Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Wintry Blast Sideswipes Part of the Nation; Mexican Lawmakers Brawl as Calderon Takes Oath as new President; House Intel Leader

Aired December 01, 2006 - 11:00   ET

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

T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: You're with CNN. You are informed.
I'm T.J. Holmes. Tony Harris off today.

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Heidi Collins.

Developments keep coming in to the NEWSROOM, and that's for sure, on this Friday, December 1st. Here's what's on the rundown now.

Driving a storm. A wintry blast sideswipes the Plains with snow and ice. We've got travel delays to tell you all about.

HOLMES: London shocker. A second person diagnosed with radioactive Polonium poisoning. He apparently dined with a former Russian spy at this sushi bar.

COLLINS: And World AIDS Day. Two young Americans helping Africa's AIDS orphans. They, too, lost their parents to HIV. We'll talk with them coming up in the NEWSROOM.

Heartland cold blast. A major snowstorm is tearing through the central part of the nation today, heading east. Hundreds of flights canceled, even more delayed. On the right side of your screen we will keep you posted on all of the snarled air travel.

First, though, the view from the ground. And CNN's Keith Oppenheim begins our coverage in Chicago.

Now it's looking a little bit better, Keith. We're trying to be optimistic here.

KEITH OPPENHEIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Actually, you're right, Heidi. It is a little bit better compared to this morning. As you can see, folks here on the Michigan Avenue bridge are braving the tough conditions. But the weather has been causing all kinds of problems.

In fact, there was a FedEx cargo plane that went off the runway at O'Hare this morning and kept the runway occupied for a while. One example of the kind of troubles that Chicago and the rest of the region are going through this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is horrible. OPPENHEIM (voice over): Severe winter weather is slamming the Midwest. Snow and ice are creating a travel nightmare across eight states. In Wichita, Kansas, heavy snow slowed traffic on a highways to a crawl. That is, if you could even get on the highway.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And I sort of didn't get on the highway. I kind of went astray.

OPPENHEIM: On Interstate 44, in Missouri, a tractor trailer jackknifed on the slick road and slammed into a car, killing the car's driver. In Chicago, ice is blamed for a seven-car pileup overnight along Interstate 55.

But it's at the airports where traffic is really snarled. United Airlines canceled over 385 flights at O'Hare, America's second busiest, before the storm even hit, to give passengers time to make other plans. For some travelers, that meant staying right where they were.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm just going with my gut, and staying in Wichita for a night.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

OPPENHEIM: We're back live with a view of the very chilly Chicago River. And if you walk with me, Heidi, you can see what it looks like down here on the sidewalk, despite good attempts by the Department of Transportation to clean up.

They've still got a lot of the wet slush on the ground. And the obvious problem is that if it gets colder, which we do think it will, a lot of this stuff is going to make walking and particularly driving that much more treacherous than it has already been.

We have about 16,000 customers without power in northern Illinois, just as of now. So that gives you some sense of the impact of a storm like this -- Heidi.

COLLINS: Yes. And you always worry about the power lines, too, with the ice and the accumulation on them coming down and hurting somebody. Also, I think I'm understanding that you've been hearing thunder in the area, too.

OPPENHEIM: Yes, we did. It was kind of wild. During the first hour of our live reporting in the early morning, it was just a bizarre mix of a thunderstorm and a snowstorm at the same time.

And people who are a little bit smarter about weather than I am tell me that it was really the colliding of fronts right near where we were. So, you know, it felt like the sound of a summer storm in the middle of winter.

COLLINS: Well, we are going to get to our meteorologist in just a bit. But I think you did an excellent job, Keith. Something about a high pressure, low pressure -- I don't know, we'll get the facts on that. OPPENHEIM: Right.

COLLINS: Keith Oppenheim, live from Chicago.

Hang in there. Thank you.

HOLMES: They're all weather guys today.

We've got another weather guy in Missouri, where ice is causing some problems, of course, with the power outages. And CNN's Sean Callebs, who has turned into a meteorologist today as well, he's in St. Louis.

How's it going now?

SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Things are getting somewhat better. And we're living proof here that while predicting the weather is a science, it's not an exact science, because people warned people in the St. Louis area for days, a couple of days that the snow, ice was coming, but it only really came last night.

I want to show you, right through the tree here, a very nice image. The sun now beginning to peek out here. But you can see all the ice that is on the tree.

That is the big problem, because about 450,000 people in the St. Louis area without electricity. The power company is urging people, stay in their homes, not necessarily because of the roads --in the St. Louis area the roads are getting much better -- but because so many power lines are down the concern there.

A little bit of good news about the roads. The city officials here tell us that, for the most part, in and around St. Louis things are pretty good. People are moving around pretty well.

However, about 130 miles to the west of us, I-70, still closed. State police tell us that road is icy. They're not allowing anyone to drive on that road at this time.

What people I'm sure want to know about the airport situation here, because so many flights canceled yesterday when the freezing rain first started coming down, and the airport officials were simply overburdened trying to de-ice all the aircraft, well, we're told that flights are now landing here, but basically still no flights going out. Only a few.

But if these kind of conditions do hold up, because it's about freezing, maybe a little above, the ice is melting in the streets -- you can see over here to my right. And the salt trucks stopped coming through some time ago, but the good news is, you can actually you see the asphalt. Traffic moving very well.

The big thing they want to do is get the airport traffic up and going because they had about 1,000 people stuck at the airport last night. So clearly those weary travelers, T.J., want to hit the road, want to move on, get to some warmer weather, I'm sure. HOLMES: Yes, I'm sure.

All right. Thanks so much to you, Sean Callebs, in -- in Missouri.

We're going to head to the other side of Missouri now. Some areas got hit by the wintry blast, but they're actually starting to dig out, and our Jonathan Freed is actually having to use sunscreen now.

It's so nice where you are now.

JONATHAN FREED, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, T.J. If Keith and Sean and I -- if we've all been cast as meteorologists today, I'm the weather guy you want to hear from. As you can see -- let me show you what's going down.

Chris, take a look down here.

This is something that we did not expect to be seeing here today with everybody battening down for the storm that came along. And the reason for it -- and come over here, we'll show you -- the lovely blue skies here in downtown Kansas City.

Now, we were wondering whether or not the storm was going to scare away all the business. This is, of course, that busy time of the year. And I've been walking around, and it looks like some of the stores are actually planning to open today, even though originally we understood that they told their employees that they could go.

Now, I spoke to the person that should be the ultimate authority on road conditions earlier, somebody with the U.S. Postal Service, a mail carrier. He told me that it was no problem getting around today, that he did not even have to take out his SUV.

So, clearly, the road crews here have done a great job, they have pushed everything away. And the main arteries around here are working just fine -- T.J.

HOLMES: Well, that's certainly good to hear. And yes, gorgeous blue skies, all that stuff is moving away. Show those folks relief. So nice picture there.

And thank you.

The third meteorologist we've heard from this hour so far.

FREED: Thank you.

HOLMES: I think we're going to hear from another one.

FREED: There is hope. There is hope. If you're east of here, there is hope.

HOLMES: There is hope. All right.

COLLINS: All right. That's good. Jonathan Freed, always possible for us.

Thank you.

And Reynolds Wolf is actually the certified meteorologist joining us now.

HOLMES: Yes.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COLLINS: To Mexico now. A power struggle in the government there.

Just minutes ago, Felipe Calderon took the oath of office as Mexico's president. The ceremony was accompanied by jeers and whistles. And yet, that was an improvement over the chaotic scene beforehand.

Lawmakers threw punches and chairs into congressional chambers. The brawl was broadcast nationwide. Calderon's opponent claims he was robbed of the presidency.

Harris Whitbeck joins us now on the phone from Mexico City.

Harris, we had some of the inaugural address here, but it was in Spanish. We'd love to know a little bit about what was said by the new president, Felipe Calderon.

HARRIS WHITBECK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Heidi, he didn't say much. In fact, all he did was appear on -- at the podium here at the Legislative Palace in Mexico City.

He raised his right arm and he took the oath of office, an oath that didn't last more than 30, 40 seconds. After that, former president Vicente Fox, who had said he would show up here despite calls by the opposition for him not to do so, he -- Fox turned over the presidential sash, which was placed on Mr. Calderon, and that was basically it.

The ceremony over. Legally, Calderon now is now the constitutional president of Mexico. And he left the Legislative Palace to go to the national auditorium in Mexico City, where he is scheduled to appear before members of his party, the National Action Party.

Now, his main opponent, during the elections, and the person who has -- who has disavowed his claim to the presidency, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, has taken supporters, hundreds of his supporters to the national auditorium to (INAUDIBLE) confrontation there with Felipe Calderon and his supporters.

So, while there is now a constitutional president, there is still a bit of uncertainty on the streets. A lot of people are not happy with this. And again, it's the big -- the big challenge basically now is how to achieve governability and how to get legislation approved here in the next few months -- Heidi. COLLINS: Yes, I would imagine that would certainly be part of the challenge there in Mexico.

Harris Whitbeck for us live, talking about the new president of Mexico, Felipe Calderon.

Harris, thanks for that.

We want to go straight now to Andrea Koppel, our congressional correspondent, with more information on the new appointment by House Speaker-to-Be Nancy Pelosi choosing Congressman Silvestre Reyes to be the new chairman of the House Intelligence Committee.

Certainly some context to put all of this in, Andrea.

ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Sure. Well, first thing, Heidi, our viewers should know that Congressman Reyes is from El Paso. And he's the former chairman of the House Hispanic Caucus, and would be the very first Hispanic chairman of the Intelligence Committee. He's currently a member of that.

Many had believed, as we've reported over the last couple of weeks, that the frontrunner, the obvious frontrunner who's the top Democrat on the committee, California Congresswoman Jane Harman, should have been the natural choice for the position. But aides to Speaker-Elect Pelosi had indicated that that wasn't going to happen because they said Harman had basically maxed out on the number of terms she was allowed to serve.

But, Heidi, it's also true that if Speaker-Elect Pelosi wanted to, she could have waived those restrictions. And she certainly had that prerogative and chose not to. Harman's supporters believe the decision to pass her over was more personal than professional because they had a tense relationship.

And then earlier this week we saw a clearly disappointed Florida congressman, Alcee Hastings, who has also been seen as one of the potential frontrunners. We saw that Pelosi had told him that he was not going to be the next chair.

Hastings wasn't tapped, some believe, because he has a checkered past. He was removed from the federal judgeship by the House of Representatives back in the 1980s, and that was over allegations that he was basically too radioactive. He tried to extort a $150,000 bribe when he was a federal judge.

Now, Alcee Hastings was acquitted of this. Nevertheless, Harman -- excuse me -- Pelosi had run her campaign, as most Democrats did on this, trying to get rid of the appearance of Republican culture of corruption. So, longwinded way of saying that Chairman Reyes is now going to be the Intelligence Committee chairman, despite the fact that you have a couple of very, very disappointed members, Jane Harman and Alcee Hastings among them.

COLLINS: All right. Andrea Koppel, our congressional correspondent, with the news of this new chairman of the House Intelligence Committee.

We certainly appreciate that, Andrea.

HOLMES: Big question, when to leave. The Iraq Study Group reportedly saying maybe 2008. Our Jamie McIntyre joins us live from the Pentagon, next in the NEWSROOM.

Also, growing up with AIDS. Young people find the courage to confront an uncertain future. From despair to hope, live in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: The Iraq Study Group trying to solve the riddle of Baghdad. "The Washington Post" reporting today the panel will recommend pulling U.S. combat troops out by early 2008.

We go live now to CNN Senior Pentagon Correspondent Jamie McIntyre -- Jamie.

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SR. PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, as you can imagine, T.J., that proposal is the talk of the town here as people are wondering to what extent the United States will be able to reduce its footprint in Iraq over the next year. And the key part of that proposal, as reported by "The Washington Post," is that it would not be a mandate, but it would be a goal to reduce by perhaps as many as 70,000, the number of U.S. troops on the ground by transitioning to more of a support role and putting much more emphasis on training Iraqi troops than conducting combat operations.

Interestingly, we heard from one of the commanders who would have to make those decisions today, Major General Benjamin Mixon, who is in charge of the Iraqi provinces up to the north, and he essentially said during a briefing with Pentagon reporters today that that strategy is essentially what they're doing now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAJ. GEN. BENJAMIN MIXON, U.S. ARMY: I can certainly see great opportunity to reduce the amount of combat forces on the ground in a multinational division north and turn more responsibility over to Iraqi security forces. I think we have to keep this in perspective.

We spent about 10 years in Bosnia-Herzegovina setting the stage for those elements to be successful. We need to allow the Iraqis the same time to get their security forces on the ground, to get their government working, and then have a gradual withdrawal of American security forces but continue to partner with them over the long term.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCINTYRE: What's still not clear about the Iraq Study Group recommendation, which will be formally unveiled next week, is the extent that the U.S. troop draw down or pullback would go on whether or not the Iraqis were stepping up. Right now, , the U.S. has been unable to make any significant troop reductions in Iraq because the Iraqi forces have not yet been able to take over.

Now, this is a year when the U.S. military anticipates a lot of that transition will take place. And General Mixon there said he believes in the next four to six months he'll be able to turn over significant parts of his area to complete Iraqi control.

But if -- if the troop withdrawals are contingent on the Iraqis taking over and doing much more, then they run into the same problem that we've had in the last year, which is, if the violence continues, it may not be able to be something they can accomplish. So we'll have to wait and see exactly what the Iraq Study Group recommends, and then, of course, which parts of that President Bush decides to adopt -- T.J.

HOLMES: All right.

Jamie McIntyre for us from the Pentagon.

Thank you.

COLLINS: Among the most vulnerable people with AIDS, the children. True victims. Many orphaned by the disease and then sentenced to live with it.

Some, like our next guests, are a testament to courage and the will to live. As youth activists with UNICEF, they recently went to Ethiopia to exchange their own survival stories with the children there.

Wonderful pictures to look at.

Kimberley Canady and Elias Perez are joining us now from New York this morning.

Nice to see you guys.

ELIAS PEREZ, HIV POSITIVE ACTIVIST: Nice to see you, too.

KIMBERLY CANADY, HIV POSITIVE ACTIVIST: Hi.

COLLINS: I want to ask you quickly about this trip to Ethiopia and sharing your stories of survival with children there.

Kimberly, why don't you tell us what that was like.

Oh, my gosh, the experience was great. It was -- it pretty much overpowered you to see all the kids there and their struggle, and how a lot of them had so much hope to go on and, you know, to inspire them and tell them about our story and how we're living with HIV. You know, it pretty much changed our lives and our experiences.

COLLINS: I can only imagine. Some of these pictures are just absolutely stunning.

Elias, what brought to you Ethiopia? PEREZ: You know, I watch TV, and you see the commercials about, you know, kids, you know, and, like, people needing money and donation. And you never really look at it and, you know, never really care. But, you know, they offered -- UNICEF offered me to go over there, and I said, sure, why not?

And when you see it for yourself, it's way more different. It's like, once you get there, you feel bad of why, you know -- you look back and you see those commercials and you're like, "Well, I didn't look at it that way." You know what I mean?

So it was just very crazy. I experienced so much and learned so much. The people are beautiful over there, very kind, but they just need a lot of help.

And, you know, HIV and AIDS is really affecting people all over the world. So I just -- I'm here to help. You know what I mean?

I love to help ever since that day. And I also help, you know, in my community.

COLLINS: Kimberly, what are your hopes for the fight against AIDS? Specifically on this very important World AIDS Day.

You may have missed that question. I see you're having trouble with your ear piece.

CANADY: Yes, it's coming out. I'm sorry.

COLLINS: That's OK. I just want to know -- can you hear me now?

CANADY: OK. I'm sorry. Wait.

COLLINS: That's OK, no problem. I'm just curious to know what hopes you have for the fight against AIDS, and in particular with teenagers or adolescents your age.

CANADY: Well, my hope and my dream is that everybody, you know, participates in this fight, that it shouldn't just be people who are HIV positive and is affected by it that should be fighting against it. People these days, you know, within the states figure that if it's -- if they're not experiencing it, that they're not affected by it.

And I just hope that everybody could come together and fight through this struggle. And that, you know, it shouldn't just be people who are living with it.

Everybody should, you know, know what's going on. That's what my hopes and dreams are.

COLLINS: Elias, I know that both of you contracted the AIDS virus from your mother when you were inside the womb still. You were both -- you both lost your parents at this point, are seen as AIDS orphans.

When you were in Ethiopia, did you feel that connection? PEREZ: Oh, most definitely I felt the connection. When you hear their cries -- they had a play, and the play was basically about their lives and, you know, their cries to their mother. And, you know, she held the picture, a crying (ph) mother, you know, asking, "Why you left me" and things like that, and I just kind of felt what she felt. Because when I was young -- you know, I'm an orphan as well, with HIV, I felt what she was feeling.

You know/ Because I used to do the same thing. I used to hold my mother's picture and used to cry every night and, like, "Why? Why?"

And I always thought, you know, there was no hope. But as I got older and mature and got to understand what the disease is about and learn about it, you know, you're not that scared.

So it's good to just educate everybody, because once you're educated about it, you know, everybody is not beginning to be scared. It's really nothing. It's not a death sentence. You could live a productive life. You know, living with it.

COLLINS: Yes, I'm sure it was very comforting. I'm sure it was very comforting for those children to hear from you.

Kimberly, take us to this video that we want to look at and show our viewers. There's an incredible event that happened in Ethiopia. This is the Great Ethiopian Run.

What was this all about?

CANADY: Well, it was to pretty much stop the spread of HIV and AIDS so everybody could know that, you know, we can all do this together, that we can -- we can all fight, you know, the great fight. So it was -- when we were there, we met little kids.

It was -- it was amazing. It was little kids, it was disabled people. It was little kids that live outside, like the homeless kids that didn't even have, like, the shirts that we had on and were still running, you know, to promote what we were doing.

And it was amazing because it was over like 25,000 people just running. And, you know, singing songs and pretty much, you know, making everybody feel good. And even though me and Elias couldn't understand some of the things that they were saying, they treated us like, you know, we were part of, you know, where they lived and we were all together.

COLLINS: Well, the work that the two of you are doing as activists for HIV and AIDS, along with UNICEF, is terrific work. We appreciate your stories here very much as we think about this epidemic, 40 million people living with HIV across the world now.

Again, thank you for your time. Kimberley Canady and Elias Perez.

CANADY: Thank you. PEREZ: Thank you.

COLLINS: And for more information about UNICEF, or to make a donation, you can visit this Web site, www.unicefusa.org, or you can call that number on your screen, 1-800-4-UNICEF.

In fact, we want to show you these terrific pictures now as we move to Washington, D.C. Once again, on World AIDS Day.

You remember this. The -- forgive me, this is in Atlanta. I thought we were in D.C. That's where the quilt was first unveiled .

This is in Atlanta now. We're looking at the World AIDS Day quilt, which 10 years ago was put together by the NAMES Project Foundation. And at that time, there were about 40,000 panels with 70,000 names memorializing those people who had died from AIDS.

Today, when you look at that quilt, you are seeing 48,000 panels with 91,000 names. A poignant picture on this very day.

HOLMES: Well, SeaWorld's killer whale out of control. It's not the first time the show has gone wrong.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Two times in 12 years. We'll take that track record, especially all the thousands of good interactions.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: That story is ahead in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: A wintry storm plunges the Midwest and the Plains into the deep freeze. The first major snowstorm of the season making road conditions dangerous from Texas to Missouri to Michigan. A blizzard warning was posted for parts of Oklahoma, and the governor of Kansas declared a disaster emergency for 27 counties in his state.

The storm has grounded hundreds of flight. More than 400 were canceled at Chicago's O'Hare airport today. Flights were also grounded at St. Louis and Dallas-Fort Worth airports.

We're going to keep you updated, if you look to the right side of your screen there, with all of the travel delays.

HOLMES: Reynolds Wolf with us now.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HOLMES: We want to go back now to our Arwa Damon, who is in Baghdad with more on a special guest, going to be visiting Washington, not an official member of the Iraqi government, but still a powerful guy there in Iraq, nonetheless.

ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: T.J., that's right.

And that would be Abdul Aziz al Hakeem (ph), the head of SCIRI. That is the Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq, one of Iraq's more powerful Shia parties here. Hakeem himself an incredibly influential political figure, even although he doesn't hold an official seat or post within the Iraqi government.

Now this meeting is going to take place sometime over the next few days. That according to his aide, Haisam Al Husseini (ph). According to Husseini (ph), President Bush actually called Mr. Hakeem back at the end of February, following that deadly bombing of the holy Shia shrine in Samarra, invited him to come to the United States for talks. That invitation was reiterated by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on her last visit here. Again, that meeting, according to the aide to Mr. Hakeem, set to take place over the next few days.

Now, Mr. Hakeem is a very figure over here in Iraq. Again, he heads SCIRI, the Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq. He spent quite some time in Iraq. They are actually joining the Badr Brigade. That is the military wing of SCIRI. He spent a few years there, finally returned August, late 2003. Again, a very influential political figure here on the ground in Iraq. He holds a lot of sway amongst the Iraqi politicians, they hold meetings all the time, and a lot of credibility amongst the Iraqi people -- T.J.

HOLMES: All right, our Arwa Damon for us in Baghdad. Arwa, thank you as always.

COLLINS: Tipsy on TV. Danny DeVito isn't the first celeb to make a memorable appearance. Jeanne Moos makes the most of a must-see TV moment in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: All right. You drive to the office, you sit at your desk all day, and then you drive home. Sounds like the car and the desk chair are getting a pretty good workout. But what about you?

Dr. Sanjay Gupta takes a look at the new urbanism that is helping you maybe stay healthier.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SR. MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: If we all lived in TV, kids would walk to school in quiet streets and play in the front years. But suburban sprawl has replaced many traditional neighborhoods and sidewalks, kids playing outside or even people can be difficult to find in the burbs. It's a disturbing trend that's challenging growth and development expert Catherine Ross to rethink the way communities are built.

CATHERINE ROSS, GEORGIA TECH: We are a nation of auto drivers. And so you get in your car and you drive home, and you get out and you're kind of home. Nothing happens in between, and too often not much happens on either end. GUPTA: According to the surgeon general, those changes in our communities are playing a key role in America's sedentary lifestyle. Americans say one of the main reasons they don't exercise is the lack of a place to do so, such as sidewalks or parks.

TOM GLEASON, FOREST CITY STAPLETON, INC.: If you build a community right, if you make it possible for people to walk and to be very active, they're going to take advantage of that.

GUPTA: Just 15 minutes south of Denver, Colorado, a new smart community is creating a lifestyle that's healthier for kids and adults, on land that used to be Stapleton Airport. It's one of a growing number of similar developments across the country.

GLEASON: The sidewalks out here at Stapleton are broad sidewalks, so it's very conducive place to walk, take your children in the stroller, to walk your dog, that kind of thing.

GUPTA: Gleason says young families are moving to Stapleton to take advantage of what's being called a new urbanism.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We need to move here, because all of our friends were already here. It's tons of kids. You can walk everywhere, lots to do, and it just makes it easier. You don't have to hop in the car and pack them up.

GUPTA: Stapleton is based on old-style neighborhoods with big front porches and homes within walking distance to shopping and restaurants.

ROSS: I think a neighborhood could help you stay healthy, by allowing you to provide an access to places where you can engage in physical activity.

CRAIG WU, STAPLETON RESIDENT: You know, that's the thing if you can integrate it into your life, then it becomes much easier and much more of a lifestyle change.

GUPTA: It may not just like the Beave's neighborhood, but these smart communities could be a step in the right direction in fighting obesity.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: We've been talking for quite a while here about the winter storm that has sort of blasted the Midwest. Now we are getting some reports about Alabama and some storm damage there. Want to bring in Reynolds Wolf to take a look at some of this. Reynolds, not looking good here either.

REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Not at all. This is just the tail end of the same storm system that's been moving through the Great Leakes and the Northeast, the very end of that boundary had moved through Alabama last night, spawning tornado warnings in parts of Tuscaloosa, south of Birmingham.

This is in Demoplis, Alabama, compliments of NBC affiliate WFSA. This is just to the west of Montgomery, Alabama, due south of Tuscaloosa. They had strong, straight line winds that went through there. No confirmation as of yet if this was caused by a tornado. But I'm telling you, that damage is quite impressive to say the very least.

A couple of trailer homes damaged by the wind. Right now they have lake advisories, wind lake advisories in effect for that part of the state on the Kusa river. Also into parts of the Alabama River itself. (INAUDIBLE) It's going to be that way through much of the afternoon before that wind begins to subside.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HOLMES: So, how much are you paying to invest in your future? Susan Lisovicz live from the New York Stock Exchange, next in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(MARKET REPORT)

Fees, they can eat away at your retirement savings. Now a government agency wants Congress to take a closer look at them. Susan Lisovicz is doing the same at the New York Stock Exchange with details on this. Hi there, Susan.

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Heidi. Millions of us, of course, invest in 401ks. But, most of us don't know how much we're being charged to do just that. Now the Government Accountability Office wants investors to know exactly how much they're really being charged to invest in their 401ks.

A new report from the agency says regulators need to boost their oversight of the retirement plan and urges Congress to take another look at laws governing those plans. The report found that legal requirements for disclosing fees are weak and often not enforced. As a result, it's tough for people to figure out how much they're really paying. And even a small difference can have a big effect on your balance.

Assuming a 6.5 percent rate of return with a half a percent fee, a $20,000 investment would grow to more than $70,000 after 20 years. If everything else is the same, but assuming a difference of 1 percent in fees, your savings after two decades falls to just above $58,000.

As more people rely on 401ks to fund their golden years, it's even more important they're aware of all fees being charged. And that is the latest from Wall Street, Heidi and T.J., back to you. News can you use.

COLLINS: Yes, I was going to say. We'll keep our eye on that one for sure. All right. Susan Lisovicz, thank you.

HOLMES: Thank you Susan. And we're going to talk about Danny DeVito now -- a bit tipsy on TV.

COLLINS: You think?

HOLMES: Yes. We'll tell you what other celebs did some things they're ...

COLLINS: Nice.

HOLMES: Yes. Call them memorable, I guess. We'll tell you about that, next in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Well, not the first time here I guess that celeb's sobriety or lack thereof kind of stole the show.

COLLINS: Actor Danny DeVito's too good of a time on "The View" now part of tipty TV history. Did you know we had that? CNN's Jeanne Moos has a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Danny DeVito was able to walk. It was when he started to talk on "The View" that he earned his new tabloid nickname, Danny DeVino. No, vino wasn't what he admitted drinking.

DANNY DEVITO, ACTOR: I knew it was the last seven Lemon Cellos that was going to get me.

MOOS: Got him after a night of hanging out with George Clooney. Danny DeVito was, mid-morning, apparently still smashed, ranting about President Bush, likening him to "The Three Stooges".

DEVITO: The guy that...

MOOS: DeVito came to plug his new movie, "Deck the Halls". Instead, he decked the president, describing how he visited the White House when Bill Clinton was there.

DEVITO: The place was -- had that kind of Clinton feeling.

JOY BEHAR, CO-HOST, ABC'S "THE VIEW": Yes.

ELISABETH HASSELBECK, CO-HOST, ABC'S "THE VIEW": Yes.

DEVITO: You know? I mean -- I didn't go after, you know numb (expletive deleted).

MOOS (on camera): ABC bleeped what DeVito called President Bush. It's a colorful phrase, a blend of numb and nuts, a phrase that basically means numbskull.

DEVITO: Trying to like, you know, figure out what to do with our country and our women and men in the military.

BARBARA WALTERS, CO-HOST, ABC'S "THE VIEW": Yes.

MOOS: DeVito is far from the first celeb to show up on TV in an altered state. There was Joe Namath threatening to kiss an ESPN reporter.

JOE NAMATH, FORMER PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL PLAYER: I want to kiss you. I couldn't care less about the team struggling.

MOOS: So was Courtney Love, barging in on an MTV interview with Madonna...

COURTNEY LOVE, MUSICIAN: Am I fully interrupting?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, no.

MOOS: ... barging onto David Letterman's desk. Poor David has had his share of out of it celebs.

For years, it's been debated whether actor Crispin Glover was on acid, which he denied, or doing a comedy act?

CRISPIN GLOVER, ACTOR: I can kick.

DAVID LETTERMAN, HOST, "THE LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN": I'm going to check on the top ten.

MOOS: And then there was Farrah Fawcett.

LETTERMAN: How are you doing? Are you all right?

FARRAH FAWCETT, ACTRESS: Don't I seem all right? Sort of like they -- wow. They received -- I really -- I really thought I was looking out the window.

MOOS: Sort of makes Danny seem lucid talking about spending a frisky night in the Lincoln Bedroom at the White House with his wife.

DEVITO: Really wrecked the joint. I mean, every place in that bedroom was...

ROSIE O'DONNELL, CO-HOST, ABC'S "THE VIEW": Utilized.

DEVITO: Utilized.

O'DONNELL: There you go, Danny.

MOOS: DeVito ended his appearance on Rosie O'Donnell's lap. When the next guest came on, Rosie greeted him with, "Nice to see you sober."

O'DONNELL: Nice to see you sober.

MOOS: And the morning after Danny DeBlotto's appearance, they were still talking about it. HASSELBECK: He was a fun drunk.

O'DONNELL: He was a fun drunk.

MOOS: Tell that to President Bush. Not that he didn't used to party hardy.

Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: That's why I don't hang out with some people.

COLLINS: Is it happy hour?

HOLMES: Yes, that's why I don't hang out with you, Heidi.

COLLINS: Yes, right.

CNN NEWSROOM continues one hour from now. Kyra Phillips and Don Lemon are working hard to bring you the very latest on several big stories that have been developing if you saw them here today.

HOLMES: Yes, it's "YOUR WORLD TODAY" is next with news happening at the globe and here at home. Thanks for being here with us.

COLLINS: Have a great weekend everybody.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.voxant.com