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American Morning
Severe Weather Hits Much of Country; Denver Airport Ready to Reopen; Rice Defends Iraq War; Bush Poll Numbers Plummet
Aired December 22, 2006 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: From Washington today in for Miles O'Brien, thanks very much for joining us. Weather headaches, a lot of travel problems for people trying to get home this Christmas Soledad.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Absolutely, lots and lots of hassles. In fact, on possibly the worst day of the year to be trying to get through a mess at the airport. Here's what's new this morning. The problem is all beginning with that snowstorm that is still paralyzing Denver. Denver airport is going to try to resume limited service at 2:00 p.m. eastern time that is noon local time.
With the planes grounded for two days, the ripple effect has already slowed traffic across the country, air traffic of course. And that's expected to take several days to try to straighten out. Now slow travel in New Orleans as well today. The city's pumps failed their first post-Katrina test. They can't keep up with about six inches of rain that hit the city. A flood watch is in effect there until noon.
But let's take a closer look this morning at Denver, which is at the center of this countrywide travel nightmare. Rob Marciano is there for us live this morning. Good morning Rob?
ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning Soledad. You spoke about the rain in New Orleans. That, of course, from Gulf of Mexico moisture. That same moisture wrapped around this big storm system and headed in from the north and northeast and just hammered the Denver area, the urban corridor and especially the Front Range. The city still pretty much paralyzed, although things, as you would imagine, are beginning to improve.
This city, no stranger to snow, but even with 20-plus inches in the city, 50 plus in the surrounding hills, it's just too much for any city, I don't care how much you are prepared. The roads are still slick. Good news is interstates now are finally open. It's the secondary roads that are the issue this morning. From what we experienced driving in yesterday from Salt Lake City, which took us over 10 hours, roads were fine until you got about to Vail Pass.
At that point that's when the snow started to pile up at the Eisenhower Towel and then heading down in the Front Range, you have a patch of good road and then you just hit a really bad spot. So that's going to be the theme today, folks who may be confident and then hit a bad spot and that could obviously cause some problems.
The other traffic issue would be the air traffic. As you mentioned, the airport still closed and scheduled to be reopened at 2:00 eastern time, noon local. Still thousands of people stranded up there at the airport trying to get home for the holidays. So that is going to be the ongoing theme. Here in downtown Denver, the roads still slick. They have plowed them a couple of times, but as you can imagine, the pavement still not bare.
This sidewalk, well folks were out busy yesterday. This hotel, about a third of the people in this downtown hotel are folks who were stranded at the airport. Obviously hotels at the airport you can imagine are completely packed. One thing that will help today in this dry-air environment in Denver with the humidity low, the dew points low and that sun coming up, we don't necessarily need temperatures completely above freezing, to start to get some of this snow off the ground.
The snow could actually go from snow to gas. It's call sublimation. It will actually just start to disappear and that will help things a little bit here. Because with two feet plus in spots, Soledad, it's quite a chore to get this city unburied.
O'BRIEN: Oh, it's going to be quite a mess. They talked about slowly reopening that airport starting at noon local time where you are, but of course, if they're only going to open two runways out of I think they have eight, that's going to be very, very slow, isn't it?
MARCIANO: For sure. This is poor timing on Mother Nature's part. Denver itself, you would think it's white Christmas all the time, but really the probability of getting a white Christmas here in Denver, meaning having an inch or more of snow on the ground at Christmas time is only about 35 percent. So people here in Denver hope for a white Christmas, pretty much like everybody else across America, but they don't want this much. And especially if folks are trying to travel out of town to see their loved ones who may not live here in Denver. Soledad?
O'BRIEN: A little bit of a white Christmas. No one hopes for the blizzard, that's always bad. All right Rob Marciano for us. Rob, looks like he hasn't had a lot of sleep for that long drive. So thanks, we appreciate the update. John?
ROBERTS: Thanks very much Soledad. We've talked about the ripple effect from the shutdown at Denver International. Take a look at what's going on right now at some of America's busiest airports. Chicago's O'Hare, delays of 90 minutes plus there already. New York airports started out the day pretty well, now starting to lag behind, also an hour and a half there. And if you're flying in or out of Atlanta right now, Hartsfield Airport, you can expect to be 45 minutes late. Soledad?
O'BRIEN: All right John thanks. New Orleans residents are keeping an eye on the skies and on the streets too. Heavy rain is putting a strain on those pumps that used to clear water from the city's streets, and those are the same pumps that failed during hurricane Katrina.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) O'BRIEN (voice-over): That same storm that dumped over two feet of snow across the western part of the country is causing havoc in Louisiana. More than six inches of rain fell in the New Orleans area on Thursday, flooding streets and causing traffic headaches.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The problem was it happened during rush hour this morning. People in a hurry to get to work. They're just not paying attention to where they're going.
O'BRIEN: Some schools in the area closed early because of the mess. The big concern, of course, those pumping stations, closely watched ever since the catastrophic flooding which followed hurricane Katrina. The pumps appear to be working so far but the big fear now is can they continue to work? The street flooding flies in the face of all that optimism by city officials, which preceded the storm. A spokesperson for Mayor Ray Nagin said this, "The city's drainage system can handle the amount of rainfall, even though there are still repairs that need to be done."
The city is not out of the woods yet. The National Weather Service is watching the situation closely. Parts of central and southeastern Louisiana are under a flash flood watch until noon today. Coming with the heavy rains, a report out this week says it's going to take 25 years and $5.7 billion. Billion with a "b" to repair New Orleans' water, sewage and drainage system. The city doesn't know where it's going to get the money. The report says hurricane Katrina added more damage to a system that was already in very big trouble. John?
ROBERTS: The travel situation in the United States is a mess, but it's no better across the Atlantic in London. For a third day now fog has grounded thousands of travelers at Heathrow Airport and we are feeling the impact here in the United States. CNN's Alphonso van Marsh is live at Heathrow with an update on today's flight cancellations. Alphonso, any relief for all of those people trying to get home?
ALPHONSO VAN MARSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, actually there is some relief. The crowds here, as you can see behind me, tend to ebb and flow as you mentioned there are thousands of people stranded out here. Hundreds of flights have been canceled as you mentioned because of fog. Air traffic controllers saying that they need to reduce significantly the number of landing and taking off slots for planes. And that has resulted in this kind of mess you see behind me.
You can see in this tent you've got hundreds of people waiting inside, at least there's some heat, there are some sandwiches, there is some coffee and tea, people trying to get home because most flights in and out of London have either been delayed or canceled. If you're trying to travel in this country, you might as well stay at home. The upside is if you're trying to travel to places like the United States, the long haul flights are getting some priorities, but it's not as easy as it might seem for some people like (INAUDIBLE) here. I understand that you have come in from Paris and how long have you been waiting?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've been waiting for two days?
VAN MARSH: And where are you trying to go?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm trying to go to Montreal in Canada.
VAN MARSH: Are you feeling that you might get home in time for the holidays?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm sure. People are very good, they are very helping around.
VAN MARSH: Understood. Thank you so much Mr. (INAUDIBLE). And that seems to be the general message we get here. It may be chaos, it may be very inconvenient, but there are officials here trying to help out. Not just helping the passengers, but even going to some of the children. You can see behind me over here, they've even gotten a Santa Claus set up here, he's handing out chocolates, some of them are handing out blankets, doing whatever they can to kind of make this experience a little bit more bearable. Of course nobody wants to be stuck in an airport during the holidays, but people here seem to be doing whatever they can to get people to where they want to go as soon as possible. John?
ROBERTS: Alphonso, every little bit helps but it still doesn't remove that sick feeling from the pit of your stomach when you're trying to get home. How long is this weather expected to last there?
VAN MARSH: Well, the officials we were talking to this morning are telling passengers to expect this to take place, this fog to kind of settle in, as it were, for about another 48 hours.
ROBERTS: Oh, my goodness. Well that's going to cause even more problems. Alphonso van Marsh at Heathrow Airport. Thanks very much.
President Bush may be in listening mode on Iraq, but Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says that she doesn't expect him to change his fundamental convictions about the war. Rice appeared on the PBS program "The News Hour with Jim Lehrer."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CONDOLEEZZA RICE, SECRETARY OF STATE: The president went into this phase with the same conviction and the same commitment that he's held throughout this war, and that is that the decision to go into Iraq was because it was in the interest and the security interests of the United States to do so. And the failure in Iraq would have grave circumstances, grave consequences for American interests, for the interests of our friends and allies in the region and, indeed, for global security. So that's not going to change.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: President Bush says commanders tell him that they don't need more troops in Iraq while troops on the front line are telling the new secretary of defense that they do. Why the disconnect? That's one of the things that we'll be talking about with Brigadier General James "Spider" Marks, U.S. Army retired coming up in just a bit. Stay with us. Soledad?
O'BRIEN: Happening in America this morning, in Massachusetts, no one may be held responsible for Boston's deadly big dig collapse. The state's incoming attorney general says it's going to be hard to bring charges because of all the companies that are involved in the tunnels construction. He's talking about that case where a woman was killed when one of the tunnel's two-ton concrete slabs fell and crushed her car last July. She was killed.
Underwater train tunnels between New York and New Jersey are even more vulnerable to terror attacks than officials first believed. A government report leaked to "The New York Times" says any of the four cast iron train tunnels could flood within six minutes if a large bomb went off. About 230,000 people ride the PATH trains every weekday.
In Alabama, getting homeowner's insurance along the Atlantic coast just got a little bit tougher. Allstate says it's cutting back on policies there because of the high-hurricane risk. Doing the same thing in Maryland and Virginia and in North and South Carolina. Now Allstate lost a record $1.55 billion in the third quarter of 2005 because of Katrina and other hurricanes, but keep in mind, they made a big profit that year.
Relief for tennis stars Serena and Venus Williams, a jury in West Palm Beach, Florida decided that their father was in fact liable for backing out of a deal, promising that his daughters would play each other in a match, one that never took place. Actually, worked out in his favor though, because the jury said that neither he nor his daughters would have to pay any damages. John?
ROBERTS: Well, the weather seems to be affecting holiday travelers across the country and up in space too. Where to land, that's the big question for "Discovery" astronauts. They're scheduled to land today but rain and clouds are making landing at Florida's Kennedy Space Center doubtful for today. And across the country, crosswinds are forecast at the backup Edwards Air Force base in California. The forecast does look good at NASA's less convenient third choice, White Sands, New Mexico. But NASA would have to fly a lot of heavy equipment in there before the shuttle could down and land.
The troops say send in more troops, but the commanders don't agree. Why the disconnect? We'll be talking live with someone who can give us some insight coming up next.
Also, America gives President Bush a very big lump of coal for Christmas. New approval ratings definitely will not make his season bright.
And "We are Marshall". He is Matthew. Matthew McConaughey joins us to talk about his new movie. It's a powerful holiday heart warmer. Stay with us, AMERICAN MORNING is coming right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Happening this morning, that big blizzard is still causing severe travel delays across America. Denver's airport plans to reopen with limited operations at about 2:00 p.m. eastern time. It's quarter past the hour almost.
(WEATHER REPORT)
ROBERTS: Defense Secretary Robert gates is flying back from Iraq right now. A number of U.S. commanders there telling him over the past three days that troop levels should not be increased. But enlisted forces spoke up and asked for more help. Brigadier General James "Spider" Marks, U.S. army retired is with us now to talk more about this. Let me ask you first of all Spider, where do you come down on this idea of a surge in troops for Iraq?
BRIG. GEN. JAMES "SPIDER" MARKS, U.S. ARMY (RET.): Frankly, I don't think it's going to work with the numbers that are being suggested. It sounds like it's a considerable amount, but let's be frank, 15 to 30,000 with the size of the mission sets that are required, I don't think that's going to make a difference. That's point number one. Point number two is a surge requires an extension of those that are there and then an acceleration of those that are coming in. What that affects is a number of readiness postures of those units that are there that really need to be ex-filled and reset and those that are coming in. You might have to accelerate there ability to get into --
ROBERTS: Well generals Abizaid and Casey seem to agree with you, but then here's a little bit of a disconnect when it gets -- filters down to the troop level here. Here's a quick look at some sound -- what enlisted men had to say during a meeting with new Secretary of Defense Bob Casey yesterday .
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SPEC. JASON GLENN, DEPLOYED TO IRAQ: I really think we need more troops here. I really think we need more troops in Iraq. I'm just thinking that maybe more presence on the ground, more troops, might be able to.... hold them off long enough to where we can actually get some of the Iraqis trained up strong so they can hold it themselves.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: So the enlisted men are saying help, and the generals are saying, no, not the way to go. Why the disconnect?
MARKS: That's always going to happen John. We've all been young and I've served at these great young men and women at this lower level. They always want more. Of course they do. They always want more. But the real issue is do you need to achieve more by bringing them in or can you achieve more, by repositioning that which you have in theater. In other words, can you make a decision based on a mission requirement in some other location to change that mission and move those troops to where you need them? In other words, put more where you need more, and you might have to make what I would call Sophie's choice. You may have to write something off in order to achieve a victory or at least achieve mass someplace else. ROBERTS: President Bush keeps on saying, I don't know how many times he's said it. I'm going to listen to commanders on the ground. But apparently he's still considering the surge in troops. So is he listening to his commanders on the ground?
MARKS: Oh sure he is. And I think is a healthy discourse that's going to take place. You've got to work your way through this. You've got to get into the mind of the commander in chief, the president of the United States. See what he's dealing with, what pressures he has to deal with. Clearly the president's going to take the council of Generals Abizaid and Casey on the ground, these are tremendous warriors and they know the ground intimately. They've been there.
In General Abizaid's case he's been there almost -- oh he's been there over four years. I mean he really knows it. But you're going to have these disconnects with these soldiers on the ground. You've got to listen to what they say. More to private marks on the ground. Or my nephew, who is assigned over there, means additional folks. He really doesn't care whether that guy is flying in from Ft. Bragg or whether that soldier is coming down from Balad.
ROBERTS: Interesting perspective. Spider Marks, thanks so much as always.
MARKS: Thanks John.
ROBERTS: Good to see you. Soledad?
O'BRIEN: Ahead this morning we're going to be talking to Delia Gallagher. As you may know, we're all focused at this time of the year on the birth of Jesus. But now there as 2 billion Christians around the world prepare to celebrate Christmas, are we going to be having a documentary called "After Jesus: The First Christmas". " Delia Gallagher's going to join us on the set in just a moment to update what happened after Jesus. We'll be back in just moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Happening right now, holiday travel at a standstill in some parts of the country. Delayed severely in others, all thanks to that big blizzard and now rain messing things up. Weather's also got the Shuttle landing up in the air today. NASA may have to go with "Discovery's" second backup landing sight in White Sands, New Mexico.
O'BRIEN: As 2 billion Christians prepare to celebrate Christmas, there are of course some big questions about what happened after Jesus' birth? It was a very tumultuous time. We have a preview on CNN PRESENTS "After Jesus: The First Christmas". And this morning, Delia Gallagher has a preview. Good morning.
DELIA GALLAGHER, CNN FAITH & VALUES CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you Soledad. As you say, just a few days away from Christmas. You know I think for some people it seems unthinkable that Christianity could have died on the cross with Jesus. And in fact, of course, as we know, that wasn't the case because of two men, Peter and Paul. These were two very different men, very different characters, but together, the two of them would help to bring about a religion that would change the world.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GALLAGHER (voice-over): In the tumultuous years just after Jesus' death, his followers struggled to keep his message alive, a message in peril of disappearing completely. But then, two leaders emerged, Peter, the simple fisherman from Galilee, Jesus' chief apostle. And Paul, the sophisticated intellectual.
PROFESSOR BART EHRMAN, UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA: Some people called Paul the second founder of Christianity because Christianity is more than following the teachings of Jesus. Christianity is not just a religion that Jesus had, it's the religion about Jesus, it's the religion founded on Jesus' death and resurrection.
GALLAGHER: But spreading Jesus' story and defining this new faith put Paul and Peter, it's most influential leaders at odds. Both were Jews, but Peter argued that Jesus was for the Jews only. If you wanted to follow Jesus, you had to become a Jew and obey Jewish law. Paul, on the other hand, preached that the new faith was open to everyone, gentile and Jew. This open-door policy was a huge problem for Peter who wielded considerable power in Jerusalem, power given to him by Jesus.
PROFESSOR AMY-JILL LEVINE, VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY DEVINIT: According to the gospel of Matthew, Jesus says to Peter, you are Peter, the Greek term for rock petros. And on this rock Petra, I will build my church.
EHRMAN: Peter was the key player in early Christianity and according to our traditions, was the one who converted Jews early on to believe in Jesus as the messiah.
GALLAGHER: Within two decades of the crucifixion, scholars say Christianity faced a life-or-death moment.
EHRMAN: This was a major dispute in early Christianity. Whether followers of Jesus have to become Jewish in order to worship the Jewish god.
GALLAGHER: This conflict between Peter and Paul threatened to destroy the new faith.
PROFESSOR CLAIRE PEANN, UNIVERSITY OF THE HOLY LAND: In Jerusalem around the year 48 to 49, the first apostolic council is called in order to resolve the issue of gentile Christians. Do they convert or don't they convert.
GALLAGHER: Paul argues that the Holy Spirit had descended upon the gentiles apart from the Law of Moses, therefore, there was no reason to insist that those gentiles be converted first to Judaism in order to be a member of the church. Paul's argument won the day. Jesus' message was for the whole world, a huge triumph for the new faith, but the biggest struggle was yet to come. (END OF VIDEOTAPE)
GALLAGHER: And that struggle was, of course, the persecutions of the Christians by the Roman Empire, which for Christianity, through the witness and death of those early Christians, eventually emerged victorious.
O'BRIEN: The special is called "CNN Presents after Jesus: The First Christmas" and it's going to premier on December 20th. Liam Neeson is the host and it's going to be absolutely wonderful.
GALLAGHER: It's a fascinating two hours. I'll tell you, it will save you from reading 12 books on Christian history if you watch this.
O'BRIEN: That's an upside too, right. Delia Gallagher with a preview for us. Thank you Delia. John?
ROBERTS: All right, thanks very much.
Let's see what the folks at "CNN WEEKEND" are putting together for tomorrow morning. Betty Nguyen is standing by in Atlanta. Good morning Betty, what's up tomorrow?
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Hey there John. Coming up this weekend on CNN, before you hit the roads or the airport, make sure you check in with us. That big blizzard moving east, well it could impact your holiday travel plans. We have constant information on screen all weekend on travel delays and weather conditions across the country. And speaking of the roads, we've got car karma. That's right. Would you believe the astrological sign you were born under may determine what kind of driver you really are? So, what's your sign?
Also, the science behind Santa. Even if you don't believe, you'll want to hear how St. Nick pulls off his Christmas feat using, believe it or not, plausible science. Let's take a listen to this.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
NGUYEN: Not so great, right? It is the most annoying holiday music of all time. You've got to tune in for this. You may not want to, but you really should. All this, plus up to the minute headlines, CNN Saturday and Sunday morning, beginning tomorrow at 7:00 eastern. Hey we can send you the CD if you'd like, John.
ROBERTS: Oh I'd love it. Hey, quick brain teaser for you. What's the worst song ever recorded?
NGUYEN: Ooh, I don't know. We've got a few on there, Regis Philbin, Kathie Lee Gifford. Hey, you name it, we got it. What is yours?
ROBERTS: I don't just mean holiday, I mean the worst song of all time, ever recorded, Sonny Bono "Pammys on a Bummer". Listen to it and you'll agree with me.
NGUYEN: You know what, I'll take your word for that. ROBERTS: It's a 3 minute guitar solo leading into it that sets the stage.
NGUYEN: Oh lovely.
ROBERTS: Thanks Betty, we'll see you tomorrow.
NGUYEN: Thank you.
ROBERTS: It's ground zero for a lot of this holiday air travel mess. Up next, we're going to take you live to Denver to try to clear the snow in the streets and get the airport moving again.
And police in the UK say they've got their man. Formal charges in a string of brutal serial murders. Stay with us on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Stranded and snowed in, holiday delays across the country as Denver digs out from that big blizzard.
ROBERTS: Staying on the Iraq war, while she calls it a worthwhile investment.
O'BRIEN: And "We are Marshall." Matthew McConaughey joins us to talk about his powerful and emotional new movie. Those stories and much more straight ahead on this AMERICAN MORNING.
Welcome back everybody. Friday, December 21st. I'm Soledad O'Brien.
ROBERTS: And I'm John Roberts in today for Miles O'Brien from Washington. Thanks for joining us this morning.
Lots of hassles for holiday travelers. Here's what's new this morning, as if you wanted anything new.
The problem begins with the snowstorm that paralyzed Denver. Denver Airport is going to resume limited service at 2:00 p.m. Eastern -- only two of six runways open. But with planes grounded for two days, the ripple effect has already slowed air traffic across the country. That's expected to take days to straighten out.
Slow travel in New Orleans today. The city's pumps failing their first post-Katrina test. They can't keep up with the six inches of rain that hit the city. A flood watch in effect there until noon.
Let's take you right out to Denver that is the center of this country-wide travel nightmare. Rob Marciano is there now. Rob, the first question I've got for you is how did you get there?
ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, we flew into Salt Lake City from Portland, Oregon yesterday hoping that maybe we could fly in today or somehow get here, but we weren't the only ones with that sort of strategy. The Salt Lake City airport itself was completely jammed and their rental car operation completely stripped. So, we had to do some bobbing and weaving to find a truck away from the airport in a kind of remote rental area and convince them that we needed to drive it here one way.
The drive itself, not all that bad, although we had to take a more circuitous route because of the interstates that were closed to the north, east and south. So, we came in from the west through the mountains. Because this was kind of a front-range storm, we really didn't hit any snow until we got to Vail Pass, and then of course over Loveland Pass and through the Eisenhower Tunnel.
Then coming down the mountains and into Denver proper, that's when we started to see the snow piling up on the sides of the road, on the roads. Road crews are no stranger to snow, but when you have 20, 30, 40 inches of snow, it's just a tough go of it.
And here's how the "Denver Post" the local paper describes it this morning. And it's pretty much well descripted with three words -- "what a mess."
They're comparing this with the 2003 blizzard which happened in March. That is the snowiest month. Believe it or not, December is the fourth snowiest month of the year followed by before April and November. So December snows this much is pretty rare.
As you mentioned, the airport is closed, expected to be reopened at 2:00 p.m. Eastern, noon local. Only two of six runways, so with all those people still stranded, it's going to be a slow go to get people up. But the roads are slowly opening. The interstates now are open. Now the job is for secondary roadways and folks in downtown, business owners still shoveling and trying to get their snow blowers out to get rid of some of this snow. Amazing amounts of snow even for Denver, John.
ROBERTS: Well, good on you for getting there. That's dedication. Thanks very much, Rob -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: All right. Let's take you to Denver International Airport with an update on the operations there. Steve Snyder is a spokesman for the airport and he joins us by phone.
Steve, thanks for talking with us, especially at a time when I know you're so busy. First, why don't you update me on when you think you're really going to be able to reopen this airport. We've heard noon local time. Is that still true?
STEVE SNYDER, DENVER INTL. AIRPORT SPOKESMAN: Yes, we're still on schedule to do that. We've actually made some fairly significant improvements in the airfield since it stopped snowing at about probably 2:00 local time yesterday. Obviously crews have been working overnight, and we're definitely on target to open at noon local today.
O'BRIEN: All right. Well, that's good news. Now, what's the situation on the ground? How many planes do you have that are sort of backed up? Some of them must have pulled into the gates, but there have got to be others around as well. What does it look like right now on the ground?
SNYDER: On the ground out on the airfield, it actually looks relatively normal. I think a lot of the airlines were able to stop their operations before they got a lot of planes that were stuck or grounded in here.
I noticed them kind of repositioning some of their aircraft overnight. But it looks like they'll be ready to go at noon as well. We talked to the airlines yesterday, and obviously they're anxious to get moving as quickly as possible and get a lot of these folks out of here.
O'BRIEN: Yes, I bet. Partly to move the folks, also partly to get everybody across the country because you know all about the ripple effect. I'd heard there were going to be two runways open when you open again at noon local time. Is that still true? And if it is, how quickly can you really move things through with just two of your runways open?
SNYDER: That's correct. We plan to open with two and then probably about eight hours later we'll get another runway open and eight hours after that or maybe even a little sooner another runway. So, we'll have the entire airfield back up and running shortly after we get going, but obviously, it will be slow to begin with. And the FAA is kind of indicating to us that they want to get a lot of departures out of here first, get some of these planes that are on the ground, and some of these folks on the ground out of here first before we take a lot of arrivals.
They don't want to get in a situation where they have planes landing and sitting here waiting before they get to a gate. So, you'll probably see quite a few departures before you see a lot of arrivals here today.
O'BRIEN: Yes, you've got to get some of those people out. I read there were up to 5,000 people at one point who are sleeping in the airport. How was that? How did you feed them? How are the facilities for all those folks. I've got to tell you, I was surprised to see a lot of people who were interviewed actually seemed to be in decent spirits, which I found kind of surprising.
SNYDER: We've got a really big airport, which helps in a situation like this so we can handle folks. We did have about 4,700 people at the peak early yesterday evening. We were -- or actually a couple days ago we were really aggressive in trying to get folks to area hotels.
We got buses out here throughout the terminal, talking to folks, letting them know about hotel availability, kind of rounding them up and if they were interested in going to a hotel, we sent buses out two days ago and yesterday probably moved about 1,200 to 1,500 people out to area hotels, particularly those who kind of realized they were probably be here for two, three, four days and obviously staying in a hotel anywhere in a city beats sitting on an airport floor for a few days.
O'BRIEN: Yes, pretty much everything beats sitting on a airport floor for a couple of says. Steve Snyder with the Denver International Airport. Thanks you so much for talking with us. I know, it's a really, busy time, so we appreciate it.
And in fact, that same storm system that dumped over two feet of snow across the western part of the country caused some big problems in Louisiana too.
Coming with the heavy rains, a report out this week says it's going to take 25 years and $5.7 billion to repair New Orleans' water, sewage, and drainage systems. City doesn't know where it will get the money for that and the report also says Hurricane Katrina added more damage to a system that was already seriously flawed -- John.
ROBERTS: Soledad, Secretary of State Conoleezza Rice says the war in Iraq is, quote, worth the investment in American lives and dollars. Rice says she believes America can win the war, but that it's been more difficult than she expected. Her comments came in an interview with the Associated Press.
Here's some statistics for you. The war in Iraq has claimed the lives of 2,962 American troops and cost more than $350 billion.
Condoleezza Rice says victory in Iraq, though, will help transform the Middle East.
The Iraq war has been dragging down President Bush's approval ratings all year. The latest CNN poll conducted for us by Opinion Research Corporation is out, and senior political analyst Bill Schneider takes a look at whether there are any signs of hope for the president.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: What kind of year has it been for President Bush? Don't ask. OK, we asked. His party lost Congress. He acknowledged Iraq is not going well, and his image has taken a tumble.
For his first five years in office, most Americans regarded President Bush as honest and trustworthy. Now, most don't. Remember the values issue that got Bush re-elected in 2004? Gone. Most Americans no longer believe President Bush shares their values.
What looked like resolve after 9/11 came to look like stubbornness in Iraq. Most Americans no longer regard President Bush as a strong and decisive leader.
Most damaging, only 37 percent of Americans say President Bush inspires confidence. Twice that many felt that way after 9/11. The president has lost the confidence of the American people. Can he regain it? Sure. President Clinton did after 1994, his (INAUDIBLE) or terrible year. It takes hard work, good luck, and the ability to change direction without worrying about being called a flip-flopper. Bill Schneider, CNN, Los Angeles.
O'BRIEN: Some of the stories we keep following for you this morning. The Bush Administration is against reinstating the draft. The government still want to test the system. We'll tell you what they're doing.
And landing, turning out to be quite a headache for the Discovery astronauts. As option one and option two for landing dry us, they are looking at option number three. We'll explain straight ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
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O'BRIEN: Well, it's the weather that's making it tough for NASA to decide just where the shuttle should land later today. Raining clouds make landing at Florida's Kennedy Space Center, doubtful. And crosswinds are forecast at the backup, which is Edwards Air Force Base in California. Forecast looks good though at NASA's third choice, which is White Sands, New Mexico. The shuttle doesn't have enough fuel to stay in orbit past Saturday.
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ROBERTS: "CNN NEWSROOM" just minutes away. Tony Harris at the CNN center now with a look at what's ahead. Morning to you Tony.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Hey John, good morning to you. We have got these stories on the NEWSROOM rundown for you this morning.
Denver's big dig. An army of snow plows tries to clear snow, smothered runways. Still, some travelers may not reach their destination in time for Christmas.
Four U.S. Marines facing murder charges for their actions in Iraq. two dozens Iraqi civilians killed in the town of Haditha last year.
And Operation Christmas. A single father home from war. His buddies make sure his 11 kids have a merry one. Fredricka Whitfield, sitting in today for Heidi Collins, at the top of the hour in the NEWSROOM here on CNN. John back to you.
ROBERTS: All right, thanks. We'll pass it over to Soledad.
O'BRIEN: All right. Thank you, oh, my gosh, those kids looked so cute as they're hugging their dad. That's adorable. Look forward to that Tony thank you.
Well, Jessica Simpson says she just couldn't do Dolly Parton any justice. The pop star decided she was going to cancel her tribute to Dolly at the Kennedy Center Honors.
Earlier this month, you might remember Simpson flubbed the words to Parton's famous song 9 to 5 during a taping of the awards show. So she got a second chance. But then when she watched that second take on tape, she said she didn't love it and it wasn't up to her standards and she wanted out of the show.
From the ashes of tragedy came a pretty incredible story of survival. It's the survival of an entire team, a football team, and the survival of a town.
Ahead this morning we talk to Matthew McConaughey about his new movie "We Are Marshall." That's up next. Stay with us, you're watching AMERICAN MORNING.
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O'BRIEN: Leading man and ladies' man, Matthew McConaughey won our hearts in romantic comedies like "Failure to Launch" and the "Wedding Planner." Now he's taking on a more serious role, as the football coach who saved a team and the town after a tragic plane crash. Take a look.
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MATTHEW MCCONAUGHEY, ACTOR: This is my varsity team, huh?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That was four of us, but one of us ain't here, so I guess it's just three.
MCCONAUGHEY: Okay. I'm coach Jack Lingle, guys, and normally I'm bad with names, so the good news is I may actually be able to keep you fellows straight.
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O'BRIEN: Matt McConaughey, nice to see you. Thanks for joining us. I love this movie. It's such a great movie and I'm not a fan of football movies, but it's not exactly a football movies.
It's a story, a true story really of Marshall University, the entire team and the coaching staff goes down or minus those guys, goes down in a plane crash in 1970.
Wipes out not just the team, though, stabs a knife through the heart of a community too. And you play the coach who comes in and decides to work with them.
MCCONAUGHEY: The next year. Right after the crash most of the town didn't want to continue the football program, and the student body got together and basically said, hey, we want to keep the football program going, want to keep it alive.
And the first thing we need is a coach. Well, nobody really wanted the job. This man, Jack Lingle who lived in Wooster, Ohio was the outsider who said, you know, I do want the job.
He came in and helped rebuild the program. They had to recruit players off the band, the baseball team, soccer team, Marine Corps and they put together a very motley crew group of players. They were the Bad News Bears.
O'BRIEN: And you see how motley.
MCCONAUGHEY: They weren't very good.
O'BRIEN: Not very good at all at the start. Why did you want the role of Jack Lingle?
MCCONAUGHEY: It was one of the best stories I had read fictional or not. And this was a true story. And at the end of the day, it's about hope, the compass for me is just keep living, and this was just as much of a just keep living story as I've read.
It's a guy who comes in, he's a bit eccentric, he comes into a very unorthodox situation, and he has to handle it and he succeeds in very unorthodox ways.
O'BRIEN: You met with him before you stared shooting. Is it added pressure to have somebody who is alive and well and is going to clearly be happy to weigh in if he feels like you messed up the role of you playing him in a movie.
MCCONAUGHEY: There wasn't as much added pressure as I thought there would be because sometimes there can be. You have a blueprint when you're going in and playing someone's biographical character and they're alive and they are there on the set behind the camera.
But there wasn't in this, there honestly wasn't. And I think that goes for myself and most of the other actors and (INAUDIBLE) the director, and the entire crew. We were telling a true story. But our hearts and minds were in the right place. And instead of feeling the weight and the responsibility -- there was almost a privilege and freedom that came with that.
O'BRIEN: I read that the town said two things they wanted, one, don't show them to be hicks and, two, no plane crash. And apparently, from what I've read, they've been so happy with the way the movie turned out.
MCCONAUGHEY: So far, 100 percent blessing from the real critics, which are the people who were there and the people we went and you know reenacted their story have come forward and said thank you. You really told it right. You really gave it justice.
O'BRIEN: It's an amazing story. Matthew McConaughey, nice to see you. Thanks for coming in and talking to us. We appreciate it.
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Here's a quick look at what "CNN NEWSROOM" is working on for the top of the hour.
HARRIS: See these stories in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Denver's airport struggling to get snow off the runways today. Some stranded travelers may not make it home for Christmas. A conservative Congressman refusing to apologize. His comments about Congress' first Muslim member stirring debate.
And Miss Nevada stripped of her title, racy photos surface on the internet.
You're in the NEWSROOM. 9:00 Eastern, 6:00 on the West Coast.
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