I thought seth was great. I love the fact that brits were all over the place as usual. We kicked hollywood butt. Thank you. Thats all for us tonight. Good night from hollywood and the 85th oscars. Oscars big winner, argo takes home best picture. Blizzard warning. Some states barely digging out. Bracing for another round of potentially lifethreatening cans. The popes final blessing. The pope leaving in a couple days. Welcome to early start. Im Christine Romans this monday morning for you. Im john berman. It is 5 00 a. M. In the east. And lets start with hollywoods night of night. I just took off my tuxedo. It was the 85th oscars. Music and film. And Seth Macfarlane can really sing. He really can. And as for the awards himself, no one film dominated. And the iran hostage thriller, argo came away the big winner. Giving ben affleck the last lau laugh. Nichelle turner has been up all night. Good whatever it is for you. Can we take the just off of there. Can we say cnns Nischelle Turner has been up all night. Still, you look great. Good to see you this morning. Okay. Thank you very much. Yeah. Its been a great night here in hollywood. They call it hollywoods biggest night. And it definitely has been hollywoods biggest night. The 85th oscars was supposed to be a return to hollywood glamour. Return to the oscars of the past everyone loved. The big production numbers. The musical acts. If that is what you love, that is what you saw. Lets take a look at that. And now, for the moment we have all been waiting for reporter First Lady Michelle Obama gave the oscars a jolt of excitement and a huge surprise, when she appeared from the white house to announce the nights biggest prize, best picture. And the oscar goes to argo. Reporter it was an especially sweet victory for ben affleck, who wasnt nominated for directing the hostage thriller. Life of pi based on the bestselling novel, about a boy at sea, won best director for ang lee. Thank you, academy. Reporter he played one of the greatest president s in history. And lincolns leading man, daniel daylewis, made history of his own, becoming the first male actor to win three oscars. So grateful to the academy for this beautiful honor. Reporter she took a tumble heading to the stage. But everyone else was on their feet when Silver Lining playbooks Jennifer Lawrence won best actress. Host Seth Macfarlane struck a cheeky tone, securing stars and poking fun at himself. Seth macfarlane, worst oscar host . Its that bad . Reporter music was the theme of the night. And the show posted fullthroated performances from the cast of chicago, dream girls and les miserables. And music was a memorable part of the tribute to james bond. Shirley bassy got a standing ovation. While charttopper, adele, song the latest 007 theme, skyfall, which won the oscar for best song. Barbra streisand returned to the oscar stage to sing memories. And the biggest winner remembered his last time earning oscar gold. I was here 15 years ago or something. And i went out. You know, i never thought that i would be back here. And i am. And it doesnt matter. How you get knocked down in life. Thats going to happen. All that matters is youre going to get up. Reporter that was one of my favorite moments of the night, most definitely, when ben affleck got up there. You would think maybe he would have prepared himself for that win because argo did go into last night with such of a momentum swing that its gotten throughout this award season. But he seemed just flustered and happy and all here, there and everywhere. And you love those type of moments on the oscars. By the way, were here at the famed Roosevelt Hotel here in hollywood. And theres a bar right over to my shoulder here. Its called the library. Its only 2 00 a. M. Here. Theres people that are still partying tonight. And i can hear them. Who knows . They may just make a cameo walking behind us here this morning. It is one of those types of nights. I dont know if you had any favorite moments. But i did have a couple. Did you have a favorite moment . I love the music. Im a big fan of the musicals and music. I think Catherine Zetajones was killer in the all that jazz number. I talked to her at the governors ball last night. She said it was a rush to be back on stage. And her husband, michael douglas, was giving her that look. And that was a very sexy number. And everyone around him, he told me, kept saying, good lord, your wife is sexy. It might be a good night in the douglas household last night. One of my favorite moments, and it was a little crass, was they played the jaws music when we were going too long. We are saying, wrap it up, guys. I thought it was funny. And i thought it was a way to let everybody know, youre almost done. But i did think maybe it went a step too far, when they cut that poor fella off there, who was trying to give his speech. And im getting the wrap now. So, theyre about to Start Playing the jaws music. Getting the music from our producers. An edgier oscars for sure. Great to see you this morning. Good for you, staying up all night. Well see you again. Call it a Severe Weather sequel. Just days after a powerful winter blast blanketed the plains states with record snow, right now, a crippling winter storm bearing down on the same region. Bringing with it, what the National Weather service is calling lifethreatening blizzard conditions. The National Weather service has issued urgent warnings. Kansas city is expecting 9 to 15 inches of snow tonight into tuesday. The same system just left a blanket of white over much of colorado, cancelling hundreds of flights out of Denver International on sunday. Sam brownback is calling for drivers to stay off the road in his state. And he has worries this storm has the potential to be more dangerous. Jennifer delgado live for us now. How bad is it this morning . It seems like we always are talking about some type of winter storm. Youre right. Were talking about dangerous conditions setting up. You see the blizzard warning in place. Across kansas, texas, new mexico, as well as missouri. Were going to see the winds really picking up as we go later into the afternoon and the evening hours. That means visibility is really going to be down. Overall, we have about 17 states that are under some type of Winter Weather warning advisory. And it is going to be a bad one out there. Look whats happening right now. We already are seeing storms moving through central texas, as well as that snow working through, in these locations. A foot or more for kansas city. A foot of snowfall for you. Interstate 70s going to be a mess. Chicago, youre going to see roughly about five inches of snowfall. Thats welcome news because youre really low on the precipitation. Down to the south. Notice we have a severe thunderstorm watch in place for louisiana, that includes new orleans. Thats in place until 8 00 a. M. Look at the lightning out there. All this rain is going to be coming down. Were talking about a flood threat for today, tomorrow. Were talking two to four inches. In addition to that, Severe Weather for parts of the gulf. You can see from louisiana, texas, all the way over to the panhandle of florida. That means, we could see storms producing isolated tornadoes, as well as damaging winds. Its never an easy weather day. Its like a weather buffet. A weather buffet. A bad weather buffet. Makes you sick. The white house is getting specific about the programs that would take a hit if the spending cuts known in washington as the sequester, go into effect on friday. Just days away. Food safety inspections, Mental Health treatments, early vaccines, are programs all at risk. The faa would have to furlough nearly all of its employees, causing a major disruption in air travel. And defense would stall maintenance on navy ships. Its a mess. And arne duncan appeared on cbs sunday. We dont have any ability with dumb cuts like this to figure out what the right thing to do is. It means a lot more children will not get the services and opportunities they need. In as many as 40,000 teachers could lose their jobs. Some republicans say the Obama Administration is crafting a doomsday scenario, to get republicans to accept a deal that includes more tax increases for the wealthy. And Republican Leaders say those increases are unacceptable. Pope benedict has three more days as leader of the catholic church. He delivered a service in a packed st. Peters square. He will officially step down at 8 00 p. M. On thursday. Pope benedict resigns amid rumors of a sex scandal, such as gay priests being blackmailed. The end of the castro era in cuba, in sight. Raul castro says he plans on stepping down in 2018, which is the end of his second term. Fidel castros 81yearold brother made the announcement sunday, shortly after the countrys National Assembly elected him to a second fiveyear term. As for a possible successor . Raul castro says cubas first Vice President , miguel diaz, is part of a new generation that will provide the future leadership of that country. High School Administrators in grant forks, north dakota, are investigating a shocking incident. Three students showed up for a state hockey tournament on friday, wearing ku klux klanstyle hoods. A photo of the three was posted to twitter. Generated a lot of outrage. School officials have contacted the parents. They say theyre disappointed in the students behavior. And that appropriate action will be taken. Simply crazy. Stupid. One of the countrys biggest fans of argo, secretary of state, john kerry, makes his first trip overseas as americas top diplomat. We will go live from london. 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This is where it began this morning. The famous 10 downing street. Offering john kerry a traditional english breakfast. Thats to fortify him for this very long trip. Just days before his First International trip as secretary of state, john kerry made the case to an american audience, why the stakes for u. S. Global engagement are so high. Todays global world, there is no longer anything foreign about foreign policy. More than ever before, the decisions that we make from the safety of our shores dont just ripple outward. They also create a current, right here, in america. Reporter former highlevel diplomats say the eyes of the world will be on kerry and where he flies. First trips by an american secretary of state overseas are watched very closely. Theres a lot of symbolism attached to them. People look for clues as to which region is most important to the United States. Reporter his predecessor, Hillary Clinton, headed east for her first trip. Part of the Obama Administrations pivot to asia. Kerrys trip goes to Nine Countries. Italy, turkey, france, egypt, saudi arabia, the United Arab Emirates and qatar. He needs european support in the ongoing dispute over Irans Nuclear ambitions. And for any next steps to help the syrian opposition. Already, the opposition coalition, angry over not getting the military arms they want, is refusing to attend a meeting in rome where they were scheduled to talk with secretary kerry. One wild card on this trip, egypt. Antigovernment protests continue, as its economy struggles. But the state department says, dont expect kerry to chart any new policy on this trip. Hes characterizing this first trip more broadly, as a listening tour. Reporter john kerry follows in the footsteps of Hillary Clinton, who had skyhigh popularity around the world. Nobodys the rock star Hillary Clinton is. Reporter but kerry, who is a boy, lived in berlin, brings his own credentials. As chairman of the Foreign Senate Relations committee, he got to know many world leaders. He served as Barack Obamas personal enjoy to pakistan and afghanistan. Madeleine albright says despite clintons global following, kerry is ready the take the lead as americas top diplomat. Ive known him a very, very long time. And someone who comes from being chairman of the Foreign Relations committee, hes clearly dealt with all the issues and understands their background, their depth. Reporter and so, it is billed as a listening trip. And that means, to be diplomatically safe. Not to break any new ground. Not to make any mistakes. But hatching plots or hatching plans in washington is one thing. But the reality on the ground in the middle east, in syria, is certainly another, john. Jill, i think it will be months if not years before john kerry is not compared to his immediate predecessor, Hillary Clinton. Are there any differences yet . And do you predict differences in their styles going ahead . Reporter one thing is the politician. That was one thing that secretary clinton used very much to her advantage. Making the case to other world leaders. You know, you can be a statesman. You can rise above it. And that political sense, also john kerry has. So, there may be something kind of similar in them. But theyre different in emotional and temperamental differences. And that will be interesting to watch on the ground, too. I mean, john kerry doesnt have anything at this point to prove. There is no 2016 for him. It might be legacy determining how he handles things. Thats an interesting distinction. Jill dougherty live for us. 19 minutes past the hour. Time to get you up to speed on todays top stories. The preoscar favorite delivered last night. Argo winning best picture. The award was presented by Michelle Obama from the white house. It was a big night for life of pi. It won the most oscars, four, which included a best actor win for ang lee. U. S. Special sources may have harassed innocent people west of kabul. Now, hamid karzai is saying they must leave. The u. S. Military says it is investigating those claims. Oscar pistorius checks in at a Police Station in pretoria in south africa this morning. He has to show up every monday and friday, one of his requirements of being released on bail. He is accused of killing his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp on valentines day. He claims he was shooting at a burglar. Coming up, it is coming now. Forced spending cuts. The impact on you and your state. The white house has released details on which states will be hit the hardist. How many jobs will be lost. With the spark miles card from capital one, bjorn earns unlimited rewards for his Small Business. Take these bags to room 12 please. [ garth ] bjorns Small Business earns double miles on every purchase every da