman who is nominated tonight for her performance in lincoln, sally field. >> she was on the red carpet at the s.a.g. awards in 2009 and that was such an appropriate dress for that time. this year she went with one of the hottest colors of the season. a beautiful rich plum chiffon gown, v-neck, hair down, age appropriate. she's showing all of young hollywood how to do it right. >> in my mind she can do no wrong on screen, with what she's wearing. >> if you think about, it she could fly if she wanted to. >> she's gdone that before, at least on television. talk to me about naomi watts, nominated with "the impossible" tonight. >> just when you think she can't do the impossible on another red carpet, she's done it tonight. she's wearing a beautiful beaded gown. it's classic, sophisticated and her hair has that nod to old hollywood glam. she has such a great body. it features some of her great assets. >> let's talk about jessica chastain who has becom

l.z.erson is a cnn contributor and analyst, will cain is a cnn contributor and also contributes to theblaze.com. good morning, gentlemen. >> good morning. >> i'm wondering, it's so unusual, two high powered democrats appearing on television together talking about stuff. what was it about really, l.z.? >> it was a campaign ad essentially. perhaps of it a not so subtle message to his vp, joe biden, that maybe you shouldn't run. if it is between clinton and yourself, my endorsement, my direction for the country will be to vote for hillary clinton, not you. i saw both those things in the interview. i didn't see very much policy talk. it was a love fest. i think it was important that the last thing on tape of those two next to each other wasn't the debates that we saw earlier, but actually this love fest. >> well, speaking of love fests -- and, will cain, i'm sure you'll agree with me. during the benghazi hearings, democrat after democrat after democrat expressed their love for hillary clinton.

. >>> l.z. and retired general spider marks, and big ang raiola and ramona rizzo, and "starting point" begins right now. good morning, welcome, everybody. our team roland martin, cnn political analyst, host of "washington watch." will cain, contributor for theblaze.com, john berman from "early start." our starting point so cold you might not believe some of the numbers. bitter cold blast gripping much of the country is not expected to go away any time soon. take a look at the white house, take a look at the capitol building covered in snow, here in new york, people kind of wrapped up like mummies, the deep freeze is only adding to the misery for those folks who are victims of hurricane sandy, tens of thousands of homes are still without heat and despite the negative windchill factors, people are still in some of those homes. turning out in northern ohio, interstate 930 shut down as temperatures plunged into the teens and single digits, lake-effect snow piled up, triggered sever eed several cra.

when i talked about it with with l.z. granderson, i asked if the push for a ban would be worth the effort. >> the thing about what vice president biden's going to unveil on tuesday is really interesting because there are three different conversations in my opinion that are happening regards to guns. the first conversation is about mass shootings and what are we going to do about that. the second conversation is about the shootings that happen every other day in our streets, particularly like in chicago. and then there's a conversation about the culture of guns and that's where the movie violence, the video games comes in from. so i'm really curious to see what vice president biden is going to unveil. those are three different conversations and you can't clean this up with one fell swoon. >> anna, i want to ask you about the president's strategy. he'll have to use a lot of political muscle to clean it up. if you look at the fbi statistics, although we have horrific events that occur with these guns sometimes, mostly it is

but we never called us l.z. that was something that the city and the police would describe the scene we were clubs. what drew me to sloths and was that they mirrored who i was and it made one feel like one had some status and you had an identity and identity that you didn't have anywhere else. the sense of family there's a sense of acceptance you also have a way to wilson power because now you've got numbers. in those days we give you a point when. you have to be there because everybody else in town knew but you know . this occurred how good are those things i say these days why do you say i would be cheering here in atlanta we're back to the studio here to whoop your sideburns off. before we. just what we call wolf and oh you know i was going to hit this one scene and he does you know if you look at the somebody get a phone. it wasn't really about destroying somebody really just a competitive day and you know just competing with. his time and produce all the time. my mother. always said you know what would you

people of l.z. with his latest talking about which way russia's foreign policy is going to point for the year ahead there with this after this break. could be the ever. gone. and left something to live. for precious children. like on mom's fragile shoulders. leave it to die. on our team. coming. thank. you. hello and welcome to cross talk i'm peter lavelle russia's foreign policy in two thousand and thirteen what can we expect what about the so-called reset with the united states will international law be even less relevant than last year. to discuss russia's foreign policy in two thousand and thirteen i'm joined by. he is the editor in chief of rushing global affairs marketable day he is a senior lecturer in research or international relations at moscow's a university and dimitri bobbitt she is a political analyst with the voice of russia radio station all right gentlemen crosstalk rules in fact that means you can jump in anytime you want you don't do you think two thousand and thirteen holds for r

>> what would you do, l.z. granderson? we only have a minute left. want you just to give me your take on that very short bite which katie will air tomorrow? what does this tell anybody, anything? >> it tells people we won't ever know the real truth. there's no way you can tell me this person went through this whole three-year ordeal and that he didn't find out until december. it just doesn't add up. when you look at all the interviews that happened prior to the katie couric interview, it just doesn't make any sense to me. >> it doesn't make senses, but does it as swaj some of his critics? is he going to get a break with what he said? >> you know, the jokes will never go away at this point. all he can do is try to get drafted by the zblifl will that be affected? >> i don't think so. as long as he's physically able to perform at a high level, i don't think his draft status is going to be hurt at all, but if he doesn't perform well in the nfl, then you will continue to hear about the girlfriend that wasn't there joke.

we'll hear from a former atlanta player and l.z. granderson, a senior writer for espn. ick up s.and what girl wouldn't need new shoes? and with all the points i've been earning, i was able to get us a flight to our favorite climbing spot even on a holiday weekend. ♪ things are definitely looking up. [ male announcer ] with no blackout dates, you can use your citi thankyou points to travel whenever you want. visit citi.com/thankyoucards to apply. toi had[ designer ]eelingnt. enough of just covering up my moderate to severe plaque psoriasis. i decided enough is enough. ♪ [ spa lady ] i started enbrel. it's clinically proven to provide clearer skin. [ rv guy ] enbrel may not work for everyone -- and may not clear you completely, but for many, it gets skin clearer fast, within 2 months, and keeps it clearer through 6 months. [ male announcer ] enbrel may lower your ability to fight infections. serious, sometimes fatal events, including infections, tuberculosis, lymphoma, other cancers, nervous system and blood disorders, and allergic reactions have occurred. before starting enbrel, y