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American Morning

Blizzard of '06; Winter Olympics in Torino; Taste of Mardi Gras

Aired February 13, 2006 - 06:31   ET

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


ANNOUNCER: You're watching AMERICAN MORNING with Soledad O'Brien and Miles O'Brien.
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN ANCHOR: And what a winter's tale. The blizzard of 2006 makes it into the history books.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, Columbus Circle there looking like a snow dome there.

VERJEE: Yes.

O'BRIEN: Put that back up there. It looks like a big dome of snow there covering over -- or not. Maybe not. There it is.

VERJEE: There it is.

O'BRIEN: There it is. Yes, it's a big mound of snow out there. The kids will be out there. The kids are quite excited. Snow day.

VERJEE: The kids were having a good time over the weekend in Central Park, having a good time.

O'BRIEN: And today especially. You know, it's more fun to sled when it's a snow day.

VERJEE: Is it?

O'BRIEN: Oh, yes.

VERJEE: It's not more fun to be inside with a cup of tea looking outside?

O'BRIEN: Not if you're 11.

Anyway, the East Coast is buried under snow today. A record for New York City, just short of 27 inches. It all built up in less than 24 hours.

LaGuardia has just reopened. Kennedy and Newark closed all day yesterday. And, of course, that has a ripple effect all throughout the nation. And wherever you are, if you are getting on a plane today, double, triple check.

The city says it's good that the storm hit on a Sunday. The kids in Brooklyn might have had a little more fun. Of course they got the day off from school. I think it is a snow day for them today, though. Pretty sure.

No. Public schools are going. Public schools are going. I don't want to start a rumor now.

The kids at home are going, "Yes!" No. Sorry, guys. I just crushed their poor little hearts.

Many schools in eastern Massachusetts, including Boston, are not open today.

Sorry, New York kids.

They are clearing anywhere from 12 to 22 inches. Just over a foot fell in the city of Boston. Visibility at Logan was right down to zero at times.

And eight inches fell on Washington. It was wetter snow down that way. That caused a lot more power outages. Reagan Airport, of course, closed there.

And look at this guy. It's obviously a rocket scientist there on the Mall. He's trying to move how cold you can get without a shirt on.

Chad Myers was watching it for us all the way. Let's see, on Friday he says, oh, it's a Mid Atlantic storm, Miles, don't worry.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes.

O'BRIEN: Go to Boston. Have fun.

MYERS: Go ahead.

O'BRIEN: Yes, go ahead. Really.

MYERS: It's all your version of fun.

O'BRIEN: Yes, it's true.

MYERS: Yes.

(WEATHER REPORT)

MYERS: Back to you.

VERJEE: Chad, thank you.

MYERS: All right.

Boston may have escaped the very worst of the snowstorm, but they still got more than a foot of snow up there. So let's check in and see what's happening there this morning.

Sean Hennessey of affiliate WHDH is live in Boston. He joins us now.

How do the roads look this morning, Sean?

SEAN HENNESSEY, REPORTER, WHDH: Zain, all in all not too bad. You know, this storm came hard, it came fast. And when it was over, Boston blanketed with a blizzard. This is what's left.

Fortunately, it was the light, fluffy stuff, so it's easy to move around. But as you can see, lots of it to move around. These snow banks and snowdrifts remnants of what we have.

I want to show you what we have for road conditions.

The crews spent much of the night clearing away the roads and the sidewalks. Well, as you can see, the roads and sidewalks are in decent shape. Buses getting along quite well.

Despite that, the city of Boston has closed school for today. That is because no one wants a repeat of what happened last year when a young student was hit by a car walking to school in the street because the sidewalks weren't clear. Now, the sidewalks here are cleared, but in all parts of Boston that's not the case. So no one wants to take that chance.

As for clearing away the streets, you can see the streets are empty. The city of Boston mandated that it was a snow emergency, which meant all the cars could not park on main roads and cars that were left there were either ticketed or towed. More than 700 cars got towed, 4,500 cars got ticketed because they were simply in the way.

As for Logan Airport, as we heard, visibility next to nothing yesterday, which is why during the height of the storm 90 percent of the flights were canceled. We're expecting delays today. Even though Logan Airport is open, expecting delays because people simply have to get out and they weren't getting out yesterday.

So, all in all in Boston, we're in decent shape. Life getting back to normal.

Zain, we'll send it back to you.

VERJEE: Thank you so much.

Sean Hennessey of affiliate WHDH in Boston giving us a sense of what's going on the ground there today.

Let's go over to Carol Costello for a check of the headlines this morning.

Hi, Carol.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: ... in Baghdad, where at least six Iraqi civilians have died today in a suicide bombing. The attack taking place outside of a bank. More than 40 others were injured.

And a rowdy Saddam Hussein shaking things up in court again. He shouted, "Down with Bush!" and also cursed the judge and called him a criminal. Saddam Hussein also complained that he was forced to attend today's session.

A prison break has ended peacefully in Chicago. The two remaining escapes from the Cook County jail have apparently surrendered. They were holding a woman and two children hostage. These are new pictures just into CNN.

The prisoners are part of a six-man group that escaped from the jail on Sunday. It was the second escape at the prison since Friday.

In California, at least two people are dead after a small plane crashed into a house. The plane was apparently doing some stunts over the rooftops when it went down over the weekend. Officials now investigating.

Ten fires in 10 days in Alabama. Authorities say a string of fires at Baptist churches in the state may all be linked. The latest one taking place over the weekend. So far, investigators think two men in their 20s or 30s may be behind the fires. They're actually calling on those responsible to call in to authorities, but they still have no suspects or clear motive.

And beach panic in Australia. Now, I want you to look very closely at this video. You'll see dozens of -- see the dark shapes there? Well, those are sharks. And this is called a feeding frenzy just off Australia's Gold Coast.

Despite the warnings, some people still got into the water. An 18-year-old the only casualty we're hearing about. He needed 11 stitches after being bitten by a shark. He as wading in about a foot of water.

There would be no way I would be anywhere near that water -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: I'm just trying to figure out why. Why? I mean, these are questions that I just can't come up with answers to.

Why would you get in?

VERJEE: For the thrill of it.

O'BRIEN: The thrill of it. The thrill of bleeding in the water. The thrill of the stitches. Yes.

VERJEE: The thrill of staring down fear and confronting one's own sense of adventure.

O'BRIEN: It makes me think of those Darwin awards. Obviously, since he lived to tell the story, he's only a semifinalist. But anyway -- all right.

Michelle Kwan's Olympic dream is on ice. The five-time world champion figure skater forced to withdraw from the Torino games because of an injury, ending her decade-long quest for Olympic gold.

She never won a gold medal. She's such a class act, too. CNN's Larry Smith is live for us now in Torino.

Everybody wants Michelle Kwan to win a gold medal. Can't we -- can't we just give her an honorary gold or something?

LARRY SMITH, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Well, maybe somebody somewhere will do that. I don't know. I think we all would like to do that, no question.

O'BRIEN: She deserves it. She deserves a gold for class, doesn't she?

SMITH: She certainly does. In fact, one of the officials of the USOC even said that she's one of the classiest Olympic athletes in history.

Now, her replacement, Emily Hughes -- if you listen to all the weather reports, they are unbelievable that you would ever think of a winter Olympics being balmier than what you are seeing there back home. Emily Hughes at some point will finally get out of the New York area and will make her way to Torino. And we're awaiting her arrival.

She is the younger sister of Sarah Hughes, who won a gold in 2002. She was the -- finished third in the nationals, was the first alternate. And now she is on her way to the games and will compete next week in place of Michelle Kwan.

Now, as for the 25-year-old Kwan, as you mentioned, a five-time world champion, nine-time U.S. champion. A groin injury suffered in Saturday's practice that just forced her to finally accept the fact that she will not bet able to get that elusive gold medal, and it was a bitter pill to swallow.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHELLE KWAN, FIGURE SKATER: I don't think that I can be 100 percent. And I respect the Olympics too much to compete. And I don't feel that I can be at my best.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SMITH: Well, speaking of figure skating, tonight is the pairs competition. A gold medal up for grabs. We'll see if the American duo Rena Inoue and John Baldwin can steal gold. Right now they're standing at a very strong 6 after performing the first thrown triple axel in Olympic history Saturday night.

However, it's the Russian duo, Tatiana Totmianina and Max Marinin. They are trying to become the 12th consecutive Russian or Soviet duo to win gold in the pairs figure skating. That means every gold medal since 1964 in this event has gone to the Russians or the Soviets.

Let's go back to you -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: Larry, you can do a triple axel can't you? SMITH: Sure, with my fingers. I can do one of these -- yes, right. No. Finger skating.

O'BRIEN: All right. Thank you, Larry.

SMITH: Yes.

O'BRIEN: Coming up, Democratic chairman Howard Dean will join us live right here. What does his party have to do to win big in the midterm elections? We'll ask him.

VERJEE: Also, are you tempted to use a credit card today to pay your taxes? Your credit card company might reward you if you do, but beware, there could be a catch. More on that as we mind your business.

O'BRIEN: Plus, the good times are rolling once again in New Orleans, at least parts of New Orleans. Folks gear up for their first post-Katrina Mardi Gras.

That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VERJEE: Thousands of Hurricane Katrina evacuees hoping for a last-minute reprieve this morning. FEMA said that it would stop paying the rents today for about 12,000 families in federally-funded hotel rooms, but on Sunday lawyers for the evacuees requested a temporary restraining order to stop the evictions. A judge's decision is expected some time this morning.

And many more crooks than previously thought are trying to take advantage of recovery spending. A government report on post-Katrina fraud is due out today. The report concludes that FEMA's disaster aid program is just riddled with fraud. At least 50 suspects already facing charges in three states. The report predicts hundreds more people could be prosecuted.

O'BRIEN: Meanwhile, New Orleans is gearing up for its first post-Katrina Mardi Gras. The first of more than 30 parades took place this weekend. A chance for people still in recovery mode to try to get a little partying going on.

More from Davis Brister of affiliate WDSU.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVIS BRISTER, REPORTER, WDSU (voice over): It's here, the first sounds from Mardi Gras 2006. With the thousands of people attending the Krodavoo (ph) parade, nothing has sounded this sweet in quite a while.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I am so happy to see everybody out. This is my old neighborhood, and I love it.

BRISTER: As usual, the central attractions were creative, taking on everything storm-related. The parade's theme was C'est Levee. It took shots at Governor Blanco, to Mayor Nagin, to the Army Corps of Engineers, putting its own spin on the levee failures. For a couple hours, anyway, the creativity worked. The people who had gone through so much and were watching could forget about it all.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Once you get out here into the flavor of our people, it's all gone again. It makes it all worthwhile.

BRISTER: Cold weather couldn't stop the crowd from enjoying themselves, and neither could FEMA. Many even gave the Krodavoo (ph) FEMA reps a warm welcome. They all got a good laugh at a plea to France's president to buy New Orleans.

But it was more than just bands and floats and beads this year. It was a chance to put the past where it belongs and move all those negatives that came with Katrina.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's something different to do besides picking up trash, you know. Something new.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: That was Davis Brister with WDSU. We thank them for that.

The main event is scheduled to begin on Saturday. New Orleans is still looking for sponsors to help cover the cost of the Mardi Gras celebration.

VERJEE: Andy is "Minding Your Business" just ahead here on AMERICAN MORNING. And Andy had a good time this weekend skiing.

ANDY SERWER, EDITOR-AT-LARGE, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: I did. You know, I was skiing with my wife.

VERJEE: You took full advantage.

SERWER: I was sledding with my kids. And, you know, it was a once-in-a-decade storm and we had a great time out there. It was fun.

Let's talk about business. How will millions of Americans pay their taxes this year? One word: plastic.

And also, those tech firms versus China. Now it's Congress's turn to step in.

Stay tuned for that on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VERJEE: It is cold out there, but it is beautiful. The blizzard of 2006 going down in history as the biggest winter storm in New York City ever.

And I was caught in it with no taxi to hail.

SERWER: Beautiful stuff. Loved it.

VERJEE: Not at that moment. It was actually very painful. But I'll bore you with that in a moment.

Let's go over to Carol Costello and check the headlines.

Carol, hi. I was stuck for two and a half hours trying to hail down a taxi, which I never ended up getting. And then I ended up getting ripped off by another car service.

COSTELLO: Yes, you have to learn the lesson.

SERWER: Walk.

COSTELLO: Never -- yes, walk.

SERWER: Bring boots.

COSTELLO: Do not take taxis in bad weather in New York City. You are just asking for trouble.

Hey, good morning, everyone.

This just in to CNN. The circus that is the Saddam Hussein trial has now been adjourned until tomorrow. Today's proceedings began with Hussein saying, "Down with Bush."

We will keep following things for you out of Baghdad.

Haiti seems to be heading for a runoff in its presidential election. Frontrunner Rene Preval needs to have at least 50 percent to get the presidency. But with three-quarters of Tuesday's votes tallied, Preval's numbers are slipping. Some of his supporters say the vote count is too slow and they're threatening violence if Preval is not declared a winner. Final results are expected this week.

And he finally made it. Pilot Steve Fossett is a new record holder. That despite sleep deprivation, severe turbulence and a last- minute emergency landing that blew out two tires on his Virgin Atlantic Global Flyer.

He traveled more than 26,000 miles in just under 77 hours. Fossett broke the record for the longest nonstop flight. The previous record, about 25,300 miles set by a balloonist in 1999.

So, congratulations to Mr. Fossett this morning -- Chad.

MYERS: And now he's going to fly to the moon. No. I don't know.

COSTELLO: I wouldn't doubt it.

MYERS: You've got that much money -- you know, he made an emergency landing, lost two tires, had a lot of turbulence, so I'm thinking my life is worth more. Just kind of like sit on a beach somewhere instead of flying an experimental plane. But that's just me.

(WEATHER REPORT)

MYERS: Back to you guys.

VERJEE: Chad, thank you.

MYERS: Yes.

VERJEE: How about this: airline miles for your tax bill.

What's that all about?

SERWER: Zain, what we Americans wouldn't do for double bonus points. I mean, people would pay just about anything with their credit cards. And this is a new one to me.

It's a wrinkle having to do with your taxes. And yes, I'm sorry to say it's that time of year coming up very soon, folks.

A couple major credit card companies are offering double bonus points if you pay for your taxes with their credit cards. Companies including Chase, United Airlines, double points if you pay.

Last year, 1.5 million Americans did that, and the number is supposed to increase dramatically this year. This year, also, the first year businesses allowed to pay their taxes with credit cards.

It's no free lunch, though, people. That's why you really want to look at this closely. You have to pay a fee of between 2 and 2.5 percent to the credit card company processors if you want to do this.

Many experts saying don't do it this way. Just use a regular old check.

VERJEE: And there are congressional hearings today on dealings with China.

SERWER: Actually, coming up two days from now, Zain.

On Wednesday, the hearings that we have been talking about having to do with Internet and technology companies in China. A lot of controversy.

You may remember just last week Yahoo! was accused of aiding the Chinese government in tracking down dissidents. Yahoo! not commenting really on that, but today coming out and saying there were in fact serious and distressing consequences with regard to that kind of investigation.

Representative Chris Smith, Republican of New Jersey, is going to be holding these hearings, and he's actually introduced a new bill, Zain, which would limit these technology companies doing business there by not allowing them to put servers there.

So this is a battle. You know, trade with China, it's a double- edge sword. Huge market, but they restrict what we do. They also obviously export a lot to our company, which gives us cheap goods but then destroys jobs. So back and forth we go.

VERJEE: So how much does it actually boost U.S. GDP?

SERWER: Well, I think it probably helps to an extent that we get cheap things here that people buy.

VERJEE: Yes.

SERWER: On the other hand, it destroys jobs, people say. So, it's hard to measure that.

VERJEE: OK.

Andy Serwer, always good to see you.

SERWER: Good to see you.

VERJEE: You look in good shape. Are you hurting after the...

SERWER: I feel good. No, I feel good after that skiing and sledding.

VERJEE: Yes? Feel strong?

SERWER: Yes.

VERJEE: Andy, thanks a lot.

We're going to take a short break and get a check of the weather forecast when we come back.

Stay with AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

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