tomorrow marks 20 years since nelson mandela was released from prison. millions watched him emerge karen allen has had rare access to the prison where he spent those final months. >> this is the villa in the prison where he spent his last year in custody. you can see that even haa swimming pool in the shadow of the mountains. by the time he reached here, it was clear that he was being prepared for bigger things on the outside. >> extraordinary to think that 20 years ago this was the nerve center of an attempt to liberate nelson mandela from prison. senior figures included bbc.co [unintelligible] in the last weeks of his incarceration he was secretly driven to cape town to hold talks to negotiate the terms of his release. >> on the 11th of february, 1990, nelson mandela was set free. he is now preparing to reflect on his past. his ex-wife has recreated the historic walk through the gates, joined by some of the heavyweights. 20,000 people are expected to mark this anniversary, knowing that despite the coming of democracy and the end of white minority rule,

. >> 20 years since nelson mandela walked free fom jail as the man that steered his divided country away from its racist past. tomorrow the people from south africa will celebrate the momentous day. our correspondent there reported his release in 1990 has been back to south africa, where the man that freed nelson mandela asked if this was one of the biggest days of his life. >> one of them. i realized that after the announcement that i made, south africa would be changed forever. >> not to diminish what you decided in did, but to suggest that south africa was under intense pressure, internationally. there was a run on the financials from outside and inside. >> absolutely. we were caught up in a downward spiral of growing isolation. and of growing violence and terrorist methods. >> how much were you influenced by what had happened in europe? >> the collapse of the berlin wall played an important role in what i could do. if that did not happen, it would have been very difficult to unveil the south african communist party. and its military wing, which were financed and supplied with arms, e

for more than a quarter century, this was the only moving image of nelson mandela.is picture could not be published anywhere in south africa. his words could not be quoted. banish him from the public mind, the authorities reasoned, and you will bury what he might represent. faithful milantwa, now an educational publisher, was 4 years old when mandela went to prison. the very name was forbidden even at home. >> if you start talking about mandela in a home situation, mother would say, shh, be quiet, you will go to jail. >> reporter: yet from the riots that swept through the townships to the uprisings of the mid 1980s mandela became a larger than life symbol to the politicized young. to those who secretly joined the african national congress as a teenager. >> because of what the government did it looked as if they were talking about somebody who could overthrow the government within a day or minutes. that's why he became such a great person. i mean, they didn't know him. we said, well, he must be some big stuff. >> reporter: mandela also provided the worldwide anti-apa

he plays nelson mandela? >> it's okay. think that's the academy ticking off a box. >> rose: the box of what? that we know... >> morgan freeman playing... >> rose: he's a good actor and nelson mandela is a famous person. >> noble character. >> rose: extraordinary person. >> so it's funny i haven't heard critics talking about that performance, i can't think of anyone who hated it. but it does seem like the kind of thing they would nominate but it doesn't make much of a splash anywhere else. >> rose: okay, best actress in a leading role, sandra bullock in "the blind side" helen mirren in "the last station" carey mulligan in "an education" and gabourey sidibe in "precious." meryl streep, finally, in "julie & julia." everybody's talking about meryl streep here. >> it's meryl streep's 16th nomination. if she wins it would be her third win but still not close to katharine hepburn who had four. i'm rooting for "julie & julia which would have been in my top ten. i was still hoping... >> rose: for best movie in >> for best movie. i

. >>> a toast today foa smiling nelson mandela.elebrating the an varsity, two decades now of his release from prison, where he spent 27 years. his former wife winnie joined mandela, and other leaders of south africa's anti-apartheid movement. mandela is rarely seen in public these dames. he turns 92 this summer. >>> coming up, women take heart. simple things for health and life. heart a d by a completely blocked artery, another heart attack could be lurking, waiting to strike. a art attack caused by a clot, one that could be fatal. but plavix helps save lives. plavix taken with other heart medicines, goes beyond what other heart medicines do alone, to provide greater protection against heart attack or stroke and even death by helping to keep blood platelets from sticking together and forming clots. ask your doctor about plavix. protection that helps save lives. people with stomach ulcers or other conditions that cause bleeding should not use plavix. taking plax alone or with some other medicines including aspirin may increase bleed

. >> a former political activist and friend of nelson mandela, ramaphosa is still pushing for changeka, a company that owns the country's only coke bottler managed by blacks. >> we're changing from a horrible past to a promising and prosperous future. and coca-cola is part of the journey with us. >> part of the journey and part of society. here the global company is a local sponsor, supporting community events and small businesses by providing them with signs and refrigerators, with coke's name on them, of course. its return? brand loyalty. coke has a 90% share of the soda and water market, ensuring its logo is everywhere. as in other parts of the world, coke has managed to tap into what excites the locals, like soccer. >> welcome to coca-cola soccer zone. football on the coke side of life. >> it's committing hundreds of millions of dollars to sponsoring the world cup in 2010. >> it's probably half our budget at the moment i would imagine is spent on football. we certainly have used the event in every way we can. >> by plastering the world cup logo on billboards, bottles, and cans, t

and also, thursday i think it's the anniversary of nelson mandela being released from thursday. >> it. >> read something in the paper this morning. ivan watson, manning our iran desk, we look forward to your reports next week. >> thank you. >> we want to tell you at least five people died in a huge explosion in a power plant under construction in connecticut. the huge blast rocked the countryside and could be heard and felt up to 20 miles away. residents described it as an earthquake. more on this story on 10:00 p.m. if you work for the federal government in washington, d.c., tomorrow you will have the day off because of record-breaking snow. you probably won't have time to relax because you'll be digging out. they have record snow in the region there. lots to talk about on that issue. also, the president putting together a bipartisan group to talk about health care. really putting the republicans at their word, taking them at their word and going to meet february 25th and talk about that as well as creating jobs. big weeks to come in washington. now it's time for some of your commen

. >>> and former south african president nelson mandela on thursday marked the 20th anniversary of his release from prison. he was honored by colleagues who called the 91-year-old mandela an inspiration and said the sacrifices he made would never be forgotten. it is now five minutes past the hour. let's go back outside to matt and natalie. >> all right. thank you, ann. >> let's get this all-important weather forecast -- >> yes. >> -- for super bowl weekend from the man behind us over there. >> al? >> got a cute little man over here. what's his name? >> jack. >> we can't quite see you, jack. he's turning around. there he is! all right. there you go. that's a face worth waiting for. let's check your weather. and again, as matt alluded to, we have winter storm warnings, winter weather advisories, blizzard warnings stretching from the dakotas all the way to the eastern seaboard. in fact, you can see maryland and delaware on into new jersey, we've got blizzard warnings. here's the system. heavy rain in the south, snow developing in the north, and it's starting to work its way into washingto

obama wants to be sort of nelson mandela. he wants to look ahead, not behind.nows politically it's going to be very divisive and hurt his chance for reelection in the congressmen and senators were running for office in the next election. if he has a very strong effort to try to prosecute the lawyers who wrote the white house torture memos and the individuals who implemented them. and maybe even the president to authorize them in the end. so instead they have created a special prosecutor to investigate. and it's given him a very limited mandate. they said only people who have committed acts of torture that were not authorized by the torture memos. so those are people who tortured before the memos came out over those are people who did things even worse than waterboarding. and there were things worse than waterboarding. unfortunately, the obama administration refuses to release a bunch of photographs of things that happen in afghanistan and guantÁnamo bay and abu grade. the reason they don't want to release those they say is because it will make the terrorist ene

ut t y elected president nelson mandela as hee daunask of bringing a bitterly divided south africa togetherthe way of a par tie. >> what instruct you about the story that made you interested? >> it was true. i couldn't believe it. i called clint and i said i can' of f ger >>oudidn c ay t han old man that tatal athiatake nse. ase, mrside se. help of francis pe noir, the spring box. >> how did you get yourself in shape for this role. >> i grew six inches to play the rt. kedutt. put won t then't favoo betheyso ismy uncommon ble so t g ve, i rati . thetitlck tus re phat m as oinsp didn't evolve into a civil war anll outside predictions it should have and it is the decision that every person in that unmade. >> still to come, he is a line man in the nfl but what is his keys to success off of the field? find out when net impact returns. invictus. >> who says that a 6'3" bruisesser on the football field can't have a softer side to him. all you have to do is take a look at eric heightman and you would never know that off of the field he is a piano man. here is comcast sports net bay area broady braz

. >> morgan freeman was nominated for his portrayal of nelson mandela.his is the fifth nomination for acting, he won once before for "million dollar baby." if you're running late, dial 1-888-robin hln to indicate what time you want to be awake. you'll hear my sleepy voice at the other end of the line telling you good morning and what the big news of the day is. if you want, you can leave a shout out for me in return. >>> you know, when a former president and a former terminator tell you get moving, you get it in gear. bill clinton and california governor arnold schwarzenegger spoke aan obesity summit. schwarzenegger announced a new bill to give more kids exercise and ban sugary sports drinks from california schools. >> we have, you know, out one out of three children being obese, two out of five adults being obese, overweight. this is staggering numbers. >> the cost of this is killing us. i believe until we get a hold of our lifestyles and the food chain and how we eat and how we exercise, we're going to have serious, serious problems. >> now, clinton al

called former president nelson mandela to congratulate him on the 20th anniversary of his release from prison. president obama expressed the american people's great admiration for president mandela and he was appreciative of the call. next up to a quick week ahead. on sunday i don't have anything for tomorrow. the president will travel to camp david and return to the white house on monday -- >> i don't believe -- let me get that for you >> [inaudible] >> i will require that will we be. tuesday the president will visit and were the jobs training center in the capitol region. wednesday the president will meet with the king of spain at the white house. on thursday the president as we talk about yesterday will meet with the dalai lama here. he will then travel to denver colorado where he will deliver remarks at an even tougher senter bennet, and then traveled to las vegas, nevada. on friday the president will hold evens with senator reid in las vegas to include discussions with citizens and business leaders about working together to address the economic challenges facing nevada and the res

last thursday march the 20th anniversary of the great nelson mandela walking out of his prison cell.ne of his very simple phrases that certainly guides me is one that i just want to mention to frame the evening. mr. mandela said, "it always seems impossible until it is done." . >> thanks to the caucus and everyone who support the assembly members in the home district, it is possible to have of voice, to have a seat at the table, and as we go through this tough and challenging time, i think we need to keep in contact -- in context the sense of history, that we stay focused on what is real. as we stay focused on what is best for our younger citizens, for our children, we can get through this tough time in a way that is stronger than we were at the beginning of it. i just want you to know, we are working very hard with a wonderful team who supports me to help move this date forward at this tough and challenging time. if we work together in partnership, keep our goals in mind, i know that the time come when we will say it seemed impossible, but we did get through it, to a better and stro

[applauding] last thursday marks the 20th anniversary of the great nelson mandela walking out of hisprison cell. one of his very simple phrases that certainly guides me is one that i just want to mention to frame my thoughts for the evening. mr. mandela said, "it always seems impossible until it is done." "it always seems impossible until it is done." the founders of this caucus almost four decades ago, i'm sure, could not have envisioned a great success of this weekend to focus on issues and concerns, could not have imagined the stage and the introductions earlier of the members of the caucus. black, puerto rican, hispanic, and asian members. what a powerful presence. the senate president, majority conference leader of the senate, the governor, a former member of the caucus. this would not have seemed possible 40 years ago. thanks to the efforts the senators and assembly members, it is possible. it is possible to have a voice, to have a seat at the table, and as we go through this tough and challenging time, as all the speakers have alluded to, i think we need to keep in context thi

president obama called former president nelson mandela this morning to congratulate him on the 20th anniversaryof his release from prison. president obama expressed the american people's great admiration for president mandela who was very appreciative of the call. next, let's do a quick week ahead. on sunday, i don't have anything for tomorrow. on sunday the president will travel to camp david. he will return to the white house on monday. >> time for that? >> i don't but we will, we will, let me get that for pool duty. >> doing anything -- [inaudible] >> i will inquire. i assume that will be up there at camp david. on tuesday the president will visit and tour jobs training center in the capitol region. on wednesday the president will meet with king juan-carlos of spain at the white house. on thursday, the president is, as we talked about yesterday would meet with the dalai lama here. he will then travel to denver, colorado where he will deliver a remarks at an event for senator bennett. then travel to las vegas, nevada. on friday the president will hold events with senator reid in las vegas. an