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Investigation Continues Russia Over Meteor; Oscar Pistorius Accused Of Murdering Model Girlfriend On Valentine's Day; Ted Nugent's Love Of Guns; Oscar Buzz; The Medical Reason Lady Gaga Is Canceling Remainder Of Tour

Aired February 16, 2013 - 15:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN ANCHOR: It's 3:00 p.m. on the East Coast, noon out West. And for those of you joining us, thanks so much for being here. We have got a great show for you today. I'm Deborah Feyerick in for Fredricka Whitfield.

Here are the top stories that we are following for you in the NEWSROOM now.

Well, Russians are busy fixing what a visitor from space broke: broken windows, damaged buildings, more than 1,000 injuries. More images of the meteor explosion coming in. We're learning more about an event that we'll probably never see again.

And we have seen another bright on the streaking across the California sky. Was that another meteor moment? Not everyone is so sure. We're asking an astronomer from NASA about it later.

Well, the mystery over how accused cop killer Christopher Dorner died, well, it is pretty much solved. Medical examiners say the former LAPD officer died from a single gunshot wound to the head. He apparently shot himself during that fiery standoff at a cabin in the mountains just east of Los Angeles.

And in South Africa, a reality show featuring the girlfriend of track star Oscar Pistorius premiered a short time ago. Critics say the TV show is exploiting the memory of Reeva Steenkamp; the model who police say was killed by her Olympian boyfriend, Pistorius. He is now in jail charged with murdering her. We will have a preview of that reality show in just a moment.

And a surprising announcement from the Vatican today. A spokesman says the cardinals who will choose a successor to the Pope Benedict XVI; well, they could meet sooner than planned. The conclave is slated to begin March 15th, but the Vatican says the date could move up if all the cardinals in are in Rome. There are 117 cardinals, 67 appointed by Benedict himself and they will choose his replacement after the Pope retires February 28th.

Now, to the meteor that crashed to earth exploding in Russia.

(VIDEO CLIP PLAYING)

FEYERICK: Folks there still in shock. Some thought terrorists were attacking them. While others thought the world was ending before their eyes.

CNN's Phil Black is near a frozen lake where locals say there's evidence of a meteor.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We are walking on a frozen lake. It's about a 90 minute drive west to Chelyabinsk. And we are here because locals say a big fragment from the meteor punched through the ice and is now sitting at the bottom of the lake.

(SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

BLACK: Well, that was a very firm no. These police officers say it is prohibited for us to be here to shoot video to try and walk any further. If part of that meteorite came down there where those vehicles are as locals say it did the Russian authorities don't want us or anyone else to see it.

The meteor's final descent through the atmosphere was seen by people all across this region. At this Chelyabinsk school, students came outside to look at the trail of smoke it left in the sky. One student captured the moment on his phone.

What were you thinking? What do you think your friends were thinking?

IVAN FURSOV, STUDENT: Firstly, I think it seems to be a terrorist attack. They guessed that it was a rocket bomb.

BLACK: And then there is the big blast, the sonic boom.

FURSOV: My ears has de-feel it and everyone fall down like this. And ground shake a little.

BLACK: It was awful.

FURSOV: Some girls were crying, scream, panic and crying.

BLACK: There are a few isolated examples of really substantial damage caused by this meteor and its shock wave. Here at this factory, they said to have knocked over the brick walls here by the road. Elsewhere across the city, it's mostly superficial, glass and window frames and a lot of that has already been cleaned up and repaired.

Within a week or so, there should be fuel physical scars left from this city's close encounter with a meteor, but it is likely to be something the people here will be talking about for some time to come.

Phil black, CNN, Chelyabinsk, Russia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FEYERICK: So did anyone see this meteor coming? And if not, why not? Coming up, a NASA expert explains what we have learned about that fireball in Russia and what needs to be done in or order to detect more objects like that.

Now, back to South Africa, folks there are in disbelief their Olympic hero is being called a murderer. Oscar Pistorius, the blade runner who defied all physical odds with a record breaking win during the 2012 Paralympics is spending the weekend in jail, accused of shooting his model girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine's Day.

And now, new images of her today from a South African broadcast company. A reality show she was a part of aired its first episode a short time ago. Take a look there. And I want to bring in Errol Barnett in South Africa with the latest on that.

Errol, there was a lot of controversy over whether in fact this show should air. What does it tell us about Steenkamp?

ERROL BARNETT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it tells us that this was one of her ambitions. She was a cover model and would wear bikinis. She graced the covers of FHM in South Africa, men's magazine, that's the South African version of what's popular in the US

So, for her, being on a reality TV program was quite an achievement. Now, the program premiered today in South Africa for the first time, it is called "tropical island of treasure 5" where attractive people get on bathing suits and compete for a cash prize. Reeva Steenkamp didn't really -- wasn't prominent in this program. But what the producers did is they aired at the beginning of the show what we believe to be her good-bye message to the rest of her cast. So just listen to this which was what was the first thing South African s heard from her since her tragic death on Valentine's Day.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REEVE STEENKAMP, MODEL: You literally fall in love with Jamaica. You fall in love with being in love with love, just one love everywhere. I'm going home with sort I've sweet taste in my mouth. And I don't have any regrets. I don't have any -- I'll take home with me so many amazing memories and things that are in here and are in here that I'll treasure forever. I'm going to miss you all so much. I love you very, very much.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BARNETT: What's interesting about that message is that producers defended their decision to allow this program to air by saying Samantha Moon, in fact, the creator of the program said that Reeva was an intelligent beautiful and amazing woman and we feel it would be an injustice to keep that from those who don't know her personally.

Reaction here in South Africa, Deborah, is mixed. Some people agree. They say it puts her in a good light. It makes people more aware who she was and how intelligent and beautiful she was. While others say my goodness, it's been a few days since she was tragically allegedly murdered. And that that it's quite insensitive.

FEYERICK: You know, and it's such an interesting case. Clearly Pistorius breaking down in the room and because of strict laws in South Africa, a lot of details are not allowed to be made public, but Pistorius' family did react recently. What did they say?

BARNETT: Yes, because on Friday, as you may remember, Pistorius broke down in court while he found out the prosecutors plan to charge him with pre-meditated murder, that he planned to kill her. So his family today, in fact, has released a statement saying once again they strongly refute those allegations. But they also are now giving us insight into his mental state. They say Pistorius is numb with shock as well as grief after all this has taken place and that the family, you know, is shocked about the death of Reeva and, of course, with the circumstances surrounding all of this.

And we won't know anything else, Debra till Tuesday when Oscar Pistorius continues his hearing in court, possibly enters a plea. We'll get an indication of what his defense will be. But until then, it's all question marks as Reeva Steenkamp in a very kind of grim and morbid way becomes a reality TV star in her death.

FEYERICK: Wow. Well, just amazing to watch and clearly just a stunning, stunning tragic turn of events.

OK. Errol Barnett, Thank you so much. We appreciate your information.

Well, he was once a rising star in the Democratic Party. But now, Jesse Jackson Junior is an accused felon. Federal prosecutors are charging the former Illinois congressman with misusing about $750,000 in campaign funds. They say he used it for personal expenses, including a Rolex watch, worth more than $43,000. Jackson reached a plea deal but he could serve up to five years in prison.

In California, another popular politician, the former mayor of San Diego is in trouble for using more than $2 million from a foundation to fund her gambling habit. Maureen O'Connor told a federal court she won and lost $1 billion playing video poker over nine years. The money came in part from her husband, her late husband's foundation. Her attorney says she had a health problem.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EUGENE IREDALE, MAUREEN O'CONNOR'S ATTORNEY: Now, this was not we think simply a psychiatric problem or a character or logical detect because there is substantial evidence that during this same time, there was a tumor growing in her brain.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FEYERICK: The San Diego bureau chief of the "L.A. Times" Tony Perry covered O'Connor for years. He told us that people simply can't believe it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TONY PERRY, SAN DIEGO BUREAU CHIEF, LOS ANGELES TIMES: If someone a week ago said I saw Maureen O'Connor in a casino, I would have thought yes, she probably had a Dixie cup full of nickels. To find out she was a high roller, losing a billion dollars over the decade, we're stunned.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FEYERICK: And one of the reasons she had a billion is that her late husband was founder of the restaurant jack-in-the-box. O'Connor's husband made that fortune with the fast food chain. In a deal with the feds, O'Connor can avoid being prosecuted only if she pays the misappropriated charity money within two years. She says she's bankrupt.

That's the video everyone is talking about. A meteor crashes into Russia hours before a near miss by an asteroid. And just last night, people say they saw a fireball in the skies over San Francisco. So what is going on? Are we in danger? We will talk to a NASA astronomer.

Plus, US airways and American airlines merge into the biggest carrier. But is this a match made in the friendly skies for you or for the airline?

And rocker and gun advocate Ted Nugent firing back in the debate over gun control. I'm headed to the firing range with the motor city mad man who invited us to his ranch. That's an interview you don't want to miss.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FEYERICK: Well, everyone's looking up at the sky these days, a meteor crashes to earth right before an asteroid nearly misses the planet. A lot of folks around the world wondering what is going on overhead and should we all be worried?

Well, a meteor dollars blast Russian western Siberia yesterday, injuring more than a thousand people from the sonic boom that followed that. Now, the country's prime minister says this incident is exactly why world powers need to find a way to detect falling objects from space.

Joining me now from Los Angeles is NASA astronomer Amy Mainzer.

And Amy, this is truly unique that this is happening right now.

AMY MAINZER, NASA ASTRONOMER: That's right. This is an incredible cosmic coincidence we would have two such events like this on the same day. It is a coincidence though. These are two totally unrelated objects.

FEYERICK: It is interesting because NASA has something, I guess, the cosmic watch lab and they monitor for near earth objects. Everyone knew about the asteroid but not about the meteor. How come? How did that go undetected?

MAINZER: That's right. So, NASA has actually been funding a lot of efforts to search for these objects far away in space and we want to track them and follow them as they make possible close approaches. And we have been very successful at that for the largest of objects but the smaller objects often can slip by undetected in some case. And this meteor that impacted over Russia was a very small object. It was, now, we know it's about 17 meters is across, so, that is about the size of a five-story building, very small. And of course, it came in during the daytime in Russia.

So this would have been very, very difficult for astronomers on the ground to discover with the telescopes that we have today. The good news is we have been far more successful at finding the very large objects though.

FEYERICK: But, let me ask you a question because that's fascinating to me when you say this meteor was relatively small. Clearly, when an asteroid or something enters is the atmosphere, it begins to incinerate so that smaller pieces fall and become those meteors. But, to say a small meteor the size of a five-story building if that had had hit a place like Chicago or Miami or New York or Los Angeles, it could have potentially had much more serious consequences.

MAINZER: Well, one thing to keep in mind is that the earth's atmosphere acts as a shield that protects us from the bulk of the energy from these objects. And believe it or not, the atmosphere actually absorbed almost all of the impact energy. In fact, the object exploded in the skies about 20 miles bob the earth's surface. So, most of that great energy from the impact got converted into the heat and the light and the giant trail that everybody saw going across the sky. So that's a very good thing.

Now, larger objects obviously can cause more damage and that's why we're continuing to monitor the skies. Obviously, we have a lot of work left to do. So, you can see that the search is not over yet.

FEYERICK: Very quickly, because I would be remiss if I didn't ask this question. You know we all know that big asteroid or meteor that fell to earth and is believed to have destroyed the dinosaurs so many years ago by kicking up a dust cloud and changing the earth's climate. If an asteroid that size and I think it was what, six miles long, if an asteroid that size were to come to earth, could it be redirected?

MAINZER: Well this again depends how much time have you and how much warning. And the good news is we now know from scientists and astronomers all over the world that 90 percent of these dinosaur- killing like objects have been found they're being tracked. And fortunately, there are none we know of that are on threatening trajectories. But, we are continuing to monitor them.

Now, the idea is to try to find these objects when they are, you know, 20 to 30 years away from any potential impact so we have time to kind of safely push them out of the way. NASA has been studying technologies to do that.

FEYERICK: OK. Well, good. Keep studying. Everybody wants you to keep doing that.

All right, Amy Mainzer, thank you so much. We really appreciate it. It certainly puts a lot of smaller worries into perspective. Thanks for your time.

MAINZER: Thanks very much.

FEYERICK: So how big will your tax refund be? Maybe another meteor headed your way. I'm sure it won't be as much as facebook's. The company made just over $1 billion last year. Guess how much is getting back, half a billion from the government. What? Yes. We have got the details.

Plus, a match made at 30,000 feet. US airways and American airlines, they just tied the knot. You don't have to send presents. We will show you what this merger means for you and your wallet on the other side.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FEYERICK: So the IRS is apparently friends with facebook. Good friends. Facebook reported more than a billion dollars in pre-tax profits for 2012. But the company probably won't pay any federal or state taxes. It could get a huge refund, around $429 million. That's the word from a group called citizens for tax justice. Facebook gets its tax break because of its reliance on stock options as compensation.

And thankfully that infamous Carnival cruise didn't end in disaster. The nightmare trip apparently didn't sink the company's fortunes either.

Here's Alison Kosik with the week on Wall Street.

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Deb.

The big theme this week was companies doing what they can to protect their valuable brands. A wild week at sea for the Carnival Triumph caused a dip, but not a drop in Carnival share price. Analysts say the company did do a good job taking control of the crisis. And that booking shouldn't take ahead.

Nike, Oakley and others backed away from South African Olympic star Oscar Pistorius after he wound up in court answering to murder charges. Pistorius will lose about $2 million in endorsements.

And Tiffany went on the offense. The luxury goods retailer is suing Costco for advertising engagement rings as Tiffany. Tiffany wants millions of dollars in damages plus triple the profits made on the non-Tiffany rings.

Corporate takeovers off to their fastest pace since 2000. American airlines and US airways announced an $11 billion megamerger Wednesday. Experts say your fares probably won't go up, but expect reservation headaches while the companies combine their computer systems.

Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway as breaching capital, a (INAUDIBLE), are teaming up to buy catsup maker H.J. Heinz for a whopping $28 billion. And Comcast will take full control of NBC Universal, buying the rest of the units from GE for more than $16 billion.

The week merger mania has little impact on the overall market. The Dow hit another five-year high on Tuesday. But investors saw little motivation to make a run at the all-time high of 14,154. The blue ships ended the week at $13,981.

The stock market comeback helped boost the average American's 401(k) balance to a record high in December. And on Thursday, Fidelity said more than 94 percent of 401 (k) balances are now higher than they work before the financial crisis - Deb.

FEYERICK: Alison Kosik, thanks.

Well, a deal six months in the making is now a done deal. The merger between US airways and the bankrupt American airlines, together they'll be the largest airline, but at what cost to you and other flyers?

Ali Velshi as the answers.

ALI VELSHI, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: If regulators allow it, US Airways is going to take over a bankrupt American airlines creating the world's biggest airline in the process. The newly merged company will keep the American airlines name. And while the deal is probably good for investors, passengers worry that airfares will shoot up as competition disappears.

Now, I talked to the CEOs of both companies when he they announced the merger and they said passengers were not see fare hikes.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DOUG PARKER, CEO, US AIRWAYS: We're going to take two airlines that are highly complementary, put them together, still fly the same number of airplanes to the same number of places which is actually good for the consumers of both airlines. There won't be a reduction in supply. So therefore, no reason to believe there would be an increase in pricing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELSHI: So why would we take the CEO's word for it? Take a look at this. Prices for an average domestic economy airfare have actually dropped since 1979 from the $579 then to $365 now, though, they will have started to tick up a little lately.

At the same time, the number of airlines has been shrinking just after airline deregulation came into effect. There were 20 major airlines in the US by 1990, there were only 12 in operation. Today just seven. And with US Air and American merging will be down to six. US Air and American don't have a lot of overlapping routes or hubs. In the end, there will be only about eight routes out of the combined airlines 900 or so that will only be serve by one airline.

FEYERICK: Ali Velshi, thanks.

Well, the fight over gun control got even more intense after the Newtown tragedy. A lot of people say access to assault weapons has to be restricts but rocker and gun enthusiast Ted Nugent says no, that's not the answer. He's got his own answers and I got to find out what they are in person. That's next in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DALE BEATTY, CNN HERO: I'm a combat wounded Iraq veteran. As I was recovering at Walter Reed, my community approached me and said they wanted to help build a home for my return.

People would come and work on my project just because they respected the sacrifice that I had gone through. All veterans have been taught to be responsible for the guy to your left and the guy to your right. Other veterans had it as easy as I have so I sat down with my buddy John and we set out to level the playing field.

I'm Dale Beatty and it's my mission to help other veterans get the support and support they deserve from their communities. There's thousands of veterans right here in our midst, people don't realize the need that's out there. We can help any service connected disabled veteran regardless of their age or war.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is the down man why we're all here today.

BEATTY: It's just getting the community engaged to get a foreclosed home remodeled or an entire house built from the ground up.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Narrow doorways that I couldn't get through. I had to crawl in on my hands and knees. To have them build a whole new bathroom was unbelievable.

BEATTY: We want to make their life easier, safer, just better. And their emotions are being rehabbed, as well.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I did three towers in Vietnam. For 35 years, no one cared. Purple Heart homes said welcome home. It's great to be home after 40 years.

BEATTY: Regardless of when you serve, we are all the same. They just need to know that somebody does care about them.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FEYERICK: Thanks for spending part of your afternoon with us. Welcome to the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Deborah Feyerick.

Here's a look at what's trending online. The Harrison Ford rumor may no longer be a rumor. Reports say the box office superstar be back to reprise his role as Han Solo in the Star Wars 7, scheduled for releases in 2015. And at the Denver airport, the bunnies have taken over the parking lot and causing all kinds of problems with the cars there. Airport officials say they've been eating spark plug cables and other wiring, causing thousands of dollars worth of damage.

And there's a new study out that says you don't necessarily have to work out every day to stay in shape. Researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham say three or perhaps four workouts a week may actually be more beneficial.

President Obama has renewed his call for Congress to act on his gun proposals. Yesterday, he went home to Chicago to drive home the message. Earlier, he gave posthumous honors to the adults (ph) shot and killed at Sandy Hook elementary school.

But one of the president's most visible and vocal opponents is not a politician. It's rocker Ted Nugent. And he wears his passion on his sleeve. He invited us to his Texas ranch to explain his views and shoot some rounds.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TED NUGENT, ROCK STAR: Fire in the hole.

FEYERICK (voice-over): For Ted Nugent, gun control is putting the second bullet in the same hole as the first.

NUGENT: Two down. FEYERICK: A lot of people look at the tragedy at Sandy Hook and they say something's got to be done and they --

NUGENT: Agreed. Something does have to be done.

FEYERICK: And they point to the weapons that were used as the cause.

NUGENT: It's not the weapons. The weapons have nothing to do with it. These -- again, these weapons are in every pickup truck in Texas.

FEYERICK: The famed platinum-selling rocker is passionate about his music, his family, and his firearms. Nugent is fiercely protective of the rights of law-abiding gun owners, and he's invited us to his 300 acre ranch in Waco, Texas, to explain why.

NUGENT: I'll give you some real eye candy in a second here.

FEYERICK: We see (INAUDIBLE), wild turkey and black buck antelope, all fair game during hunting season. Like tens of millions of Americans, Nugent grew up hunting with his dad and brothers. Guns are a family tradition he has avidly passed on to his wife and kids.

If somebody close to you were killed by a gunman, would your views on guns change?

NUGENT: Absolutely not. No. I would never turn against this wonderful tool that brings me self-defense capabilities and brings me great joy in competition and marksmanship training. Deb, you climb up this platform.

FEYERICK: I'm trying to understand the nature of the hunt.

NUGENT: When I get up here, Deb, I'm not kidding you, I do 79 concerts and I get up here, I strap myself in, I take a deep breath and I sit here for six hours.

FEYERICK: So, it's meditative to you?

NUGENT: Absolute meditation.

FEYERICK: Have you ever tried yoga?

NUGENT: I think this is the supreme yoga.

All right. Fire in the hole.

FEYERICK: Nugent's passionate for guns and unyielding belief in the Second Amendment right to bear arms has transformed Nugent into the, sometimes, fanatical face of the National Rifle Association.

NUGENT: You are a city girl. You stand kind of like you're golfing. Squeeze that trigger.

FEYERICK: Geez.

As he teaches me gun safety, Nugent repeatedly emphasizes that gun violence is caused by criminals, the mentally ill, and a justice system that paroles felons too son. He believes limiting guns and ammunition will not stop tragedies like the massacre at Sandy Hook elementary.

(on-camera): The argument that was made is that he was allowed to kill as people as he did because it had multiple bullets and he was able to just keep firing.

NUGENT: The rate of fire in all these mass shootings, it's not a matter of bullets or firepower. A quail gun in the wrong hands is as deadly as this gun. People have got to come to that reality.

FEYERICK: The ability to defend his family is something he takes very, very seriously.

NUGENT: When I'm being assaulted at my home, I and I alone, by any consideration whatsoever, will determine how many bullets I need to protect my family.

FEYERICK: Nugent has been a sheriff's deputy for 30 years and carries a concealed glock at all times.

So, I want you and I to solve this problem of gun violence.

NUGENT: There is no gun violence. There is criminal violence, and they use an assortment of tools.

FEYERICK: Let's talk about background checks. NUGENT: I like background checks.

FEYERICK: Yes, but not at gun shows or with private sales.

A lot of people in law enforcement have to take a psychological exam before they're allowed to carry. So, why not ordinary citizens?

NUGENT: I wrote "Wango Tango" and I carry a gun.

FEYERICK: Nugent sticks to his guns literally. For him, the Second Amendment is non-negotiable.

NUGENT: America, my name is Ted Nugent, and these are all legal guns and I'm going to see that they remain legal because they're all good.

FEYERICK: Deborah Feyerick, CNN, Waco, Texas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FEYERICK: And one of Nugent's and the NRA's key arguments is that banning certain guns will criminalize law-abiding citizens. Missouri Democrats are now trying to pass a law giving gun owners 90 days to turn in their high-powered rifles or face charges.

The Oscar buzz is getting louder, the awards will be handed out in just over a week. Ahead, a look at some of the nominees in films you may have missed.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FEYERICK: Well, if you missed the SAG Awards or even the Grammys, you still have a chance to see your favorite celebrities line the red carpet for a night of glitz and glam. Of course, we're talking about the 85th Academy Awards, which are little more than a week away. And if you're anything like me, you'll be catching up on this year's topics before the show, probably tonight, maybe tomorrow.

Our movie critic Grae Drake from rottentomatoes.com joins us. And Grae, there is a lot of buzz surrounding the Oscars, but I want to talk about some of the must-see movies from years past featuring some of this year's big named nominees. So let's start with Hugh Jackman for best actor for his role in Les Miserable. 2011, he starred in the futuristic "Real Steel" about robots that take to the boxing ring. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HUGH JACKMAN, ACTOR: Right, left, uppercut!

I knew that price was to good to be true.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Give me a second. Let me see if I can fix it.

JACKMAN: No, God, look how good he looks, Julie (ph).

Whoa, wat was that? Was that Japanese?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Uppercut (SPEAKING JAPANESE).

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Let me see if I can resat him in English.

JACKMAN: How in the hell do you know Japanese?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FEYERICK: All right. So "Real Steel," kind of interesting. What did you think about it?

GRAE DRAKE, SENIOR EDITOR, ROTTENTOMATOES.COM: This is why I love Hugh Jackman because not only is he in an amazing film like Les Miserables, but then in a film about a father and son rekindling their relationship set against the backdrop of robot boxing. It's incredible. This guy could do anything. I love Hugh Jackman.

FEYERICK: Yes, it's hard not to love Hugh Jackman in virtually anything he does. Daniel Day-Lewis also is up for best actor in "Lincoln." What should we see he's been in the in the past?

DRAKE: Well, if you loved Daniel Day-Lewis as Lincoln, he's been turning in amazing performances forever. Not the least of which is the one that he won his first Academy Award for when he played an Irish artist who had cerebral palsy in "My Left Foot."

This movie was so fantastic. It basically left right feet all over the world hankering for their own movie.

(LAUGHTER)

DRAKE: He is spectacular. He's been amazing for the longest time. He's basically the male Meryl Streep of cinema. Everything that he does is worth watching.

FEYERICK: There's no question, he has this ability to simply morph and become the character that he's playing. And I remember "My Left Foot." That was an awesome movie.

Okay. Ladies, we can't forget the ladies. Jessica Chastain, Jennifer Lawrence, yes, up for their roles in "Zero Dark Thirty" and also for "Silver Linings Playbook." And so what other movies have they been in you think we should go out and see?

DRAKE: Jessica Chastain has had a really prolific career in a short, short amount of time. A movie she's in you may not have even heard of that she is is not for people who like easy answers in their movies, but it's called "Take Shelter." And it's about an apocalyptic storm that may or may not actually exist in her husband's mind. And Michael Shannon plays her husband. She's this amazing, grounding support to him in a film that could have been really awful and a total waste of time because it was so cerebral. But she made it interesting and Michael Shannon is also a fantastic actor, as well. It's a really good off-the-beaten path movie.

FEYERICK: And what about Jennifer Lawrence?

DRAKE: Jennifer Lawrence? "Winter's Bone" was the movie she was first nominated for an Academy Award doing, and she played a girl in the Ozarks who's had to find her father in order to save her family's home.

But she was also in a Sundance movie that was -- it won the grand jury prize, and apparently had all improvised dialogue, but you would never know it because the actors were so good. Jennifer Lawrence is so young and so mature and vulnerable. Plus, she's a lot of fun to watch during awards season because that girl does not have a filter when he she talks. And that is fun on the red carpet.

FEYERICK: That's right. We like people who don't edit themselves. And Jessica Chastain, what I love about her, she just - you know, she changes. You don't even realize that you're watching her. She was in "The Help," you know? She played the blonde character.

So, your predictions? Your predicitions. Who are -- now that they've got this great body of work behind them, who do you think are going to be the big winners of that night.

DRAKE: Daniel Day-Lewis as has won every award this whole season. So it's hard to bet against him. Even though I think I'd love to see Hugh Jackman take it. I just don't think it's going to happen for him. Now, Jennifer Lawrence has won more awards than Jessica cChastain. So, I think come awards night, she's actually going to take this prize. But "Zero Dark Thirty" was such a good film, and in the minds of so many voters, that one is kind of anybody's game in my opinion.

FEYERICK: All right. Well, amazing. I am so behind in my movie watching. But I promise you, I will do it by next week. Okay, and remember --

DRAKE: All right, I'm watching.

FEYERICK: That's right. You text me. Because I'm going to let you know what I'm into right now. OK now remember, you can get a lot more Grae Drake at RottenTomatoes.com. She always has the very latest in what is happening in movies.

New York mayor Michael Bloomberg has banned smoking in certain plays. H's banned large sugary drinks and food donations to the homeless. Yes, well, something else is in his sights. Found out what ahead in the NEWSROOM.

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FEYERICK: John Brennan, the man that President Obama wants to be the next CIA director, has revealed that he and other officials did meet behind closed doors with the producer of "Zero Dark Thirty," the movie about the agency's effort to find and kill Osama bin Laden. Brennan told the Senate Intelligence Committee he and other White House officials met with the filmmaker in June of 2011 for an unclassified discussion on how the White House viewed the opportunities and risks associated with that film.

It was a busy week for news, and as CNN political editor Paul Steinhauser explains, you may have missed a couple of great stories that went under the radar.

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Hey, Deb. From a crippled cruise ship to the killing of christopher dorner to meteors and asteroids, a lot of political news was overshadowed this week by bigger headlines.

Sure, you heard about President Obama's state of the union address and the Senate's showdown over Chuck Hagel's nomination as defense secretary. But here are two stories you may have missed.

New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg is known for his tough regulations, such as banning large sugary sodas and artery-clogging trans fat additives. Now he's going after plastic foam food containers.

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MICHAEL BLOOOMBERG, NEW YORK CITY MAYOR: Something we know is environmentally destructive that is costing taxpayers money and that is easily replaceable, I think is something we can do without.

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STEINHAUSER: Eighty-nine-year-old senator Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey announced he won't run for re-election next year. And his retirement will bring an end to an era.

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SEN. FRANK LAUTENBERG (D), NEW JERSEY: I am the remaining member of the United States Senate who served in World War II.

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STEINHAUSER: The longtime Democratic lawmaker becomes the fourth senator to retire next year rather than run for re-election. Deb?

FEYERICK: Thanks, Paul. And Paul will be back with us tomorrow in our 4:00 Eastern hour with some of your opinions about how President Obama is doing on the job and on what you think about a possible Geraldo Rivera run for U.S. Senate.

And this just in. We want to get up to speed. A small plane was intercepted by a fighter jet and taken to a Florida airport after violating temporary flight restrictions which had been set up for President Obama's visit. We are learning that according to an Army lieutenant colonel, the Cessna 152 entered the restricted airspace near the resort where President Obama is staying in Palm City, Florida. NORAD sent an F-16 fighter jet and a Coast Guard helicopter to intercept the plane. The F-16 flew with the plane until it landed at Witham field in Stewart. The plane was met by local officials and the U.S. Secret Service.

And we are told now the Federal Aviation Administration is investigating this incident. We will keep you up to date on the very latest to see what this small plane was doing in the president's restricted air space.

Moving on now to Lady Gaga. She has canceled the rest of her Born This Way tour because of an injury. Dr. Sanjay Gupta is up next to tell us what happened to Miss Gaga, and how serious it really is.

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FEYERICK: Well, heartbreak for all you little monsters out there. Lady Gaga is canceling the rest of her dates on her concert tour. Seems a major injury is sidelining the singing sensation. Chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta explains exactly what happened.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Deb, as we know, Lady Gaga actually has two separate but related injuries going on here. First of all, a severe inflammation, and then also a tissue tear in her hip. We first heard about what was happening with Lady Gaga's injuries. She said she had something called sinovitis. That's a severe inflammation of the sinovial lining of her hip joint.

Now, that can develop in any joint in the body, the shoulder, the knee, a hip. And it doesn't always lead to the next thing, which in this case is a tissue tear. In Lady Gaga's case, she said she hid the pain in her hip for a while, but then it just became worse and we're now sort of learning why. In addition to that (INAUDIBLE) inflammation, she has a tear in the soft tissue you her are right hip.

I want to show you something specifically here. Take a look. This area over here is called the labrum. It's sort of that ring of soft tissue inside the hip. And you can sort of see it in that particular area. If you look from a side angle, you can see that ball at the top of the femur. That's the leg bone that fits into the hip joint socket. The labrum is inside that area, and it's what holds the whole joint in place.

Now orthopedic doctors say typically this injury can occur in young people. In fact, people under the able age of 30 who are very active. And what it typically is is the mechanics of doing the same set of movements over and over again that doctors think cause these tears to happen. So for example, Lady Gaga's dance moves, she repeats them at every show. Remember Alex Rodriguez, New York Yankee, he had surgery to repair of a torn labrum in his right hip in 2009 and then again in his left hip next month.

Now, the operation to repair this injury is typically arthroscopic, done through a scope. And while patients are different, standard treatment would say the patient has to be nonweight-bearing for four to six weeks and then undergo physical therapy. And that's why Lady Gaga has canceled her tour. And in the words of her tour operator, will be having some strict downtime after the operation. Deb? FEYERICK: All right. Thanks so much, Sanjay. And, of course, be sure to watch SANJAY GUPTA M.D. at 4:30 p.m. Eastern today as he puts heart health under the microscope.

Well, Jodi Arias back on the stand next week in her murder trial. She's accused of brutally killing her ex boyfriend. Ahead, everything from phone sex to claims of abuse. Find out what she is expected to say when her trial continues. Stay with us. It's coming up, just ahead.

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