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NBA Player Jason Collins To Make History Tonight; DeBlasio Off To A Rough Start; Legal Sea Foods In New York Has Carbon Monoxide Leak; Obama Hosts Governors at the White House; What's in a Natural Ingredient?; Winter Olympic Games in Sochi Closes; Russia's Future with Ukraine; America's Olympic Highs and Lows

Aired February 23, 2014 - 17:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR, NEWSROOM: Someone else I know who is really, really smart coming up next in the newsroom. Don Lemon, my colleague in New York. Hello, Don.

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: I'm not as smart as that kid. How are you? Are you OK? Do you need a little water?

WHITFIELD: I got it. But it's not working.

LEMON: It happens. Doesn't it happen at the worst times. You are reading some serious story and you're about to choke.

Take care of yourself. Good to see you. Have a grit couple days off.

Hello, everyone. I'm Don Lemon. It is the top of the hour. Thank you so much for joining us. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM and we're following a big story this hour from the world of sports.

A story that will have an impact beyond basketball, beyond the basketball court, the football field or any other field of play.

Long-time NBA player Jason Collins will make history tonight. That's because Collins signed a contract today with the Brooklyn Nets allowing him to suit up and play tonight, making him the first and only openly gay athlete in major professional sports. Collins is an NBA veteran, but hasn't played since last April, shortly before he opened up about his sexuality in an interview with "Sports Illustrated."

Let's talk about Jason Collins and what his signing means on and off the court.

So, it's so interesting that I have both Ben and Terrance back. We were talking about this yesterday, right? And then we have Lz Granderson.

Lz Granderson, Ben Ferguson, they are here along with long time sports columnist, Terrance Moore, and sports contributor to CNN.com.

So, Terrance, I'll start with you. What kind of reception will Jason Collins receive? TERRENCE MOORE, CNN.COM CONTRIBUTOR: I tell you something, Don. Right now, we should all be getting lottery numbers from Jason Collins. I mean, he is the luckiest person on the face of the earth for a lot of reasons.

First of all, the best thing to happen to him with Michael Sam. This takes all the pressure off of him. Plus the fact that Michael Sam is projected to be a starter and you look at Jason Collins, he is basically going to be a big player.

The other thing, this is the perfect team for him for a lot of reasons. Nobody cares about the Brooklyn Nets. I don't care how much money they spent. But they are the other NBA team. It's the truth. Here's the other thing. When you're ranking all the professional teams in the New York area, this is about the sixth team down the line.

But here's the biggest thing of all, he's going to play with guys who have played with him before, veteran guys. Paul Pierce has played with him before, Kevin Garnett --

LEMON: But it was New Jersey Nets, right?

MOORE: That's exactly right. And his coach, his coach Jason Kidd, is a guy who played with him in with the New Jersey Nets when they were going to the NBA finals. Perfect.

LEMON: All right. So Lz, I want to read this NBA commissioner has already released a statement congratulating Jason Collins. Adam Silver says, "Jason told us that his goal was to earn another contract with an NBA team. Today, I want to commend him on achieving his goal. I know everyone in the NBA family is excited for him and proud that our league fosters an inclusive and respectful environment."

So the league supports him. His coach and some of the Nets players and friends of his were making it sound easy. What are we missing, if anything, here?

LZ GRANDERSON, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, first of all, we're missing that people do care about the Brooklyn Nets. I'm going to defer or differ with Terrance on that. They're in the playoff hunt. They're in the playoff hunt and if they get in and likely get in the seventh or eighth spot which means they would face the Indiana Pacers.

Now, why is this important to the relationship to Jason Collins? Well, right now, the Brooklyn Nets are hurting at a big man position. Jason Collins is a big man. That's the reason why at this time, it is not just about cosmetics. It is about a sound basketball decision.

The Brooklyn Nets got lit up by a 36-year-old last night, 23 points on 13 shots. They need someone like Jason Collins. It is not just about him being gay and they are making history, they need that type of player. That's very, very important.

So when you hear all the comments in regards to all the support he's getting, that's great on a social aspect. But we can't forget, this is also a sound basketball decision. Anyone who's ever broken any kind of barrier, wants to be mostly known for what they bring to their craft or to their job and not just about their sexual orientation, race or gender.

LEMON: Yes.

You know what, Ben, last night you said something, too. You were very adamant about the PR for Michael Sam. You were like listen, and I think everybody was saying they had to handle the PR properly.

But, listen, Jason Collins may have paved the way. Michael Sam has changed the discussion here. Missouri football star apparently headed for the NFL. Beginning of his career and he has a lot to prove as a player. Jason Collins will probably have a lot to prove, as well. Because, you know, for reasons of what Lz says.

BEN FERGUSON, CNN COMMENTATOR: Well, I think, look, a ten-day contract. And if he wants this to be bigger than just him being the first openly gay athlete to play in professional sports at this level, he needs to have a really good showing tonight. And I hope he does because, to be honest with you, regardless of your thoughts on gay marriage or anything else, I hope he has a good night tonight. And I hope it becomes normal for you to be whoever you want to be or whoever you need to be or you want to be in front of your fans.

So, from that aspect, as a sports fan tonight, I hope he comes out there and he has more than a couple minutes on the floor. I hope he has quite a few rebounds and quite a few points in the box score at the end of the night tonight because that will normalize it so we can go back to what this really is. It's about basketball and sports. Let's move on past this. Let's turn the page in the book so that other athletes, if they want to do this, they can be open and it not be that big of a deal, which is really what we want to happen.

LEMON: Well, you said regardless of how you feel about gay marriage, I don't think Jason is saying he wants to get married yet.

FERGUSON: No, no. I'm just saying, you know, to put the politics out of it.

LEMON: I know. Hold on. Terrence first and then Lz.

MOORE: But it's important. I want to say one quick thing. I don't really think this is going to be that big of a deal. --

FERGUSON: I agree.

MOORE: To disagree with Lz a little bit, but no one cares about the nets because you look at New York, the Knicks right now are third in NBA, in overall attendance. I mean, they're way up there and the nets are still down the line a little bit. And the other thing is, I mean, the Nets have a losing record in NBA even though they're trying to make the plaintiffs.

But the big thing is this. In contrast, again, Michael Sam. Michael Sam is a big deal because he is an up and coming player and a guy who is going to be protected starter. This is a guy who is just going to be a fill-in guy. He is not going to the main guy for the Brooklyn Nets.

LEMON: I wonder -- so, Lz, there was no one that said we cannot let the NFL get ahead of us. We're the NBA. We have the first openly gay player and I'm just raising the question, Lz.

GRANDERSON: Well, first, one last chance to differ with Terence, they're a New York team and we always care about New York teams. Well, I'm just saying. We talk about the Jets when they have losing record and Giants when they are losing records. And you talked about New York teams whether they are in the playoffs or not. So, as long as they're in New York, the media hub of the world, people are going to care about them.

Now, about the court. You know, I don't think Jason's going to have a large impact, particularly tonight because of the style of play that the Lakers play which is small ball. And the chances are if you're a big man that can't shoot a jump shot, you're going to have difficulty standing on the court, anyway play against the Lakers.

But going forward in the season, this isn't a big of a deal. This is just a sound basketball move in terms of what he's going to be able to bring which is about eight to ten minutes on the court to relieve Kevin Garnett while they're playing teams with big men. That is what this is about.

LEMON: I feel like I'm doing around the horn now or part on the interruption, all of the sudden turned it to ESPN.

Thank you, guys. You guys will be back. So, just hold your horses and hold your thoughts. Thank you, appreciate it. Have to move on now.

Red flag day at the Daytona 500, but not because of wrecks on the track. Race officials evacuated the stands and delayed the race because of rain and tornado warnings in the area from 150,000 fans had to take cover as severe storms blew through. Only 38 laps of the 200- lap race and workers are trying to dry the track right now. No word when the Daytona 500 will resume but we'll keep you updated right here on CNN.

The mood is somber and uncertain in Ukraine capital today. Thousands gathered in Kiev to mourn dead protesters and to wonder what is next for the politically divided nation. No clear leader is emerging in Ukraine as U.S. officials voiced strong support for the overthrow of the nation's president. Ukraine is a former soviet republic with strong ties to Russia. It is strategically boarders Russia and the European Union.

Secretary of state John Kerry called Russia's foreign minister today. He asked Russia not to use force in Ukraine and to accept parliament's decision to ditch the president. Kerry says that the U.S. supports new elections.

Meantime, a hero for Ukraine's opposition made a stunning announcement today that she does not want to be the country's next leader. She rallied crowds last night hours after being released from prison. Ukraine's president tried to slip out of the country last night, but was stopped. His current location is unknown.

The situation in Ukraine may pose big challenges for the fragile U.S. relationship with Russia.

Here's David Remnick editor of "New Yorker" and expert on Russia.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID REMNICK, EDITOR, NEW YORKER: In Russia's eyes, Ukraine geo- strategically, ethically, historically is one of the same. Not one in the same, but linked by blood. And if you look through Putin's eyes, specifically, this is his area of interest. It is not the United States and even not Europe. And I mean, this is really complicated for us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: That interview was from "FAREED ZAKARIA GPS."

There you see him, our senior international correspondent Nick Payton Walsh in Kiev.

Nick, what is the U.S.'s role in this turbulent, political future for Ukraine?

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Not have much of a role so far. They have been pretty absent in a lot of the protests. As of the European union, in many ways until recently, and not let Russia have a lot of say particularly putting economic pressure on the Ukraine.

Now, as you just heard, John Kerry saying, look, stay out of this, Russia. Let them have their elections. But you said we're going to see some tug of war over this country still in the months ahead. We thought they made the decision back in 2004 when the Orange (ph) revolution here seemed throughout the country. And they slipped back, it seems, towards Russia because of president Yanukovych who is out of a job and now, of course, we are waiting to see what we hear from the ground from Moscow what is their big statement going to be? We haven't really heard much of one just yet.

We have heard the U.S. national security adviser Susan Rice on television today saying, look, it would be a quote "grave mistake for Russia to get involved in this." Clearly the west putting out the message saying, look, Moscow, back off. They made their decision, perhaps using the back end of the Sochi games in Russia. A big showcase for Vladimir Putin's new Russia and trying to put that kind of pressure on the Kremlin. But a lot of uncertainties ahead here. One half of the country wants to head west and the other is economically tied to the east. And that vision hasn't been healed by the balance in the past few days, Don.

LEMON: So, Nick, you're saying Russia, Russia, Russia. How does this affect U.S., the U.S. relationship with Russia?

WALSH: The U.S. relationship with Russia intact anyway after the Snowden, after decision by Barack Obama not to attend Sochi games and send a lot of openly -- a lot of openly gay athletes as part of the U.S. delegation criticism on the U.S. posture on gay rights -- sorry, the Russian posture on gay rights.

The U.S. doesn't really have much of a say here, unless throw in money to bolster the economy. Even like to see, of course, the Ukraine head west. There is a lot of noise by George Bush back in 2004 over the first evolution here to try to make that happen. But, America's influence here is less in many ways because it's a European fight and there was so many other problems that are pretty much broken to almost un-healable damage. The U.S./Russian relation share that this is just something else they're going to have to try to talk about but probably fail to -- Don.

LEMON: Nick Paton Walsh. Nick, appreciate your reporting.

Moving on now, a restaurant full of people and a deadly gas leaking into the air. One person is dead and more than two dozen were rushed to the hospital. We've got the details on what caused this deadly situation.

Plus, things aren't always what they seem when it comes to what is in your food. What we're going to show you what those quote "natural flavors" really are. And some of it is just plain disgusting.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Rescue crews evacuated a building at a resort hotel in Maine after some guests were overcome by carbon monoxide. Crews say they tweeted 20 people at the inn season resort in Ogunquit. Seven were taken to the hospital, but one of the injuries was considered serious. The fire chief says CO readings in the basement were nearly ten times more than normal levels.

On Long Island, a restaurant manager was killed and more than a dozen others made sick by carbon monoxide when it poured into a mall restaurant. Several other businesses were evacuated that time at the mall last night. And police and emergency crews rushed to the scene.

Our Alexandra Field has more now from that mall.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A sign posted on the door of this Legal Sea Foods says the restaurant has been condemned for occupancy. Investigators say they believed that the carbon monoxide with limited to the basement of the restaurant where it appears that the deadly leak started.

The investigation this morning by homicide and arson detectives centers on Legal Sea Foods' heating equipment, the apparent source of deadly carbon monoxide poisoning.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is scary that we were just sitting there.

FIELD: Kathy Sulla and Ashleigh (INAUDIBLE) went to Cheesecake Factory at the Walt Whitman mall in Huntington, New York, when the wait staff told the entire restaurant to get out.

KATHY SULLA, CUSTOMER: We were sitting at bar. We were having a glass of wine. And then somebody came over, I think it was one of the waitresses. She said that you had to leave.

FIELD: Police and emergency responders were called to the mall after a report that a woman had fallen and hit her head in the basement of Legal Sea Foods. When authorities arrived and began investigating, they themselves reported feeling nauseated and dizzy, symptoms of carbon monoxide exposure. Restaurants in the area immediately evacuated.

SULLA: We had to leave because I didn't want to blow up or anything like that. I didn't know how dangerous it was and they just told us to stay outside.

FIELD: Emergency crews found Legal Sea Foods manager, 55-year-old Steven Nelson unconscious in the basement. He was taken to the hospital where he was pronounced dead. More than two dozen other victims including seven first responders were also sickened by the gas and had to be taken to area hospitals with nonlife-threatening symptoms.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Now, I think that's scary that we were in the same building.

FIELD: Legal Sea Foods speaking out using their twitter feed sending a message saying they are devastated by the news of the leak and also offering condolences on the loss of their general manager here, Steven Nelson.

In Huntington, New York, Alexandra Field, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: All right, Alexandra, thank you very much. Twenty-six people who were treated have been released from the hospital.

The New York city mayor wants to crack down on speeders zooming through the streets. He may want to use himself as an example of what not to do since his motorcade was spotted speeding and running stop signs. We are going to talk about that next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: National security adviser, Susan Rice, showed up on Sunday morning talk show, not a big deal normally except she hasn't been on a Sunday show since her infamous appearance on five morning shows in September of 2012. Remember that? That's when she talked about the Benghazi embassy attacks and her remarks have been debated ever since.

Let's talk about Susan Rice past and present. CNN commentators Lz Granderson, Ben Ferguson. They are back with me now.

I want to show you how Susan Rice explained what she said back in 2012 and then take a look at how Senator John McCain reacted this morning on a different Sunday show when he was told about her remarks.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SUSAN RICE, U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR: The information I provided, which I explained to you was what we had at the moment. It could change. I commented that this was based on what we knew on that morning was provided to me and my colleagues and, indeed, to Congress by the intelligence community. And that's been well validated in many different ways since. And that information turned out in some respects not to be 100 percent correct. But the notion that somehow I or anybody else in the administration misled the American people is patently false.

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: I'm almost speechless and the information was totally misleading and totally false. And for Susan Rice to say such a thing, I think, it's a little embarrassing, to tell you the truth.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: So, Susan Rice has no regrets but John McCain was having trouble controlling his laughter when told what she said.

Lz, did Susan Rice help or hurt her case or the administration's case towards putting the Benghazi controversy to rest once and for all?

GRANDERSON: The Benghazi controversy won't actually go to bed until Hillary Clinton says she's not running for office. This is what this is about. This is making sure this storyline continues to get played because Hillary Clinton, as we all know secretary of state at the time. If you need to have her campaign to keep her off balance. So, as long as she's in the picture, Benghazi would be in this picture.

This is no longer about President Obama's administration as far as the GOP is concerned. This is about Hillary Clinton. They're already looking forward to 2016 and why we continue to talk about this when all the evidence has already supported what Susan Rice just said, which is what she said at the time was the information she had. There was no active cover up. There was misinformation. You can point the finger and say a level of incompetence. But to say that someone went out to the way to purposely hide something has proven to be false.

LEMON: And Ben, you know, he does make a point because conservative news outlets and conservative lawmakers, they seem to look like they talk about Benghazi some, 24/7. I mean, it's been investigated. Do some conservatives have an unhealthy conception with this issue?

FERGUSON: Well, if you think having an obsession with four Americans that died including an ambassador on the anniversary of 9/11 and then you claim it is because of spontaneous protests which Lz, I have the correct you. The Benghazi report, when she came out, by a bipartisan commission says what you're claiming is flat out wrong. They say it was not because of spontaneous protesters. That is the report that Democrats agreed to. They also said that that was a bad line from the White House and that that was never what the White House was told on the anniversary of 9/11.

So, you have four people that died. You have an ambassador that died and you had an issue with a cover up afterwards, a fake story that never, ever happened. Now, you can say Republicans are obsessed, but when you have Americans who died on serving the anniversary of 9/11 and a story saying the reason it happened is because of a You Tube video that had nothing to do with it. I don't think that's being obsessed, that's telling the truth.

And if Susan Rice was telling the truth, the White House would put her ad on TV a long time ago. They purposely didn't because they knew she had no credibility and that's why they benched her.

LEMON: Lz?

GRANDERSON: Well, first of all, I think the reporters he's referring to the information ultimately turned out to be false, not the timeline that Susan Rice was talking about, but the actual information, right. The information was false but not the timeline and that's the difference. The difference is Susan Rice was on television. When Susan Rice was on --

FERGUSON: Hold on, Don, I have to make sure we make this clear. The report is not backing what Lz said. They were saying that there was never a report coming out of Benghazi, coming out from the annex that said there was spontaneous protest. That is a made up story --

GRANDERSON: Where did she say she got her information from?

FERGUSON: It never came.

LEMON: OK.

GRANDERSON: Where did she say she got her information from?

LEMON: If lawmakers aren't going to come to some sort of consensus we're not going to come to a consensus here. So let's move on because I want to talk about this.

New York City mayor is off to a rough start. He road to the office on an old fashioned soak to rich style black form of higher taxes and bigger government. Since then, it seems like one misstep after the other speeding through town, even jaywalking after unveiling a traffic crackdown, telling reporters to wait until the news conference and asking questions and then refusing to answer question at a news conference and wishes to cancel schools during a blizzard and a curious decision not to clear snow from the wealthiest part of the city.

So, it seems like it said, do as I say not as I do when I'm mayor of New York City. What is going on here, Lz.?

GRANDERSON: It's a new guy. That's what's going on. It's a new person who is in a charge of a very, very large economy who has some fantastic ideas, who took advantage of the displeasure that people had for Bloomberg and he road that into this office and now he's got growing pains. And I don't necessarily think anything he's done at this point has been so egregious. Hypocritical? Yes. But that's because he hasn't figured out yet that everybody is watching him and that he's got to be a lot more careful. He is not just a New Yorker anymore.

LEMON: But even if you think about "New York times" and people think "New York Times" has a level, Ben, that's sort of the perception there and cranes New York's business. One of the reporter there (INAUDIBLE) tweeted said Bill de Blasio's press strategy seems to go out of his way not even two months into his terms to smugly alienate those covering him. It seems like.

So -- and then one reporter said, did you see how fast he dashed out of the blue room? He seems to be alienating the people who may even be on his side. It is just sort of odd what is happening with that administration.

FERGUSON: Two things. You got freshman incompetency here from the new guy. I totally agree with Lz on that one. But, it is a little ironic that this guy beat danger, remember that guy, Anthony Weiner? I mean if your best guy you've got and at some point Anthony Weiner was actually leading the now mayor of New York, you kind of get what you pay for here, am I wrong?

I mean, you had a guy, Anthony Weiner that at some point, people actually thought was better qualified with all of this baggage than this guy. And so, now I'm kind of laughing because I'm like, what did you think was going to happen here? I mean, yes, freshman mistakes also, I mean, when you run candidates like this, there's a certain part of me that just says, well, it's kind of what you should expect, you know?

LEMON: Yes. All right. Thank you, guys. Appreciate it.

FERGUSON: Thanks.

GRANDERSON: Thank you.

LEMON: When you see phrases like natural flavors on labels in the grocery store, you think that's a good thing, right? Well, maybe if you like things like beetles and -- I can't even believe I'm going to say this -- fish bladders in your food.

We've got the details right after this break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: All right. The nation's governors have taken their agendas to Washington and taking minimum wage, marijuana and the 2016 presidential race. They're in D.C. for the yearly National Governors Association meeting and will join the president and first lady for dinner at the White House in just a few hours.

Well, that's where we find our Athena Jones.

So what will the president's message be to the governors?

ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Don. Well, this is a bipartisan group, of course. The president has already met separately with the Democratic Governors Association so I wouldn't expect a lot of pointed political language in these remarks tonight in a couple of hours.

In the past the president has given more of a toast than a speech. His remarks have been brief and celebratory and congratulatory. He's talked in the past about finding unifying messages. So working together on commonsense solutions to the problem that are facing many of these states.

So whether or not we're going to hear from him about some of his big agenda items, raising the minimum wage, for instance, and economic inequality, we'll just have to wait and see but I wouldn't expect any real red meat in these remarks tonight -- Don.

LEMON: OK. So Chris Christie said, I'm going to skip tonight's dinner. Why is that?

JONES: Well, a governor's aide told CNN that Chris Christie is going to be going back to New Jersey to celebrate his daughter's 18th birthday tonight. So that's why he's not going it be here. They had also said that leaving early allows the governor time to prepare for his annual budget address. That's the speech he's going to be giving on Tuesday. So two reasons why Governor Christie is not going to be here tonight, according to his aide -- Don.

LEMON: All right. Thank you very much, Athena Jones, at the White House.

JONES: Thanks.

LEMON: Still have a question for you, do you -- like most Americans, do you try to read the ingredients on the back of the food packages to ensure that you're eating healthy and smart with words like natural flavors? You would think that that's a good thing, right? Well, not necessarily.

Do you know stuff like wood pulp, fish bladders and crushed up beetles end up in some of our favorite foods?

So joining me now to talk about this and hopefully not to gross you out too much is creator of the foodbabe.com, Vani Hari.

So, Vani, OK, listen, I'm going to play devil's advocate here, right, because I come from Louisiana, and people eat tripe and they eat all kinds of things. You know, they eat mountain oysters, if you know what that is. So why is it necessarily disgusting?

VANI HARI, CREATOR, FOODBABE.COM: Well, these are different tricks the food industry plays on us to make money. And to really fool us into buying their products and eating them. For example, the first -- the first ingredient that I want to talk about is natural flavor. Now this could be anything under the sun. It could be anything natural, including a beaver's anal gland.

And when you see natural flavor on the package, I don't think about beaver's anal gland. You know, that's not the first thing that comes to mind. And this is actually something that is manufactured in a laboratory.

Yes, they can use anything from nature, but they can take a stone and make it taste like a strawberry after chemical manipulation. And they also can create a taste that is the best one millionth part of the taste and add it to faked processed food to make it taste good and, therefore, creates an addictive behavior to food that really isn't that healthy for you.

LEMON: Why would they use an anal gland of a beaver? Is that -- is there something about a beaver's anal gland that makes it -- OK.

Do you know the answer to that question?

HARI: Well, it's -- you know, well, I do, actually. I don't know who discovered this, but it was somewhere in Europe that they first figured this out. But it tastes like vanilla or raspberry.

(LAUGHTER)

LEMON: OK. So --

HARI: Are you OK, Don?

(LAUGHTER)

LEMON: This is a conversation I never, ever thought I'd be having on television. OK, so, let's talk about silly putty. Please tell us -- me about food companies, they don't really use this, really, in some of their favorite treats?

HARI: Yes, one of the main ingredients in silly putty also breast implants is called Dimethyl polysiloxane. This is an anti-foaming agent American companies use here in this country like McDonald's in their French fries and in Diet Coke Fountain drinks, but not in other countries. And that's because this ingredient is very controversial. And the FDA actually allows it in our food to be preserved with even formaldehyde. A very toxic substance. So this is something that's very concerning when you see this ingredient on the label.

LEMON: OK. Wood pulp is another big ingredient in a lot of our foods. So tell us more about that, Vani.

HARI: Yes. Cellulose AKA wood pulp actually comes from a tree and a lot of manufacturers use the wood variety versus the, you know, plant variety that comes naturally like with apples and fruits and vegetables and things like that to add fake fiber to food and they also use it as anti-caking agent in shredded cheese.

So one thing that I always do is I shred my own cheese to avoid wood pulp and I also make sure that, you know, I'm eating foods already naturally full of fiber, not with fake wood. LEMON: OK. There's a certain insect that's used to give foods some color. Dare I ask which insect? Because I know in certain places bees and wasps are delicacies, snails, escargot. But what insects are we talking about here for color?

HARI: This is called the cochineal beetle and the pulverized bodies of these beetles is used to make red food coloring and it's actually something that can cause an allergic reaction and it's actually used in a lot of very common products like yogurts and candies and things. And so food manufacturers would rather use beetles than real berries, for instance, to make your yogurt pink.

LEMON: OK. Fish bladders used in some beverages. What is this all about?

HARI: That's right. Well, St. Paddy's Day is coming up. It's just around the corner. A lot of people would be reaching for a Guinness. Well, if you're vegetarian or vegan, you probably don't want to do it because they're using a fish swim bladder to clarify their beer. Beer manufacturers use this to make the clarifying process faster.

Normally beer would clarify over time, but this is, again, another way for food manufacturers to produce food faster and cheaper for themselves.

LEMON: Vani Hari, thanks for grossing everybody out today.

(LAUGHTER)

I saw your tweet, you said, I hope I don't gross everybody out on CNN. And I think you did. So mission accomplished.

Thank you, see you next time.

HARI: Thank you so much.

LEMON: All right.

After two weeks of Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia over and despite all the worries over a potential terrorist attack, nothing happened. We're going to look at how the security plans worked out.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: The Winter Olympics have drawn to a close in Sochi, Russia. The games were seen as a chance for Russia to get back on the world stage and show its stuff. Here are some images from today's closing ceremony. Fireworks lighting up the horizon with the Black Sea Resort. Quite a dramatic display, isn't it?

And as for the medal count, Russia came out on top with 33 medals in all. Russia nearly doubled its medal count in the final days of the games. The U.S. finished second with 28 medals. Followed by Norway with 26, Canada 25.

Just want to linger on those pictures a little bit longer, they're so beautiful.

You know, the world watched as the Winter Olympics took place under threat of attacks from extremists. And so, for some perspective, I want to go bring in our national security analyst Bob Baer now.

Bob, so, first, let's talk about Russia. It had tens of thousands of security officers in the ring of steel, so to speak, around Sochi to protect athletes and fans.

How did that work?

ROBERT BAER, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Well, Don, it wasn't just around Sochi, it was all over Russia. As I heard from a security officer, they had somebody behind every tree of any suspicious person. As you know, they were taking DNA swabs, they were running people in, there were constant raids. They basically deployed the army to make sure nothing happened. And, you know, Russian lockdown, there's nothing like it.

LEMON: Yes. Can we move now to the Ukraine? Because it's -- I mean, what's happening there is incredible, what has happened there this weekend with thousands of protesters and people killed there. The president leaving the capital, Russian Ukraine have a long history of being linked in many ways.

How do you see Russia's role in Ukraine going forward?

BAER: Well, they won the Olympics, but they lost the Ukraine. They're not going to let this go easily, I guarantee it. You know, they're not going to give up the port cities and the Black Sea, the eastern half of the Ukraine. I think Putin is going to come back hard and strong to attempt to reverse this.

LEMON: So what does that mean? What does that mean for Ukraine? What does that mean for Russia? And what does it mean for the United States?

BAER: You know, could it -- could we get to a partition? People are talking about it. And Putin will support partition, if he has to, but there's also the question of gas exports that come out of Russia through the Ukraine. He's perfectly capable of cutting those gas exports off to Europe. It could cause major problems.

LEMON: Yes. And doesn't seem like the U.S. has much of a role to play here or really as much leverage in this? It's really about Russia, isn't it?

BAER: It's about the Ukrainians, they don't want to be part of Russia. And they're going to fight hard and they're not going to give up easily and there's not a whole lot we can do. It's not a battle we chose, but the Ukrainians will fight on.

LEMON: Yes. But there's a part of Ukraine that does support Russia and a good part of it and, so, my question is, does that matter and does the U.N. matter at all here or is this really just about -- does Russia have all the power here? BAER: Well, Russia's got an economic power and they'll use it against the Ukraine. If the EU wants to step in and support the Ukraine. It's a very poor state. It might work. But, again, the Russians will not abandon that Russian population. It's less than 20 percent. They're in the eastern part of the country, in the south, they won't give them up.

I think you'll see the KGB in there turning this version, political interference. Putin, I guarantee will not let this go easily.

LEMON: All right, Bob Baer, thank you, sir, appreciate your perspective.

There are definitely some highs and certainly some lows for the team -- for team USA in Sochi. UP next, we're going to take a look at its best and worst moments at the winter games.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: From the Olympics to Daytona to Augusta National, we have got it all this weekend. So let's bring back Terence Moore, sports contributor to CNN.com and a columnist for MLB.com.

I'm telling you, this is the sports channel today. The Winter Olympics are done, Terence. After all the talk about terrorism and lack of snow and bad hotels, it seems, you know, it came off OK.

So I want to get your best and worst moments for the U.S. So give us your best moments for the American Olympians.

TERENCE MOORE, CNN.COM SPORTS CONTRIBUTOR: Well, I mean, that's a no brainer. It's got to be Team USA beating the Russians in hockey.

And I tell you, Don, even before Mr. Gorbachev tore down that wall, what was it, 25 years ago? Whenever Team USA played Russia in anything, it's always been like Glenda the good witch against Darth Vader, OK. And for us to beat them on their home ice in their Olympics? This was huge.

And remember, before the Olympics and during the Olympics the Russians let it be known that the only thing they cared about was winning a gold medal in hockey. That didn't happen. This was Team USA's version, at least in hockey, of winning a gold medal. And we saw how emotionally spent they were afterwards which is why Team USA did not medal the rest of the way.

LEMON: OK. Worst moments, then, for Americans.

MOORE: Clearly this ridiculous suit controversy with the speed skaters. All right? Until they probably ran a relay a couple of days ago, Team USA was on the verge of getting shut out in speed skating medal wise for the first time since forever. And the thing that's so just bad about this, they were blaming it on the new uniforms. The new suits, rather. At least some of them were.

Two bad things about this. Number one, they did not wear the suits for the first time until they came to the Olympics. And the second thing is that midway through the Olympics, they switch out of these suits, the new ones. Went to the old ones. And they were still lousy. So it wasn't the suits. It was the skaters.

LEMON: Well, the suits are kind of cool looking. They kind of look like, you know, killer whales. So that is pretty cool.

(LAUGHTER)

Hey, can we talk about NASCAR today?

MOORE: Sure.

LEMON: Because there are some -- there was some breaking news. Daytona 500 delayed at the moment because of bad weather. But the pole sitter was a 23-year-old driver named Austin Dylan, he is an up and comer, and he drives the number 3 car. The same number driven by the great Dale Earnhardt.

What's wrong with someone new driving the number 3, Terence?

MOORE: This is absolutely disgusting. At least from the NASCAR standpoint. It's sacrilegious, Don, because it is like this. Little background here.

Dylan's grandfather is Richard Childress who owns the car and Richard Childress says the reason he gave him the number 3 car, his grandson, is because Richard Childress used to drive the number 3 car back in the 1970s. Childress is also the guy that put Earnhardt in the number 3 car.

But here's the problem with that. The number 3 car didn't become famous because of Richard Childress. It became famous because of Dale Earnhardt Sr. I mean, it's just like nobody remembers who wore number 44 for the Braves prior to Hank Aaron. But the good news here is, at least they didn't -- paint the car black which is what the signature car for Dale Sr.

(CROSSTALK)

MOORE: I give them credit for that.

LEMON: OK, so -- so it looks like -- it looks like President Eisenhower may have gotten his wish many years after his death because the -- the Golf Tournament Masters is less than two months away. And I usually go. I don't live in Georgia anymore so I'm going to miss it.

MOORE: Yes.

LEMON: But this year the 17th hole will be missing from the famous Eisenhower Tree which former President Eisenhower kept trying to have cut down because his wayward drives kept hitting that tree. You know, last week, you know, that ice storm hit Augusta really hard. And the Eisenhower Tree is history. Why is this a big deal? MOORE: Well, from -- I've covered several masters. And I've even played Augusta National, thank you very much, and I want to tell you this. When you're at Augusta National, it's a magical place because of things. Things such as Rae's Greek, Amen Corner, Magnolia Drive. You know, Magnolia Lane, I should say. And that tree is very special.

And for those who aren't golfers out there, this is very much similar to, say, a tornado tearing down the Empire State Building.

LEMON: Well, and don't forget about that shredded barbecue sandwich? My god.

MOORE: That's exactly right.

LEMON: And that cheese thing.

MOORE: That's excellent.

LEMON: What's that cheese thing? I forget what it is.

MOORE: Cheese sandwich.

LEMON: Pimento cheese -- oh my god.

MOORE: That's right. And it's very cheap, too. Kind of nasty as far as I'm concerned. But it's cheap.

LEMON: What?

MOORE: I didn't care for it.

LEMON: That's your last appearance on this show.

MOORE: That's just me.

(LAUGHTER)

MOORE: That's your last appearance. That's my favorite sandwich.

MOORE: You know what, Don, what they can do -- they can replace the Eisenhower Tree now with the Obama tree. Do you think that would happen at Augusta National?

(LAUGHTER)

I'm just saying.

LEMON: It's Augusta, OK? Don't get ahead of yourself, Terence. See you in about 10 minutes.

A pilot got a big surprise during a recent flight. An extra passenger ended up on his plane. But he didn't use a door to board. We got the video, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) LEMON: The last member of the Von Trapp family singers has died. Maria von Trapp was 99 years old. She apparently died in her sleep at her home in Vermont. The Von Trapp Family singers fled Nazi occupied Austria and moved to Vermont in 1942. They were made famous in the musical "The Sound of Music." The family members still operate a ski lodge in Stowe, Vermont.

In the sky over south Florida a big surprise for the pilot of a small plane. I want you to watch this.

Do you see that pilot, Rob Webber, was flying into Ft. Myers when a bird came crashing through the windshield of his plane? A camera caught the action. Here it comes right there. As it happened with feathers and pieces of plastic and electronics flying into his face. Webber was able to keep his cool and suffered only a minor cut to his head. He landed the plane without any troubles.