House rewriting tonights prepared text for the state of the union . Welcome to the lead. Im jake tapper, live from capitol hill. Were close to statutory hall where the president will have his state of the Union Address. Much more on the speech later in the hour and throughout the night. Today we begin with the world lead and two very fast developing stories around the globe with possible kwons consequences at home. First, yemen, a troerist hot spot where al qaeda has been planning to strike the u. S. Again. Today set aflame by a coup while europe remain on edge over the looming threat of another terrorism attack. Today in paris where the Charlie Hebdo slaughter thrust police into overdrive, five more arrests were made. A group of chechens of allegedly making bombs. Also in neighboring germany, 13 raids across that country, targeting suspected jihadis, men Officials Say had connections to two radicals who support isis. Its unclear how many Police Arrested or if the suspects detained in germany were plotting attacks ats all. But maybe the most intense search ongoing, the hunt for this man, a more rocken who Belgian Security sources says is the ringleader between a Terror Network in belgium, who was minutes away from putting a deadly attack in motion and senior isis leader in iraq and syria. The big question here, could any of these cases be linked . Where is the evidence against these people . What exactly are this their connections to isis or the terrorist whoz carried out the paris attacks . Cnns pamela brown is in france tracking all of this. Pamela, what are you learning . Reporter well jake, a growing cast of characters related to the belgium plot as well as the paris attacks has authorities across europe working overtime. Now we have obtained exclusive video of one of the paris suspects and his wife providing new clues in the investigation. This exclusive Surveillance Video obtained by cnn shows ahmedmedi coulibali and Hayat Boumeddiene last summer. They say the duo was trying to blend in and scope out potential jewish targets months before coulibali launched a siege on a Kosher Grocery store where he killed eded four people. Today four men were charged in connection with the paris attacks, the first since the Charlie Hebdo massacre shocked the city. One of the suspects dna was allegedly found ond a car used to transport coulibali to the grocery store. This as we learned bulgaria will extradite in frenchman who was friend wtz kouachi brothers. The mayor of paris tells christiane ammonanpour the city is still on alert. We have to be very vigilant she said. For several months we have known jihadi jihadist teams have been setting up in france. 13 properties were raided with ties to islamic extremists. Were dealing with complex networks. We need to be cautious of what were doing, especially in our analysis of what is going on whether these individuals have been inspired or directed by any of these groups. Reporter in belgium, counterterrorism sources says isis directed a plot that may have included attempts to Murder Police officers. Several are in custody but a manhunt is under way for one of the cells suspected ringleaders. Authorities believe he may have been in touch with isis leadership from greece. And today in holland, police there raided the home of one of the suspects allegedly associated with that belgian terror cell. They confiscated his computer and cell phones. Its clear the investigation there in belgium and here in paris still very active. Pamela brown live in paris. Thanks so much. Chilling video. Today the u. S. Government condemned a new threat from isis. The terrorist group is demanding 200 million in exchange for the lives of two japanese men. Cnn is only showing images and not the video. Just like in the past we see hostages in orange jumpsuits helpless on their knees, just like in the past we could hear the demands from the same man seen in the other gruesome videos, a terrorist leader dubbed jihadi john. Joe johns watched the video. Joe, what other similarities did you observe . Well, jake this video is chilling. Its also familiar. It appears to be in the same or a similar place as other videos were shot. And the man issuing the threat appears similar in many respects to jihadi john giving the government of japan a 72hour ultimatum ultimatum. In the latest isis hostage video, the voice, the british accent the eyes. It looks rand sounds like an encore appearance of arguably the worlds most wanted man arguably known as jihadi john. There were reports that jihadi john was injured in a bombing attack. The video suggests that if its him, hes alive and well enough to make a death threat accompanied on a demand for money, 200 million from japan, equalling the amount Prime Minister shinzo abe recently offered in humanitarian aid to countries affected by isis. Just as your government has made the foolish decision to pay 200 million to fight islam, you now have 72 hours to pressure your government in making a wise decision by paying the 200 million to vafsave the lives of your citizens. Reporter all of the isis videos are propaganda used to raise money and recruit followers. This video seeks to project strength while extorting money. It shows them resilient, that theyre able to film this video with these japanese hostages outside in broad daylight somewhere presumably in syria. Its anyones guess what japan will do about the hos tanls. Military contractor and journalist goto though immense International Pressure will prevent them from paying the ransom. Intelligence analysts along with Law Enforcement and military continue their so far futile effort to locate capture or kl a man who has become the face of evil jihadi john. Isis operates in what we call denied territory. That means by definition its hard for our folks to get in there, very hard for them to actually lay eyes on target. Japans Prime Minister has said the lives of the hostage are a priority and a government spokesman did not rule out a ransom payment. The man issuing the threat said the cost for each hostage was 100 million apiece. Jake . Joe johns, thanks so much. The other major breaking story this hour out of yemen where that countrys information minister tells cnn the government has lost control. Shiite insurgents stormed the president ial palace today, threatened to turn yemen into one of the main threats into the war on fror into a failed state. Yemen has been one of the most important u. S. Allies in the fight against terrorism, also a staging ground for terrorist plots. The uss coal bombing which killed 17 sailors happened in yemen. The underwear bomber a yemeni. Anwar al awlaki until his death by u. S. Drone in 2011 was headquartered in yemen. Cnn Senior International correspondent Nick Paton Walsh is the only western journalist in yemen. Nick much of todays fighting concentrated around the president ial palace but were hearing airports, roads are being shut down. Whats happening there right now . Reporter its quiet in the capital now. It seems as though the rebels who moved in today to take over the president S Administration have been fought the day before have appeared to have made their point and their leader has appeared on television here and asked for changes be made to the new constitution. Really i think laying out a kind of broad program of increased desire to have his hands on the leaves of power without necessarily having any titles to go with it. He still calls the president , president hadi. He was in his residence today and there was intense gunfire in the streets outside. He is safe we nrlsunderstand but cabinet members arent sure whether to turn up to work tomorrow. Its a state with a huge vacuum at the top. We dont know if the houthis want hadi to stay. We know certain areas are loyal and talking about foe terriblepotentially closing roads. The major fears is because of houthis have proven their power on the streets in the last day or so we have to see if that translates into a desire to keep over the government or if they want hadi to stay in place and basically describe well do what we like well remind you how powerful we can be. The u. S. Were told is mobilizing warships helicopters, preparing to evacuate the u. S. A. M. Basscy there. Senator dianne feinstein, on the Senate Intelligence committee, she said that the u. S. Needs to get out now. Any update on if or when that might happen . Reporter it doesnt look imminent. One of the vehicles was shot up on the way to the embassy it seemed last night. That was an armored vehicle, it was clear from the statement i got from the u. S. Embassy they believed it was intent by the government to kill those. The diplomats escaped unhurt. This is a very volatile situation, but you must be worrying if youre in the state department whether or not you lose too much by simply putting on your lose the ability to negotiate or try and talk to the new figures of power here as this huge change seems to be under way versus the postbenghazi disaster do the maximum possible to make sure no harm comes to a u. S. Diplomat. Yemen has a drone program. Many people do not like them at all. I think todays events have certainly made many in washington wonder quite when the moment of evacuation would be. It doesnt seem to be imminent at all, jake. Nick paton walsh, i know i dont need to tell you to stay safe but please do. The president of the United States is undoubtedly still pour poring over his state of the Union Address. But with terror arrests, hostage videos yemens president ial palace taken over by militants, how will president obama address these critical events . His Senior Adviser and close personal friend Valerie Jarrett will joint me when we come back. Sual. Wow youre really looking out for us. We are. And if there are unauthorized purchases on your discover card, youre never held responsible. Just to be clear you are saying frog protection right . Yeah, fraud protection. Frog protection. Fraud protection. Frog. Fraud. Frog. Fraud. I think were on the same page. Were totally on the same page. At discover, we treat you like youd treat you. Fraud protection. Get it at discover. Com [ male announcer ] its a warning. A wakeup call. But its not happening out there. Its happening in here. [ sirens wailing ] inside of you. 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Really free credit scores. Really free. I have got to update my ink. Does a freshly printed presentation fill you with optimism . Then you might be gearcentric. Right now, get this case of paper for only 24. 99 and save even more after rewards. Office depot officemax. Gear up for great. Welcome back to the lead. Were live from capitol hill with our politics lead. Just a few hours from now in the building youre looking at president obama will speak directly to the American People in his state of the yunl aUnion Address. The economy will no doubt be most of his message, with a side of immigration, climate change, foreign policy. Given everything thats happening in the world, the president will be expected to serve up a healthy portion of how to combat terrorism, destroying isis, for instance. Joining me is Valerie Jarrett, a Senior Adviser to president obama, also overseeing the offices of Public Engagement and intergovernmental affairs. Mrs. Jarrett, this is your first appearance on the lead. We had the president before we had you. Youre tougher to book. Thank you so much for joining us. Good evening. Pleasure to you with you. Lets start with the terrorist threat facing our country. Isis has been directly linked to a plot in belgium targeting police officers. Theres a new video of threatening to kill two japanese hostages if they dont get 200 million ransom. Even with the air strikes being carried out by the u. S. Coalition, this group doesnt seem to be destroyed or degraded at all. Is it possibly time for a shift in strategy . Well jake first of all i want to say theres nothing more important to the president than the safety and security of the American People. And he will implement whatever strategy he thinks best will affect that. We are constantly in touch with our colleagues around the world, specifically in yemen, obviously the state department is in close touch with the folks at the embassy there, monitoring the situation. The president is receiving regular updates on world events and this is a top priority for him. We do think our strategy is working and hes constantly reevaluating it and determining what he thinks serves that purpose of keeping us safe the best. After the attacks on Charlie Hebdo magazine in paris as well as the policewoman who was killed and the four jewish frenchmen killed at the supermarket, we heard comments from former Obama Administration officials, specifically u. S. Defense secretary leon panetta and mike morell warning that the same kind of attack could happen here that same kind ever isisinspired attack. Take a listen. We had the ft. Hood shootings. We had the boston bombings. So weve had radicalized americans conduct these attacks. I expect more. I think were going to see a parisstyle attack here. We need to be prepared for that. They are engaged in a much more aggressive effort to conduct violence not only in europe but i think its a matter of time before they direct it at the United States as well. Valerie, is there any information indicating that the threat to the u. S. Homeland is worse now than it was a year or two ago . These are two former cia directors who seem to be vaiing be prepared for what happened in europe to happen here. I think the point thats an important one is that we have to be vigilant. We have to be prepared. When i say we, certainly the president and his team are going to do everything within our power, but also the American People. We encourage them to have a watchful eye, Pay Attention to whats going on around you. Everyone should be vivigilant. I dont have a crystal ball or any specific threats to comment on at this time but we realize the world is a dangerous place and we should all be as vigilant as possible. I go back to the beginning, keeping america safe is a top priority to the president. He devotes a large amount of time to developing stlat jis, closely monitoring them change to ensure the safety. Lets talk about the president s plans to lay out this evening. Its a pretty Progressive Agenda tax cuts and credits for the middle class, some tax hikes for more affluent americans, two free years of Community College for people who qualify. Republicans who now control the house and senate vowed not to raise taxes. So i guess the question is can president obama find spending cuts to pay for these plans as opposed to tax hikes . Look i think what the president will do this evening is set forth what he thinks is the best way of accomplishing our goal of growing the middle class, building opportunities for people to move into the middle class, making sure that wages are stretched as far as possible creating jobs making sure that our workers are trained for those high paying jobs of the future. And i dont consider that a partisan agenda. I consider that an agenda about strengthening the middle class and strengthening the economy of our country. We have now had 58 straight months of private secretarior job growth 11. 2 million jobs. But we still know that wages need to go up more. Thats why the president has set forth a series of policies that he thinks will help those folks who are sitting around their Kitchen Table trying to figure out how to make ends meet. And hes invited some guests that will join the first lady tonight and help tell their stories. Rebecca from minnesota, for example, who wanted to work. Her husband was in the Construction Business right when the Housing Market fell apart. Here they are struggling and they couldnt afford child care. So yes, it makes sense to have a 3,000 tax credit for child care so people dont have to choose between working and providing child care affordable child care for their families. So very pragmatic steps that he will outline tonight that he thinks will strengthen the economy. We now have a sixyear track record that demonstrate thats the president s policies and programs have worked. We need to continue those efforts. Valerie jarrett, thank you so much. Appreciate your time. Tune in to cnns live coverage of the state of the Union Beginning at 7 00 eastern here on cnn. Coming up, was it a lastditch effort to save the doomed plane . New details on the final seconds of airasia flight 8501 and the risky move pilots made just before the crash. Plus he surfs, downhill skis he just got his pilots license. All this after losing both his legs on the battlefield in afghanistan. Where does this former soldier who will be the first ladys guest tonight get his unbreakable spirit . Well talk to him, next. Edward jones. With nearly 7 million investors oh hey, neill, how are you . Youd expect us to have a highly skilled call center. Kevin, neill holleys on line one. Ok, great. And we do. Its how edward jones makes sense of investing. Please no. Please . No. For those headaches that just arent bad enough for a lot of please. Please. Please. Medicine, theres new excedrin mild headache. Please please 35 less medicine plus a booster to end everyday headaches fast. Wow, my headaches gone. Excedrin mild headache. Welcome back to the lead. So far the few things we do know about its final moments do not provide any clue as to how or why airasia flight 8501 dropped out of the sky dill killing all the passengers and crew on board. Today for the first time investigateors are on to something that could help explain the mystery behind the crash that claimed 162 lives. Cnn National Correspondent suzanne mallveaux has the latest. We have new information into what might have caused flight 8501 to crash. Investigators are looking into the moments just before the plane went down, telling us now that the aircraft climbed so fast that it wouldnt have been able to keep flying. Indonesias transportation minister says airasia flight 8501 was climbing at 6,000 feet per minute just seconds before it stalled and crashed into the java sea. Right away there would have been warnings going off. There would have been overspeed warning warnings engine warnings altitude and pitch alert. A big problem because commercial aircraft like the airbus 320 are designed to climb 1,000 to 2,000 feet per minute less than half the speed the doomed aircraft was apparently ascending. When a plane goes up so dramatically, it can loosese lift and come crashing back to the ground. The way to recover is to put the nose down or, in the case of an airbus flying on autopilot to let the autopilot take over but i suspect that was not an option here because there was so much going on. Reporter investigators have been pouring over the cockpit and flight voice recorders. Indonesiian records said the recorders did not pick up sound of gunfire or an explosion. For the moment ruling out the most sinister scenario. Translator the voice from the cockpit does not show any sign of a terrorist attack. It is only the pilot sounding very busy. The pilot had asked permission to increase his altitude to try to avoid severe thunderstorms. Meanwhile, the painstaking search for remains continues, only 53 of the 162 on board have been recovered. Ed largest piece of the wreckage the fuselage remains at the bottom of the ocean where investigators suspect many of the bodies could be. The head of Indonesias National Search and rescue agency says the search for victims will not stop. Translator after we close, we will continue our daily search and rescue effort. We will fulfill their hopes with all our best effort. The problem has been the current, which has prevented divers from reaching the bottom and, at this point sadly, those remains are decomposing. Now, as for the investigation were told that the transcript of the pilots conversation is about halfway complete. That will be used along with the data from the recorders to come up with a preliminary report and that we expect is going to be released just days jake. Suzanne malveaux thank you so much much. When president obama faces the podium today, hell be facing his first republican majority in both houses ever. But good news right before the state of the union speech, and that is next. [ hoof beats ] i wish. Please, please, please, please, please. [ male announcer ] the wish we wish above all. Is health. So we quit selling cigarettes in our cvs pharmacies. Expanded minuteclinic for walkin medical care. And created programs that encourage people to take their medications regularly. Introducing cvs health. A new purpose. A new promise. To help all those wishes come true. Cvs health. Because health is everything. Does a freshly printed presentation fill you with optimism . Then you might be gearcentric. Right now, get this case of paper for only 24. 99 and save even more after rewards. Office depot officemax. Gear up for great. Welcome back to the lead. Live from the u. S. Capitol, more on our politics lead. President obamas sixth state of the Union Address will take place right here in just a few hours. It is a night of ingingly choreographed applause, but in the midst of the pomp its important to keep in mind how much this president and our nation have at stake. Im joined by cnns senior political commentateor jay carney and editor of the weekly standard. Bill let me start with you. President obamas Approval Ratings are up, 50 . Thats a nine percentage point climb just since december. Why . One, the economy has improved some. And, two which you give president obama credit for. Of course not. I give the four years of Republican House give credit to them. The economy is coming back to the republicans who have done nothing. They went in to defense before the first play of the game. Watching the Green Bay Packers sunday, i thought, thats the aess republican party. They did pretty well but then they just sort of did nothing and hopes the president doesnt go on offense. I give the president credit. He decided, i lost an election but im going on offense. The republicans havent really done much in response. Thats not the first time the president would be compared to the seattle seahawks. What do you make of it . Why the ninepoint climb, which helped him as he sells his plan to the congress and the American People . I think there are two things. One, first and foremost the economy. It is finally beginning to be felt. The recovery is by average americans. In tangible ways. And thats compounded by the serious drop in oil prices which is like money in the pockets for millions of americans across the country. Then you have the fact that right after the midterm shellacking, he was bold and decisive in using his executive authority not on issues that americans are paying a great deal of attention to. Or even agree with him on. They disagree with him on the executive action on immigration. Exactly. But they do i think as we discussed in the past action leadership staking out ground dog it in a way that demonstrates the president still has relevancy here in washington even though the other Party Controls ss congress, i think that helped lift his numbers. The president is going to talk about what the white house is calling middle house economics, trying to close the wage gap, giving tax cuts and credits to the middle class. Are those the issues or is it more how theyre going to be paid for by raising taxes, bill . Do republicans oppose a new tax credit for child care or a new tax credit for where is the opposition . Its not clear what republicans tax view is, is it . Im not saying they couldnt have had a comprehensive tax view out. But the republicans will have a chance to catch up. But i think what the president s success over the last few weeks really shows is the importance of having a serious, aggressive forward looking agenda. What is the republican agenda for middle class america . Im a republican and conservative. I have my ideas. We publish them in the weekly standard. If you ask me what is the Republican Congress actual legislative agenda which is better than the president s proposal to help the middle class, id be befuddled. Yet, jay, for those watching the news it does feel like theres also this background noise that the world is on fire. You have yemen collapsing. You have all these terrorist drag dragnets in europe isis continuing according to many accounts to gain ground in iraq and syria. Thats probably not going to be a major emphasis of his speech tonight, though. It probably wont be. Hell focus largely on the economy, which is principally the American Peoples focus. What the sort of ongoing unrest around the world creates is a problem for the president if and when as we saw last year at various times, that unrest began to seem beyond the control of the United States. And of course when the u. S. Cant directly effect a positive change on a world event, the responsibility of that is usually laid at the president s doorstep. If it happens again, i think it will take a toll on his numbers. If not, if the unrest is managed in a way that doesnt distract from peoples attention on the economy, i think the economy becomes a huge benefit for the president and for democrats and it becomes harder for republicans who have opposed obama for these many years now principally on his Economic Policy to say, well, the recovery has happened. Economy is growing. Jobs are being created. Weve finally Seen Movement on middle class income. The ground to fight here on Economic Policy becomes a lot smaller. Jay carney bill kristol thank you so much. Come ug up two years ago, he met president obama and he didnt even recognize who he was. But tonight hell be a special guest of the first lady at the state of the union. This former soldier who nearly lost his life in afghanistan has a story so inspirational it is impossible not to be touched by it. You will not want to miss it. I talk to him, next. Plus the pope surprises everyone once again, this time varing his views on sex. What did the pope say . Coming up. Hello. Im an idaho potato farmer and our big idaho potato truck is still missing. So my buddy here is going to help me find it. Here we go. Woo who, woah, woah, woah. Its out there somewhere spreading the word about americas favorite potatoes heart healthy idaho potatoes and the american heart associations go red for women campaign. If you see it i hope youll let us know. Always look for the grown in idaho seal. [ male announcer ] you wouldnt ignore signs of damage in your home. Are you sure youre not ignoring them in your body . Even if youre treating your Crohns Disease or Ulcerative Colitis an occasional flare may be a sign of damaging inflammation. And if you ignore the signs, the more debilitating your symptoms could become. Learn more about the role damaging inflammation may be playing in your symptoms with the expert advice tool at crohnsandcolitis. Com. And then speak with your gastroenterologist. Startupny. Its working for new york state. Already 55 companies are investing over 98 Million Dollars and creating over 2100 jobs. From long island to all across upstate new york, more businesses are coming to new york. They are paying no property taxes no corporate taxes no sales taxes. And with over 300 locations, and 3. 7 million square feet available, theres a place thats right for your business. See if startupny can work for you. Go to startup. Ny. Gov. Welcome back to the lead. Tonight president obama will depart the white house, make his way down pennsylvania avenue to capitol hill and make his sixth state of the Union Address. It could be mustsee tv as the president sets forth his agenda for the First Time Since democrats lost both houses. Peter hanby is with me. Peter, first things first. Where are you going to be watching . Im going to be watching from the hanby cast lair. Were doing a web cast on cnn. Com. There it is. Chambray little chest hair. Were going to be thinking about mr. Science theater but for the state of the union. Its myself some smart political strategists sitting in a room eating barbecue watching the speech and talking about it as its happening. Well have callers and guests. Little different. My advice for you is napkins. Thanks. You know as much as i do this is not all about the speech but the pageantry and who the guests are, both of the president and the first lady, but also who members of congress bring. Both parties bring guests reflective of their agenda items of the year. The president and the first lady there will be a police chief from los angeles whos worked on race issues touching on ferguson a little bit, the head of cvs, they stopped selling cigarettes this yeesh year. The big headline guest a reflective of cuban policy and both sides positions on that. The president is welcoming alan gross. Who was released from prison after five years in cuba. John boehner has two anticastro dissidents sitting with him as do marco rubio from florida. Thats going to be front and center. Alan gross supports president obamas cuba policy opening up extending relations. Right. And obviously there are a lot of people in the cubanamerican community, though decreasing numbers, who disagree. They want to be tough on the castro brothersexactly. Marco rubio put out a statement about his guest saying the president is warming relations with this regime that is actively keeping political prisoners. Thats what hes going for tonight. Peter hanby, thank you so much. The people who sit in the first ladys box at the state of the union are often referred to in d. C. As lenny skutniks. He earned him a seat in the 1982 state of the union. He was the first man to have this honor and be shouted out by the president. Skutniks are the folks who sit with the first lady. Maybe their lives deserve special recognition or honor. That brings us to our next story about a truly extraordinary person. We were blown away by the spirit of retired Army Staff Sergeant jason gibson when we met him last night. In just a few hours youll see him in the first ladys box. His path to that honored seat, well, its a difficult one but also a very remarkable one. In battle Staff Sergeant jason gibson was courageous a decorated soldier serving in iraq and afghanistan in the worst of times. An army combat engineer from ohio gibsons job was to clear the road of any improvised explosive devices or ieds. One guy had the metal detector and if anything got a hit, we would check it out. Not just dangerous but very selfless. We wanted to make sure the rest of the troops moving through were safe you know. Wanted to make sure it was us first i guess. Gibson enlisted in 2005 hoping for a long career in the military. Following in the footsteps of his two grandfathers. As a kid, ive always had an interest in the jets and tanks. But all of that changed on a spring day in 2012 during gibsons third tour. While on patrol near kandahar in afghanistan. When i took a knee i knelt down on top of it. It was an ied, and it detonated. All i saw was red. I dont remember anything until i got on the helicopter. Gibson was kept in a medical kmri induced coma for two weeks. The army flew his wife and parents to germany so they could say goodbye. Its a miracle that im alive. Reporter gibson lost both legs underwent 21 surgeries, and while he was recovering at walter reid the Staff Sergeant got a visit from the commander in chief. Still loopy from the drugs but i was just glaring at him. Hes talking to my wife and my mom. It didnt register, like, whats going on . Years later, gibson wrote the president a letter thanking him for the visit and telling him how far hes come since that walter reed visit. That was my worst time. I wanted if you do remember this is everything ive done to i guess better myself. His recovery has been nothing short of astounding. I have the list here. Its more than anyone i know. Since your injury, youve surfed skied, kayaked, raced in four marathons on the hand cycle. You got your pilots license. You and your wife have had a baby. And now youre penthoused with the president. I guess. The white house then invited gibson to come and be a guest of the first ladys at the state of the Union Address. Gibsons spirit seems truly unbreakable. Very exciting. In december gibson his wife and brandnew baby daughter moved into a custombuilt home for severely wounded veterans provided by the nonprofit homes for our troops. Finally able to do laundry. I dont know if its a good thing. Now i got to do more work. You have one of the most amazing spirits of anybody ive met. I just want everyone to know theres life after traumatic events. Theres always a way to move on. Our thanks to Staff Sergeant jason gibson for honoring us with that visit. Wolf blitzer is here with a preview of the situation room. Dan pfeiffer is your guest today, wolf. Well preview the state of the Union Address, get his analysis, his thoughts in advance. Well also talk to him about whats going on right now. As you know, a lot of us are deeply concerned about all of these americans in yemen right now where the diplomats at the u. S. Embassy still remains open the military personnel. A lot of marines and other u. S. Military personnel are in yemen right now. A lot of other civilians. Will it be necessary to do in yemen what the u. S. Has already done in libya, simply abandon the place, evacuate the embassy, get everyone out asap . This is a really tense situation under way. Two warships already off the coast of yemen. Theyre getting ready to do what they would do if necessary. So far, they havent called for the evacuation. Well take a close look. Jason chaff chafe its will also join us in the situation room. Thank you so much. When we come back its not just a russian ship its a russian spy ship. Its off the coast of cuba right now. What is it doing there . Well go live to havana, cuba, next. Hi, tom. Hows the College Visit . Does it make the short list . Yeah, im afraid so. Its okay. This is what weve been planning for. Knowing our clients personally is why edward jones is the big company that doesnt act that way. Please no. Please . No. For those headaches that just arent bad enough for a lot of please. Please. Please. Medicine, theres new excedrin mild headache. Please please 35 less medicine plus a booster to end everyday headaches fast. Wow, my headaches gone. Excedrin mild headache. Meet the worlds newest Energy Superpower. Surprised . In fact, america is now the worlds number one natural gas producer. And we could soon become number one in oil. Because Hydraulic Fracturing Technology is safely recovering lots more oil and natural gas. Supporting millions of new jobs. Billions in tax revenue. And a new century of American Energy security. The new Energy Superpower . Its red, white and blue. Log on to learn more. Welcome back to the lead. Cnn employees did not expect to see this sitting outside our bureau in cuba today. That is a russian spy ship now docked in havanas harbor. The timing here is quite interesting. Tomorrow the highest level u. S. Delegation will also be in cuba. Lets go to cnns karl pen hall live in havana. Have you seen any activity on or around the russian spy ship today . Reporter well we certainly have. I mean that is the victor leonof it was part of the soviet unions fleet. It pulled into port around 9 00 10 00 a. M. This morning, just sailed in plain sight. Parked up there normally reserved for cruise ships coming into shore. A few minutes after it docked, russian sailors then started to come off board. We havent kept track of them but presumably theyre spread around all parts of old havana enjoying the cuban rum and possibly consorting with some of the cuban women here as well. Now, as far as what its doing, of course we dont exactly know. It is of course bristling with antenna, all sorts of eavesdropping devices, its job is gathering intelligence communications. We do know from employees at dockside it is due to be berthed there until at least the 23rd the day that Roberta Jacobson is due to be here until talking to the cubans about normalization of relations. We have been talking amongst the press what we think exactly its doing here. My favorite is it could provide an internet signal given the internet is so spotty down here. The russians will be keen to know what the americans and cubans will talk about after so many decades of frosty relations relations. Karl tell us about the ship spotted in cuba early last year. Reporter the same vessel pulled into havana back in february and during the course of the year while russian president Vladimir Putin and the cuban government have signed an intelligence sharing agreement, they are longstanding allies. This vessel was also spotted sailing up and down the United States eastern seaboard in International Waters. And at that time there were Media Questions about that. The United States said it wasnt too worried about what the russian ship was doing in International Waters jake. Karl penhaul live for us in cuba thank you. Pope francis is once again provings not your average pontiff, this time turning heads about Birth Control and sex. This was on his trip back to the vatican after a trip to the philippines philippines. He said parents should not procreate endlessly. They should trust in god that it will work out. Im paraphrasing here but he said something like, responsible catholics do not have to be like rabbits, and he called it irresponsible parenthood. Some people took offense to the pontiffs comments among them german rabbit breeders. Maybe he should have stuck to the birds and bees metaphor . In other world news roman pa lan pa lanski after a decadesold sex abuse case. He is 81 years old, lives in poland. In 1977 he pleaded guilty to having had sex with a 13yearold girl in california. Before he could be sentenced, polanski skipped down and ended up in europe. You might remember in 2009 the u. S. Tried to get him back in california but legal red tape got in the way. Polanski has an oscar for the pianist. He plans to direct a movie this spring. Thats it for the lead. Be sure to tune in to the president s state of the Union Address. I now turn you over to wolf blitzer in the situation room. Hadppening now, ally under siege. Hundreds of americans are at risk in yemen with u. S. Warships prepared to evacuate them. How will al qaedas most dangerous affiliate take advantage of the chaos . Terror tape. A new isis video shows two hostages as a familiar figure delivers a chilling threat pay 200 million ransom or else. And we have new information on the last minutes of airasia flight 8501. It shows the airliner rose faster than a fighter jet before plunging into