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American Morning
Brutal Winter Weather; New Nuke Talks: Negotiations on North Korea Disarmament; Shame and Redemption
Aired February 08, 2007 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Flight risks. A reports this morning of another American helicopter down in Iraq. The sixth in the last three weeks.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Snowbound. An unrelenting blast of dangerous arctic weather. Snow measured by the foot. Today in some places, they're bracing for eight feet of snow.
S. O'BRIEN: And a fat fighter for sale. For the first time without a prescription. We're weighing the benefits and the health risks ahead on this AMERICAN MORNING.
Good morning. Welcome, everybody. It's Thursday, February 8th. I'm Soledad O'Brien.
M. O'BRIEN: I'm Miles O'Brien. Thanks for being with us.
S. O'BRIEN: Let's begin this morning with the deadly winter weather. At least 16 people have died in the elements and on slippery roads, too, and more snow is coming. More than eight feet could pile up by Sunday in upstate New York. Four feet on the ground already. All of it causing some big problems on the highways. Accidents to tell you about from Ohio, to the mid-Atlantic and beyond. And we've got team coverage this morning for you. CNN's Rob Marciano is in Oswego, New York. Chad Myers is at the CNN Weather Center.
Let's start with Rob for a snow update.
Hey, Rob, good morning.
ROB MARCIANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Rob Marciano in Oswego, New York, where last night, when we went to bed, it was not snowing. Now it is. And we've got about another eight inches of snow. And this is on top of the 50 or so inches this area has seen in the last few days. They got off to a slow start this winter, but they certainly are catching up.
The deal with lake effect snow is not only you have some cold air, but the water-to-snow ratio makes it like Colorado Rocky powder. It's to bad there's not any mountains around here, but it's definitely causing some headaches, is the entire cold air. And once you turn this lake effect snow machine on -- a little help -- it's tough to turn it off.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) MARCIANO, (voice over): Nearly 50 inches have fallen over four days on this upstate New York community that sits on the eastern shore of Lake Ontario. The snow is expected to continue on and off right through the weekend. Schools have been closed since Monday. Different sections of the major highway through town was shut down for part of the storm. The never-ending snowfall comes after weeks of mild weather. For residents of this port city, were not fooled.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Once we got it, we were going to get it really good. So we were just waiting for it to happen.
MARCIANO: Good Samaritans were easy to find. Tim Rooney (ph), an off duty police officer, rescued a stroke victim and his son, who were stranded in their car on the side of the road.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is wonderful.
MARCIANO: Heroics aside, the mayor of Oswego says folks here are coping just fine.
MAYOR RANDOLPH BATEMAN, OSWEGO, NEW YORK: It's snowing. It's just another day. I mean it's something for a topic for discussion, how much snow are we going to get? Some people actually make bets, you know, at work. But it's a typical day in the winter.
MARCIANO: William Gregway has been an observer for the National Weather Service for 39 years. He remembers a year very similar to this one.
WILLIAM GREGWAY, OBSERVER, NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE: In 1972, we had a mild January, and then at the end of January, the weather changed and we got into snow and cold. January ended with 80 inches, and February had 90 inches, and March and April were both substantial and we ended up with about 250 inches of snow that winter.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MARCIANO: In other words, this snow may just be getting started, if it's anything like 1972. So if those winds off Lake Ontario, a long fetch with this westerly wind, 100 miles or so, it's got a lot of time to pick up that moisture. And as Chad's been talking about, the air coming off that lake is pretty cold.
Back to you guys in New York.
S. O'BRIEN: All right, Rob Marciano in Oswego, New York, for us.
Thank you, Rob.
Let's, in fact, get the very latest on the wild weather across the country this morning. Chad's got that.
Chad, wow, that snowstorm is pretty remarkable looking.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: It is remarkable. And it's not just the Lake Ontario storm. This is a Georgian Bay storm as well. So air coming all the way from northern Canada, running across the northern extent of Lake Huron here, through Georgia Bay, and then picking up the moisture here.
For a couple of frames you could even see some of the snow here. Now I don't have any Canadian radars turned on. But if I did, you would see that it is snowing all the way through here, just to the north of Toronto as well, and then that snow continues across Lake Ontario, right into Oswego.
Mexico, New York, which is about 10 miles east of Oswego now, 72 inches on the ground. And it just started snowing about five days ago. Roberts is right there. The darker purples, the darker snow, Mexico right in the middle of the very heaviest snow.
Some reports out of Mexico this morning saying five inches of snow per hour, and it's going to come down all day. Do some math for 10 hours worth of snowfall at that rate. You get some pretty scary numbers.
Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: Those are quite big numbers.
All right, Chad, thanks for watching it for us.
MYERS: You're welcome.
S. O'BRIEN: We'll continue to check in with you throughout the morning.
Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Now to Iraq, where there's a lot of tension and a lot of violence as that U.S. security crackdown begins. Here's what's new this morning.
Just a few hours ago, U.S. troops raided the Iraqi health ministry and arrested the deputy minister there. More on that in a moment.
New questions about the use of contractors in Iraq. Emotional testimony from families on Capitol Hill.
And we've learned this morning of a sixth chopper down in the last three weeks. Leading to more questions -- are insurgents changing tactics, weapons or both? CNN's Michael Holmes live in Baghdad working that story for us.
Michael, what do we know, first of all, about this latest chopper crash we first reported yesterday?
MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, there's been two really reported. We also heard about another one, a civilian helicopter, that went down at the end of last month, January 31, a civilian one apparently. Not a lot on that, other than all people on board did survive. Still working that one. The CH-46 that went down, no word on what caused that to come down. As you said, Miles, that's six down, two of them civilian, in about three weeks. Important to point out that three of them were during routine operations. Two others flying support in ongoing combat operations. So they're flying into a hailstorm, if you like, anyway. So, obviously, at risk.
As I say, no closer to knowing if yesterday's was mechanical or a shoot-down. These investigations can take days or even weeks. Although local witnesses said that that chopper was on fire before it went down.
As far as modifying tactics, the U.S. will modify its method of operation as that occurs and that's normal. There is talk that maybe the insurgents have their hands on some new type of missile, but that's not confirmed by the U.S. They say that they're changing their tactics. Of course, they're not going to tell us exactly how.
Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Michael, tell us about this arrest. The U.S. actually focusing inside the Iraqi government. The deputy health minister, who happens to be allied with Muqtada al-Sadr. Tell us about that.
HOLMES: Yes, and that's the key point there. His name is Hakim Aba (ph) al-Zamili. He is the deputy Iraqi health minister, but he is part of the Sadr block, if you like, in parliament, which is allied to Muqtada al-Sadr, the fire brand cleric, and the Mehdi army, which is, of course, blamed for a lot of the ongoing sectarian violence.
Shiite lawmakers are already complaining that he's been arrested and say he should be released. However, the U.S. is saying that he's suspected of being a central figure in corruption and also in Mehdi army infiltration of the ministry, and is implicated in the deaths of several ministry officials. So he's going to be kept and interrogated. He won't be released soon, that's for sure.
Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: All right. Michael Holmes in Baghdad, thank you.
Congress, meanwhile, is focused an a brutal, horrific chapter in the Iraq War. Four men working for Blackwater USA ambushed, burned and strung up on a bridge in Fallujah three years ago. Their families telling lawmakers, the company took taxpayer money but did not spend it on weapons or armor for the workers.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KATHRYN HELVENSTON-WETTENGEL, MOTHER OF SLAIN CONTRACTOR: On March 31, 2004, we turned to Blackwater for answers. What we received was appalling. We were told the information surrounding the circumstances in which our loved ones were killed was confidential. When we insisted on seeing the report concerning the incident, Blackwater told us that we would have to sue them to get it. DONNA ZOVKO, MOTHER OF SLAIN CONTRACTOR: They just simply sent them out there to die. They did. And, you know, if you do what your job requires you to do and if you're making the laws, you're not making them only for our country, the America, it's the world that we make, because we are the number one. My son was the number one.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
M. O'BRIEN: Blackwater says it did not cut corners and the workers understood the risks.
Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: For the first time ever you're going to soon be able to buy an FDA approved weight loss drug and you won't need a prescription. It's just approved and it's called Alli. It's a lower dose version of the prescription diet drug Xinical, and it works by blocking fat. It's not a silver bullet, though. There can be some pretty icky gastrointestinal side effects and there are critics who say it raises your risk of colon cancer too. We're going to talk about all of that straight ahead this morning with Sanjay Gupta. That's coming up in our next hour.
M. O'BRIEN: NASA is promising a new look at the way it screens and evaluates its astronauts in the wake of that wild lover's triangle pursued by Lisa Nowak. She's back home in Houston now, facing attempted first degree murder charges for now but maybe not for long. "The Orlando Centennial" reporting prosecutors are unsure if they'll proceed on that charge. That's Nowak right there underneath the coat as she comes down the steps after her not so happy landing in Houston. There she is escorted by the chief astronaut Steve Lindsay. Her face covered, ala the runaway bride. Some of her friends and colleagues spoke on her behalf.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHANA DALE, NASA DEPUTY ADMINISTRATOR: We expect astronauts, as we expect any NASA employee, to conduct themselves in a way that does not bring any dishonor to the space program.
DOUG PETERSON, NASA SPOKESMAN: She operated the robotic arm from both the Space Station and the shuttle and her commander said even today that she did an exemplary job at that. And so we certainly didn't expect anything like this to come up.
HOMER HICKAM, FORMER NASA TRAINER: They never let the astronauts know how and why that they're chosen to be on a flight. They're always on a slippery slope. If they're not crazy when they enter that office, well, you know, reach your own conclusion.
JONATHAN CLARK, WIDOWER OF ASTRONAUT LAUREL CLARK: She was a mother before she was an astronaut. I mean she really was into family life. And what's happened in the last few days has just been totally a shock.
(END VIDEO CLIP) M. O'BRIEN: Nowak is on leave for 30 days. She's been replaced as the capsule communicator for the next mission.
Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: Today television anchor Tim Russert is going to be on the stand for a second day. This time he's questioned by the defense in the perjury trial of Lewis Scooter Libby. Now Tim Russert's already given some of the trial's most dramatic testimony so far. AMERICAN MORNING's Bob Franken's been watching it all for us.
Hey, Bob, good morning.
BOB FRANKEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad.
And he's contradicted some of the audio tapes that we've heard, and will be hearing in just a moment. As the Scooter Libby trial proceeds, Libby is claiming that the misleading information he gave to investigators was not an intentional lie but faulty memory and this is really resting on not only what did he know and when did he know it but from whom.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FRANKEN, (voice over): Under oath, before the grand jury, Scooter Libby quoted Tim Russert as the first person to tell him about Valerie Plame.
LEWIS SCOOTER LIBBY: Did you know that Ambassador Wilson's wife works at the CIA? And I was a little taken aback by that. And I said, no, I don't know that.
FRANKEN: Russert, who is the current witness, disputed Libby's claim. "No, that would be impossible," he said, "because I did not know who that person was until several days later." That person is Valerie Plame. She was identified in subsequent news reports as a CIA operative and the wife of Joseph Wilson. Wilson had publicly accused the Bush administration of distorting information about Iraq's intentions to acquire nuclear weapons. Libby says he later found notes showing that he actually first heard about Plame from his boss, the vice president, who was upset about Wilson's claims and instructed Libby to talk with reporters. But to identify Plame?
LIBBY: I don't recall specifically having a conversation with him about sharing the -- about Wilson's wife. But it's possible. I just don't recall it.
FRANKEN: Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald asked Libby about spreading the word about Plame's identification well before he says he did. Former White House press secretary, Ari Fleischer, testified Libby told him at lunch in June, 2003, before the news accounts appeared in July.
SPECIAL COUNSEL FITZGERALD: Isn't it a fact, sir, that you told Mr. Fleischer over lunch that this was 'hush-hush' or 'on the Q.T.' that Wilson's wife worked at the CIA? LIBBY: I don't recall that.
FRANKEN: Several reporters who have been coerced testified, as well as CIA and State Department witnesses, also say Libby knew about Plame and talked about her before the first news reports.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FRANKEN: So the defense will be starting very soon and it's going to be a matter now of Libby finding out -- Libby trying to convince people that he really didn't remember. The question is, will he testify and will Vice President Cheney testify.
S. O'BRIEN: It's going to be another riveting day of testimony. That was something to watch yesterday, I'll tell you.
All right, thanks very much, Bob.
Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Coming up, talk about a snow day or two or three. Five feet in two days. It's a school kid's dream, as you look at some live pictures there. But really it's a nightmare in upstate New York. We'll get you up-to-date.
And then there's this. The steamy business, if you will, of fashion. Fashion Week in New York in full swing. We'll have the skinny on the bottom line.
And a closer look. Six choppers down in three weeks in Iraq. What's really going on?
You're watching AMERICAN MORNING. The most news in the morning, right here.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
M. O'BRIEN: Top stories we're watching. The most news in the morning right here.
Officials from the United States and five other countries meeting in China right now, trying again to get North Korea to end its nuclear weapons program.
And take a look at these pictures right here. Chemical fire in Kansas City this morning at a chemical plant. Still burning. Hundreds of residents evacuated because of the toxic smoke sparked by an explosion there. It began yesterday.
It is now quarter past the hour. Chad Myers at the Weather Center.
And you're hovering over upstate New York because -- actually that map is inaccurate. It's green. It should just be white, right?
(WEATHER REPORT) S. O'BRIEN: In Iraq today, the U.S. is now investigating the loss of another American helicopter. It was a private helicopter that was working for the State Department. "The New York Times" is reporting that that chopper was shot down. Everybody on board survived. So that makes six American helicopters down in less than three weeks. Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr takes a closer look for us this morning.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GEN. PETER PACE, JOINT CHIEFS CHAIRMAN: At this point in time, I do not know whether or not it is the law of averages that caught up with us, or if there have been a change in tactics, techniques and procedures on the part of the enemy.
BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): With Iraq's roads becoming IED killing zones, transport helicopters are increasingly relied on to move troops. Apaches provide vital airborne defense for troops in combat on the ground. U.S. military helicopters often are large, slow-moving targets, venerable to attack by shoulder- fired missiles, rocket-propelled grenades and small arms. The threat is readily seen in Baghdad. Helicopters fly low and fast, zigzagging across the city to avoid some threats.
MAJ. GEN. DON SHEPPERD (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: High altitude is more susceptible of surface-to-air missiles taking them down. Low altitudes, it's better for small arms fire to take on a helicopters.
STARR: There's no magic solution to keeping helicopters safe. They do carry highly classified electronics to help them avoid being hit. But privately, U.S. commanders say the insurgents simply might be getting better.
Barbara Starr, CNN, the Pentagon.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
M. O'BRIEN: Coming up, very, very good news from the makers of the Blackberry. We're "Minding Your Business."
We're also minding the fashion business. The runway is where fashion dreams take flight or stay grounded, ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
S. O'BRIEN: Welcome back, everybody. You're watching the most news in the morning.
Green is the new black during fashion week in New York City. Green, of course, as in money. Fashion week makes more than $200 million for the big apple. Alina Cho is going behind the scenes for us this morning. She's in the tents at Bryant Park right here in New York City.
Hey, Alina, good morning.
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning to you, Soledad.
As you mentioned, fashion week is a huge money maker for New York City. It's where major corporations come to test drive their products, so to speak, and it's made the careers of more than a few famous designers.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHO, (voice over): It's a spectacle and some might say superficial, but Fashion Week is big business. It's made Gilles Mendel's career.
GILLES MENDEL, DESIGNER: I think I'm like the best example where, you know, my dream came true. And really a large part of my success is thanks to the shows.
CHO: Before he started showing in the tents two years ago, Mendel was known as a furrier. He wanted the public to see he could make more than just coats.
MENDEL: Very nice.
CHO: So he crafted a collection for the runway. Each show cost him $400,000. And that's twice a year. What he gets back is priceless.
MENDEL: All the press all over the world take all those pictures and print them in every magazine, on the Internet, all over the world.
CHO: Those pictures sell clothes. In two years, Mendel's businesses has multiplied, from $5 million a year to $30 million. It's not just designers. Mercedes-Benz spends millions to be Fashion Week's title sponsor. There are many others, including MAC cosmetics, which supplies makeup and services to most of the shows. Why do they get involved? In a word -- branding.
JOHN DEMSEY, PRESIDENT, ESTEE LAUDER: From runway to real way. I mean really what you see is, you see the inspiration looking forward to trends in the future, yet the reality of it is, you're seeing makeup created right now.
CHO: In some ways it's an easy sell. One hundred thousand people come to the tents during Fashion Week. And the fashion crowd is a captive audience.
FERN MALLIS, V.P., IMG FASHION: They stay in good hotels. They go to the best restaurants. They check out every new restaurant. They go shopping. They know how to spend money. They like to spend money.
CHO: Fashion Week generates an estimated $235 million for New York City over just eight days. Good for the economy, good for business, and very good for Gilles Mendel. MANDEL: The runway show has really transformed completely my company. And I'm really, thanks to those runway shows, you know, really living a dream.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHO: Now if you're still wondering why a car company like Mercedes-Benz or a shipping company like DHL might come to Fashion Week to be a sponsor, it's pretty simple. Fern Mallis, the head of Fashion Week, tells me that this is where the style makers come. This is where the style influencers come. So, Soledad, what that means is, if a fashionista like yourself comes down to the tents to Fashion Week, you see a product, you like it, you tell your friends, they tell their friends, that's all good for business.
S. O'BRIEN: Oh, I get it. So I want a Gilles Mendel dress, and then I want to get the Mercedes and ship all my belongings by DHL. How much money do they put into all of that? I mean, you know, the groups that are not actually handling the fashion part of it? Do you have an estimate on it?
CHO: Well, you know -- no. Millions. Safely I can say in the millions. I can tell you that Mercedes-Benz was a sponsor some years back. Olympus, the camera company, came in. But Mercedes-Benz saw the value in this so much that they came back as the title sponsor. It's a three-year contract. They would only say it's millions of dollars. But you can bet they get a lot out of it here.
S. O'BRIEN: Wow. Makes you want to run out and buy a dress and ship something by DHL.
All right, Alina, thanks.
Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: I didn't know you were a fashionista. Congratulations.
S. O'BRIEN: I try to be. Nothing like Alina, but I do my little part.
M. O'BRIEN: We do our best to be like Alina wherever we can.
The makers of Blackberry and Blackjack have settled that name dispute we've told you about. It's about 25 minutes past the hour. Stephanie Elam "Minding Your Business" this morning.
Good morning, Stephanie.
STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.
And if you thought that perhaps Blackjack sounded a little bit like, well, Blackberry, you're not alone. So did the people who make the Blackberry, which is actually called Research In Motion is the company behind that name. And they're saying they've settled now with Samsung, the maker of the Blackjack. What you may find at Cingular, which is now the new AT&T. Did you get all of that? Well, that's the deal.
So now they're not telling us what they've settled, so we don't know if it's just about the name or if it's money. But at this point that is all over but you still will see the Black Jack on the market.
Let's move on and take a look at Dell, because Dell is also making some changes with the way they are going after consumers. They're now saying that they're going to start selling Sony flat panel televisions along with their own products. They're saying that this is their new way to keep shareholder price up and keep shareholders happy. They say they will soon offer products from a variety of companies.
Lately they've fallen behind Hewlett-Packard as far as getting computers shipped worldwide. They've also had some lackluster earnings. So this is their effort to get back on the market.
But they have done this before. In August they gave up on their DJ Ditty, and that was their digital music player. And so now they're moving on from that as well and selling other people's.
Taking a look at the markets yesterday. The Dow was up just one point. Pretty much sidelined after a drop in oil prices hurt some large energy companies. But a strong sales outlook from Cisco actually helped the Nasdaq. That was up 19 points at $24.91.
And when you take a look overall at retail sales today, which are coming out today, Soledad and Miles, that could give us an idea. They could be up for January because it was so cold. So we may have seen sales lift over the period.
M. O'BRIEN: Oh, when it's cold people buy?
ELAM: Oh, yes, because you don't like being cold, so you go get that big coat, whatever you need.
M. O'BRIEN: Oh, I see. Gotcha.
ELAM: So it might help us out. We'll check it out.
S. O'BRIEN: And you want to be indoors, right?
M. O'BRIEN: Indoors at the mall.
ELAM: At the mall.
S. O'BRIEN: Interesting.
M. O'BRIEN: All right. Thank you, Stephanie.
ELAM: Sure.
M. O'BRIEN: Top stories of the morning are coming up next.
Digging out. People in upstate New York getting their exercise as foot after foot of snow falls. And a fat fighter for sale without a prescription. We're weighing the benefits and the health risks of this potential wonder drug.
You're watching AMERICAN MORNING. The most news in the morning on CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
S. O'BRIEN: Whiteout. Arctic air and huge amounts of snow, up to eight feet, could be on the ground in some places before it's all over.
M. O'BRIEN: Tense talk. The Chinese set the table for putting North Korea on a new course. Can they convince them to walk away from their nukes?
S. O'BRIEN: And embracing unforgettables' fall from grace. From astronaut Lisa Nowak, to the runaway bride, to Miss America, even Isaiah Washington, they've all said, "I'm sorry." Well, not the astronaut yet. We're going to talk this morning about America's addiction to shame and then redemption, straight ahead.
Welcome back, everybody. It's Thursday, February 8th.
I'm Soledad O'Brien.
M. O'BRIEN: And I'm miles O'Brien.
Thanks for being with us.
S. O'BRIEN: Here's what's happening this morning.
(WEATHER REPORT)
M. O'BRIEN: Let's turn to the deadly winter weather. At least 16 have died in the elements and on slippery roads in some parts of the country. And more snow is coming. As a matter of fact, more than eight feet could pile up by Sunday in upstate New York.
Keep shoveling, there. Keep shoveling.
CNN's Rob Marciano is Oswego, New York, which has a bull's eye painted on it this morning -- Rob.
ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: It does have a bull's eye painted on it, Miles. This is snow country, this is where you get lake-effect snow month after month, or at least for a couple of months during the wintertime. But the first couple months months of this winter has been relatively dry, but since midnight last night we -- or as of midnight last night, for a three-day total, add 50 inches of snow, and we've gotten about 10 inches since then and it's coming down at about two inches an hour at least.
I'll tell you what, though. We're on the main street here in Oswego, and Norman Rockwell, eat your heart out. How beautiful is this?
Unfortunately, you know, it's kind of a pain, you have to dig it out. But the good part about this snow is it's really light. I mean, this is not your typical East Coast snow.
That's one of the unique characteristics of lake-effect snow, is it has a very high snow to water content. Typically, if you get an inch of water, you know, for a New York snowstorm, that would equate to about 10 inches or a foot of snow. Here an inch of water can pile up to 20 to even 30 inches of snow at a time. That's why it comes down so quickly.
Obviously it's piling up quite a bit here. They do a great job of keeping the -- keeping the roads clear, as you would imagine in snow country.
Syracuse, just down the road, is the third snowiest city in the country. They average well over 100 inches a year. Similar numbers here in Oswego, if not more. And we're at -- we're at a low elevation.
If you go up the road to -- up 81 towards the Tug Hill Plateau, and that elevation gets up to at times about 2,000 feet. Boy, they even double the amount of snow they're seeing out there right now.
Why? The reason, well, you've got warm lakes and you've got cold air coming over those warm lakes. And because it was so warm, Miles, this past January in December, that contract between the cold air and the warm lakes is even greater now, more so than it would be for this time of year.
And that's why we're piling up. And that -- and that wind direction is just kind of staying -- fluttering between Oswego, just to the north, just to the south. So we're kind of in and out of it here, and we'll continue to be so for a good couple of days -- Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Rob Marciano in Oswego -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: A new round of disarmament talks opening today in Beijing, and North Korea is hinting they might be willing to go along if -- and it's kind of a big "if" -- if they get what they want.
CNN's John Vause is in Beijing live for us this morning.
Hey, John. Good morning.
JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad.
There is a sense of guarded optimism here today that maybe there could be some progress towards a deal, because if this round of talks fail, the question is, will there be another?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE (voice over): They're back, a parade of diplomats from six countries who've talked and argued off and on for more than three years now and have virtually nothing to show for all their efforts. And the U.S. says it's now a critical time to show real progress.
CHRISTOPHER HILL, U.S. CHIEF NEGOTIATOR: Those of us who have been involved with this know that this cannot go on forever.
VAUSE: The Japanese delegate said the talks were at a crossroads. The South Korean, a "... moment of truth..." The North Koreans arrived saying they were willing to talk, but all depended on the U.S. giving up what they called its hostile policy.
HILL: It's a very serious means to a serious end, and we're trying to achieve denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.
VAUSE: And the stakes have risen dramatically after the North announced a successful test of a nuclear device last October, with reports the country may have up to 10 nuclear weapons.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: The main difference this time, perhaps the two main players here, the Americans and the North Koreans, are willing to compromise. But any major breakthrough deal could still be a long way off, if it happens at all -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: Cautiously optimistic, then, I guess is the way to put it.
John Vause for us this morning in Beijing.
Thank you, John -- Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Well, here's some good news if you're battling the bulge. You'll soon be able to buy a Food & Drug Administration- approved weight loss drug, and you won't need a prescription.
It's just approved. It's called alli. It's a lower-dose version of the prescription diet drug Xenical, and it stops your body from creating fat. That sounds great, doesn't it, folks? Well, listen up, though.
It's not a silver bullet. There's always a downside. Right?
There can be some -- this is a morning program, you're eating breakfast. We'll just say this, nasty gastrointestinal side-effects. Get me?
S. O'BRIEN: Ew.
M. O'BRIEN: Ew is right. Ew is another way of putting it, too.
There are critics say it also raises colon cancer risks as well. So some issues here.
We're going to get Dr. Sanjay Gupta on in the next hour. So stay tuned for that.
A new tactic this morning in the fight against child abductors. Screeners at airport checkpoints will be getting Amber Alerts. It's a move officials hope will stop anyone from taking a kidnapped child aboard an airplane.
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children will distribute the alerts to the Transportation Security Administration. We'll have more on the airport Amber Alerts in our 8:00 Eastern hour. We're going to check in with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children head, Ernie Allen -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: Ahead this morning, the snow in upstate New York keeps coming down. We're not talking about inches, folks. We're talking about feet of snow.
Plus, the walk of shame. Yes, that would be the astronaut, Lisa Nowak, taking part in that now infamous tradition.
Are we a nation willing to forgive and forget, as long as we get a public apology? We'll take a look.
You're watching AMERICAN MORNING. The most news in the morning is right here on CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
M. O'BRIEN: The most news in the morning right here on CNN.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice back on Capitol Hill today, answering questions about the president's budget and his call for money, a lot more of it, for Iraq.
And a developing story right now in New York City. Live pictures you're seeing there. A three-alarm fire raging in a Brooklyn neighborhood. More than a hundred firefighters working on it.
We'll keep you posted -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: Oh, we love the story of a good comeback. Americans truly love a tale of hitting the bottom of the barrel, the shame that follows, and then, voila, redemption.
We've seen certainly people in the public eye handle their shame in different ways, like some people who hid under a blanket. That's the runaway bride right there. And on the right-hand side of your screen, the astronaut, Lisa Nowak, also under the jacket.
And then, of course, you have folks who confront their shame very publicly head on.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want to make it clear that everything you've heard and read is true.
LAUREN NELSON, MISS AMERICA: Thank God. Thank God I had the chance to make it right.
JAMES MCGREEVEY, FMR. NEW JERSEY GOVERNOR: I am a gay American.
MARTHA STEWART, TALK SHOW HOST: Today is a shameful day.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
S. O'BRIEN: Embracing their shame.
AMERICAN MORNING'S faith and values correspondent, Delia Gallagher, takes a look at shame and redemption for us this morning.
Nice to see you.
DELIA GALLAGHER, CNN FAITH AND VALUES CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.
S. O'BRIEN: It seems the path to redemption starts with a press conference.
GALLAGHER: Yes.
S. O'BRIEN: Makes its way through rehab and comes out with a relaunch.
GALLAGHER: Well, I mean, you know, this is very specifically kind of American. We have this Christian heritage which says we have to forgive. There's that mast passage in the bible when they say to Jesus, "How many times should we forgive?" He says, "Seventy times seven." That means always.
So we have this heritage, but we also have this Puritan ethic which says, you know, we're held to a very high standard of morality which likes to shame people, bring people down in a public forum, and then requires that in order to forgive, we have to be seen to improve ourselves. We've got to always make progress.
It's not enough to just say, yes, I'm a bad person. You know, you have to go to rehab and you have improve yourself. And then you can have the public forgiveness.
S. O'BRIEN: So all this is very strongly based in our religious roots as a country. You know, you look at something like Michael Richards. Who knew there was rehab for using the N-word, or Isaiah Washington, who knew there was a rehab for homophobia?
It seems to me sometimes more like a P.R. rehab than an actual rehab.
GALLAGHER: Right. And I think that's what -- the reaction we're getting from a lot of people now.
And it's interesting to talk to the people who are involved in rehab, because, of course, rehab is a very serious thing for people with addictions, with real addictions. And they're fighting for their lives, not just their reputations.
And the people that work in these rehab centers and, indeed, the people that have gone to them, say, you know, there are plenty of people in there that are sent there by the courts. They really don't have the intention to necessarily make their lives better, they just need to fulfill this obligation. And it becomes a kind of diploma mill, where they can check off and say, yes, I did my 30 days. But nothing really changes.
S. O'BRIEN: I'm in rehab, I'm cured. Thirty days may even be long. You look at Ted Haggard, it was, like, three weeks, I think, of intensive therapy.
Lindsay Lohan who is in rehab, has been working all the meanwhile. That's a very flexible kind of rehab.
Do you think there's a sense that everybody wants forgiveness but, gosh, you would hate for that to get in the way of your thriving career?
GALLAGHER: Well, yes. And, I mean, the people in rehab would say, you know, it takes a lifetime. If you have a serious addiction, that is a constant struggle. It's not something you go to for 30 days and you're done. You live that continually.
So, I think there is a difference. And while we don't want to underestimate the fact that celebrities probably do need rehab in many cases, you know, there is a difference between going to rehab for your personal reasons for your life and to restore your reputation.
S. O'BRIEN: We're a nation that loves to forgive, but maybe not forget.
Delia Gallagher.
Thanks, Delia, as always.
Delia, of course, is our faith and values correspondent -- Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: It's a quarter of the hour. Chad Myers at the CNN weather center watching the snow for us this morning.
(WEATHER REPORT)
M. O'BRIEN: Coming up, we'll take you over to the grid, we'll show you some of the things we're watching this morning, all the feeds coming in.
We've got Baghdad, we've got Bay Ridge, and we got Oswego, just to mention a few.
Plus, a ban -- get this, a ban on birthday cupcakes. What has the world come to? Why more and more schools want to keep the treats out of the classroom.
Spoiled sports, I think.
That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
Welcome back. Most news in the morning.
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S. O'BRIEN: All right, Miles. Thanks.
We've got a special project that we want to share with you. We're kicking it off tomorrow on AMERICAN MORNING. It's called "Children of the Storm."
We handed out video cameras to 11 young survivors from in and around New Orleans, got a little help from director Spike Lee, and those kids are going to give us a look at their lives and their homes and their city through their eyes.
Our special is called "Children of the Storm." We'll continue to update our progress. It begins tomorrow, though, right here on AMERICAN MORNING.
Coming up, major music labels are firing back at Apple. We're "Minding Your Business" right after the break.
Plus, you knew the airlines were losing your luggage, but wait until you hear just how many bags they lost last year. A new study out names names. And we're going tell you which carrier is the worst of the worst.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
M. O'BRIEN: Well, there's not much courtesy, much less glamour anymore if you fly. You know that.
Take a look at some government numbers out now. It just sort of bears it all.
Hey, that's my bag! I've been looking for that.
Anyway, seven out of every 1,000 travelers has complained about lost or mishandled luggage. That doesn't sound like a whole heck of a lot to me. Why am I always among the seven, though?
And get this, more than four million problems with mishandled luggage in 2006. That gives you a sense of a scale, up from 2.9 million the year before.
And what about whether you're getting to your destination on time? Not so much, it's going down. Seventy-five percent of flights arrived on time last year. And you know how they pad those arrival times, so there's really a lot more delay built in there that you don't see or know about.
However, if you are lucky enough to live in Hawaii, if you're up at this hour, having a late night still in Hawaii, you have a good chance of getting there on time. Their on-time percentage there, 94 percent. S. O'BRIEN: Wow.
M. O'BRIEN: Of course they have -- it's a small fleet and benign weather.
S. O'BRIEN: Usually good weather.
M. O'BRIEN: Benign weather, yes. There you go.
S. O'BRIEN: And you're likely to -- most likely lose your bag if you're flying Atlantic Southeast Airlines.
M. O'BRIEN: Who knew?
S. O'BRIEN: Yes. Well, they're the worst of the worst.
M. O'BRIEN: All right.
The music industry is fired back at Steve Jobs, one day after he fired at them. So we've got a little match, if you know what I mean.
It's a few minutes before the top of the hour. Stephanie Elam "Minding Your Business."
Hello, Stephanie.
STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.
Yes, they're sparring it out over this one. And it's not too much of a surprise that the music industry had some strong feelings about what Steve Jobs said yesterday. And they're saying that while they're telling -- while Steve has been telling them to go ahead and get rid of their copying restrictions, they're saying, well, wait a second, why don't you get rid of your restrictions as far as your software, so that everybody who wants to go and download a song from iTunes, which is Apple's software, where they can get songs, then they can play it on any device in the world?
Well, they're saying that's what Apple should go ahead and do. In fact, what they're saying here is that Apple should open up its anti-piracy technology to its rivals and that would help out.
Now, the software is called Digital Rights Management Technology, and it's called DRM for short here, and it's necessary to keep piracy at bay. That is what they're saying at the music industry.
But Jobs says he's against licensing DRM -- theirs is called FairPlay -- because he says it would make it easier for hackers to go ahead and get access to the music and get access to songs just way too easily. So that's why he says they're against it.
A lot of analysts in the market are looking at this different ways. Some are saying if they got rid of the restrictions it would help get more music out to more people, and then more people would probably go ahead and buy a CD because they did like the music. Others are saying that we are tending to look like we're moving towards a format which will be all digital eventually and no one will be buying CDs anymore, and in which case there has to be something involved to keep piracy at bay.
Back to you, Miles and Soledad.
M. O'BRIEN: Thank you, Stephanie.
S. O'BRIEN: Some of the other headlines this morning. One of CNN.com's most popular stories, in fact, is this one. It's called "Faux fur is often dog hair.
Ew.
M. O'BRIEN: Oh, no.
S. O'BRIEN: The Humane Society says that 24 out of the 25 jackets that were "faux fur" labeled that they tested were actually -- had dog hair in them. The fur comes from the raccoon dog. There's a picture of it right there.
M. O'BRIEN: That's a dog?
S. O'BRIEN: It's native Asia. Yes, it's a raccoon dog. I guess it's found in Asia and in northern Europe.
The jackets are sold at major department stores. Usually they're labeled "Made in China." There's some lawmakers who want to ban importing raccoon dog fur. But, of course, if they're mislabeled, how would they know?
M. O'BRIEN: How would you know? You'd have to be aware out there.
S. O'BRIEN: That's gross.
M. O'BRIEN: All right. Check this out from the Reuters news wire.
You think you're the king and queen? Have we got the throne for you.
S. O'BRIEN: Oh my God.
M. O'BRIEN: Need I say more? It is the Pimped-Out John, and among its features, flat-screen TV, an Xbox, an iPod and a refrigerator. So you can just complete the cycle, if you know what I mean.
The whole thing is right there. Roto-Rooter designed the toilet, which says the average person spends in lifetime 12,000 hours, give or take, on the toilet. That is one year, four months, five days. And therefore, why shouldn't it be luxurious?
The Pimped-Out John apparently is going to be given away in some kind of sweepstakes they told me.
S. O'BRIEN: Online I think.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes.
S. O'BRIEN: Five grand.
M. O'BRIEN: Five grand.
S. O'BRIEN: It's a bargain. That's ridiculous.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes. Yes, I would put that in the "ridiculous" category. Thank you.
S. O'BRIEN: Don't even think about it. Yes, it is.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes. It is.
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