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Massive Winter Storm; Progress Made on Nuclear Sticking Point; Yemen Unrest Creates Opening for Al Qaeda; Relations Grow Cold Between President Obama and Israeli Leader?; NFL: Patriots Used Under-Inflated Footballs; Obama Plan Would Tax College Saving Plans; New Film "Black Or White" Tackles Race

Aired January 25, 2015 - 14:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Happening right now in the NEWSROOM. In the bull's eye. Parts of New York, Boston, Rhode Island and Connecticut, facing a potential major blizzard. Winds approaching hurricane force along the coast and snow totals of one to two feet.

Plus.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The alternative would be for us to play Whac-A-Mole every time there is a terrorist actor inside of any given country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: President Obama doubling down on a strategy to fight terrorism. Using partnerships and intelligence sharing with our allies.

And under pressure, the national obsession with deflate-gate.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL BELICHICK, HEAD COACH, NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS: This is the end of this subject for me for a long time. OK?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: But is it?

The NEWSROOM starts right now.

Hello, everyone. Thanks so much for joining me in the NEWSROOM. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

Potentially major and destructive. That's how authorities are describing a storm that is about to bear down on the northeast. At least 50 million people are in the storm's path. Some places could get up to two feet of snow, and when that's combined with hurricane force winds, well, it could trigger widespread power outages and coastal flooding. Expected flight delays could affect air travel all the way to the West

Coast as airlines realign their flights. Delta Airlines is already offering to change flights.

It will start hitting major metropolitan areas including Boston and New York beginning tomorrow afternoon.

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio has a news conference planned for 3:30 Eastern Time today to update us on the city's emergency storm preparation plans. And this follows a major winter storm yesterday that hit an area from West Virginia all the way up to Maine.

CNN's Ivan Cabrera is checking this new storm.

Boy, this is pretty nasty when you look at that map.

IVAN CABRERA, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes. No question about it. This storm you talked about yesterday, child's play.

WHITFIELD: Oh no.

CABRERA: I think in about -- in about 10 years, we're going to think back and say hey, where were you during the blizzard of 2015?

WHITFIELD: Really?

CABRERA: That is the --

WHITFIELD: That's it?

CABRERA: Yes. That's the kind of storm we're talking about here.

WHITFIELD: Gosh.

CABRERA: This is an area of low pressure. This was supposed to be just an Alberta clipper that was going to give us about three to six inches of snowfall. But things have changed in the atmosphere. So that now the jet stream is going to drop down. This thing is going to intensify once it hits the coast tonight, and then we are going to be talking about a crippling snowstorm.

No question about it. One to two feet of snow for the major cities and we'll pinpoint exactly what we're talking about here as far as the numbers.

There are your winter advisories but really this is for D.C., yes, you'll get a little snow here, but this is going to be a storm for Philly, New York, heading up into Boston and into up Maine. What we have blizzard watches. You don't see -- as a matter of fact, you can through an entire year, perhaps in five years and not get blizzard watches in New York. And that's exactly what we have right now for Connecticut, Rhode Island and into Boston as well.

Here's the radar right now. It is snowing across portions of the Ohio Valley. This is a storm that's going to get going. What you're seeing right now is the calm before it. Nothing is going to happen in New York, so if you're watching us from the northeast and you need to get supplies for the week, you have to do it now, including Boston, where there you're going to be buried under probably a couple of feet of snow if not more. So that is what we're going to be talking about here.

Let's break it down as far as the hour by hour forecast, and tell you when the storm will be arriving as we head through it tonight. There we are as we head through Sunday night. By Monday morning, you see some of the snow beginning to break out. But the snow intensity won't really pick up until Monday night and into Tuesday. That is when we're going to not only combine heavy snow, but that's, Fredricka, when the winds are going to start gusting 50 to 70 miles an hour.

You're not going to be able to see, you're not going to be able to get on the roads. And I don't think we're just talking -- as far as delays at the airport. I think we're actually talking closures. Logan Airport is probably going to be close for a time as we head there through Tuesday. So if you have to travel you have to get out --

WHITFIELD: So later in the day likely they're going to try and get out --

CABRERA: Absolutely.

WHITFIELD: Movements, you know, early Monday.

CABRERA: Yes.

WHITFIELD: But then it all changes.

CABRERA: It's going to be a mess.

WHITFIELD: My gosh. All right. We appreciate the warning.

CABRERA: Yes.

WHITFIELD: And I know the folks in the northeast do as well.

CABRERA: You got it.

WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks so much, Ivan. We'll check back with you. Appreciate it.

And again, just an update, New York's Mayor Bill de Blasio will have a press conference at 3:30 Eastern Time. He'll be updating the city on the special weather plans that are going to be put into place and of course we'll bring that to you live as it happens.

Again you heard from Ivan, really the start of that storm come Monday afternoon but lots of contingency plans to be put in place well before that.

All right. Another big story we're following, that ultimatum to spare the life of a Japanese hostage held by ISIS. An online post from a known ISIS supporter is demanding the release of a convicted female terrorists in return for Kenji Goto's freedom.

Sajida al-Rishawi was sentenced to death for her role in a series of bombings in 2005 that killed dozens of people in Jordan. Well, yesterday a chilling image emerged online. Hostage Kenji Goto is seen holding a photograph that appears to show fellow hostage Haruna Yukawa beheaded. Yukawa's father says he wishes he could hold his son in his arms. He spoke on Japanese television and requested that his face not be shown.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHOICHI YUKAWA, FATHER (Through Translator): I have been playing such a thing would not happen but unfortunately it has finally come to pass and my heart aches. I feel so guilty that are Mr. Goto has been detained and threatened death after he had entered there to rescue my son at the risk of his life. I really wish him to be released and returned to Japan immediately in continuous activity.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Japanese and U.S. authorities say the video showing the body appears to be authentic.

All right, another big story we're following, President Barack Obama and India's prime minister have announced progress on a deal allowing U.S. companies to cooperate on civilian nuclear power plants in India. While they stopped short of announcing a full-fledged deal, the two leaders did say they have moved forward on the issue.

All of this happening in the backdrop of the ongoing fight against terror near the region, from battles in Iraq, Yemen and Syria.

CNN's Erin McPike is in our Washington newsroom with much more on this.

So, Erin, while in India, the president addressed the instability in that region. What specifically did he say?

ERIN MCPIKE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fred, the president insisted that current U.S. counterterrorism efforts especially in Yemen are going to continue as they are despite the -- political chaos that's unfolded there over the last week. And here's how he put it in a press conference this morning in India.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: Yemen has never been a perfect democracy or an island of stability. What I've said is that our efforts to go after terrorist networks inside of Yemen, without an occupying U.S. army, but rather by partnering and intelligence sharing with that local government is the approach that we're going to need to take. And that continues to be the case.

The alternative would be for us to play Whac-A-Mole every time there is a terrorist actor inside of any given country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCPIKE: But there has been some pushback from lawmakers about this the past few days, specifically from Senator Dianne Feinstein, of course, the ranking Democrat on the Intelligence Committee, and then on the other side of the aisle John McCain, he is the chairman of the Armed Services Committee. Now those two, they're very high profile, of course as you know, were on CBS' "Face the Nation" this morning and they were calling for U.S. Special Forces to deploy to Yemen and possibly other areas in the region.

McCain even said directly, that even though it would be tough for Americans to swallow, there need to be more boots on the ground but he nuanced that to say that wouldn't necessarily mean combat troops.

And then Feinstein suggested that what you heard earlier there from the president that there needs to be more intelligence sharing with regional partners. She said that is not enough and she said there needs to be more direct U.S. intelligence gathering on the ground there.

But this is becoming tricky for the White House to navigate because it's coming at the same time as the President Obama asking Congress this past week in the State of the Union to authorize the military campaign against ISIS so he's walking a very fine line here -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Erin McPike, thank you so much.

Our Fareed Zakaria, by the way, sits down with President Obama this week and you can see that exclusive interview Tuesday on CNN's "NEW DAY" beginning at 6:00 a.m.

All right. So you just heard the president speaking from India. Here's what White House chief of staff Denis McDonough said about the al Qaeda threat earlier today on ABC.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DENIS MCDONOUGH, WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF: You heard the president say this morning in his press conference that in fact al Qaeda, you know, hides in dark corners and tries to make sure that they're operating in places where they're not going to be pursued. That means that a lot of the places that they spring up and where they try to operate are places like Yemen or Somalia or North Africa, where the security forces are underdeveloped, where the political situation is volatile.

And that's why we have put in place a strategy that is designed to make sure that we are not only strengthening our partner security forces for them to take the fight to al Qaeda.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right. Joining me right now is CNN intelligence security analyst and former CIA operative Bob Baer.

All right, good to see you, Bob. So more intel and greater emphasis on diplomatic efforts there in Yemen. But how concerned are you that in the interim al Qaeda or AQAP might be emboldened there, might pick up strength while there's this kind of power vacuum in Yemen?

ROBERT BAER, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Well, Fredericka, that's exactly it. A power vacuum. These are fragmenting states. I mean, Yemen is gone essentially as a state. The way I see it. Iraq is gone as a state. You have the Kurdish area, you have the Sunni area and you have Baghdad which is a Shiite capital essentially.

So, you know, we do need partners on the ground. We cannot do this alone. John McCain is wrong, you can't send U.S. forces to fix the Middle East. We don't have enough troops, period. Nor do we have the language capabilities nor the intelligence.

So when you're dealing with failing states, you really need a regional effort on this and an international effort. But it's -- as the president says, it's not Whac-A-Mole. You know, we can go after certain valley in Yemen, and go after certain group, and maybe hit them with a drone, but another (INAUDIBLE) somewhere else.

WHITFIELD: So I wonder, what is the region -- what would constitute the regional support there in the case of Yemen now since the U.S. thought it had a pretty good relationship with -- was representative of the government there before the president stepped aside, with the Houthis, kind of, you know, offering that pressure.

We know there's Saudi Arabia. That continues to be a great ally of the U.S., but when it -- when you talk about Yemen, and now potentially Iran has a lot of influence in Yemen, right, because of the Houthis, where is that regional support? Who are you thinking about?

BAER: Well, you know, you hit the nail on the head again, Fredricka. Look at Saudi Arabia's point of view. They are surrounded by Iranian proxies. The Houthis are Iranian financed, Iranian trained. You've got Hezbollah in Lebanon. You've got the government in Baghdad which is under the Iranian umbrella. So they are really panicking and we are moving toward a regional confrontation.

The Saudis are terrified we're going to -- we're going to settle with the Iranians and they're going to be left out alone. We really need to walk this back, it's not going to be easy, but on the other hand, I don't see it -- you know, it's just getting worse all the time with what's happening in Yemen.

WHITFIELD: So it sounds pretty hopeless. I'm not hearing any optimism in your voice.

BAER: I think it's -- I think it's hopeless. We can't send American troops in there to fix Yemen. I mean, the Saudis don't even want to go in and to try it. You know, Or we can't send -- we can't American troops into Mosul to take it back. And we can't force the government in Baghdad to do our bidding. They're listening to Tehran, not to us. So it's a mess.

WHITFIELD: So when you talk about Mosul, Iraq, and we know that most recently the White House said that more U.S. troops by way of advisors would be there in Mosul, are you telling me that's a mistake? Or is it a mistake if they were to engage in combat?

BAER: Well, it's -- they shouldn't get in combat. We have to fill a lot of troops to get engaged in combat. The problem is we know what to do and we're trying to do what John Kerry in Iraq. But the government in Baghdad is not listening. They're still running concentration camps for the Sunnis. The government in Baghdad is starving the Kurds of ammunition and money. They were -- they've been asked not to do that but they are. They're out of -- they're out of bullets up in the north.

And we do have tier one special forces up there trying to help them. But if the government in Baghdad is not helping, there's not much we can do.

WHITFIELD: All right. Bob Baer, thanks so much. Appreciate your time.

BAER: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right. Still ahead, we're going to talk more about that region, particularly about a relationship that is chilly at best. Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, on his way to Washington in March, but President Obama will not be meeting with him.

Will that situation, the relationship between those leaders, improve?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: The relationship between President Obama and Israel's prime minister has gone from bad to worse. And with Benjamin Netanyahu's planning to speak before Congress in March, this time without the blessing of the White House, it's not likely we will see any improvements.

CNN global affairs correspondent Elise Labott has our report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELISE LABOTT, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Prime Minister Netanyahu's plans to address Congress on March 3rd, two weeks before the Israeli election, is causing new fractures in an already brittle relationship.

The White House is furious with the Israeli leader for accepting House Speaker John Boehner's invitation. Aides say last week President Obama in an angry phone call warned Netanyahu not to interfere in his battle with Congress over Iran sanctions.

But they say Netanyahu secretly plotted to do the opposite, arranging behind the president's back to deliver a speech critical of his policy.

JOSH EARNEST, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Certainly, if we had the opportunity to weigh in on that schedule a little bit more, we would welcome that opportunity and probably make a variety of changes.

LABOTT: It's the latest confrontation in a series of growing tensions between the two allies. Last March, in a testy Oval Office meeting, Netanyahu rebuffed Obama's attempts to accept a peace deal with the Palestinians. In October, the White House denied the Israeli Defense minister high level meetings over his harsh criticism of Secretary of State John Kerry's peace efforts.

But frustrations reached new heights after a top White House official used an expletive to describe Netanyahu, saying in an interview with "Atlantic" magazine, he had, quote, "no guts" to make peace with the Palestinians.

U.S. officials say Secretary Kerry who in the last month made more than 50 phone calls to allies on behalf of Israel to stop action on the U.N. Security Council and International Criminal Court is running out of patience.

AARON DAVID MILLER, DISTINGUISHED SCHOLAR, WOODROW WILSON INTERNATIONAL CENTER: If the administration wants to get anywhere on the Israeli-Palestinian issue, on dealing with Iran, on stabilizing the region, they're going to have to find a way to manage their relationship with Israel.

LABOTT: U.S. officials insist Washington's support for Israel's security will remain despite political tensions, but the timing couldn't be worse, as the Middle East itself teeters on the brinks.

(On camera): U.S. officials accused Prime Minister Netanyahu of using his visit to Washington and his address to Congress as a campaign stop in advance of the March elections. But they warned that could backfire if the Israelis about to go to the polls see their leader doing so much damage to a relationship that is so critical.

Elise Labott, CNN, Jerusalem.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right, so does Speaker Boehner's invitation to the Israeli prime minister strain relations between Congress and the White House?

The House speaker defense's move while Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi says it breaks all sorts of protocol.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. JOHN BOEHNER (R), HOUSE SPEAKER: I did not consult with the White House, the Congress, we can make this decision on its own.

REP. NANCY PELOSI (D), MINORITY LEADER: It's out of order in terms of this protocol and the respect of -- since when -- I mean, look, the speaker of the House has awesome power, I know that. I've been there. The fact, though, is, is that that power is not to be squandered.

(END VIDEO CLIP) WHITFIELD: All right. Joining me to talk about this, CNN political commentator Peter Beinart in Boston, a contributing editor at the "Atlantic." Hope you're bracing for the weather that's on the way, by the way. And in New York, from our bureau there, is CNN political commentator Reihan Salam, the executive editor at the "National Review." And I guess you've got to brace, too.

All right. So let's talk about this as a whole. This is less an issue about precedence. We know that Netanyahu has addressed Congress before. But it's the process here. House Speaker Boehner says it's not a finger in the eye. But is there any other way of looking at it when the White House is the last to know, Reihan?

REIHAN SALAM, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, Congress is a co-equal branch with the presidency. And I think that if anything we've had Congress not asserting its power enough into foreign policy. So I think this is an entirely healthy development. And also the matter at stake, the matter at hand, the negotiations with Iran are an issue where the United States is at odds with many of our allies not just Israel.

And so I think it's actually valuable and worthwhile for lawmakers to hear that case.

WHITFIELD: So, Peter, are you in agreement with that, that this is, you know, a healthy development, and that Congress needs to assert itself especially on something controversial like the relationship -- diplomatic relations with Iran?

PETER BEINART, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: No. First of all, to say that the United States is at odds with Iran -- with Israel is just wrong. We know from -- with the Mossad, Israel's own intelligence agency, believes as does the White House that passing new sanctions at this point would be counterproductive.

The problem is not inviting Netanyahu to speak. It's not even not informing the White House, although that's bad form. It's the idea that you're inviting a foreign leader to come specifically so he can attack the policy of your own president. If Democrats in Congress who are against the Iraq war had invited the -- the president of France to come and address them to explain why George W. Bush was wrong to want to invade Iraq, I don't think Republicans would have been too happy about it.

WHITFIELD: And it steams like this was pretty thought out. I mean, this isn't just an aside, but this does appear, you know, to even those who are not in the circles there in the White House or even in Congress, it does appear to be a slight, you know, a real insult, Reihan.

SALAM: Well, I think that this broadly parallels your previous question. It doesn't strike me as a slight at all because, again, I think that actually the entire Congress is obligated to weigh in. And I think that part of this is actually just hearing the Israeli prime minister presenting his case, drawing on his understanding of the region. It's absolutely true that the Israeli public is divided. But I think

that actually had the Democrats invited the French president, I think that actually might have been good and worthwhile. Particularly since many Democrats had been supporting the president at a time when actually some calm deliberation and actually listening to outside voices might have been valuable.

So I don't think that that's a particularly strong argument against. If anything we need our lawmakers to have greater exposure to an array of views from around the world.

WHITFIELD: All right. Let me see, do we have time for this White House chief of staff comment?

All right. Let me ask you if you can respond to this. Because the White House sees it this way.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MCDONOUGH: This is a relationship given its importance that stretches across many different things from values, straight through to intelligence and cooperation, to defense and security assistance. That's the kinds of things that we'll be focused on in this regard. That's why we think also we are not getting involved in their politics. That's why the president thinks it doesn't make any sense for us to meet with the prime minister two weeks before his election.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right. So bottom line, is this advantageous for Bibi? And I go with you first, Peter.

BEINART: In the long term this is bad for Israel. The reason is, the support for -- in the Republican Party for Israel right now is strong, but it's waning in the Democratic Party. And the more in which -- the more Israel comes to see it a partisan issue, as Benjamin Netanyahu increasingly has done, made the relationship seemed partisan first by essentially endorsing Mitt Romney now by conspiring with John Boehner. It weakens support for the -- for Israel inside the Democratic Party which is in Israel's long-term. It's not good for Israel on the long term.

WHITFIELD: And Reihan?

SALAM: This notion that it's interfering with the elections strikes me as pretty misleading. Shimon Peres in 1996 met with President Clinton shortly before an Israeli general election. And I don't think that it had -- we're underestimating the Israeli public. I don't think it has enormous political implications.

WHITFIELD: But it was at the -- at the White House's invitation. That's the difference here.

SALAM: That is indeed true, but I think that Netanyahu, you know, his tenure is going to be judged by Israelis not on the basis of an address to Congress. WHITFIELD: All right, Reihan Salam, Peter Beinart, thank you so much.

And good luck with the big storm on the way.

SALAM: Thank you.

BEINART: Thanks.

WHITFIELD: All right, Auschwitz is perhaps one of the most infamous sites of human suffering in the world and Tuesday will mark 70 years since its liberation.

Ahead, CNN's Wolf Blitzer explains why this place is so important to his family.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. Checking your top stories right now.

The latest attempt to raise the main section of AirAsia Flight 8501 has failed. Recovery crews said the fuselage made it to the surface before supporting ropes snapped. The fuselage fell to the bottom of the Java Sea. The plane's tail and cockpit section along with the so- called black boxes and 70 bodies have already been recovered. 162 people were on that plane when it went down last month.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is in Nigeria ahead of the country's upcoming presidential elections. Kerry met with President Goodluck Jonathan and his main rival, and says peaceful elections are critical. The visit comes amid fresh fighting between Boko Haram and Nigeria's military. Today the Islamist group reportedly took a key city and it's huge military barracks.

And this Tuesday marks 70 years since the liberation of Auschwitz, the notorious concentration camp where more than one million men, women and children lost their lives, became a symbol of the holocaust.

CNN will have special coverage of Tuesday's events marking Auschwitz's closure hosted by our own Wolfe Blitzer whose paternal grandparents were murdered at that camp.

Here's a look back at Wolf's visit to Auschwitz.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: It haunts us to this very day. You just hear that word, Auschwitz, and you think of death. You smell the death when you're walking around.

I've read a lot about the holocaust, I've seen the movies, I've seen a lot of the pictures. Certainly I knew what happened, but until you actually see the location, you see what had occurred and you get a sense of the enormity of this crime, it's hard to believe that people can be as cruel as they clearly have been.

1.2 million people within, you know, two or three years, were slaughtered. And then when I went to the Birkenau, and saw the crematorium, the gas chambers, it will stay with me for the rest of my life.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right. You can see more of Wolf's visit to the concentration camp, along with stories from survivors in a CNN special documentary, "VOICES OF AUSCHWITZ." It airs Tuesday night at 9:00 Eastern right here on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, hello, again, everyone. Thanks so much for joining me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Super Bowl Sunday exactly one week away, but instead of focusing on the big game, most of the headlines have been all about deflate gate.

And that isn't sitting well with New England Patriots' Coach Bill Belichick, he insists his team did not deflate the balls in last Sunday's AFC title game and he says he'd rather focused on practice and getting his team ready to face the Seattle Seahawks in a week.

Sara Ganim is following the Patriots. So Sarah, what is going on there on today after Bill Belichick's second deflate gate press conference?

SARA GANIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's right, Fred. We were all pretty surprised when Belichick held this unexpected press conference yesterday, but then a lot of people were even more shocked when he went through in painstaking detail why he believes those balls were deflated.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BILL BELICHICK, NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS HEAD COACH: I am embarrassed to talk about the amount of time that I put into this relative to the other important challenge in front of us.

GANIM: New England Patriots Head Coach Bill Belicheck in front of the cameras for the second time in three days addressing the Deflategate controversy at a surprise press conference Saturday telling the media that he conducted his own experiment to determine what might have happened.

BELICHICK: We simulated a game day situation, in terms of the preparation of the footballs, and where the footballs were at various points in time during the day or night, as the case was Sunday.

GANIM: Belichick delved into the science behind the issue at times sounding more like a physicist than a football coach.

BELICHICK: The atmospheric conditions they were adjusted to the climatic conditions, the balls, you know reached an equilibrium they were down approximately 1.5 pounds per square inch.

GANIM: Belichick said his experiment found that the footballs exposed to the elements did lose 1.5 pounds of air pressure. He added that its league officials who monitored the pressure of the footballs not his staff.

BELICHICK: When we hand the balls to the officials, the officials put them at whatever they put them at. Let's just say it is 12.5, that's where they put them. Then the air pressure at that point, from then on until the end of the game, we have no knowledge of.

GANIM: One former official backed him up.

JIM DAOPOULOS, RULES ANALYST FOR ESPN AND MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL: It is something that the officials take very seriously and they make sure that they do what they're supposed to do.

GANIM: Earlier in the day, Patriots players downplayed the controversy saying it wasn't a factor in their Super Bowl preparations. The NFL Players Union advised them not to comment until the league's investigation is complete.

MATTHEW SLATER, PATRIOTS PLAYER: We have been instructed by our union as players to reserve comment on this situation because of the ongoing investigation, in order to protect our players, we're not going to talk about that.

GANIM: Meanwhile Belichick is ready to move on.

BELICHICK: This is the end of this subject for me for a long time.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GANIM: So you heard him right there. That pretty much sums it up. He doesn't want to talk about this anymore. Today is the Patriots last practice here in Massachusetts before they leave for the Super Bowl. Their sendoff parade is tomorrow morning at about 11:00.

As you heard, the players don't wanting to talk about this, Bill Belichick doesn't want to talk about this. He's hoping it will go away, however everything he said yesterday was so much fuel for the fire and speculation.

You know, the NFL investigation is still ongoing and they're looking to see if there was any deliberate action that caused these balls to deflate. His press conference yesterday seemed to be a direct reaction to that -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: Sure, but he cannot believe that it's going to go away because he doesn't want to talk about it anymore. This is going to continue to be a source of discussion.

GANIM: He's hoping it doesn't come up again until the Super Bowl. What I think he's hoping for is that no one talks about it until big game on Sunday.

WHITFIELD: That's his hope. OK, Sara Ganim, thank you so much. Appreciate it.

All right, here's a question for you, huge departure. Let's talk about that college savings plan that you have in place, are you using a 529 savings plan to put away money for your kids college? President Barack Obama proposing a change to that program that could make part of that tax benefit vanish that's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Perhaps you are looking ahead, looking out for your kids and you have a 529 college savings plan. You know the best part is the tax benefit, it allows parents to put away money without paying taxes on interest earned or on withdrawals used to pay for education.

But guess what? President Obama wants to change the program, removing some of that tax benefit. The proposal has been widely criticized, but the White House defends the idea saying many 529s are held by people who make over $250,000 a year.

For more I'm joined now by financial adviser, Rob Wilson. Good to see you.

ROB WILSON, FINANCIAL ADVISER: Good to see you too.

WHITFIELD: All right, this outrages a lot of people because they figure, you know what? I don't want to have to take out loans and have my kid graduate from college with great debt, and so let's plan ahead, let's put away this tax free money, and now there could be taxes imposed on this? What's the proposal? What would change?

WILSON: You're exactly right. Because when I first started analyzing this as a way to make college more affordable, it seemed pretty bizarre. My grandmother used to tell me not to cut off my nose to spite my face and it seems like that's exactly what's happening here. I mean, listen, the president and the first lady themselves put $240,000 --

WHITFIELD: Which their debt was just paid off during his presidency, which is amazing.

WILSON: Exactly. So they put $240,000 away for their daughters. So clearly they understand the reason that this is a benefit. We're in an environment right now where we have got $1 trillion in student debt. More than 10 percent of those are more than 90 percent delinquent.

You've got people who are deferring the loans, continuing to just accrue interest and so the problem is if you can't have an incentive to save your own money, it doesn't make any sense to take out any loans.

WHITFIELD: So more -- many financial advisers just like yourself are big advocates for 529, et cetera, so what kind of taxes are we talking about potentially if the president's plan goes into place?

WILSON: This is a good question. What happens is when you set up the account, the account can grow on a totally tax deferred basis. So you don't have to pay any taxes on gains or dividends. But when you go to take out, that's when they want to have the contributions taxed. It's only on the gains and not the amount you actually put in. This is the way the 529s were taxed before the Bush tax cuts in 2001. So really what he's trying to do is take it back to that time.

WHITFIELD: So would this apply to everyone and anyone who has a 529 if this proposal is adopted or is it an issue of those who open a 529 after a proposal has been adopted, they would be the ones who would fall into this category of taxes.

WILSON: It's absolutely right. It's only going to be on new contributions, because if you've been saving for five or ten years, you don't want to have that stuff tax. If this goes into play, I'll tell you what? It's a very slim chance of passing, but if it does, it's only going to be on new contributions.

But you know, when I started thinking about this as a political strategy, it might be genius, because it's about education. It's about the wealth gap. It's really not about education.

I work with a lot of athletes so I'd like to talk about it in terms of sports, right? So while we have been talking about deflate gate all week is because people want to know that the game that they love is fair.

And so people don't hate the Patriots because they win Super Bowls, they just don't want them to cheat. So we want to have a level playing field for everyone. So what he's trying to adjust is the wealth gap and figure out how do we do this? Then you talk to people who say don't touch my 529 plan.

WHITFIELD: But then the other message is doesn't this remove the incentive?

WILSON: It absolutely removes the incentive. Now what they may do is put an income limit on it. So similar to the way that you can't deduct student loan interest if you make more than $80,000 individual or $160,000 as a married couple that's what they may put in place so they don't totally take away the benefit for everyone.

WHITFIELD: Wow. All right, Rob Wilson, thank you very much. Appreciate it. Good to see you.

All right, coming up, it's a movie about two families fighting for the same little girl, and in the end how they all see things differently. And we go face to face with actors, Kevin Costner and Anthony Mackie, from the movie "Black or White." They are going to talk about the film and the line that got one of them so hooked on this project.

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WHITFIELD: It's an issue that has been in the forefront recently and driving a whole lot of conversations around the dinner table and workplaces. Much of black and white America just simply see things differently.

The new film "Black or White" helps underscore that in this story of a grandfather played by Kevin Costner in the middle of a custody battle. His bi-racial granddaughter is caught in the middle.

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WHITFIELD: I talked face to face with actors, Kevin Costner and Anthony Mackie, about the impact of this film.

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WHITFIELD: What is the conversation that you hope will happen?

KEVIN COSTNER, ACTOR AND PRODUCER, "BLACK OR WHITE": I don't know what I hope happens. You know, that idea is bigger than me. As an actor or something, I go, this is authentic. This feels like where we're at. This is not pulling punches, it's not politically correct.

I think conversation will roll after it. You know. You know, I'm not in the message business. That's not why I made the movie. I just felt that it reflects -- I make movies about baseball, westerns, romantic comedies, but sometimes you get to make a movie about something that you feel like you're living.

And right now "Black or White" feels like a movie that is for its time. But I think the way it was made, I think it will live -- it has a chance to be a classic.

WHITFIELD: And Anthony, what is it about this movie that really caught your attention? I know scripts are coming your way all of the time. But there was something about this one that resonated with you.

ANTHONY MACKIE, ACTOR, "BLACK OR WHITE": It was two specific moments. There's one moment in my law office where I'm talking to Octavia Spencer's son, who is my nephew. And I tell him -- I give him the business. I let him know what he's doing to affect me and my life.

And what he's doing to affect us as a whole. And then Kevin has this line later on in the film that really just blew my mind. And he says, "It's not your first thought that makes you a racist. It's just second, your third and your fourth."

And when I read that, it really affected me, and it was really something that I wanted to be a part.

WHITFIELD: There were a lot of touching moments in the movie, as well, and this little girl, Jillian Estelle, is amazing, and just that moment between she and grandpa. Let's play that moment, because I think that was kind of the realization that you had, that Eloise and you have a particular connection.

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WHITFIELD: That's an instinctive moment and then you say that the acting there, everything that was brought was instinctive.

COSTNER: Yes, that was an electric moment, that little girl. A lot of times, you know, movie -- what a child is going to do. And we both needed for her to be great and for this movie to become a whole movie. And she doesn't disappoint.

And you know, sometimes little people know what big people need at a moment without -- they just intuitively know, and that point where she reaches up and hugs and even if you see the thing in its entirety, you see she kisses him.

It wasn't scripted. She did that and this movie, what I love about it. It's filled with things like that. There is magic in this movie.

WHITFIELD: Which is what makes it really universal even though the title implies that really is about race, black or white, making a choice, it's much bigger than that, isn't it?

MACKIE: Yes, it's way beyond that. And I think the one thing that I really enjoy about this movie every time I see it is you get to hear both perspectives. And you get to see two people, listen to the other person, come together and figure out a fair compromise.

And I think that's something we should be doing today. You know, it's really sad what's going on in our country. I think we're at the height of race relations since -- we're at the highest point in race relations now since civil rights.

And I think a lot of communication needs to be had. Back then we were very fortunate, because we had the likes of Martin Luther King and all of the civil rights leaders. Now we don't really have those people to step up and have those conversations for us and vocalize our thoughts.

But, you know, this movie is really wonderful because it gives you a place to start a conversation. You know, I truly believe if you have someone that is the opposite of you, that doesn't look like you, you tell them to go see this movie so that you can start that conversation there, and then roll into other issues and topics.

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WHITFIELD: Hear more of my face to face talk with Kevin Costner and Anthony Mackie in our 4:00 Eastern hour. They have provocative views about diversity and movies today, and they also weigh in on the NFL's New England Patriots Deflategate. The movie, "Black or White" comes out in theaters next Friday.

A look at our top stories, another major movie release in our top stories, the movie "American Sniper" could make history. The Iraq war movie starring Bradley Cooper is on track to make $200 million nationwide in its first 10 days of nationwide release.

It's expected to take over the number one war flick which is "Saving Private Ryan." That made more than $216 million. Full disclosure, "American Sniper" is a Warner Brothers movie, which is a division of Time Warner, CNN's parent company.

All right, now, to fourth round play, at the Australian open, two top ten men's seeds advance, Great Britain's Andy Murray scored a four-set win over Bulgaria's Gregor Demitrof. And Spain's Rafael Nadal scored a straight set victory over South Africa's Kevin Anderson. Nadal was the first Spaniard ever to win the Australian Open back in 2009.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): The big four of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray have dominated men's tennis for the last decade, winning 38 of the previous 42 grand slams. Switzerland defeated Djokovic and Nadal last year, but he's not ready to put himself among the elite yet.

(on camera): Many people talk about the big four. Do you regard yourself as one of the big four?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why not?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why not? Because I'm not there, I won the grand slam, but that's it. I mean, it's been one amazing year for me. I was a real player, top 20 for five years. Top ten one year. And now top five for one year.

But if you look at the top four, especially the three first guys, Novak, Rafael and Roger, they have been winning every single tournament, every grand slam, since ten years, more or less, so it's a different level.

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WHITFIELD: All right, we have got much more straight ahead in the NEWSROOM and it all starts right after this.

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