Jo hey there everyone t is 5 p. M. On the east coast, 2 p. M. Out west. If you are just joinituning in,k you for joining us. Im Deborah Feyerick in for fredricks whitfield. Danica patrick makes history as the first woman to win the pole for the daytona 500. That puts her in the best starting position for the race next sunday. She clocks a qualifying speed of 196 miles an hour. She spoke a short time ago, giving thanks to those who helped make this moment possible. Im grateful for all those things. I feel like, first and foremost, i feel like i grew up with good values and good goals and i was brought up tonight fastest driver, not the fastest girl so i feel like that was instilled in me from very young and well, from the beginning and then i feel like thriving in those moments where the pressures on is also gonna help for me and i feel like ive also been very lucky in my career to be with good teams and have good people around me and i and i dont think that any of it would have been possible without that. A team effort. Danica will join our don lemon live at 6 15 tonight to talk about her big win. Some days, being president has to be the best job in the world, especially if youre a president who loves golf. Today, president obama played a round of golf with tiger woods. The president is enjoying a golfing weekend with friends in palm city you florida. He is also playing with jim crane, a democratic supporter and owner of the posh resort where they are playing. To top it off, the president got a golf lesson from tigers former coach. Agent for south africas sprinter canceled all of Oscar Pistorius future races. He issued statement saying pistorius remains in a South African jail, accused of killing his girlfriend on valentines day h fellow olympic sprinter usain bolt says he is shocked to hear of the allegations against pistorius answered spoke to Rachel Nichols of turner sports. When i heard, i was like, what . Who . As in the amputee, the guy who run the 400 meter . I was asking all kinds of questions because this cant be the same guy that i have seen that i know. And i still cant process it really. Im trying to process what really happened, as far as i am concerned, im just listening out, listening to the news whats up, follow twitter and see what is going on. Because for me, im still in slightly shock for what happened. History being made in washington. Thousands marching for more action on climate change. Organizers claim it is the biggest rally of its kind ever in the u. S. We have a reporter who braved the cold to stand in the crowd. Going to take you there in a moment. Pope benedict xvi led tens of thousands in a prayer for strength. This morning, he gave his secondtolast prayer as pontiff and thanked his followers for their support. Last week, the 85yearold pope announced he is resigning because of advanced age. In los angeles, dozens of protesters gather outside the lapd headquarters. They carried signs supporting renegade excop and cop killer, Christopher Dorner them dont support dorners deadly rampage but say the accusations of corruption, racism, even brutality against the lapd need to be addressed so this doesnt happen again. I think there are a lot of honest policemen out there trying to help the people. But it just is atrocious what mr. Dorner did and we dont want it to happen again. Now, our nick valencia is here with me today. Nick, you were out in los angeles. It seems a little bit odd that people would actually support a cop killer. What is going on exactly . Not just a cop killer, deb. Lets not forget, he killed two innocent civilians as well, the daughter of the man that defended him during his appeal process as well as her fiance. There were 50 families receiving security detail. It wasnt just Police Officers he was going after the. I spoke with some of the dorner supporters saying we dont necessarily support dorners actions but we do support he was trying to call out core running in the Los Angeles Police department and using this as an opportunity to leverage those claims. Last week, when i was in los angeles, i spoke to Los Angeles MayorAntonio Villaraigosa and asked him if dorner should hub given any credence or legitimacy. Take a listen. There is nothing, absolutely nothing, that was done to this individual that would rationalize in any way the murder of three innocent people. The notion that somehow this deranged individual should be given any credence boggles my mind. Reporter you remember in the 90s, ramp part, the rodney king riots, they are trying to rebound and recover that image. Is interesting that is 20 years later around i did speak to some officers from the lapd who say, look, is there no sort of institutional racism and they doubt sort of dorners experience within it. Clearly, he felt that. Do you think by reopening the investigation, it may at least quell the doubts that people who are protesting or even supporting dorner on facebook are having . Reporter think thats really good point, deb. People saying this the slapd trying, at the very least, to be more transparent and they are doing this to sort of appease the public and say, listen, dorner may have made these claims, but this isnt a systemic problem. This isnt something thats throughout our ranks. This is something thats very specific to his allegation which is perhaps might be unfounded. Deb . Yeah. Well, be interesting to see what they do find when they reopen that investigation. Clearly, that firing was his trigger point that set him off on this crazy rampage. Nick valencia, thanks so much. We appreciate it. Lets get took this hours big story, the historic rally in washington. Thousands marching for more action to protest against climate change. Organizers claim it is the biggest rally of its kind ever in the u. S. Our Chris Lawrence spent date among the marchers. Chris, things are quiet there now behind you. But you know, you look at the passion that these people brought. What were their major complaints . What message did they want to give the president . Reporter two things, deb. Yeah the rally is over but the message, two messages, have been clearly delivered. From what we heard as the crowd marched through the streets of washington, they want two things, they want the Environmental Protection agency to establish tighter standards on Current Power plant. In other words, they dont want these Current Power plants to produce as much greenhouse gases. Not just future power plants that are going to be built, but the ones already built right now. And they want president obama to kill the deal of extending that keystone pipeline. Thats the oil pipeline from canada that would bring oil through the u. S. All the way to the gulf coast. We spoke with a lot of folks here today who say there was a reason why they marched by the white house. Even though president obama was away in florida they said their message to him and to the white house is you cant go back to the status quo. They put a minuscule amount of money into research and development for Renewable Energy that they spend on fossil fuels, wed be there now, you no . He its not because it cant be done, its because of political and financial new be that have a vesd interest in keeping the system that we have now and its not working. We are facing world disasters and we will see more and more in this. And it may be an immediate necessity to change all of this as soon as we possibly can. Reporter some say it will help the u. S. Establish Better Energy independence not be so dependent on foreign nations for oil. We would be working with an al li ally like canada. The stricter emissions standards have been felt in place like West Virginia and cost jobs in some of the coal plants. They worry that further tightening some of those emissions standards will basically put a lot of coal plants out of business. Deb . Saving the environment and trying to rejolt the economy. All right. Chris lawrence, thanks for us there in washington, d. C. Appreciate it. A mother flying to atlanta tries to soothe her crying child. Thats when police say a fellow passenger actually slapped the boy and yelled out a racial slur. Parents describe the traumatic incident just ahead. Mixed martial arts, a sport thats exploding in popularity in the u. S. Going to tell you why. Also, remarkable guide dogs, trained by a woman whose hollywood pedestrian grill is very well known. We will talk live to entertainer lauren aluft, daughter of judy garland. Copd includes chronic bronchitis and emphysema. Spiriva helps control my copd symptoms by keeping my airways open for 24 hours. Plus, it reduces copd flareups. Spiriva is the only oncedaily inhaled copd maintenance treatment that does both. Spiriva handihaler tiotropium bromide inhalation powder does not replace fastacting inhalers for sudden symptoms. Tell your doctor if you have kidney problems, glaucoma, trouble urinating, or an enlarged prostate. These may worsen with spiriva. Discuss all medicines you take, even eye drops. Going to tell you why. Ak immediate medical help if your breathing suddenly worsens, your throat or tongue swells, you get hives, vision changes or eye pain, or problems passing urine. Other side effects include dry mouth and constipation. Nothing can reverse copd. Spiriva helps me breathe better. blowing sound ask your doctor about spiriva. An idaho man is charged with assault august minor, a child on a delta flight. He allegedly you the eared racial slur and slapped a 2yearold boy because the boy was climbing. Our affiliate kare has the details. Sing twinkle twinkle . Reporter jonah ben set a smart and smiley 19monthold. Big kiss. Muah. Reporter but its what happened on a delta flight that has jonahs parents doing anything but smile. He hit a child. And that he said what he said and its disgusting. Reporter jessica bent and her son were flying to atlanta and sitting next to this man, 60yearold joe huntley from idaho. He was being rude and belligerent rent. Reporter he reeked of alcohol and began to drink on board, she says. Jonah got fuss sand the already uncomfortable flight got worse. I was having trouble comforting him and thats when the guy had made his comment to me. Reporter as Court Documents say, this is when huntley allegedly told jessica to quote shut that nword baby up, but it didnt add there. Huntley used the racial lawyer is second time and then allegedly slapped jonah, hitting him in the eye. Could i not believe that he would Say Something like that. And to a baby or about a baby and then to hit him was just i i felt like i was in another world, i was shaking. Reporter jessica says either pass generals eventually same came to her aid and the two were given a new seat, while jonah is back to being a curious to letter, his parents call hanleys actions heinous and hateful and want something to be done. All the evidence is sufficient enough to support what were saying and, you know, i think that we hope he is punished as much as he possibly can be. Reporter its an experience the bennetts never want to go through again but one this family will think about the next time they fly. I think ill just be replaying it the whole time. Very dramatic. Delta airlines apologized for any inconvenience passengers may have experienced. They are cooperating with the investigation. Joe ricky, the huntleys lawyer, man charged with slapping the child tells cnn, lets let the case develop and not rush to judgment. We cant make comments on the case at this time. An oscarwinning actor got frisked at a new york city deli when a worker accused him of shoplifting a worker at the milano market on manhattans Upper West Side patted down forest wit tacker in front of others. Whitaker finally lefting an grirks according to witnesses. His publicist issues statement saying this was an upsetting incident given the fact that forres did nothing more than walking into a deli. Whitaker didnt file a complaint because the worker asked him not to. Interrupt us . Oh no, i. Just used my geico app to get a tow truck. Its gonna be 30 minutes. Oh, so that means that we wont be stuck up here, for hours, with nothing to do. Oh i get it, you wanna pass the time, huh. holds up phone fruit ninja emergency roadside assistance. Just a click away with the geico mobile app. I just served my motherinlaw your chicken noodle soup but she loved it so much. I told her it was homemade. Everyone tells a little white lie now and then. But now she wants my recipe [ clears his throat ] [ softly ] shes right behind me isnt she . [ male announcer ] progresso. You gotta taste this soup. Then youre going to love this. Right now theyre only 14. 95 wowa grt deal just got a whole lot better. Hurry. 14. 95 wont last. Thirsty . A Cocacola Company tried to market new cook koek. Now makers mark got a ton of emails and letters and said they wont change the formula formakers mark. A shortage prompt it had to reduce the amount of alcohol in makers a mark. The clp remain at 45 alcohol by volume t is 90 proof and a very wing powerful formula. Ompany wi alcohol by volume t is 90 proof and a very wing powerful formula. Thanks for being here with us. Do we need to worry that this is going to hurt our 401 k s, among other things . Yes, deb. We have to worry. Our 401 k s, rising the last few months pretty dramatically may be hurt by this. When they Start Talking about cutting defense spending by 9 and cutting Discretionary Spending by 8 , thats big cut to the economy. Economic growth isnt that strong. We could be looking at a stock market decline if this isnt handled properly. We could be looking at layoffs, not just government workers but private Sector Workers and looking at, you know, a potential to go back into a recession. Thats something no one wants. When you look at whats going on here, obviously, in terms of the kind of cuts that we need, look, we have got medicare and medicaid and Social Security and all these programs that americans want, but that need to be paid for, shouldnt with all this budget negotiates that we are dealing with, why not just say, look, agency a, tough cut this much. Agency b, tough cut this much. Isnt it about belttightening and looking forward to future growt growth . We need to make sure we dont stymie future growth by cutting too much now. Cutting the deficit, the other aspect of it is making sure the economy grows are. We have to have a sustained growth period. Not 3 growth at this point in time, sort of a magic cub nub for the economy at a minimum level that would allow us to not have to take austerity measures. The england tried the southwests and it put them into triple dip recession. We need to be careful. Playing with the Worlds Largest economy and Congress Needs to take very good care of it. So interesting that you say that. As the worlds biggest economy, clearly, washington has to be looking at the austerity measures going over in europe and seeing how those are being played out. Let turn tables. We got news of the Airline Merger between american and u. S. Air. Do these usually work out or passengers simply going to have to cough up more money now that there are fewer choices . Well, the mergers have often worked out for the air lines, if you look at the latest few mergers. It was about three, four five years ago, dealt fa merged with northwest, worked quite well and took out a lot of costs, helpful in keeping fares down. Oil prices, whenever they go up, will make things worse around seen the United Continental merger, the similar kind of story. Airlines go through mergers there is bumpy roadses as the two organizations come together and that means there can be service problems. Each of the airlines that have gone through the major merge are doing that and seeing the bumpy problems and pretty much come out. What will happen over time is the airline costs will go down but they will get a little bit more pricing power. So the reality is for a lot of people, you know, if you buy your tickets now, youre probably going to be in a better position than if you wait nine months to buy them. Until you wait until you really have to travel. A good idea. Just buy random tickets protecttively. Floridaen your vacations. Then im out. But lets talk about the Housing Market just very quickly i yes, no, time to buy or time to just still hold on and rent . Well, we are going to get a lot of data in the next week that will give us information including Housing Starts and new also other things around house, three data pieces that will come out. The reality is, you know, im pretty bullish on house market overall. There will be some, of course, dips and benefits throughout the whole thing but bullish for a number of reasons, one which we is havent been building a lot of houses yet, more demand for houses. Secondly, we are starting to see with Mortgage Rates low and people feeling a little bit more secure about their jobs, being willing to get mortgages. Right. I think theres an upswing in house and we will find out more by the end of next week. All right. Hall circumstan hal sirkin, thank you so much. Probably not going to buy my tickets in advance, but the tax i have to pay for being me. Anyway, we have heard of the of the nicotine patch but researchers have developed a pot patch and a Major University is supplying the marijuana. We are going to have the details. Also, she is a singer, actress and dur of judy garland. Famous lorna luft joins us live to talk about a major passion in her life, training dogs to help change the lives of the blind. phone ringing good afternoon. Chase sapphire. push button tone this is stacy from springfield. Oh whoa. Hello . Yes. I didnt realize id be talking to an actual person. You dont need to press 0, im here. Reach a person, not a prompt whenever you call chase sapphire. Why should saturday night have all the fun . Get two times the points on dining in restaurants, with chase sapphire preferred. Executor of efficiency. You can spot an amateur from a mile away. While going shoeless and metalfree in seconds. And you. Rent from national. Because only national lets you choose any car in the aisle. And go. You can even take a fullsize or above, and still pay the midsize price. Now this. Will work. [ male announcer ] just like you, business pro. Just like you. Go national. Go like a pro. Gives you 1 cash back on all purchases, plus a 50 annual bonus. And everyone likes 50 more. [ midwestern chicago accent ] cheddar yeah 50 percent more [yodeling] yodayeeoo. 50 more flash. [ southern accent ] 50 percent more taters. Thats where tots come from. [ male announcer ] the capital one cash rewards card gives you 1 cash back on every purchase plus a 50 annual bonus on the cash you earn. Its the card for people who like more cash. 50 more spy stuff. Whats in your wallet . This car is too small. I took something for my sinuses, but i still have this cough. [ male announcer ] a lot of sinus products dont treat cough. They dont . [ male announcer ] nope, but alka seltzer plus severe sinus does it treats your worst sinus symptoms, plus that annoying cough. [ breathes deeply ] oh, what a relief it is [ angry gibberish ] hi, everyone, thanks so much for being here with us in the newsroom. Im Deborah Feyerick and we have the top stories we are following for you right now. History is being made just ahead of the daytona 500. Danica patrick is the first woman to win the pole for the big race next sunday. Its nice all that hard work can pay off and we can give ourselves that opportunity to lead the pack down into the trial before the green flag of the daytona 500. Talk about an incredible driver. She clocked a qualifying speed of 196 miles an hour a short time ago. She will join our don lemon 569 15 to talk about heroin. Pope benedict xvi led tens of thousands in a prayer for strength. This morning, he gave his secondtolast prayer as pontiff and thanked his followers for their support. Last week, the 85yearold pope announced he is resigning because of advanced age. The great python challenge in florida is over. That was the statesponsored hunt for burmese thighs on this, an invasive snake species living in the state. The search yielded 68 pythons out of the 100,000 estimated to live in the everglades. The longest of the giant snakes was 14 feet 3 inches and netted the hunter a prize of 1,000. These stories are trending right now on the web. Ole Miss University is growing mrnl, legalism the school of pharmacies is using the crop to test new ways of administering marijuana to medical patients. One promising method is a patch, placed just above the gum line. Marijuana can help people with glaucoma and also relieves the nausea caused by chemotherapy. You knew this would happen. Saturday night live poked fun at Carnival Cruise lines n the skit you two cruise directors valiantly tried to perk up the spirits of those unlucky people on board the triumphs. The hospital dropped down a couple of paper, catch you up on what you missed this week, all right . There aint no god. Hey, hey there is a god. He has not abandoned us, okay . To all right. Lets see what is in the news. The pope resigned. Oh, lord. Oh, wait. Hey. Heres something fun. North korea successfully launched a nuke no. No. Here we go. Here we go. I got one. Hey, you guys remember Oscar Pistorius, remember, that the olympic sprinter who ran on blades. Amazing story so uplifting you. Absolutely, well it says here that, nope. No. No no no. Hey this is interesting. Okay. You guys think you might have it bad . But do you have it worse than 4,000 stranded on nightmare cruise . That is about us. Yes. Thats enough. Enough of the headlines. All right, maybe its not all happy every day. Three cheers for persistence. This little dog wouldnt be denied after the owner left him outside a miami court house. The pooch scratch and finally managed to sneak into the building only to be round up and sent back outside, keep trying to. The owner finally came out. A man and his best friend were united. America fell in love with banana joe this week, the affenpinscher who won best in show at this years westminster best in kennel club show. Look at that face. So well behaved. When you walk down the street and see a guide dog for the visually impaired, have you ever just marvelled at how incredibly well trained these dogs are . It take use a lot of work and people to transform puppies into companions that can create lifechanging independence for the vision impaired. Guide done dog of the deserts raises pup pit and matches when this blind client. One of the trainers comes with her very own high pedigree. Lorna luft, daughter of judylov guide dogs. How did you get involved with this organization . Thank you, deb, so much. I got involved with guide dogs of the desert, i went to luncheon. And i saw this Incredible Organization and what it does for the seeing impaired. If is the most reward ing thing i have done in my life, other than raising my own children t is so nice to have them at home, teaching them the basics of sitting and staying and down and all the batesic and take this puppy with you everywhere, because they have a jacket and you are socializing this puppy. And then at 18 months, we turn this puppy back over to guide dogs of the desert. And we wait and we hope they graduate and they are the eyes for someone who is seeing impaired. And it is its the most amazing and wonderful experience to see your dog graduate and to know that you have done something not only for another human being, but that you have given a dog the reward of being a hero. No question. And your first was gene. Your next was harlan. Isnt it hard to let the dogs go . They become part of your life, too . Yes, it is hard to let them go, but when you go to a graduation and you watch your dog graduate and you know what youve done for another person and you know what youve done for that dog, its the most rewarding thing that you can do. Plus, the fact that you really walk out with another puppy and the organization is so fantastic, because they say, i know that was really hard, here. Heres another one. Do it again. So, it is youre always youre always youre always with a dog. You always have a puppy. And its just an incredible, incredible experience to know that there are over 21 million seeingimpaired people in america. We have 10,000 dogs. And its just something that is so vital and we are completely, as you said at the beginning, we are nonprofit. We dont get funding from the federal government or from the state government. All of our donations are from people who want to help this organization and help people be give them a new chance. Thats whats so amazing, youre sharing a little bit of your heart and youre passing that on and you do it again and again. Yeah. I want to ask, you just received the 2013 steve chase humanitarian award for your Community Service for your work with the desert aids project. Why is aids and lgbt rights a passion of yours . I think because i lost so many friends. I think went aids epidemic hit and i was so personally as so many of us were, we were so it was like niagra falls. We were losing people at that rate. And i said to myself, i have to do something. And i didnt know what to do and i watched friends of mine die alone in hospitals and so i said i want to do something. I want to help. So, when they asked me to sing, i sang. For free. When they asked me to walk, i walked for free. And i will continue to do so until we dont have to sing and we dont have to walk and we dont have to have any more of these wonderful dinners. I would love to see the desert aids project be able to finally close its doors because theres a cure and i think because the Lgbt Community has been so wonderful to me, that i will always stand for them. Whats so amazing, we do also want to say that talk about singing, youre currently on tour singing, your sister, Liza Minnelli was there, Barry Manilow came to see you. You are the daughter of the very famous judy garland and if she were here right now what is the one thing you would want to say to her . The one thing would you want to convey to her at this moment in your life . I think i would want to convey to her that i am proud to be her daughter and that i probably would ask her how i was doing in this dress rehearsal. Well, it is. Life is a dress rehearsal. You are certainly very busy and very involved and making a difference. Well, all thank you. Lorna luft, thank you again. I want to say that you are performing tomorrow night in new york city at the famed bird land and for those who are in new york, able to come see you, it is certainly a treat and worthwhile and we are so grateful that you came and stopped in to say hello to us and talk about all your great work. Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you so much. And of course, more information, you can head over to cnn. Com. There will be a little bit more of this interview. Thanks. Well, mixed martial arts, its a sport thats exploding in popularity, even attracting diehard boxing fans. Find out why, just ahead. [ mom ] 3 days into school break and theyre already bored. Hmm, we need a new game. Thatll save the day. So will bounty selectasize. Its the smaller powerful sheet. The only one with trap lock technology. Look one selectasize sheet of bounty is 50 more absorbent than a full size sheet of the leading ordinary brand. Use less. With the small but powerful picker upper, bounty selectasize. To get our adt Security System. And one really big reason the house next door. Our neighbors house was broken into. Luckily, her family wasnt there, but what if this happened here . What if our girls were home . And since we cant monitor everything 24 7, we got someone who could. Adt. [ male announcer ] while some companies are new to home security, adt has been helping to save lives for over 135 years. We have more monitoring centers, more of Tomorrows Technology right here today, and more value. 24 7 monitoring against burglary, fire, and high levels of Carbon Monoxide starting at just over 1 a day. And now get adt installed for just 99. Isnt your family worth americas numberone security company, adt . Our girls got us thinking, but the breakin got us calling. And after buying two of everything, it was nice to only need one Security System adt. [ male announcer ] get adt installed for just 99. And ask about adt pulse, advanced Home Management here today. Adt. Always there. World wrestling may need to move over, box stepping aside. Thats because mixed martial arts is on the rise. Cnns nick valencia shows us why it is becoming so popular, especially among latinos. Reporter he can joke about it now, but being raised in a blue collar household along the u. S. mexico border, there was always a chance cane velasquez would end up spending his life on an assembly line. Growing up, my parents didnt go through high school. They had to quit school start working at a young age. Reporter instead, he is one of the most recognizable faces in mixed martial arts, a sport that exploded in popularity in the united states. Now perhaps even more popular of a combat sport than boxing. Its grown way bigger than i ever thought. I think fans are really gonna drawn to the ufc because of the excitement factor. Reporter at 61, 23250 pounds, velasquez is the newly minted heavyweight champ of the ufc, the premier fighting company for mixed martial arts. The 30yearold is the first mexicanamerican to hold the title. I kind of feel that i am a role model. If kids can look up to me, then thats great, so i am going to try to be the best role model i can be out there for them. Reporter its a role being felt across the country, noorn 2500 miles away. As a onetime abortion, 20yearold peruvianborn Oscar Augusto fell in love with mma. He says the sport is more wellrounded than boxing, like a war with an ending nobody can predict. An attractive feature for latino fighters like him. Translator we love it because i think latinos are warriors, we are all warriors. Reporter augusto trains at brian stands gym in alpharetta, georgia. Stand, a middle weight is, a topranked ufc fighter and also a tv boxing and mma analyst. I think its one of the most Dynamic Sports and one of the most exciting sports to watch and i also think that the athletes fantastic. I think the athletes captivate and capture their fans and fans then want to follow those athlete he is. Reporter a passion stirred by latino fighters like velasquez, more accessible than star players in other sports. And giving their fans something different. Nick valencia, cnn, atlanta. In case you were wondering, that was nick valencia who was body slam there had. Anyway, the white house and congress are keeping a close eye on the calendar and march 1st is circled in red that is the deadline for a debt deal. We will take a look at the massive cuts that you will kick in if the deal is not reached. Your longwear makeup might stay on, but will it stay fabulous til 5 oclock . It will if its new outlast Stay Fabulous Foundation from covergirl. What makes it so flawless hour after hour . Primer, concealer and foundation, all in one. Get the longwear that survives the 9 to 5, fabulously. New outlast Stay Fabulous Foundation from easy, breezy, beautiful covergirl. Did you know not all fiber is the same . Citrucel is different its the only fiber for regularity that wont cause excess gas. Its gentle and clinically proven to help restore and maintain regularity. Look for citrucel today. Its gentle and clinically proven to help restore and maintain regularity. Its not what you think. Its a phoenix with 4 wheels. Its a hawk with night vision goggles. Its marching to the beat of a different drum. And where beauty meets brains. Its big ideas with smaller footprints. And knowing theres always more in the world to see. Its the allnew lincoln mkz. Five days later, i had a massive heart attack. Bayer aspirin was the first thing the emts gave me. Now, im on a bayer aspirin regimen. [ male announcer ] be sure to talk to your doctor before you begin an aspirin regimen. [ woman ] learn from my story. We are just 11 days from another folks fiscal cliff, if Congressional Republican and president obama dont reach a new budget deal. Automatic spending cuts will impact every american come march 1st. Lets get right to it. Democratic strategist Julian Epstein is in washington. Cnn contributor wry happen salon is in new york. The president proposed raising the minimum wage from 7. 25 to 9 an hour, something that would directly affect 4 million workers. Those in favor say good economic stimulus. Those against say bad, bad, bad for business. What do you think . The reason we are setting a federal minimum there was the taxes to improve you incomes for households. The minimum Wage Benefits a slew of households, not very well targeted toward lowincome households. The problem is that republican reasons tend to oppose the making work pay tax credit and the Social Security payroll tax cut. That left him a less efficient effective tool for raising incomes for lowincome households. Julian, let me ask you, one thing represent ihan brought up, to be cynical, the president , theres no longer a payroll tax break. So, if people are being paid more, technically, the governments gonna get more in taxes, no . Well, the payroll tax break was a temporary stimulus when the economy was down. I think thats separate from the minimum wage. If the minimum wage had been keeping up with the cost of inflation it well offer what the president is proposing, the president is proposing 9 minimum wage, closer to 10 to 15. 5 dollars. Look, republicans have historically agreed that the minimum wage should increase to reflect cost of living increases. President bush signed an increase to the minimum wage and difficult for congress to say when their paychecks have automatic c. O. L. A. Increases, their wages, in the top of all earns, almost 200,000 a year, should be able to get the cost of living increase, but yet those working poor should not be able to get a cost of living increase and their actual wage now is considered about 20 lower than a decade ago because of inflation. Gentlemen, i wanted to ask you both, first start with julian, jobs. People want jobs. How do you create jobs when all of these other things are being proposed, immigration, preschool for everien . How do we create new jobs . Julian, you first. That is the president s primary focus, idea and philosophy to grow jobs from the middle class out and put forward what seems to me to be a pretty aggressive agenda in terms of invent sent advising manufacture attorney general come home, reinvesting in infrastructure, investing in the things that we know historically will make jobs grow, many of the things we tried in the 1990s. One of the ways you down the do do it what republicans are proposing now, let sequestration go through. It is a fancy way of saying deep, indiscriminate cuts of about 1. 5 trillion on to the top of the 2 trillion the president signed into launch the problem with is that is it could gut gdp by 1 to 2 growth. I want to give reihan the last word on this how does play out . Most of those cuts are actually focused on defense and the president and has allied tended to favor defense cuts. I think thats something there is a broad consensus, including the american public. With regard to the minimum wage, important to know that is a composition effects, talking about average productivity, doesnt average productivity, that doesnt apply to teenagers, exoffenders and those who might get priced out of the job market. So i think again, its important not to just look at the rg regait, but also the compositional effects. And thats one thing that might happen. Thats why we use strategies like the earned income tax credit backed by democrats and republicans as a more effective strategy for raising incomes in low income households. So much to talk about. So little time. Thank you so much, gentlemen, both for joining us today. Thank you. Hes accused of murdering his girlfriend on valentines day, but olympian Oscar Pistorius says the police have it all wrong. Find out what he and the rest of us are facing in the week ahead. All right thats a fifthfloor problem. Ok. Not in my house ha ha ha ha ha ha no no no not today ha ha ha ha ha ha jimmy how happy are folks who save hundreds of dollars switching to geico . Happier than Dikembe Mutumbo blocking a shot. Get happy. Get geico. Fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more. Well, cnn newsroom with don lemon coming up and you have landed a cool interview. One stall step for racing, one giant leap for woman kind. Youve been reporting on the big news about Danica Patrick winning for pole position next saturday. Live at 6 15, im going to talk to her about that and her race car driving boyfriend, how he feels about her history making move and then later on in the 7 00 hour, you have seen him in so many commercials. Saturday night live made a skit out of them. Why does hollywood keep hiring the same black actor . He says its because he doesnt scare white people. Our panel says its way beyond that. White folks do not like to be confronted with the truth of our history. Thats why we say were post racial. Why we have a black president. Millions of white folks turned president obama into their own cliff huxtable. Thats at 7 00. Were totally looking forward to it. Thanks so much. And former new orleans mayor ray nagin have in those massive spending cuts . Were going to tell you. Trying to look at the right camera. Where ever that is. All the time. All the time. I wish my patients could see what i see. That over time, having high cholesterol and any of these risk factors can put them at increased risk for plaque buildup in their arteries. So its even more important to lower their cholesterol, and thats why, when diet and exercise alone arent enough, i prescribe crestor. In a Clinical Trial versus lipitor, crestor got more highrisk patients bad cholesterol to a goal of under 100. [ female announcer ] crestor is not right for everyone. Like people with Liver Disease or women who are nursing, pregnant or may become pregnant. Tell your doctor about other medicines youre taking. Call your doctor right away 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 rare but serious side effects. Is your cholesterol at goal . Talk to your doctor about crestor. [ female announcer ] if you cant afford your medication, astrazeneca may be able to help. Heres whats happening. Tomorrow, members of Congress Head back to work before massive spending cuts take effect march 1st