welcome to "around the world," i'm suzanne malveaux. >> and i'm michael holmes. happy monday to everyone. it is the final stretch now. four days to the start of the winter olympics in russia. very exciting. >> yeah. >> a great event. but also concerns, the u.s. military putting finishing touches on plans to evacuate americans from sochi if necessary. >> the russians clamping down on so-called black widows in dagestan. they have been ordered under a house arrest until after the games. want to bring in nick paton walsh who joins us from sochi to explain this to us. you've the athletes arriving and security at the heightened stage. have we seen any changes over the last couple days? >> reporter: certainly it's been a lot harder to go on some of the roads. more passes for that. we have seen balloons now, two, in fact, hovering above the olympic village, carrying security cameras to get a birds eye view. i walked from the beach, a row of security cameras. 37,000 police have been pledged to come in here, meant a sheer volume of manpower creating a gridlock of sorts. the real question, of course, can you match that security, that sense of police wherever you turn, and the kind of joyous atmosphere people hope to have with winter olympics. a big challenge for the russians the last few days here. we have seen a definite change in atmosphere. >> yeah, nick, i know you have been out and about and looking at an area you know well. and that is around dagestan. and just look at this crackdown on this potential, if you like, black widows. explain that to us. >> reporter: we went to two towns that have been said to have quite strange links to militants, one where the two suicide bombers who hit the train station in volograd came from. we met a number of women who said the same thing. police telling them to check in with them three times a week. they can't leave the town where they live until the olympic games have finished. and the women quite open that the police fear they could be suicide bombers, because most of them have a husband or relative recently killed by russian special forces for being a militant. they deny any harm, but still, here's the story. far from the grandeur of sochi's games, deep in the hills of dagestan, russia is desperately trying to keep a lid on something. this is the town of the home to the suicide bombers who hit volograd twice last year. many militants hailed from here and also left widows. one, whose husband and son-in-law police shot dead. please widows say police, in a bid to control those they fear of future suicide bombers ordered them not to leave town until the olympics are over. >> translator: it will be like house arrest. three times a week, they will check us and ask where we are. and then after the olympics, it will end. they think that we will make an explosion like our sisters who have blown themselves up for one reason or another. i don't know. i am not ready to do that. there is no point. it's just their fantasy. >> reporter: she shows us her son-in-law and says nearly 100 women had similar orders. we spoke to five of them off camera. she has this to say to olympic tourists. >> translator: if they need to be entertained, they should come here and be entertained. but for that, we are suffering. >> reporter: the threats to sochi emanate from dagestan, the hot bed of russian's insurgency, where even local mosques take heavy security measures. here, moderate muslims worship with state approval. ♪ just across town, strict muslims, a different sect of more auto steer values who police sometimes accuse of radicalism, worship too. yet selafi muslims often claim police abuse, particularly in another town we visited. this is where locals have given us a list of 64 people who they say have been forced by police to sign a declaration promising not to leave the region for the duration of the sochi games. police decline to comment. there is great anger at them here. this man it tells me how he was tortured. wires tied to his thumb and toe. and electricity passed through him. many say these abuses, which rose in the crackdown ahead of the olympics, fueled the insurgency. but in limiting ahead of sochi's games, the movements of potentially hundreds of women and men, it sees as a threat. russia is perhaps admitting the scale of their problem. now, the police wouldn't confirm or deny. wouldn't say anything at all about these claims. the issue really being that in many ways it makes sense. these women are open in having links to militants in the past. they say they wish no harm to the games here at all. i'm sure the police are deeply suspicious of that potential fear, michael. >> all right, nick. appreciate that. nick paton walsh in sochi. >> we were just saying, how strange that would be if it happened to you in the united states. think about it. to say you have to stay home. just in case you're thinking of doing something. right? i mean -- that's russia. >> there you go. also in russia, a deadly school shooting. this rarely happens there. but authorities say a high school student killed a teacher and a police officer, held about 20 students hostage in this classroom in moscow. state tv says the shooter was a straight-a student. had an issue with the geography teacher. it was not the teacher who was shot, however, or who was among the hostages. the suspect was taken into custody after his father went to the school, talked him into freeing those hostages. he's been called one of the greatest actors of his generation. today there is an autopsy planned for phillip seymour hoffman. the 46-year-old found dead yesterday in his grenich village apartment. >> investigators are telling cnn that the oscar-winning actor was found with a needle in his arm. they also say he had close to 50 bags of what's believed to be heroin in his apartment. more than 20 used syringes, as well. investigators say there were several bottles of prescription drugs that he didn't appear to have a prescription for. >> hoffman had recently ended a drug rehab program. he told tmz he had kicked a substance abuse habit for 23 years, but then recently relapsed. >> addiction is a life-long condition, particularly when you're an opiate addict, particularly when it starts early in life and it's something that has to be treated every single day of a person's life, much the way a diabetic must take insulin. if they're not attending on a daily basis, they will slide back into using. and when somebody has had sustained sobriety and uses later in life, that is a very difficult population to treat. >> very sad story. hoffman leaves behind three young children and a long-time partner. who hahoffma hoffman, of course, won an academy award for his role as truman capoty back in 2005. appeared in dozens of films, i think around 50. "charlie wilson's war" alongside meryl streep in "doubt." >> loved his work. >> terrific, terrific actor. >> hoffman's death comes at a time when heroin addiction is soaring right here in the united states. authorities say the drug is now everywhere. it is cheap. it is potent. we're joined from washington with a stunning report. evan, talk about this. a lot of people just weren't aware of this. and you have spoken with dea officials and drug rehab centers about this problem. and how big it is. >> well, yeah, a rising problem, something i think has taken a lot of people by surprise, suzanne. the dea and the federal government has been tracking this for a couple of years. and they say the number of users has gone up dramatically. in 2002, 166,000 people who reported using heroin. in 2012, the number had risen to 355,000. now, obviously, that's a number that is still smaller than the abuse of prescription pain pills. but the two things are linked, according to people we talked to, according to authorities, because a lot of people who start abusing prescription pain medications, when they find sometimes they're more difficult to obtain or more expensive, switch to heroin often, suzanne. >> evan, tell me this. why do officials say there has been such an increase in recent years? one presumes availability comes into it. >> reporter: well, yes. it's cheap, it's become a lot more available. we're told today that you can get a dose of heroin essentially for about $6 to $10 on the streets in new york and any big city on the east coast. it's -- like you said, it's plentiful. the number of seizures in the southwestern border have gone up triple, according to the dea. it's also become a lot more potent. a lot of veried increased potency on the streets. and it's also cut with a lot of other things. right now, recently, for instance, in pennsylvania, they found that the drug was cut with fentanyl, sort of a sedative. and 22 people were killed in overdoses in just one week in a six-county region in western pennsylvania, michael. >> and i imagine here too, this is something -- i mean, it was a surprise to some of us, but to others, certainly, they're very much aware this is a big problem. what are they doing to address the large number of people who are addicted? >> reporter: well, you know, that's actually one of the big questions, how you can treat this problem. in big cities where this has been showing up, in new york, for instance, where phillip seymour hoffman's death has become the center of news, i think a lot of authorities are now finding this is a good way to draw attention to what is a big problem. our producer has been on the scene there, told us that they found about 50 of these glassines in seymour's apartment. that's a lot of the drug. and it shows how easily available it is and so authorities are trying to draw attention to the problem, hoping people can understand that this is something that needs to be taken seriously. and not only that, but the potency of the drug is very, very dangerous. >> evan, thank you so much. i appreciate it. really surprising. >> it is. and the dea also reporting the average age for first time users, around 15 years of age. >> wow. >> stunning statistics. >> starting young. here's more of what we're working on for "around the world." this is burning ash reaching up to 700 degrees, racing down the side of a volcano in indonesia. now entire villages covered in debris. >> look at those pictures. >> amazing. if you stayed at a hotel last year, your credit or debit card -- yes, that story again -- may have been hacked. we will tell you where and how when we come back. plus, this fisherman says he was lost at sea for 13 months. more than a year. surviving on birds and rain water. there are a lot of questions about how could he have lived so long? on a boat? >> looks pretty well, really. >> yeah. i take prilosec otc each morning for my frequent heartburn. because you can't beat zero heartburn. woo hoo! [ male announcer ] prilosec otc is the number one doctor recommended frequent heartburn medicine for 8 straight years. one pill each morning. 24 hours. zero heartburn. tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 life inspires your trading. tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 where others see fads... tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 ...you see opportunities. tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 at schwab, we're here to help tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 turn inspiration into action. tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 we have intuitive platforms tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 to help you discover what's trending. tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 and seasoned market experts to help sharpen your instincts. tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 so you can take charge tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 of your trading. welcome back. seattle seahawks fans who went to new york for the super bowl may find getting home a bit of a challenge today. why? well, more than 1,400 flights already cancelled today, because of, yes, another large winter storm hammering the northeast. >> can you believe that? >> again. >> the groundhog did say it was going to be a long winter remember the philadelphia schools closed, 6 inches expected today in new york city. chad myers live in new york, of course, in the midst of all of this. chad, it's like ground hogs day. >> reporter: all over again, exactly. very heavy snow. a lot of water in this snow. and i asked my wife, she just walked over here, and i said was it slippery? she said no, it's like walking on a slurpy. i don't know whether she has ever walked on a slurpy or not or that was just something she thought about, but it really is so full of water, get your gloves completely wet. looking over here, though, it makes a beautiful scene. it's not windy. so the snow is sticking to the trees. that's some good news, some bad news. because of the snow, could get those trees quite heavy and break some of those branches and we could lose power. probably not in the city, but certainly in the suburbs. very pretty conditions here. but now 450 flights alone in the new york city metro closed or cancelled today, because of this. the rest of the numbers you talk about is the backlog. because this plane doesn't get to l.a., the l.a. plane doesn't get someplace else. that's how we're almost up to 2,000 flights here, and if we're not, we will be have he very quickly. the issue is we have all these people from the super bowl that want to go home today, and that's about 60,000 seats now that didn't fly out of here. all those people now looking for new hotel rooms, because they're not getting out tonight. every hotel is getting booked again, all the flights later on tonight are going to be cancelled. it's just one thing after another. many airports now reporting three to four-hour delays. so if you're not cancelled, you can sit there for four extra hours and hope your flight takes off until they cancel it later on this afternoon. >> yeah, if you're a seahawks fan, just keep on partying. if you're a bronco fan, you might want to start to walk. >> reporter: a 48-hour party. exactly. >> really. oh, boy. get inside, will you? you look cold, chad. >> all right. keep us posted, chad. >> reporter: i will. >> okay. and you know, we're actually getting an idea just how expensive it is to cancel those flights, all those weather-related flights cancellations, for the passengers, as well as airlines. flyers lost out on $2.5 billion last month. airlines were out between 75 and $150 million. that's according to this new report from a data and software company that specializes in airline operations. >> jetblue got the worth, mainly because 45% of its flights go through boston or new york. so every time we say the words northeast storm, they get slammed worse than everyone. and a grim search and recovery operation now under way. we're going to tell you about a deadly volcanic eruption in indonesia. that up next. for over a decade millions have raised their hand for the proven relief of the purple pill. and that relief could be in your hand. for many, nexium helps relieve heartburn symptoms from acid reflux disease. find out how you can save at purplepill.com. there is risk of bone fracture and low magnesium levels. side effects may include headache, abdominal pain, and diarrhea. if you have persistent diarrhea, contact your doctor right away. other serious stomach conditions may exist. avoid if you take clopidogrel. for many, relief is at hand. ask your doctor about nexium. welcome back to indonesia, where search teams are trying to recover the bodies of 15 people that are known to have died after a huge volcanic eruption. this happened on a mountain in north sumatra on saturday. plumes of ash, up to 700 degrees hot, spewed more than a mile into the sky. then they raced down the slope in just two to three minutes. >> sama foesen has the latest on this developing story. >> reporter: search and rescue teams have finally managed to get into the area where 15 people were killed aren't mt. s sinabung this weekend. a cloud of ash came spewing out of this active volcano at 160 miles per hour. and the temperature, 1,000 fahrenheit, 700 degrees celsius, killing the people instantly. it's not known why they were there. some of them were students. others were villagers, apparently trying to get back to their homes. now, more than 30,000 people have been forced to evacuate the area, living in emergency evacuation centers for months now. it's not known when they'll be able to get back, because of the unpredictability and volatility of this active volcano. back to you, suzanne and michael. >> thank you. other stories making news around the world right now. ukraine's embattled leader is back on the job today after a four-day sick leave. victorian covic left his office thursday for what was called acute respiratory disease. >> he's been facing months of intense, sometimes violent public protests over proposed economic policies that would tie ukraine closer to russia. the public seems to prefer europe. >> russia's foreign ministry came to the defense today. it issued a warning to ukrainian protesters to stop their what they call their provocative steps aimed at forcing him to resign. in thailand, weekend elections turning violent. this started off as anti-government protesters who want the prime minister out, blocked the voting booths, preventing people from voting, and even some candidates from registering. on saturday, a pro government supporter was shot. the opposition party boycotted the election. and the white house has just announced president will be traveling to saudi arabia. that is next month. he's going to be meeting with king abdullah to talk about strategic ties between the united states and saudi arabia. >> they plan to discuss regional security, and boy, isn't there a lot of that in the area. also, generally the middle east peace process. also countering violent extremism. and he was supposed to be in the limelight for new jersey, hosting the super bowl. but governor chris christie playing defense as people start turning over documents in the scandal surrounding his office. also coming up, anyone who stayed at a marriott last year should probably check their credit card statement. the chain appears to be the latest victim of hackers. we're going to have a live report on that also when we come back. when does your work end? does it end after you've expanded your business? after your company's gone public? and the capital's been invested? or when your company's bought another? is it over after you've given back? you never stop achieving. that's why, at barclays, our ambition is to always realize yours. wow, this hoh no.s amazing. who are you? who are you? wrong answer. wait, daddy, this is blair, he booked this room with priceline express deals and saved a ton. yeah, i didn't have to bid i got everything i wanted. oh good i always do. oh good he seemed nice. express deals. priceline savings without the bidding. of their type 2 diabetes with non-insulin victoza®. for a while, i took a pill to lower my blood sugar, but it didn't get me to my goal. so i asked my doctor about victoza®. he said victoza® is different than pills. victoza® is proven to lower blood sugar and a1c. it's taken once-a-day, any time, and comes in a pen. and the needle is thin. victoza® is not for weight loss, but it may help you lose some weight. victoza® is an injectable prescription medicine that may improve blood sugar in adults with type 2 diabetes when used with diet and exercise. it is not recommended as the first medication to treat diabetes and should not be used in people with type 1 diabetes or diabetic ketoacidosis. victoza® has not been studied with mealtime insulin. victoza® is not insulin. do not take victoza® if you have a personal or family history of medullary thyroid cancer, multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2, or if you are allergic to victoza® or any of its ingredients. symptoms of a serious allergic reaction may include: swelling of face, lips, tongue, or throat, fainting or dizziness, very rapid heartbeat, problems breathing or swallowing, severe rash or itching. tell your doctor if you get a lump or swelling in your neck. serious side effects may happen in people who take victoza®, including inflammation of the pancreas (pancreatitis), which may be fatal. stop taking victoza® and call your doctor right away if you have signs of pancreatitis, such as severe pain that will not go away in your abdomen or from your abdomen to your back, with or without vomiting. tell your doctor about all the medicines you take and if you have any medical conditions. taking victoza® with a sulfonylurea or insulin may cause low blood sugar. the most common side effects are nausea, diarrhea, and headache. some side effects can lead to dehydration, which may cause kidney problems. if your pill isn't giving you the control you need ask your doctor about non-insulin victoza®. it's covered by most health plans. in new jersey, today is the deadline to turn over documents that could shed some new light on the bridge scandal surrounding governor chris christie. lawmakers subpoenaed documents in their probe of september's lane closures at the george washington bridge. and it was the closings that caused a massive traffic jam for days, e-mails, however, suggested that it was political payback against the democratic mayor of ft. lee. >> some officials have been now granted extensions to gather more documents. christie, for his part, he got booed at a super bowl event. but louisiana governor, bobby jindal said he should not step down as head of the republican governor's association. >> i don't think he should step down. i think he should stay there. i think what's more important, though, we've got some great governors in states like florida, south carolina, ohio, michigan, pennsylvania, all across the state doing great things. we've got 36 governors' races. rj is not about one governor, it's about all 29 of these governors. >> wolf blitzer joining us from washington. wolf, good to see you. let's talk about what christie is doing. he has been invited to cpac, the conservative political action conference. that snubbed him last year. so what do we make? what's the back story behind that invitation, and what do we anticipate is going to come out of that? >> well, i anticipate barring some major bombshell or some news directly linking him to this traffic closure or some of the other scandals that have now developed, assuming there is no smoking gun, no evidence to contradict his very strong assertions. he was snubbed a year ago, he wasn't invited. he has been invited. in part, i suspect, because he has been so attacked by the liberal left, and he's become much more popular among a lot of conservatives, because he's getting all this criticism from democrats and a lot of other liberals. so i think he'll be well-received, assuming there is nothing that contradicts his strong assertions that he had no direct knowledge of what was going on. >> yeah. and to that point, perhaps, the state lawmaker, a democrat, leading the investigation, he is saying it's too early it to start talking about impeachment. is that in same vein, wolf, nothing has popped up yet that's concrete? >> the only people talking about impeachment are caveating by saying that if, in fact, it is proven that he did lie during that nearly two-hour news conference a few weeks ago, then you could talk about impeach want, some of these other things. but that's a huge if. right now, no smoking gun, no evidence to back up that assertion. so you can't just go ahead and talk about impeachment. there was an editorial in one of the major newspapers in new jersey, the "star ledger" on friday, once this letter from david wildstein, the former associate of governor christie was on the port authority, was forced to resign. there was -- there was no -- there was this editorial suggesting if, in fact, when wildstein seemed to be implying were true, then the governor should think about either resigning or being impeached, if you will. but i thi but i think it's very, very premature. let's see what happens. there are multiple investigations. the most important one by a u.s. attorney in new jersey, paul fishman. let see what they come up with. if they come up with direct evidence that he's a liar, that's another story. but right now they don't have it. >> and wolf, very briefly here, what do we expect to hear from christie when he goes on a radio show later today? >> it's the first time since then, nearly two-hour news conference we're going to hear -- presumably he's going to answer questions about these points. it will be interesting. it's going to be during the 7:00 p.m. eastern hour. we'll hear what he has to say. he has been relatively silent, almost completely silent, in the face of all of these fresh allegations, although he did put out this written statement really going after david wildstein, these talking points, as aides put it out. but it was really tough. and when you start, you know, pointing out that maybe wildstein had some issues when studies class in high school, - you know you're in trouble. if that's the best you can. >> yeah. absolutely. >> wolf, good to see you. thanks so much. >> thanks, wolf. all right. now we're going to go stay in washington. in fact, the next big fight yet again, here we go again. debt ceiling. familiar term. come this friday, unless congress raises the debt ceiling, the u.s. won't be able to borrow more money to pay its bills. speaking of ground hog day. the treasury secretary says the government can function through the end of the month using extraordinary accounting measures. >> house republicans say they won't raise the limit without conditions. democrats and president obama say they won't negotiate over the issue. and there is a new person in charge of the u.s. economy, janet yellen, sworn in today as the head of the federal reserve, following ben bernanke's retirement. she is the first woman to take the job in the 100-year history. >> the first job, how to unwind the fed's stimulus package, of course, without upsetting economic growth. and a lot of jittery traders on wall street today. the dow has been on a steady decline. this is since the beginning of the year, what, down 204 points. this morning, no exception. you can see it dropping off right at the opening bell there. hovering around -- dropping 206. >> it has, steadily dropping. earlier around the 1 percentage point mark. now 1.3%. as if market woes weren't enough to worry about, there is word now one of the largest hotel chains in the country might have been hacked. >> yeah. i stayed at a mariott. but yeah. >> check your credit cards. >> the problem came late as fraud was discovered of credit cards of people who stayed at mariott hotels in austin, chicago, denver, los angeles, louisville and tampa. alison, this is for last year, not 2014, correct? >> reporter: this is what investigators are thinking at this point. but you never know how far the hackers are getting. what we are hearing, suzanne, these hackers got ahold of credit card numbers, hundreds of cards found to be used at marriott hotels. they have fraudulent charges. this information is coming from a well-known security expert. his name is brian krebs. and he found out about this, and he was the one who had exposed target and niemann marcus, those data breeches. now he's coming forward and saying some mariott customers are at risk, meaning people who used their credit cards at mariott restaurants and gift cards. white lodging was hit by a data breach. what is white lodging? a big property management company that manages almost 200 hotels in 21 states, including these marriott hotels in those cities you mentioned. what white lodging is saying is that it's investigating, and that it will update the public when it has more information. marriott is saying the hack is confined to white lodging's systems and that the hackers didn't hit marriott's internal systems. suzanne and michael? >> so i guess what you're saying there is it's not likely they spread to other hotel companies at the moment? it seems to be isolated there? >> reporter: well, it's a good question. it very well could spread, because white lodging actually manages some of the biggest hotel names, like hilton and sheraton and westin. so far, though, only marriott's customer information seems to have been stolen. but, you know, we'll probably hear more and more details as this investigation continues. and this just comes after this wave of hacks that we've heard. target, niemann marcus, michael's and yahoo! all within the past two months. interestingly enough, this is getting congress' attention. several committees are actually holding hearings this week on capitol hill on data theft. department of justice, looking into it since the target breach, as well. this is getting serious, especially as it becomes more and more widespread. >> what should you do if you stayed at a marriott or one of these hotels where you -- you suspect you're a victim? >> reporter: i would say go ahead and keep a look -- keep track of your charges on your card. many people are just being proactive and just changing out their cards if that's possible. but at the very least, you should certainly monitor the movements on your cards, the purchases. >> all right. alison, thanks so much. and in previous months too, they say watch out for small charges. a lot of what these hackers are doing -- if you get hit with a $15 one or $12 one, you're not going to notice. but if they get 1 million of those, that's a lot of money. >> adds up. >> and the criticism, of course, we're still using old technology in this country with the old swipe thing. europe has all gone chips on cards and everything. >>. all right, this next story, this guy used no technology. >> yeah. >> he claims he lived on turtles and fish while he was adrift at sea for more than a year. >> yeah. but is it true? well, it might be. but he looks pretty fit, doesn't he? that was a high-calorie fish and bird diet, if you ask me. >> we'll have that next. ♪ humans -- even when we cross our "t's" and dot our "i's," we still run into problems. that's why liberty mutual insurance offers accident forgiveness with our auto policies. if you qualify, your rates won't go up due to your first accident. because making mistakes is only human, and so are we. we also offer new car replacement, so if you total your new car, we give you the money for a new one. call liberty mutual insurance at... and ask us all about our auto features, like guaranteed repairs, where if you get into an accident and use one of our certified repair shops, your repairs are guaranteed for life. so call... to talk with an insurance expert about everything that comes standard with our base auto policy. and if you switch, you could save up to $423. liberty mutual insurance. responsibility. what's your policy? for safeof backache pain,f you can trust extra strength doan's. specially formulated for your worst backache pain. in south pacific, many unanswered questions today about how this happened. this is a bearded man who claims he drifted in the ocean for more than a year before being rescued. >> there he is there. he's getting medical care now in the marshall islands. the story being checked out. our senior latin american affairs editor, rafael romo joining us now. a strange tale. what do we know about this chap? he looks remarkably fit. >> we think he looks big. >> that's true. that's one of the first things we noticed. he doesn't look very emaciated. he looks in remarkable good condition. but he says he's a survivor of a 13-month odyssey that took him from western mexico all the way to the marshall islands. he appeared to have difficulty walking as he stepped off the boat that brought him to safety. but otherwise, the long bearded man seemed in good condition. >> he has talked about joint pain several times. i know he would like a haircut. but he looks very good. he's sharp. and i'm certainly no medical professional, but i think that he's in much better shape than one would expect after such an ordeal. >> reporter: he calls himself jo jose varengo, 37 years old. he said he was lost at sea for 13 months before watching up on an island in the pacific nation. >> it sounds like quite an incredible sea story of a man that went out fishing for one day, and expected to return to his port on the west coast of mexico. but he was blown off by a storm. >> reporter: the castaway told officials he survived by eating fish and turtles he had caught. he would drink rain water and sometimes his own urine. authorities in the marshall islands are trying to determine if the story is true. the trip from the west coast of mexico across the pacific to the marshall islands is roughly 5,600 miles or 9,000 kilometers of open ocean. although such an amazing ordeal isn't unheard. three mexican fishermen survived a similar journey in 2006. >> reporter: he told authorities he and a companion set out for what they thought would be a one-day fishing trip. >> it sounded very much like a storm. he talked about a north wind and waves, and being blown off-course and then losing a companion at sea, as well. >> reporter: his teenage companion, he says, died four weeks into their drift. and we have just received a statement from the mexican foreign ministry stating that this gentleman took off from the state of chiapas in mexico, and it is, indeed, a national of el salvador. they do not give us anymore details, but at least it seems to confirm that this person is who he says he is. at least one piece of crucial information there to add to the whole story. >> is there anybody -- this is highly unusual. highly unlikely that someone would be able to survive like this. is there -- is there an exception here? >> yeah. >> is there anything in the story that makes it kind of sound like it's realistic? >> it's happened. yeah, there is a previous case, back in 2006 of three mexican fishermen who essentially traveled or were adrift through the same route and survived out of five, three survived, basically in the same way. by catching fish and whatever animals they could. so it is not entirely out of the possibility. but then again, he looks in very good shape. as you see there. he had some difficulty walking, but the observation that you made, suzanne, that the face is not necessarily emaciated, is a very good one, i think. >> big birds. big fish. yeah. interesting. keep an eye on that one. i would love to hear the outcome of that. thanks for that. >> we're all a little suspicious of this one. moving on. new concerns about sochi. some olympic hotels not even ready for the events. we're just talking about four days away before the start of the winter olympics. that up next. when it comes to good nutrition...i'm no expert. that would be my daughter -- hi dad. she's a dietitian. and back when i wasn't eating right, she got me drinking boost. it's got a great taste, and it helps give me the nutrition i was missing. helping me stay more like me. [ female announcer ] boost complete nutritional drink has 26 essential vitamins and minerals, including calcium and vitamin d to support strong bones and 10 grams of protein to help maintain muscle. all with a delicious taste. grandpa! [ female announcer ] stay strong, stay active with boost. the day building a play set begins with a surprise twinge of back pain... and a choice. take up to 4 advil in a day or 2 aleve for all day relief. [ male announcer ] that's handy. ♪ here are some of the stories making news around the world in south africa. a will left by former president nelson mandela has now been read publicly. it reveals that he left an estate worth about $4 million, excluding royalty theses. >> yeah, if you're going to be split among family members, former staff, and also schools and his political party, the african national congress. the movement that fought white rule and now runs the country, basically. nelson mandela, of course, a global symbol of racial reconciliation died at home back in december at the age of 95. and in libya, the last remnants of chemical weapons from the former regime have reportedly been destroyed. it was done secretly over the past three months. the "new york times" says the u.s. and libyan exports used a transportable oven technology to destroy hundreds of bombs and artillery rounds filled with a deadly mustard agent. >> american officials had feared that toxic arsenal could fall into the hands of terrorists. more traditional weapons from libya have been finding their way to places like syria. now, the -- libya could be a model for much larger things like the chemical weapons disposal in syria. and the winter olympics start this week. question is whether or not sochi is ready. i mean, security and accommodations, all these things are up in the air. >> yeah, accommodations. can you believe it? several hotels in sochi still under construction. people actually showed up at some of these hotels and were told you can't stay here. yet the marriott is not able to process credit cards, for example. ivan watson is in sochi with the details. >> reporter: the russians built all of this. the ski lift, the high-speed train, this entire alpine city within just the last seven years. but now four days before the opening of the winter games, it's clear that some of this massive development up in the mountains will not be ready in time for the olympics. the associated press reports three out of nine hotels reserved for journalists near the alpine sports venues are not yet ready. even an international hotel operator admits construction is behind schedule. >> slightly delayed. we planned to open last month. due to some concerns we had here, it's actually now on a short testing time for us. but our team is quite strong and trained. >> reporter: the international olympic committee insists everything is okay. >> there are some issues to be solved, as it is always just before the games. but we are in contact with the organizing committee, and we hope that the situation will be solved in the next couple of days. >> reporter: russia and the olympic committee are gambling that even if you don't build it in time, the people will come. ivan watson, cnn, sochi, russia. well, the super bowl wasn't much of a match-up when it it came to football, but the halftime show was pretty good. >> i loved it. bruno mars and his band rocking it out, amazing. he's had incredible rides to fame, starting off as the world's smallest elvis impersonator. we'll tell but that. that's right. >> the business of being bruno mars. that's coming up. wow, this hotel is amazing. oh no. who are you? who are you? wrong answer. wait, daddy, this is blair, he booked this room with priceline express deals and saved a ton. yeah, i didn't have to bid i got everything i wanted. oh good i always do. oh good he seemed nice. express deals. priceline savings without the bidding. ♪ who knew he could drum? i don't know. does that make me ignorant? i didn't know he could drop. >> just imagine what it was like for him on that stage in front of all those people. he stole the show, bruno mars last night at the super bowl. and, of course, just the energy and the excitement on that stage. just 28 years old, shot to fame after writing songs for so many other people. a little james brown action going on over there? >> he really waster fib. he started out, believe it or not, a very musical family. mom and dad. he started out as an elvis impersonator, believe it or not. he has come a long way. what did you call him? adorable. >> adorable. i it call him adorable. christine romans takes a look at the business of being bruno. >> reporter: suzanne, michael, did the super bowl put you to sleep? hopefully you woke up long enough to see the halftime show. bruno mars, turns out the highlight of the evening. ♪ the real super bowl winner, bruno mars. he took the biggest stage in music in front of more than 100 million viewers, and saved an otherwise dull game. so who is this super bowl sensation? born peter hernandez to a musical family in hawaii, he started out as the world's youngest elvis impersonator. ♪ take my hand >> reporter: he struggled as a performer. he was dropped from motown records. then changed his business plan, and began writing and producing songs for other artists. ♪ ain't got nothing on you baby ♪ >> reporter: his big break came in 2010, doing vocals for two songs he helped write, "nothing on you" and "billionaire." ♪ i want to be a billionaire". >> reporter: his debut album, a success. ♪ you're amazing just the way you are ♪ >> reporter: and landed mars two number-one hits. ♪ i would catch a grenade for ya ♪ >> album number two reached number one. ♪ oh yeah, yeah ♪ oh yeah, yeah yeah, yeah >> reporter: and the accompanying tour brought him more than $46 million so far. ♪ i should have bought you flowers ♪ ♪ and held your hand >> reporter: all together, mars has sold 115 million singles worldwide. and landed five number-one singles faster than any male singer since elvis. >> you are a beautiful audience. >> reporter: the 28-year-old was billboard's artist of the year last year. >> expect to have some fun with us. >> reporter: and landed his second grammy, this one for best pop vocal album of the year, unorthodox jukebox. outside the studio, he has invested in chromatic, a start-up that makes digital sheet music and electronic cigarette maker njoy, which he uses to kick the habit. the business of being bruno mars is, indeed, super. quite a run for bruno mars. first the grammy and now he outshined peyton manning and half a billion dollars in super bowl ad money. suzanne, michael? >> all right, thank you. you know what i loved about this? -- >> peyton manning, not kidding there. >> the performance. i mean, he is so hot, so hip. but traditional, too. i mean, the outfits, the moves. very smooth. >> pop star for grown-ups. >> kind of old-school. but fresh. >> 5'5" or as you said, 6 foot with the hair. great performance. really is terrific. and my daughter would hate the fact that i like him and she likes him so that would make -- very uncool. great performance by him. peyton manning -- >> not so much. >> not so much. thanks for watching "around the world." >> "cnn newsroom" starts right >> "cnn newsroom" starts right now. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com right now, chris christie fights on, denying new charges he was in on what they're now calling bridgegate. and accepting an invitation to an important conservative gathering. also right now, the whispers are growing a bit louder. could mitt romney actually run again for president of the united states in 2016? and right now, heavy snow is hitting the northeast right in the middle of the workday, another commuting nightmare, just ahead. hello, i'm wolf blitzer in washington. for new jersey governor chris christie, it's the scandal that just won't go away. christie is facing new questions about the

Related Keywords

New York , United States , Moscow , Moskva , Russia , Louisiana , Chiapas , Mexico , Chad , Tampa , Florida , Marshall Islands , Sumatra , Indonesia General , Indonesia , Philadelphia , Pennsylvania , Syria , Washington , District Of Columbia , Ukraine , Thailand , New Jersey , El Salvador , Sochi , Krasnodarskiy Kray , Saudi Arabia , Libya , Capitol Hill , New Light , Chicago , Illinois , Hawaii , South Africa , Dagestan , Americans , America , Mexican , Russian , Ukrainian , Libyan , Russians , American , Denver Los Angeles , Bobby Jindal , David Wildstein , Ivan Watson , James Brown , Jose , Phillip Seymour Hoffman , Paul Fishman , Nick Paton Walsh , King Abdullah , Ben Bernanke , Meryl Streep , Janet Yellen , Brian Krebs , Chris Christie , Michael Holmes , Rafael Romo , Christine Romans , Bruno Mars , Niemann Marcus , Peyton Manning , Peter Hernandez , Nelson Mandela , Charlie Wilson , Niemann Marcus Michael ,