Now more than 200 communities, plastic bags are banned or shoppers are charged the fee to use them. That is our cover story tonight. Plastic bags have gone from a shopping convenience to what some say is an environmental nuisance. Over 1 trillion of these bags are used each year and 90 are thrown out after each use. Even worse, they can take up to 500 years to degrade. More than 200 cities in 20 states and the district of columbia have passed plastic bag regulations, ranging from complete bans in austin and seattle to fees. Aspen charges 20 cents. Do these regulations work . The d. C. Fee has resulted in a 50 decrease in the use and in los angeles, they went from using 2. 2 million bags a year to 125,000. But not all regulations have had the same impact. Residents used heavier grade plastic that took longer to degrade. Consumers were buying garbage bags. And they are currently on hold and awaiting a public vote in november. Will bag laws help reduce the litter out there or is it having
Make it . Ill also show you what happened when i hit the after parties. Okay. Then what is it like to be a 9yearold and have to deal with the hoopla and pressure of hollywoods biggest night . Were with Quvenzhane Wallis. Nobody makes the puppy purse like little Quvenzhane Wallis. You have to be 9, though. You could do it. Lets check the headlines with natalie. Will not take part in the conclave to choose the successor to pope benedict. He resigned this morning after being accused of inappropriate conduct. Pope benedict told worshippers sunday when he steps down thursday he will not abandon the church but serve it in a way more appropriate for his age. Congress returns from vacation today with less than a week when sequester spending cuts are expected to kick in. President obama will meet today, hoping to increase pressure on lawmakers to come up with a deal. Wild weekend for nascar ended sunday with Jimmie Johnson winning his second daytona 500. Danica patrick made history, as the firs
With the 17minute mon low log and music and dancing and, of course, the awards. And the oscar goes to argo. In a surprise appearance from the white house, First Lady Michelle Obama announced the winner for best picture. Ben affleck, not nominated for best director, expressed his gratitude for this win. It doesnt matter how you get knocked down in life, because thats going to happen, all that matters is you to get up. I love you. In the best actress category, a bit of a stumble. You guys are standing up because you feel bad that i fell. Thats really embarrassing. Thank you. Reporter Jennifer Lawrence winning for her role in Silver Linings playbook, later celebrating with her family at the governors ball. And the oscar goes to daniel daylewis. Threetime oscar winner meryl streep presented the award to Daniel Day Lewis for his role in lincoln. I had actually been committed to play margaret thatcher. In the directing category, ang lee won for life of pi. Thank you, movie god. Thank you. Fo
Announcer this is today with matt lauer and Savannah Guthrie live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. And good morning. Welcome to a special edition of today on a monday morning. Im matt lauer. Good morning, everyone. Im Savannah Guthrie. Welcome back. Good to be back. Stay up all night watching the oscars . No. I made it through the singing of goldfinger. I was surprised by the other awards when i woke up. How about you . I barely made it past the monologue. But in my defense it was 17 minutes long. It was long. It really was. A lot of different reviews about the show. People not only talking about the big winners, but Seth Mcfarlane as host. It was a segment he joked about during much of the telecast. Al and meredith are out in los angeles. They have been up all night and good morning to you, guy. Should i say continuation of good evening . I havent really been up all night. Als been up all night. Meredith has been back in her room having mai tais. As you mentioned the reviews are s
In the United States and around the world. Im george howell. Im natalie allen. This is cnn newsroom. At 5 00 a. M. On the u. S. East coast, just days after the u. S. President rejected the Historic Nuclear Deal with iran, this was the scene in that nations capital. Big crowds there, antiamerican emotions on full display on the streets of tehran. The fate of the Nuclear Agreement now hanging in the balance. The foreign minister of iran, jabbar zarif heads to brussels next week to meet with his counterparts from germany, france and the uk. U. S. Allies. And they will be seeking ways to keep this deal alive without the United States. And if that lastditch effort fails, tehran warns it may restart its Uranium Enrichment Program on a, quote, industrial scale. Complicating the situation is the potential for military clashes between iran and israel. Ian lee is in the Golan Heights. Israel says that area was attacked by iranian rockets earlier this week. Lets start our coverage with our Senior