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Big Endorsements in the Presidential Election; Winter Weather in the Northeast; British Hand Basra Security to Iraqis
Aired December 16, 2007 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN, ANCHOR: Right now in the NEWSROOM, extreme winter weather from Boston to New York, Detroit and Chicago. Even tornados in the south. We're live all over. Hello, everyone, I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Also ahead in this busy hour, the campaign's countdown. Three presidential hopefuls get a big boost in the race for the White House. We'll head out live on the campaign trail in just a few minutes.
But first, a lengthy stretch of the country is snowed under today and that big winter storm isn't finished. Snow is still piling up in New England as the Great Lakes region and parts of the Midwest begin to dig out. Finally, it stopped snowing in Chicago after nearly a foot came down, making it pretty hard to leave the driveway. And to knock out the rest of that holiday shopping perhaps.
Well, more snow is expected in parts of Michigan, by the way today. In that state, hazardous road conditions are blamed for two deaths and a traffic death in Wisconsin as well is being blamed on the storm. As the system rolled eastward, Boston awoke this morning to a fresh coat of snow and the grown of heavy plows. In other parts of New England, sleet and ice are the order of the day, and far in the south, in Florida as a matter of fact, no snow but in Pasco county, near Tampa, a tornado hit early this morning destroying a temporary jail annex. All the female inmates had been safely evacuated.
Well, from CNN's Wolf, I'm sorry, Reynolds Wolf, I knew that was going to happen one of these days. It's been a pretty snowy jaunt from one city to another. First it was Hartford, then Boston and today we find him snowed under in Syracuse, New York. I bet I'm not the first one that happened to, Reynolds.
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN, CORRESPONDENT: You know, the time you mixed up by name with Wolf Blitzer, it is an honor and it is a pleasure. He is one of my favorite people in the whole world. So keep it coming, I love it. Hey, we got a story to tell here, Fredricka. The big story we got here has got to do obviously with the snow. This is beautiful, snowy Syracuse, New York. We had around 1 to 3 inches of snowfall this morning and we had a little bit of a break but now it's coming back down again. We're expecting the snow to continue through much of the evening hours and into tomorrow. I have to tell you, we are not, meaning Syracuse, not the only place around this nation that's dealing with a visit from old man winter.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WOLF (voice-over): Christmas may be just over a week away, but do you really want to go shopping in this mess? From the Midwest to the northeast, heavy snow for the second time in less than a week.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Horrible. Absolutely ridiculous.
WOLF: Get out the scrapers, the shovels, the snow blowers and don't forget the snowplows, and the salt spreader, says Chicago street commissioner.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I will have over 400 vehicles on the street.
WOLF: Despite the best efforts of road crews, there were accidents. Also flight delays and cancellations.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're trying to get home,
WOLF: Not a fit day for man or beast, but dogs have to be walked.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Three, four times a day. Got to do it.
WOLF: This is what it looked like in Foxboro, Massachusetts, just hours before the big game between the New England Patriots and the New York Jets. As crews worked to clear snow out of the stands, fans were urged to take public transportation or car pool. That's a lot of ground to cover from the Midwest all the way into the northeast. So many people, millions, in fact, will be affected by this storm system as it rolls from west to east. Now, don't worry, we're going to give you all the information you need to go from step a to step b with good help from our friend Bonnie Schneider. She's going to be at the CNN weather center and she's going to keep you up to speed on every single details you ever want to know. And, of course, Fredricka, you are always a plethora of information. Let's send it back to you.
WHITFIELD: You are so kind, Reynolds. It looks beautiful where you are, I know it's really miserable for a lot of folks trying to get around. We'll check back with you. Thanks so much.
Well, extreme weather takes other shapes. In the sunshine state, this was a minimum security annex at the Pasco County Jail, leveled just before dawn this morning by a tornado. Luckily, all the inmates had just been evacuated just minutes before. Ferdinand Zagboum from CNN affiliate Bay News 9 joining us live from the scene. It looks very menacing, very terrible, but good news, nobody was really in there, right?
FERDINAND ZAGBOUM, BAY NEWS 9, CORRESPONDENT: Exactly right. They got them out just in the nick of time. It's a pretty amazing story. This tornado touched down in the early morning hours and carved a path across Pasco County. Take a look at these trees behind me to give you an idea of the wind strength we're talking about. One right there is completely uprooted, another one snapped in half. But the story is the jail beyond these trees. We got a package we're going to roll for you to give an idea what happened there.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ZAGBOUM (voice-over): Sunday morning was marked with a lot of destruction around parts of Pasco County. The Land O'Lakes Detention Center was nailed. We were the first camera on scene and got these shots of the transport van knocked on its side and footage of this building that was leveled. James Rolstein is with the Pasco County sheriff's office. He witnessed it all.
JAMES ROLSTEIN, PASCO COUNTRY SHERIFF'S OFFICE: The noise was very overwhelming. There was dust, water everywhere.
WOLF: The good news is nobody is injured. Everybody is safe despite all the damage. Pasco County sheriff Bob White says some inmates got out of danger just in time.
BOB WHITE, PASCO COUNTY, SHERIFF: We evacuated about 200 inmates from the temporary structures and immediately upon evacuation, when that steel door closed, they lost power and those units were destroyed. They were reduced to rubble.
WOLF: Power crews spent the entire day fixing downed poles and wires while county workers cleaned up trees and inmates from the jail also pitched in.
All the staff, all the inmates to that fact that is inmates, all the staff acted very appropriately.
WOLF: The sheriff didn't put an exact amount what the damage would cost but he did say it could be in the millions. Now, that nasty weather is gone now. The sun is out. But the story now is windy conditions and cold conditions. The temperatures are supposed to drop quite a bit tonight and some of our northern counties above Tampa could hit freezing. So people are going from a tornado to pulling out their jackets. Back to you, guys.
WHITFIELD: All right, maybe the next story there will be about the citrus freeze then. Ferdinand Zagboum, thanks so much from Bay News 9 there in Land O'Lakes, Florida.
Well, bad weather is affecting millions with winter storms. Wind, floods, even blizzard advisories. All of it out there and of course, there's tornadoes. Bonnie Schneider is tracking all of it for us. Bonnie, this is a busy time for you and everybody else.
BONNIE SCHNEIDER, CNN, METEOROLOGIST: It is and it's also a busy travel day on Sunday. We're getting ready for the holidays. Very soon, a lot of people are looking to get out of town or just get back home and because of all the bad weather out there, we have numerous delays to tell you about. Look at this, one airport completely shut down in Albany, New York, due to wintry weather. Cleveland, a ground stop until 4:00. We also have Philadelphia reporting ground stop as are the airports in New York City, which are now reporting almost two- hour delays at JFK, a slow going there. In fact, we had so many airport delays, we have two pages of them. Ground delays in Toronto, Washington, D.C. and in Chicago.
Let's show you a live look of Chicago right now. We have a live picture to show you how it looks like there. Oh, it's really cold. Right now the temperature in Chicago is 23 degrees. The winds are coming in at about 15 miles per hour out of the northwest, so it feels like it's only 10 degrees and it's going to get colder tonight. You can see the snow on the ground. It looks like they did a nice job clearing out the roads from any accumulating snow.
Not too far away, I want to show you a live picture of Ann Arbor, Michigan. It's even colder there because the wind is blow and this region is still under advisories right now. We're looking at a current temperature of about 26 degrees. Wind gusts are at 30 miles per hour. So it feels like it's 13 degrees in Ann Arbor. Let's talk about the northeast. We saw some pictures where Reynolds is. Yes, the snow is still falling but we're getting right now is kind of the back half of the storm as it begins to exit. So we're not seeing so much wintry weather in the bigger cities but we are going to see strong winds. Look at these wind gusts on the main coast, out of the east at about 31 miles per hour. So very strong winds still with this nor'easter, Fredricka, and that's going to be causing problems later on tonight and tomorrow morning.
WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks so much, Bonnie. It's already bad in so many places. Don't believe how bad getting around is because of all this wintry weather? Check out this from our i-reporter, Max Codaxe shooting this scene Thursday night in Boston. A pretty strong guy seems to help the driver of the van with a big old push. But then, of course, once the van gets going on this sleety street, kind of forgets about the help. Thanks a lot there.
All right, severe weather also ruined many people's plans to head out to Sunday services as well. Take a look at this. These pictures are from i-reporter Nick Turpchinoff of Ft. Wayne, Indiana. His family made a valiant effort to dig out of their driveway, but they didn't make it. Here's a better look at the snow drifts up close. Nick's front door somewhere in there. Believe us. Thanks to Nick and all of our i-reporters for their submissions.
A monumental moment in the fight for Iraq. 4 1/2 years in the making today in Basra, British military officials returned regional security responsibilities back to local authorities. The British say they have done their job of ridding the area of enemies.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAJ. GEN. GRAHAM BINNS, BRITISH COMMANDER: Our help will continue to be one of assistance, not interference, to support, not to direct. To listen, not to ignore. And understand, not to (inaudible). This will be achieved through our actions, not just our words.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Well, Basra was the last province under British control. British officials say roughly 2,500 troops will remain in Iraq for provisional security.
Well, two key endorsements today heating up the race for White House. We're live on the campaign trail. And Ron Paul may not be picking up endorsements but he is raking in the cash. We'll show you the money, straight ahead. Plus, turn in your gun and make up to $100. But will it curb the violence in D.C.? Details straight ahead in the NEWSROOM. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Well two key endorsements today for Arizona Senator John McCain. Despite the lackluster showing in recent polls, the republican presidential hopeful now has the backing of two influential newspaper and so do two of his democratic rivals by the way. Iowa's "The Des Moines Register" is giving it's blessing to McCain and Senator Hillary Clinton. The paper praised both candidate's experience, competence and readiness. Iowa's caucus is less than three weeks away. And McCain and Illinois Senator Barack Obama are "The Boston Globe's" picks for the New Hampshire primary on January 8. The "Globe" says Obama is "more open to responsibilities." McCain is picking up another endorsement, this one from across the aisle, in addition to the newspapers. Democrat turned independent Senator Joe Lieberman is sending his support to McCain. He's expected to make it official tomorrow. Our Mary Snow is live in Boston with details. Mary, is this surprising everyone?
MARY SNOW, CNN, CORRESPONDENT: It really is, Fredricka. As you mentioned today for John McCain here on the campaign trail. The McCain camp is touting what it is calling a major endorsement to be announced tomorrow morning and a senior GOP official with knowledge of the plan confirms to CNN that endorsement will be coming from Senator Joseph Lieberman from nearby Connecticut. As you mentioned, he is a democrat turned independent. How could this help John McCain? One way could help is with Independents who are going to the polls in neighboring New Hampshire and its primary. Also, you want to point out, you mentioned the newspaper endorsements, "The Boston Globe" here today endorsed John McCain and it does have readership in parts of New Hampshire. So, you know, this is one of - another example of these races that are taking twists and turns. A few months ago, so many people were talking about John McCain and whether he would survive to this long. And he seemed to be picking up some support along the way. But the current poll that we have by CNN shows him pretty much tied for second place in New Hampshire. So it could be pretty close.
WHITFIELD: And sometimes number two is just as important as number one these days. All right, talk about staying power. How about Ron Paul? A lot of folks kind of doubted whether he had the staying power and now apparently he's doing really well when it comes to fund- raising.
SNOW: Yes, doing well in the fund-raising as you said. In the polls, he's really kind of been one of the underdogs all along but is not stopping his supporters, especially here in Boston. Today, they're using the anniversary of the Boston Tea Party to rally support for Ron Paul. Not just in terms of a physical rally here in Boston, but online. They're using what they call a money bomb day. They've raised a record amount of money in November in just one day. They're hoping to do that again today. And the Ron Paul campaign is saying so far today, they've raised about $3.4 million and they are not giving hope - giving up hope that Ron Paul will have a strong showing in these early primary states, particularly in New Hampshire. They're hoping to do well with independents.
WHITFIELD: All right, Mary Snow, thank you so much from Boston. Well, Senator Hillary Clinton is in a campaign blitz to Iowa. She's hopping from stump to stump in her Hilla-copter, Hillary Helicopter, Hilla-copter, get it. Our Suzanne Malveaux is watching the Clinton campaign for you from Dunlap, Iowa. Is this Dunlop of Dunlap, Iowa?
SUSAN MALVEAUX, CNN, CORRESPONDENT: It's Dunlop. You get the whole thing the helicopter, Hillary, you know. I guess the whole idea, everybody is using whatever they can get at this moment, because it is really a unique situation here. We're talking about a very small window before the Iowa caucuses, everybody trying to compete for these voters. And it's a three-way race here. It's a dead heat with the polls showing that it is senator Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, John Edwards, all of them, it's a toss-up at this time. It's about making as much ground as possible. Hillary Clinton, at the live stock auction house, about to speak to a group of folks there. Her main message is all about experience. She has the kind of experience in Washington, in the Senate, the White House, outside, to be the best candidate to be the president. And that is exactly what "The Des Moines Register" also said, really backing her position there, simply saying the editorial board, "the job requires a president who not only understands the changes needed to move the country forward, but also possesses the discipline and skill to navigate the reality, the resistant Washington power structure to get things done. That candidate is New York Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton. So, obviously, they're very pleased about this. They feel that this validates, echoes the position that she's been taking for quite sometime. And Fred, you mentioned as well, her opponent also scoring a big victory, that being Senator Barrack Obama, getting the endorsement of "The Boston Globe." Why is that important? It's important because in New Hampshire, the second state that's going to go ahead and have voters make their views known in the primary, they all read the, the democrats at least read "The Boston Globe." And that's a very influential endorsement on his side. And as Mary Snow mentioned, McCain pretty much cleaned up everywhere, "The Boston Globe, "The Des Moines Register," as well as last week the New Hampshire union leader. Fred.
WHITFIELD: Well, it wont be long until we see whether these endorsements make a big difference when it comes down to the primaries and the caucuses. Thanks so much, Suzanne Malveaux in Dunlop, Iowa.
MALVEAUX: Sure.
WHITFIELD: With the helicopter.
Well, Bill Clinton unabashedly supports his wife's campaign, but he's also frank about her chances. During an interview with Charlie Rose on PBS Friday, he offered a pretty surprising assessment.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BILL CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT, UNITED STATES: I think it's a miracle that Hillary's got a chance to win. She might win this thing in Iowa. And I'm not low balling it. You can look at the facts here. I think it's a miracle because of the way the thing has played out. (END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Well, in that same interview, Mr. Clinton praised Barack Obama's political skills, but he suggested that Obama's short time on Capitol Hill means he's not ready for the White House. Obama has scoffed at those comments from Mr. Clinton.
Well, all the presidential candidates are coordinating the youth vote. Are they succeeding? Coming up a bit later, you'll meet the masterminds behind scoop08.com right here on CNN. And remember, for all the day's political stories, go to CNNpolitics.com. Find out the latest endorsements and much more, again the address cnnpolitics.com.
Back to our top story, coming up. Weather. A lot of it. Very wintry. Snow-covered roads, power outages and freezing temperatures. We're covering all the angles of this extreme weather for you. Plus, hand in your gun and go home with money in your pocket. Can cash curve some of the violence in our nation's capital?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Cash for guns. Hand in a gun today in the nation's capital and go home with money in your pocket. That's Washington's latest effort to battle a growing murder rate by getting guns off the street. But critics say gun buybacks are not effective. Here's CNN's Gary Nuremberg.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GARY NUREMBERG, CNN, CORRESPONDENT: The sign on this Washington, D.C. street says peace on earth. Other signs on D.C. streets, bullet casings at the scene of a drive-by shooting Friday tell a different stories. The shooters fired 11 times.
WANDA BROOKS, GUN OWNER: It's just too much violence in the world now, especially in this area. And we need to get the guns off the streets.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A tech-9 automatic pistol.
NUREMBERG: Washington police were buying guns over the weekend in a city where handguns have been banned since 1976. A gun amnesty program, cash for guns.
CHIEF CATHY LANIER, D.C. METROPOLITAN POLICE: There just seems to be an unlimited supply of guns out here on the streets.
NUREMBERG: D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier says it is the number one reason for an increase in the city's homicide rate.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Any weapon that comes off the street that gets into our possession is one that can't be used against any of our citizens.
NUREMBERG: Criminologists are skeptical. JAMES ALAN FOX, CRIMINOLOGIST, NORTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY: It's sort of like trying to bail out the Titanic with a paper cup as the water keeps coming in. The extent to get guns off the street with a gun buyback program is dwarfed by the flow of guns, illegal guns onto the street.
GEORGE LYON, GUN OWNERS: We shouldn't fool ourselves that offering $100 in a gun buyback program is going to stop anyone from committing a crime.
NUREMBERG: George Lyon is suing the city to overturn its gun ban, a case the Supreme Court will hear early next year. A new CNN opinion research poll released Sunday showed 65% of Americans believe the constitution guaranties each person the right to own a gun.
LYON: Guns no more cause crime than cars cause drunk driving.
NUREMBERG: But D.C. police are convinced that every gun off the street is a plus. They bought 279 of them over the weekend. Gary Nuremberg, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: Extreme weather, that's our top story as well. Lots of snow, wind, ice and oh, yeah, lots of travel delays. We're tracking all of that for you this afternoon here in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERICAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Well, did I mention there's a lot of bad weather out there? Really bad. Snow, ice, fierce winds. A frigid nor'easter bearing down on the northeast right now, parts of the Midwest and Great Lakes also being hammered by the same system. Winter storm alerts and warnings have been posted from Indiana to Maine and tens of thousands of people are without power. Of course, traveling is a nightmare. Hundreds of flights have been cancelled and road conditions are pretty treacherous as well with a lot of whiteout conditions in some areas. In fact, in parts of the northeast, conditions could get even worse as the day wears on. CNN meteorologist Reynolds Wolf is making it look so easy in Syracuse, New York. Hi again, Reynolds.
WOLF: Hi again, Fred. I'm doing fine. It is certainly chilly but I got to tell you it is absolutely beautiful. I know this is causing so many headaches for so many people, but if you're staying inside looking outdoors or standing out seeing, it is certainly magnificent.
It started off slowly. We had a little bit of freezing rain, we had some ice on the roadways that are one to three,, some places as much as four inches of snowfall this morning. And now it's really begun to pick up, especially in the last hour or two.
Now, again, this is certainly beautiful snow. It's nice, it's soft, it's powdery. But I'll tell you, when this stacks up on the roadways, this can cause all kinds of issues. And we're lucky enough to have John Walsh from the Department of Public Works with us. And John, your job is to get all this stuff off a lot of miles of road. How many crews do you have out this evening?
JOHN WALSH, SYRACUSE DEP. DIR. OF PUBLIC WORKS: About 14 crews out this evening and help also from the Parks Department and the school district helps us out.
WOLF: Now are these guys going to be working around the clock, non- stop until this passes?
WALSH: The shift we have on now will work until 7:00 tonight and then the night shift will come in and work until 7:00 in the morning. It's a continuous 24-hour operation.
WOLF: What advice would you have for people who have to go out on the roads or tomorrow morning when we're expecting even more snow, you have any words of advice for them?
WALSH: Hopefully they don't travel unless they really have to. If it's necessary, they take their time, the roads are still slick, even though we're plowing them, they still will be slippery. And if they just slow down, they'll get there. And again, if they don't need to travel, we hope they stay off the roads. If they have to park, obey the odd even parking whenever they can and get in the drive because it makes it a lot easier to clear the roads.
WOLF: About those crews, you've been talking about them extensively. Can you tell us what tonight is going to be like for those drivers?
WALSH: Tonight, they'll be again, working until 7:00 in the morning. They'll come in tonight at 7:00, along with the crews that are here now. They'll continue to plow the main arteries of the city, the emergency routes, they'll stay on those. If it lets up, they'll try to get back on neighborhoods. But I don't it is going to let up. So it's a constant battle of going back over and over again. And along with the crews out plowing, we have several mechanics keeping our fleet up and running and that is a task in itself.
WOLF: You guys make it into an art form. The streets look very good. You guys have kept up with it. Thank you so much for your time, Mr. Walsh. And best of luck to you.
It's going to be an interesting night for them. Again, we're expecting quite a bit more snow. And again, Bonnie is going to keep you up to speed on that. We could see by morning maybe 10 inches of snowfall here in this area. I'll tell you, it is going to be interesting too because we're going to see a lot of the wind begin to pick up in the early morning hours all across Syracuse. So we're certainly going to keep an eye on that for you.
It's what happens during the wintertime and like it or not, it always seems, Fredricka, when you have that first snowfall, it is dazzling to see but at the same time, ooh, it can be a mess too. I'll send it back to you.
WHITFIELD: And we know the folks in Syracuse are used to this stuff but still there are moments where this weather catches us all off guard and problems occur. WOLF: Absolutely. And some of those problem no doubt are going to be delays we see across much of the Northeast corridor. We're going to see a lot of delays, a lot of flights are going to be stacked up and this is going to affect millions of people and the key thing, you just heard Mr. Walsh say, if you don't have to go out on the roads, don't. It turns slippery adventure into a nightmare. And that is something that they want to avoid all considered. Absolutely.
WHITFIELD: All right. Reynolds Wolf, thanks so much. We'll check back with you.
WOLF: You betcha.
WHITFIELD: From Syracuse. And of course another one of those big problems that comes from storms like this, icy storms bringing down those trees just like that, right onto the power lines, which means in many parts of Pennsylvania, already 100,000 people are without power as a result of this icy storm, causing real havoc there. Richard Flynn of the state's Emergency Management Agency is on the phone with us now. And so, Mr. Flinn, what do you do for all of those people who are without power, what can you do?
RICHARD FLINN, PENNSYLVANIA EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT (on phone): Well, Fredricka, thank you. What we are working on is with the county emergency management and the utilities. Obviously a restoration time and that's critical, trying to get folks the idea of when they're going to get back and have power. But more importantly, identify, if necessary, shelters, warming centers, and especially concerned about the elderly and having folks go check on their neighbors in that sense. Concerned about people using alternate sources of heat obviously always causes fires and we're getting messages out to be concerned about that.
But the bottom line right at this point is identifying those people with those needs that need to be able to get into a shelter and identifying shelters and opening shelters as we speak.
WHITFIELD: In addition to the power outages, what else is your big concern during this storm?
FLINN: Well, this evening, again, for the most part, like I said, the road conditions, and I heard Mr. Walsh speak earlier, we're through that. That's the good news. Obviously we're concerned about the freezing that's -- refreezing that's going to occur tonight. Our Pennsylvania Department of Transportation is very aggressively involved, keeping the personnel all over and being very aggressive in response to that.
We're also going to have -- our next threat, if you will, is the high winds this evening. With those winds, obviously with the ice on the limbs on the trees, bringing down more power lines itself certainly is our concern.
WHITFIELD: Right. If you don't have to get out this evening, you need to just go ahead and stay in, at least for your safety.
FLINN: Absolutely.
WHITFIELD: Richard Flinn of the state's Emergency Management Agency there in Pennsylvania, thanks so much and best of luck through this nasty storm.
FLINN: Thank you very much.
WHITFIELD: All right. So what can people expect next from that icy storm system? CNN meteorologist Bonnie Schneider in the severe weather center. And something tells me this really is kind of the beginning for certain locations.
BONNIE SCHNEIDER, CNN METEOROLOGIST: It is, and it's very important what we were just talking about in terms of the wind. Because the winds are fierce right now and they're going to get worse tonight, well into tomorrow. We have wind advisories for many cities up and down the Eastern Seaboard.
But I want to talk about air travel. Because it is a nightmare this Sunday evening. Boy, do we have a lot of delays. Let me show you as we enumerate the board here. One airport closed. Ground Stop in Cleveland right now and Philadelphia also reporting a ground stop.
And in New York City, we have ground delays that are over two hours. So oh, boy, if you're going to be here, it's going to be a while before things get going especially at JFK. I want to show you a live picture of Cleveland, Ohio, where the snow is still falling. The winds are absolutely fierce, they are out of the northwest with gusts as strong as 45 miles per hour.
But that does not stop a football team from winning the game. I want to show you some pictures from today's game. That's right, Cleveland beat the Buffalo Bills 8-0, despite the snow. Look at that snow- covered field. No problem for folks in Cleveland. Even the fans were out there and it was bitterly cold there, not only windy but the wind chill factor in the single digits at times today. So very cold and blustery. But congratulations to Cleveland for winning the game.
Back to air travel and more delays to show you in Washington, DC and in Chicago. Also Las Vegas reporting delays as is Toronto. It's going to be tough for air travel, not just for today but tomorrow, because this storm is not exiting just yet. We still have kind of the back half of the snow where Reynolds was reporting from Syracuse. More heavy snow there and storm advisories well in place.
For wind, really, once you start heading into New England, the winds especially fierce. As we tally up the snowfall totals, they are coming in just under a foot in some areas and notice in Pennsylvania where we have all those power outages, we have a lot of ice to tell you about. About a quarter of an inch.
And numerous snowfall totals you can see into Ann Arbor. About nine inches. All the way down to three inches of snow in and around Boston area and into Chicago, O'Hare. So several inches but that just causes a big slowdown when it comes to air travel. And we have the advisories we've been talking about. That actually is going to continue straight until tomorrow morning for snow, wind, and even freezing rain in some areas. It's going to be rough going straight through Monday morning.
Fredricka?
WHITFIELD: Well, looks like a white Christmas for many places because something tells me all that snow, it is not going anywhere, it'll stick around at least a week. All right, Bonnie, thanks so much.
All right. Later we'll be talking more about presidential politics and Rocking the Youth Vote. The new Web site aims to help younger voters get the scoop on presidential candidates. We'll speak with the founders right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Thomas the Tank Engine, Elmo, Curious George, your child's best friend now at the top of a toy recall list and your worst enemy. CNN's Kara Finnstrom looks at efforts to overcome the trouble in Toyland.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LISA BUCK, MOTHER: I actually called my mom saying, I do I have to get rid of everything for my older kids because I don't know what has lead in it, what's been tested.
KARA FINNSTROM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Mom Lisa Buck is in the swelling ranks of shoppers searching for toys without made in China labels.
How hard has it been for you to find toys that don't have that label on it?
BUCK: Except for one catalog that I know about, it's very difficult.
FINNSTROM: Difficult because about 80 percent of toys in American stores are made in china. So parents inundated with the recalls of Chinese toys containing lead, other toxins and dangerous magnets are looking for alternatives. Buck found this store.
SOLEIL MOON FRYE, SHOP OWNER: We're looking around and realizing, what is in our children's toys? What are the toxins in our? And it's a time in this country where we need to ask questions.
FINNSTROM: Expectant mom and actress Soleil Moon Frye and mom Page Toymac (ph) just opened this store which touts toxin-free toys.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Things like play dough they're going to end up putting in their mouth, put their hands in their mouth. It's non- toxic, it's absolutely safe for our babies to play with.
FINNSTROM: Consumer advocates charge the U.S. agency responsible for keeping watch over our kids' toys is overwhelmed.
JEAN HALLORAN, CONSUMER'S UNION: Unfortunately, our Consumer Products Safety Commission has been cut back to almost nothing. They have half the staff they had 30 years ago and twice the job.
FINNSTROM: Even the head of the commission in testimony before Congress admitted it couldn't keep up.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you know what percentage of the toys get tested now?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Get tested for lead paint?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. Or for ...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, I don't.
FINNSTROM: So consumer advocates encourage parents to do their own work home. Many Web sites have cropped up. Even Toys R Us now offer lists with country of origin information.
DR. ROBERT ADLER, CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL LOS ANGELES: The problem with lead is that it does accumulate in certain tissues.
FINNSTROM: Pediatrician Dr. Robert Adler said lead levels in toys alone are usually not high enough to pose a threat, but he says if children are also exposed to other lead sources, like old paint, the cumulative effect could be dangerous.
ADLER: Lead seems to have an effect on the growing brain, and because we're in growth so much of it occurs at a young age that that has its biggest impact. So lead will interfere with normal development.
BUCK: Obviously now with my newest one I'll protect him in a different way than I ever even thought I would have to do.
FINNSTROM: Buck she says when her two oldest were babies, Christmas shopping was carefree. Now she's looking for much more than the latest hit toy.
Kara Finnstrom for CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: Meantime, retailers have been pretty busy, responding to worried shoppers. Earlier I spoke with the CEO of FAO Schwartz, Ed Schmults, about how his store has been affected.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ED SCHMULTS, CEO, FAO SCHWARZ: We've been fortunate in that we focus on higher quality goods. So other than Thomas the Tank engine which was recalled in June, and might have been the start of all this, we haven't carried any of the mass items recalled over the summer and through the fall. So I'm very proud of that of our focus on quality toys and our business has been very strong. And I think possibly in some measure because of the recalls, there's been a flight to quality and customers are seeking out FAO Schwarz.
WHITFIELD: OK, so since you have the kind of perhaps quality control that perhaps some of the other stores don't have, because as you underscore, you have mostly kind of high-end toys, what kind of increase are you seeing as a result of folks who say I'm no longer going to the mainstream stores because of these recalled items?
SCHMULTS: Well, we're up about 20 percent so far this year. Which is a great performance, and I'm very pleased with that. I do want to clarify one thing.
I wouldn't call our product mix high end. We focus on quality and we have great eight and $10 quality items. I think the issue with the recalls, it tended to be companies, good companies that are making tens of millions of items. It's very hard to control a supply chain that big. Our typical vender is much, much smaller. And so making 10,000, 20,000 of an item, a little easier to control and be sure of your raw materials and your manufacturing processes.
WHITFIELD: OK. So are some of your customers looking for something very specific this holiday season, since it seems as though some of the merchandise has been cut out in terms of on their wish list?
SCHMULTS: Well, we haven't seen a big change in consumer behavior, which frankly I was very surprised by. We put out a lot of information on our Web site. We have a toy buying guide and you can search by country of origin. So toys made in the U.S. or made in Germany or England or Israel or Kenya, or China, in our stores, the toy buying guide is posted and we also put up country of origin signs on major brands that weren't made in China to provide that information. But we really didn't see a change in customer buying behavior at FAO Schwarz. I can't speak for other vendors but with us, customers continue to buy what we planned to have them stock and no discernible change in buying patterns.
WHITFIELD: Do you feel like your toy store and perhaps others are getting a bad wrap because there are a lot of buyers who say, I'm not going to a toy store at all because I can't keep up with the recalled items, so I can't trust that the merchant has done the same.
SCHMULTS: I think so. Our focus on higher quality doesn't make us separate from the toy industry. We are a part of the toy industry and I think the entire toy industry has suffered from these tragic recalls. I'm optimistic that a lot of people are really focused on this, including ourselves. The Toy Industry Association is asking for more government regulation. When is the last time you heard an industry group asking for more government regulation? I think it's the right thing to do and I'm optimistic that the issues affecting the toy industry will be dealt with rapidly and dealt with well.
WHITFIELD: So what's the hot item in your toy store that everyone is clamoring to get this holiday?
SCHMULTS: We have a couple of items. One is this small micro- helicopter. It doesn't have a battery in the helicopter, it's radio controlled. But you power it up and you get a 10-minute charge by powering it up off the hand set. And relatively simple controls, little helicopter. Kids eight and older and you would be surprised how many adults are buying this. I'm sure they're flying it around the office. It would be great for the studio there in Atlanta, I'm sure you'd have a lot of fun with it between sets.
WHITFIELD: All right, Ed Schmults, CEO of FAO Schwarz, thanks so much, happy holidays.
SCHMULTS: Happy holidays to you, too, Fredricka. Thanks so much.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: Well, chances are video games are on a wish list of someone you know. But do you know the difference between a Wii and Xbox? Have you heard of "Halo" even? If you need to know the rules of play when it comes to video games, we have got it covered. Next in the NEWSROOM.
And live pictures right now from Iowa. Of course, Senator Hillary Clinton there on the campaign trail. Senator Clinton and the rest of the presidential hopefuls will need the support of young voters in the race for the White House. We'll take a closer look at the youth vote, which candidates they like. What issues matter to them. All that is next in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: OK, so what do you get when you combine the growing interest of young voters in the 2008 presidential campaign with new technologies such as the Internet? One result is an online news service called Scoop08. It offers election news by and for students. Joining me are Web site cofounders Alexander Heffner in New York, good to see you ...
ALEXANDER HEFFNER, SCOOP08.COM: Thank you, Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: And Andrew Mangino in New Haven, Connecticut. Good to see you as well.
ANDREW MANGINO, SCOOP08.COM: Thank you for having me.
WHITFIELD: All right, say I'm in my early 20s, why do I -- why are you laughing there, Alexander? It's not that off the mark, is it? OK. Why do I want to go to your Web site? What am I looking for?
HEFFNER: I think you'll find on scoop08.com revealing and engaging content on the race. We have a network of over 300 student journalists across the country who are covering all the candidates, all the issues. And the scope of the production allows for us to cover candidates like Mike Huckabee, Ron Paul, others who are just coming to the forefront of the campaign presently.
WHITFIELD: You guys are new to this whole news business and you're fairly new to politics as well, right Andrew? So ...
MANGINO: That's true.
WHITFIELD: What provoked the interest for you? Why did you decide this was a need out there for the young voter? MANGINO: Absolutely. You have two currents going on sort of at the same time. First of all, you have the Internet and for me that was one of the most exciting aspects of everything going on in the world right now. It's the first time today that students can go outside of their college gates or high school gates and interact with students across the country. So you have that going on on one hand. And then also, the 2008 presidential elections, there's so much energy sort of built up toward -- around college campus and high school campuses and you combine the two and Scoop08 becomes sort of not just a good idea but a need almost in a sense.
WHITFIELD: So how do you explain that energy among the young and in a lot of cases first-time voters come November '08 when for so many presidential elections of recent past, we've been talking about the voter apathy among young people. What's going on this time around?
HEFFNER: Well, I think you can see that at scoop08.com, you can see as Andrew mentioned that young people really do have an outlet to discuss these issues on line. And I think over the course of this campaign thus far, you were referring to Ron Paul's soaring Internet fund-raising operation. You've seen that dialogue play out through citizen journalism operations through scoop08.com.
I think the Internet, as Andrew mentioned, has allowed for students from California, Texas, the Northeast, to come together and to report on the race. And this is an opportunity unlike any other. It is truly unprecedented. We have not seen the Internet play this influential a role in any presidential election thus far.
WHITFIELD: So, Andrew, is that really the key for the young people? If you are a candidate and you are savvy with the Internet, you're really using it as a tool in your campaigning and you are going to grab the younger voters.
MANGINO: It's true but at the same time, and this is part of the premise that Scoop08 was founded on, young people I think nowadays actually do care about the issues too. And what Scoop08 is trying to bring is substantive reporting on some of the policy or personality or large generational issues that are affecting young people. So I think the Internet is a gateway to communicating to young people about what really matters to them.
WHITFIELD: And this is exciting for both of you because Andrew, if my research is right, you're 20. Alexander you're 17. Will you be 18 by November?
MANGINO: I am 18 now.
WHITFIELD: You are 18 now.
MANGINO: I am.
HEFFNER: And I just turned 21, actually, just a few days ago.
WHITFIELD: So for both of you, this is your first presidential election that you'll be voting in, right? MANGINO: Certainly.
HEFFNER: That is correct.
WHITFIELD: That's exciting. All right, Alexander Heffner, Andrew Mangino, thanks so much. It's Scoop08. Thanks for your time. Very exciting reading.
HEFFNER: Thank you, Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All right, Alex Trebek, you know the name and voice, back home for the holidays but is he out of jeopardy? Could it be? We'll have the details.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: OK. I'll take Hollywood news for 200. Answer, a game show host on the mend. Question, who is Alex Trebek? The "Jeopardy" veteran was released from the hospital yesterday less than a week after suffering a minor heart attack. In a statement, the 67-year-old said he was overwhelmed by the support and the compassion that he's received from friends and strangers alike. He says he'll spend the holidays recuperating at home with his family and he promises to be back at work in mid January. We wish the best for him. The next hour of the CNN NEWSROOM starts right now.
Right now in the NEWSROOM, it's winter weather, round two. Ice and wind, snow all over. We're tracking a nasty nor'easter. Also, less than three weeks to go before the first presidential contest and three candidates pick up critical campaign endorsements.
Plus, parents, do you know the difference between a Wii and an Xbox? Have you heard of "Halo" by the way? You need to know the rules of play when it comes to video games. Hello, everyone. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. All that coming up in the NEWSROOM but first let's get right to the extreme weather and there's a lot of it.
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