rally in melbourne, florida. trump taking a break from the white house to talk to his many supporters. going back to his comfort zone. of being at rallies and on the campaign trial. now, aing president. his options for national security adviser as well. after firing general michael flynn, will discuss his picks. to ease concerns abroad, mike pence is with the message to world leaders. hold russia accountable for its actions. our team of reporters is covering this story from all angles. let's begin with the president's, the president rather who is expected to meet with his top three players to replace michael flynn this weekend on the list, retired lieutenant general, keith kellogg, john bolton and lieutenant general hr mcmaster. cnn correspondent ryan nobles has been following the story. your first official says bolton

is gaining support, tell us about the potential candidates to head the nsc. >> we are getting reporting from our steven collins that within the white house, there is some sort of a push for john bolton to become the next national security adviser, but as always, these officials caution donald trump's editidecision to make. so it's important to keep a list of the final candidates. among them is keith kellogg, who is serving at the interim adviser. he said to want to job and someone the president trust r but the president's going to continue to look at other options before making a final decision. another person that's going to meet with the president this weekend is hr mcmaster. he's a lieutenant general in the u.s. army. he's also considered a strong candidate, but really, the focus seems to be on john bolton. not only are there political staff staffers within the white house that seem to be pushing for him, he has the support of some powerful members of congress, including texas

senator ted cruz, a former u.s. ambassador to the u.n. thought of someone outside the mainstream establishment, but because he's worked in the administration before, he understands how washington, d.c. works. now, donald trump tweeted that there were three candidates in addition to kellogg who's already in mix. not sure who that forth is, probably david petraeus, who is now out of the running. the president will meet with all three sometime this weekend at mar-a-lago. >> so, he's got those presidential level meetings. at the same time, he's going back to the campaign mode by having the rally later today. what's this all about the next election? >> might be both and this isn't -- it's a legitimate campaign, the it's being paid by his political campaign, so this

is a campaign event. this is about preaching to supporters last time, that it stuck by him despite rough approval ratings and today, could be an extension of that 77 minute press conference. talks past some of utc in the media and talks directly to the supporter, pushes back on the narrative that his white house is in chaos and disarray. a laundry list of how he intended to do that. that's what we expect to see later this afternoon in florida. >> all right, ryan in washington. thanks so much. meantime, a major u.s. presence at the security counnference in munich, germany. mike pence, james mattis and john kelly all there, reassuring european allies about president trump's foreign policy, including his past comments on

russia and nato. in a speech earlier today, pence made clear that the u.s. will continue to back nato and stand firm against moscow. >> know this. the united states will continue to hold russia accountable. even as we search for new common ground, which as you know, president trump believes can be found. >> joining me now from moscow, ivan watson. and from washington, cnn global affairs analyst, kimberly. good to see you. ivan, you first. moments ago, we learned ta russia's foreign minister told reporter that is a cease fire will go into effect for ukraine. february 20th. what more can you tell us? >> we just know that four cou y countries, the top diplomat frs four countries including ukraine, they helped negotiate this with russians. not the first time we heard about cease fires being declared there.

there were only reports just a dozen hours ago of violations in that very turbulent part of eastern ukraine and there have been some frightening flare ups of violence just within the last month. that have led to the deaths of scores of people both combatants and civilians. of course, any announcement of a possible cease fire, that's perhaps a good sign for the poor civilians living this area, some of whom have been cut off by fighting, from electricity and warm water and heat in very, very cold areas. that are also very dangerous, so o this could potentially be a good development, but certainly, not a promise of an end to this terrible conflict. >> and then kimberly, back to munich and the vice president being there. trying to allay some fears or offer some reassurances. talking tough u. how effective might this be? >> well, european allies like some of what they're hearing from mike pence, that there is this commitment to nato's article 5, he has told estonia

and other nations that share borders with russia and have felt harassed by russia on a daily basis by things like cyber interference, that pence has told them, we will be there for you if anyone tries to cross the line from moscow. however, you've also had european leaders saying openly to the press, we're hearing two messages. we like what we hear from him. but we want to see what comes out of the white house and we want to see if this is followed up p by action. and just briefly as for the strong words on the lecture to various nato members saying you've got to invest 2% of gdp on your defense as per nato agreements, that strengthens a lot of defense ministers ch they want their nations to commit that kind of money to their defense budget so you won't hear too many arguments from them. >> so, there's that message from the white house, then the message from capitol hill by way

of senator john mccain who's also there, who tried to offer some reassurances. listen. >> i think that the flynn issue obviously is something that is shows that in many respects, this administration is in disarray and they've got a will the of work to do. >> so, in your view, how important is it that these messages are being conveyed not just by the white house, but from capitol hill? >> well, here in moscow where we're watching this from, i think that the russians are trying to figure out what are these different messages being sent from washington. today. just like the leaders in europe as well. and the problem is that there are very different messages being sent from this new trump administration. the russians here, important people in this city, were celebrating, toasting, donald trump's election, his

inauguration, literally toasting it with champagne. and he had a conversation shortly after his inauguration with the russian president putin and they talked about trying to fix the ruptured relations between moscow and washington. and instead, this week in what's been kind of the international debut for top officials in the trump cabinet in the trump administration, instead of hearing this kind of, the previous kind of denigration of nato that trump himself made where he called the alliance obsolete, instead, you have the new defense secretary, the vice president talk about essential nato is and criticizes russia for the role it's played in ukraine, being a destabilizing force and talking about nato unify. that's not what the russians were expecting to hear right now, so we're starting to hear some krit sids m coming from influential russian political figures who not long ago, were still celebrate iing the electi

and inauguration of donald trump. so, i think everybody cea's try to figure out what is the trump mrgs's policy going to be tow d towards russia and europe as well! so, then, with that, that kind of criticism now coming from, is that what european allies, you know, want to see happen so that perhaps, they can look to the u.s.? again, and be able to rely on the friendship, you know, that historically has been strong. >> i think it is too soon for anyone to feel comfortable in this, in their judgments or predictions of what this administration might do. to ivan's point, they are studying the kai calfny coming out of the white house and it's a parliament in d.c. among d diplomats. what's the latest leak about what adviser steve bannon is saying. versus who's going to win the fight to become national security adviser versus what they're hearing out of pence's

more traditionally republican staff. >> kimberly, ivan, thanks so much. appreciate it. straight ahead. he's only been in office for a month, but president trump is already going back into campaign mode. what he hopes to gain by taking his message to the people in florida, next. moms know their kids need love, encouragement and milk. with 8 grams of natural protein, and 8 other nutrients to provide balanced nutrition.

moms know kids grow strong when they milk life. and 8 other nutrients to provide balanced nutrition. 90% of the world's largest supercomputers run on intel? that means you can take a universe of data - in your case literally - and turn it into medical discoveries, diagnostic breakthroughs... ...proof that black holes collapse into one singularity. i don't know what that is. but yes. innovation runs on supercomputers... ...and supercomputers run on intel. you are super smart. and super busy. ♪ ooh! ufo! false alarm, eyelash!

he has been in office bare ly a month, but he's slipping back into campaign mode with with a political rally in just a few hours today. earlier, he tweeted quote, we'll be having many meetings this weekend at the southern white house. big 5:00 p.m. speech in melbourne, florida, a lot to talk about, end quote. it's an unorthodox move, but joining me now to talk about it, ryan morgan stern and alice, a metro papers columnist, betts

selling author. good to see you. >> okay, so, ryan, you first. how in this campaign style appearance help mr. trump. usually, his predecessors, it would be hundreds of days into office before they started returning to campaign mode again. and it's just a month. >> yeah, the cycle's getting longer and longer, isn't it. this is good strategy. because the democrats haven't stopped campaign iing, organizi for america, president obama's campaign arm, has just been publishing tactics for disrupting rallies in support of obama care and trying to stop them from pursuing the republican health care agenda and if you look at the coverage of the last week, you would have never known that president trump u met with, had four successful meetings with world leaders and rolleded out a supreme court nominee and you know, rolled back regulations that were really hurtful for the coal industry and others. he has really some successful points he needs to get out there and it doesn't seem to be working the traditional ways, so

he's got watch ability, accessibility, a sense of humor. >> what would be the goal here, to kind of stroke the ego, make him feel more popular. what is the goal of campaigning at this juncture? >> the first is to shut us up. he doesn't like all this media commentary going on. he won the campaign. and he's losing the governing part. the it's been a hugely difficult month of sputters and failures and pullbacks and court decisions and we've lost one of the major officials in the white house. so, he remembers fondly those adoring crowds and the screaming his name and whatever is, 100,000 people or a million people, whatever he estimates the crowds. he says give me more of that and less of that uncomfortable

washington stuff. >> we saw him rallying earlier. a day ago. in south carolina. at the boeing plant. the president talked at length about the economy. the importance of bringing jobs back to the u.s. this is what he said in north charleston. might we see a return of this today in melbourne, florida today. listen. >> our goal as a nation must be to rely less on imports and more on products made here in the usa. right here in the usa. that's what we do in america. we dream of things and then we build them. we turn vision into reality. and we will be b doing a lot more of that, believe me, in the months and years to come. >> all right, so, ellis, people might love hearing about the goal, but people still want to hear from this president how do you get there. does he immediate to deliver more on that while he's on this

campaign mode kind of trail again? >> actually, i hate to contradict you, but that was the boring trump there. that was the prompter trump. i don't think that's the one we're going to get today. i think he's going to be wild, chanting, make we'll lock her up again, but that's what's worked for him. the thipg he doesn't seem to want to talk about are the policy plans. no tails on obama care, on the immigration policy, on any of that stuff, just keep on roaring. >> so, brian, how long can he do that? people want to hear some details, right? >> oh, of course, but in order to get a president's agenda passed, congressmen have to feel comfortable cozying up to him and the it's a lot easier to get them to do that when you have a big time public support. higher approval numbers. he's got to get those back up. one way to do that is to speak to the american people, show off that sense of humor and that will make it easier for

policymakers to get going on these things. >> is there a feeling that there is an attempt at collaboration between the white house and congress because we've seen the president sign a lot of executive orders, brian. >> yeah. but there have been a number of meetings recently, mike pence went up to the hill and met with dozens of members congress to talk about getting things going. secretary price described the things his department can can do as part of the executive branch versus what he needs congress to work on. so those meetings are happening, but they don't necessarily have to involve the president himself every time. he can go out and begin up public sport support while some of the nuts and bolts are being ironed out behind the scenes. >> we'll be seeing that hours from now in melbourne, florida. thank you. all right. straight ahead, it's rather busy weekend in new orleans. with the nba all-star game in town there. but for north carolina, it's a

reminder of what could have been and the money it could have seen. did you know 90% of couples disagree on mattress firmness? enter sleep number... she likes the bed soft. he's more hardcore. you can both adjust the bed for the best sleep of your life. save 50% on the ultimate limited edition bed, plus 24-month financing. go to sleepnumber.com

sir? you give me that salad and i will pay for your movie and one snack box. can i keep the walnuts? yes. but i get to pick your movie. can i pick the genre? nope. with the blue cash everyday card you get cash back on purchases with no annual fee. backed by the service and security of american express. you get cash back on purchases with no annual fee. today, unlimited gets the netwverizon.eserves. (mic thuds) uh, sorry. it's unlimited without compromising reliability, on the largest, most advanced 4g lte network in america. (thud) uh... sorry, last thing. it's just $45 per line. forty... five. (cheering and applause) and that is all the microphones that i have.

(vo) not just unlimited. verizon unlimited.

you're a funny guy. best of the oscars. funny how? how am i funny? scorsese finally wins. could you double check the envelope? show me best picture. what's the difference? show me best actor. i do not take tonight for granted. thank you so very much. get all the greatest scripted and unscripted oscar moments on xfinity x1. the oscars, live sunday, february 26th 7eâ4p on abc. all right, welcome back. this should have been a huge economic weekend for charlotte, north carolina. instead, all the action is in new orleans as it hosts the nba all-star game. north carolina still dealing with the fallout over the

bathroom bill and controversy is costing that state millions of dollars. diane gallagher joins us with more on this. >> you had been speaking with greg hill about the politics of basketball. in no way is it on the front, forefront, more than where the all-star game is not being played. in charlotte, the streets aren't exactly bare this weekend, but the plan was for uptown to be booming. ♪ which is exactly how to describe the scene in new orleans right now. thousands of nba fans and celebrities reveling in the 2017 all-star weekend. >> dunk contest, three point contest, stuff like that. >> the one that was supposed to be b in charlotte, that is until the nba yanked it after state lawmakers passed the so-called bathroom bill last year. >> it's rough. i was really looking forward to the all-star game being here. >> in the words of the new

governor, this could have been a different weekend. zwl it would have been awesome yus to be in the atmosphere of a city that hosts an all-star game. >> city council estimates the game would bring in approximately $100 million, most from visitor spending, but because of the bill, which requires all people to use public restrooms that match the sex listed on their birth certificate and excludes lgbt, for uptown, it's unfortunately, business as usual this weekend. >> i'm a business man and so, for me, i kind of take my personal beliefs out of it and it's more for me, dollars and cents. >> jeff owns a restaurant not far from the spectrum center where the game was supposed to be played. >> my guess, probably would have quadrupled our sales. >> in a state where basketball is nearly a religion. it's frustrating. >> i was excited to have it here and get kim bah walker vote d into the all-star game, but now that it's moved away, i couldn't care less about it.

>> but others say while they were excited about the weekend, it is not worth compromising their values. >> you got to stick by what you believe in. you can't compromise your kid's safety. can't put a a dollar value on that. i don't put a dollar value on that. politicians will, the mayor may. >> and they have. hundreds of millions are said to have been lost through businesses refusing to expand or relocate to north carolina. performers canceling concerts, the ncaa pulling seven champion shim events from the state and the north carolina sports association sent a letter out that says unless it is repealed, the ncaa could remove all events through 2022. >> i hope they come to a resolution, maybe try to turn it around. >> while several bills have been introduced, none have passed the republican controlled legislature. as far as the all-star game is concerned, this weekend, belongs to the big easy. but the nba say ifs the law changes, charlotte could be

hosting its own big party in 2019. >> now, north carolina republicans including the former governor who signeded it into law say that the state is being unfairly singled out and there are at least more than a dozen states that have at least fought about something similar, most noti notably in texas, which just hosted the super bowl. it's getting further there fred than in some of these other states, but we're talking at least 14 of them trying to follow suit, so all of the economic hardship and the backlash doesn't seem to be deterring anybody from trying to move forward. >> so, in the case of the all-star game, the it's one city's big loss. another's big game. new orleans still trying to recover from katrina 11 years ago, so, they're really taking advantage of this. in thest of mardi gras, but as it pertains to north carolina, is there a long view of this? >> depends on who you ask. at this point, the new governor, roy cooper, who is a democrat,

has proprosed a compromise. it would take away what the bill does, but would increase bathroom penl theties, so, if you commit a crime in a bathroom, it would increase it, but republicans have said they don't think it's a compromise, a so-called compromise and said that essentially is a look but don't touch law. >> wow, thanks so much. the president says classified information leaking out of the white house are criminal, now, he's calling for an investigation. so, if people are found guilty of leaking, what punishment could they face? the legal team weighs in. next. you could spend the next few days weeding through w2s, pay stubs and bank statements to refinance your home. or you could push that button. [dong] [rocket launching] skip the bank, skip the paperwork, and go completely online. securely share your financial info and confidently get an accurate mortgage solution in minutes. lift the burden of getting a home loan with

rocket mortgage by quicken loans. [whisper: rocket] ththen out of nowhere...crying. third time that day. i wasn't even sad. first the stroke, now this. so we asked my doctor. he told us about pseudobulbar affect, or pba. it's frequent, uncontrollable crying or laughing that doesn't match how you feel. it can happen with certain neurologic conditions like stroke, dementia, or ms. he prescribed nuedexta, the only fda-approved treatment for pba. tell your doctor about medicines you take. some can't be taken with nuedexta. nuedexta is not for people with certain heart conditions. serious side effects may occur. life-threatening allergic reactions to quinidine can happen. tell your doctor right away if you have bleeding or bruising. stop nuedexta if muscle twitching, confusion, fever, or shivering occurs with antidepressants. side effects may include diarrhea, dizziness, cough, vomiting, weakness, or ankle swelling.

nuedexta made a difference by reducing my pba episodes. ask about nuedexta and go to nuedexta.com and now we unleash it onwerful your taxes.pecies has created. hello my name is watson. yep. h&r block and ibm watson together. creating a future of more money going back into the pockets of more families. welcome to taxes won. h&r block with watson. come see us and get your taxes won.

. the trump mrks administration has been plagued by leaks. one led to the fall of national security adviser, michael flynn, who was forced to resign after classified information was leaked about his conversations with a russian ambassador about sanctions. the president and other republicans are calling for an investigation. >> i've actually called the justice department to look into the leaks. those are criminal leaks. they're put out by people either in agencies i think you'll see it stopping because now, we have our people. >> i think there should be an investigation as to the leaks. of information leaving where ever they're coming from. and if it's classified information, that is criminal and there should be a criminal investigation of these leaks. >> people found guilty of leaking classified information could face jail time. let's talk with avery, a civil rights attorney and richard

herman, a criminal defense attorney, both of them professors by the way. all right, good to see you all. so, avery, you first. we're talking about washington. people kind of feel like leaks go with the city. but if we're talking about classifieded information that is leaked now, we're talking about you know, real punishment, so, avery, do you see that potentially happening here? >> well, i don't. i think you nailed it here. leaks are what happen all the time in washington. the biggest issue here to me is you've got a lieutenant general who is national security adviser and is communicating with the russian government after former administration put sanctions on. so, the focus should be really on what general flynn did. not on the individual leaks, the focus from the administration was the leak, so what you need is an independent prosecutor, which unfortunately is is going to be decided by the attorney

general, jeff sessions, who is part of the trump campaign effort. so, at the end of day, the little guys i think might get picked on by the justice department rather than the big guys. >> so, then richard, do you see that happening? because we've heard back and forth, there won't be any pursuit of whether you know, any investigation should go further with michael flynn in terms of whether he violated any laws in those conversations. and more so on looking for the leakers. do you see that focus could potentially change? >> fred, there are just so many issues here and you can't make this up. this live drama that we're seeing unfold every day. you can want make it up. >> that's right. >> every president has dealt with leaks. here, we're dealing with classified information, you know, when the intelligence agencies, the cia and fbi report to the president that russia had absolutely influence over the election process and the

president says no, i don't believe that. how do you know? there's undermining of trust with them and now, the theory is these leaks are emanating from the fbi and cia and these people consider themselves patriots. because think about it, fred, congress is totally republican. who's going to monitor this really objectively, who is? who in congress is monitoring the president? who's go . >> no. >> given -- >> he should recuse himself but he won't. he won't. he won't and the president is going to now hire, get this. he's going to put in his buddy, a billionaire, who's going to oversee broad review of the intelligence agencies, it's beyond ludicrous and this is what we're living, every day, something new happens. >> it is. so, you know, avery, go ahead with your point.

>> well, i think the problem is, it's impossible to separate political from legal. and on some of the element, i'm in agreement with that. but if we really are honest, we want to get to the truth. the idea of an independent counsel is really the answer. it shouldn't be if the republicans overload the congress, if the president is look iing in the wrong directio simply at the leaks and now that the underlying question of americans communicating with the russian government, i don't think there's any question. let's let an independent prosecutor take a look, yeah, it's expensive, but from watergate to monica lewinsky, independent monitors get to the facts. zbh what's potentially the worst offense. is it the leaks or is is it potentially that michael flynn had a conversation about sanctions as they were being imposed by the obama administration before this swearing in? >> well, the answer is both

wrong. the question is if you have a policy in place, which required sanctions against this russian government and you have an individual negotiating with the russian am bobassador, i think greater crime is that. that doesn't excuse misbehavior by government officials that are at cia and fbi that might be releasing information. the problem is that you need to zero in on the larger issue. >> and richard. want to finalize the thought on that? >> yeah, fbi has made a determination that general flynn did nothing illegal and if you examine this logan act that you hear everybody talking about, which nobody has enforced in the history of the logan act and forget that. there's going to be no criminal prosecution against flynn for that, but there will be an investigation and it's important the american people want to know who directed flynn to go there. who directed -- >> there's a real conclusion,

it's really more the issue of the pursuit of the investigation against flynn and what he talked about happened. >> but it won't. >> if they don't give flynn immunity, he's never going to testify. and the fbi's going to have to release transcripts. >> they're going to have to give flynn immunity in order to get to the truth here. >> all right. always good to see you. never long enough. >> see you, too. >> thanks so much. all right. still ahead. president trump has a testy exchange with a jewish reporter over a question about antisemitism. a look at that coming up. n dance group. i wore lederhosen. when i first got on ancestry i was really surprised that i wasn't finding all of these germans in my tree. i decided to have my dna tested through ancestry dna. the big surprise was we're not german at all.

52% of my dna comes from scotland and ireland. so, i traded in my lederhosen for a kilt. ancestry has many paths to discovering your story. get started for free at ancestry.com. when you have digestive sensitivities, life can feel like a never ending search for food that won't cause bloating, gas, or inner turmoil. try pronourish. a delicious nutritional drink that makes a great mini meal or snack that has protein and fiber. and pronourish has no gluten or high fructose corn syrup. and is low in fodmap ingredients that can trigger digestive sensitivities. the search is over. pronourish. nutrition you can feel good about.

♪ ♪

♪ only at&t offers you all your live channels and dvr on your devices. data-free. entertainment. your way. only from at&t. welcome back. during a news conference this week at the white house, president trump had a testy exchange with a jewish reporter who questioned the president over the rise of antisemitic attacks. >> there are people who are committing acts or threatening to. >> i am the least antisemitic person that you've ever seen in your entire life. number two, racism. the least racist person. in fact, we did very well relative to other people running as a republican. quiet, quiet, quiet. so, he lied about he was going to get up and ask a straight, simple question.

so, you know, welcome to the world of the media. >> all right, that reporter didn't get to finish the question. turks spoke to john ber mann last night and john asked him to repeat the question that he had for the president. >> simply put, i'd like to know what is it that his administration's position is that the executive branch of the federal government of the united states, it can and would be doing to try to curb antisemitism and try to address that issue and work together with the community. >> all right, for more on the rising concerns over antisemitic incidents across the u.s., we turn to gary tuckman. >> hail trump, hail our people. hail victory. >> hail victory. translated into german, cig haehl, the surreal scene happening just day after the

presidential election and just steps from the white house. a gathering of a so-called alt right group cheering donald trump's victory with nadsy salutes. after an uproar, the transition team released a statement after the incident denouncing racism. when the president-elect himself was pressed on it by "the new york times" the day after, he said he disavowed the group. back then, many people wished he had sent a stronger message against hate. in the three months since, a rash of antisemitic threats. one such bomb threat against a jewish community center caught on tape. the caller using voice masking technology. just this past january, nearly 60 bomb threats were called in to 48 jewish community centers across 26 states. that according to the jcca in association of the centers. >> there's been a number of threats at jewish community

centers throughout the united states. it's just unfortunately, what we're dealing with now, today in the world. >> the fbi, department of yus tis are currently investigating beyond the threats, antisemitic vandalism across the countrcoun. this spray painted on a car in florida. >> that is a symbol of hatred, a sign of antisemitism, which is violent and awful and despicable and deplorable. >> a community is on edge. >> people are scared. they're saying what is next? what is this about? >> the fbi, which tracks hate crime, does not yet have national statistics for the time period since the election. but we do know president trump's hometown of new york city according to an nypd report, has seen a dramatic rise in hate crimes against jews so far this wreer. that was the backdrop for this testy exchange from president trump's news conference yesterday. >> not a fair question. sit down, i understand the rest

of your question. >> and why even some of his most ardent supporters wish that president trump would be clearer and une equivalance. >> straight ahead, athletes feeling em bolden to share their views on politics and beyond. i'll talk about what the grant hill leading up to our special coverage of the all-star weekend with steve smith. ♪ it's not just a car, it's your daily treat. ♪ go ahead, spoil yourself. the es and es hybrid. experience amazing.

we've done well in life, with help from our advisor, we made it through many market swings. sure we could travel, take it easy... but we've never been the type to just sit back... not when we've got so much more to give when you have the right financial advisor, life can be brilliant. ameriprise ththen out of nowhere...crying. third time that day. i wasn't even sad. first the stroke, now this. so we asked my doctor. he told us about pseudobulbar affect, or pba. it's frequent, uncontrollable crying or laughing that doesn't match how you feel. it can happen with certain neurologic conditions like stroke, dementia, or ms. he prescribed nuedexta, the only fda-approved treatment for pba. tell your doctor about medicines you take.

some can't be taken with nuedexta. nuedexta is not for people with certain heart conditions. serious side effects may occur. life-threatening allergic reactions to quinidine can happen. tell your doctor right away if you have bleeding or bruising. stop nuedexta if muscle twitching, confusion, fever, or shivering occurs with antidepressants. side effects may include diarrhea, dizziness, cough, vomiting, weakness, or ankle swelling. nuedexta made a difference by reducing my pba episodes. ask about nuedexta and go to nuedexta.com

welcome back. nba all-star weekend is in effect in new orleans. they're having fun. just back from being in the big easy after getting a little flavor of the action there. see some of the players, and of course, see a lot of fans and of course, indulge in the food. also sat down with the host of "inside stuff," christian ledlow and grant hill and we talked about everything from the excitement this weekend to their thoughts on players taking stands on cultural and political issues. >> what do you look forward in all-star weekend? >> a lot. >> there is a lot to look forward to in an all-star weekend. the all-star game itself, of

course, as we've got the rookies going at it. the 3 point contest, the dunk contest. a lot to look forward to. it's a lot of fun. it's great to see players doing their stuff and really taking everything to the next level. but we're also seeing on display in a much larger way many of the players who are finding it part of their responsibility, not necessarily a risk, to be outspoken about serious issues. >> i think it's interesting how many people tell these guys to stick to sports when the reality is they have a platform. there are thousands if not millions of people listening to everything they have to say, o everything we have to say. i love seeing these guys step up and speak on things that matter. they can stick to the platform they've been given. >> without a doubt. guys today with social media, there's a comfort level, there's a platform, you have an audience and they speak their message. i think back to 20 years ago, we didn't necessarily take advantage of that opportunity.

i think things are a little bit more easier for them now to get their message across. there's different ways to voice their opinions or concerns about social issues. i applaud what these young men are doing and i wish we could go back and do things differently during my time back in the '90s. >> is the nba setting the example in large part, making a decision to be here in new orleans as opposed to being in charlotte? >> without a doubt. i think adam silver and the nba officials taking a stance, social injustice, what was happening in the state of north carolina by moving the all-star game which we know had brought a lot of economic, had a significant economic impact on the city of charlotte so deciding at the last minute to move and bring it back to new orleans, i think sends a strong message. so the league is also i think supportive and understanding of the players today and impact they can have through their voice, through their talking, speaking out on various issues

as they have. >> and particularly, in this presidency, it seems to have inspired more athletes to be outspoken. steph curry being outspoken about the ceo of underarmor and his position in support for the trump administration. is there great risk when an athlete like steph curry does that? >> i don't think so. i think steph curry, what he's done, speaking out, knowing he has that kind of relationship with underarmor and then to see the response from their ceo, kevin plank, issuing a, a modification. that shows you the power that athletes have when somebody like steph curry speaking out on something he's passionate about. you know, really impacting not j. just the people who follow him but the organization and underarmor. >> reporter: i think this is the first time we've had a generation of young men because of things like social media to

be able to speak out as adamantly as they have and stephen curry, i feel like i can count on one hand i can hold their character up against anything. stephen is one of them. this guy next to me is another. i think it's a privilege to see these guys speak on such important things now on a larger scale. >> sports is a microcosm of life. if you look around in society we're in, people are speaking out. they're protesting in a non-violent way. people are very outspoken about their opinions. one way or the other, whether it's political or has to do with a number of different issues. so i think that's the world we're in. sports just reflects that andcu. thanks for those kind words. >> don't worry. slip me a 20 later. >> the new england patriots players who made a stand not to go to the white house who said for political reasons because of their differences with the trump

administration. >> i think for the first time, we're just seeing these guys able to take a stand and it's a privilege to watch so many athletes across the board because as much as they may want to say they're not role models, not mentors, they're the ones that are defining our culture. they're the ones that the young men look up to and watching. whether you agree or disagree with what it is they have to stand up for or sit down for, i think it's important they're able to speak on it. >> these are young guys but here we are talking about lebron james is a senior at 32. 13th all-star game. >> i remember the first all-star game in denver. to see him and watch his career and how he's not just developed into a fantastic basketball player, but the best basketball player of this era, but just a fantastic person. a businessman. someone who i feel has great integrity.

he understands the platform he has. so he's somebody that's just a great ambassador for the nba but also for sports in general and the way he's conducted himself, coming in so young and just having a story career. he's somebody we should all applaud for how he's gone about his business. >> is there a particular message you think some of the nba players try to send particularly to young people today? >> i think really just to be yourself. and to be comfortable with who you are and don't feel like you have to necessarily conform. i think it is indicative of the spirit of that generation. so millennials, sometimes, some negative things said about millennials but a lot to admire. but i think they understand the importance of relationships. they have sort of a big picture perspective. it's not sort of all work and to play. there's really great balance. and so i don't know. the spirit that i see of these

young layeplayers and enjoy themselves. they keep it real. and that's something among other things to admire. >> all right. grant hill and also, fantastic with this guy right here. my favorite all-star, steve smith. join me and steve for our nba all-star weekend airing next weekend in new orleans at 2:30 eastern here on cnn. "newsroom" continues right after this.

it is one of the most powerful tools our species has created. and now we unleash it on your taxes. hello my name is watson. yep. h&r block and ibm watson together. come see us and get your taxes won. today, unlimited gets the netwverizon.eserves. (mic thuds) uh, sorry. it's unlimited without compromising reliability, on the largest, most advanced 4g lte network in america. (thud) uh... sorry, last thing. it's just $45 per line. forty... five. (cheering and applause) and that is all the microphones that i have. (vo) not just unlimited. verizon unlimited.

hello. thank you so much for being with me. i'm fredericka whitfield. the trump administration seeming to calm the concerns of u.s. allies overseas by rolling out a show of force at the munich security conference. vice president mike pence, defense secretary james mattis and homeland security secretary john kelly meeting with world leaders. pence made clear the u.s. will back nato and stand firm against moscow. >> know this. the united states will continue to hold russia accountable even as we search for new common ground, as you know, president trump believes can be found. >> for more, joined by cnn international correspondent