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CIA Bombing; Failed Christmas Terror Attack; Harry Reid Apologizes; Michael Steele's 12-Step Program; Scholar Ladies

Aired January 09, 2010 - 15:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: A chilling new video from the Taliban. What it tells us about the attack that killed seven people at a CIA outpost.

The kiss that closed an airport terminal. Police think they found the man who triggered the six-hour security debacle in Newark. I'm Fredricka Whitfield and you are in the CNN NEWSROOM.

All right. In New York now, two men are under arrest in connection with a New York terror plot. One of them is a New York City cab driver. He was arraigned yesterday. The other is a Bosnian immigrant who was in port this morning. CNN national correspondent Susan Candiotti is live now from New York.

Susan.

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Fredricka. Through his attorney and from his own father, both say that the man who is accused of an act of conspiracy and terrorist act is not guilty. The government says otherwise. Today, a grand jury, it was announced, charged two counts, two charges of acts against the country. Involving a man by the name of Adis Medunjanin, now he is charged specifically with conspiracy to commit murder outside the United States as well as getting military training from al Qaeda.

He has pleaded not guilty to both of these charges. The government indictment alleges that this alleged murder conspiracy happened between August and October of 2008. That, specifically, he got on a plane and traveled from Newark International Airport to Cutter and then to Pakistan during that period of time, specifically at the end of August, 2008.

Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And he was not allegedly acting alone but there were others involved?

CANDIOTTI: Well, it is alleged that he is an acquaintance of a terror suspect by the Najibullah Zazi. You might recall that he has been charged with putting together explosives in some kind of an attack that was suppose to take place last September, 2009 around the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. This man today as well as the cab driver who was charged yesterday again are alleged to be acquaintances. However, the attorney representing this man and the other man both have no comment about that. At least one gentleman or both of them are known according to their lawyers to at least know this other terror suspect. Both have denied being involved in any kind of terrorist activities.

WHITFIELD: Susan Candiotti in New York thanks so much. Appreciate that.

Now, there is new evidence linking the Taliban with last month's deadly attack on a CIA outpost in Afghanistan. It shows the alleged double agent blamed for the attack sitting next to the head of the Pakistani Taliban talking about the attack in advance. CNN's senior international correspondent, Nic Robertson joins us now from Aman, Jordan. Nic.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fredricka, according to the attacker, he was attacking because he had been sent to Pakistan as an agent for the Jordanian intelligence working with the CIA. But he said when he got to Pakistan he communicated directly with the Taliban there and then planned this attack on the CIA base. He also says in his video that this attack was something that was designed to show the United States, the CIA and Jordanian intelligence that he couldn't be bought off with, as he says, millions of dollars, that his faith was much stronger than that.

He also said the attack was in revenge for the killing of a Taliban senior leader. What he said was in U.S. attack, the very clear message here for intelligence agencies is that they had an agent who was tracking down al Qaeda leaders and he double crossed them. That is what comes through in this message. Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. Nic Robertson, in Aman, Jordan. Appreciate that. Thank you.

In this country now, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the man accused of trying to bomb a plane over the U.S. on Christmas Day has made his first court appearance. Here now is CNN Deborah Feyerick.

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Abdulmutallab is waking today in a small Michigan jail cell, yesterday; he was here at the Federal Court in Detroit. He entered the courtroom very slowly surrounded by U.S. marshals; he was walking with some difficulty. The alleged suicide bomber has suffered second and third-decked self-inflicted wounds after detonating that device on board the plane.

Now his feet were shackled, he appeared thin, almost frail. His lawyer entered a plea of not guilty for the 23-year-old Nigerian grad student. The judge asked whether he had taken any medications within the last 24 hours. He did reply that, he why, he was taking pain medication. His lawyer says, despite that, he does understand the charges against him.

Those include attempting to destroy that U.S. jetliner and kill all 290 people on board the plane. Now, the hearing took just a couple of minutes. When it was over, again, he was let out of that courtroom surrounded by U.S. marshals. His lawyer did not fight the detention, although the judge says she does have the option to revisit it at a later date. Abdulmutallab's long journey, he thought it would but in a small Michigan jail cell.

Deborah Feyerick, CNN, Detroit, Michigan.

WHITFIELD: The ranking Republican on the House Homeland Security Committee says the U.N. is at war against terrorist and should act like it. In the Republican weekly address, Congressman Peter King, said terror suspects should be tried before military commissions, not in civilian courts. King also called on the intelligence community to be more vigilant. He says, the botched Christmas Day terror attack would never have happened if red flags had not been ignored.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. PETER KING, (R) NEW YORK: Both parties recognize the need for answers. So bureaucratic reviews will take place and congressional hearings will be held. That's all well and good. This is about much more than whether the no-fly list gets longer or it takes more time to get through the security line at the airport.

This is about whether we have learned our lesson. Terrorists still have innocent people in their sights and the will to murder them. They are always working on the next attack, finding their method, searching the globe for new recruits. In another words September 11th is not ancient history. It is all too real.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Police in Greece are investigating a bomb attack outside the parlimont building in Athens. An anonymous caller phoned in a bomb threat. About 15 minutes before the device actually exploded. Police cordoned off the area and no one was hurt. About an hour later a caller phoned in a second bomb threat at the Parliament building and at a near by hotel. But no explosives were found.

A New Jersey man suspected of triggering a major airport security scare faces a trespassing charge and a fine of up to $500. Police say 28-year-old Haisong Jiang ducked under a security rope at Newark Airport earlier this week that forced officials to shut down the terminal and rescreen thousands of passengers. This delayed flights worldwide. Jiang is due in court next week.

Thirty degrees below normal in parts of the south right now. Live pictures right now from Orlando where the skies are beautiful but looks can be rather deceiving. There are freeze warnings and wind chill advisories for most of the state of Florida.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. This is scary weather out here. Take a look. This became a common site in the Atlanta, Georgia area after snow and sleet and folks not quite knowing what to do about that stuff called black ice. Plunging temperatures and guess what, it is not over yet. Our Jacqui Jeras is in the Severe Weather Center where she has a pretty good purview of what's taking place, not just in Atlanta, Georgia, but everywhere. It really is a deep freeze in the deep south.

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, it is. It has really been great.

Two-thirds of the country. Southwest is doing OK, though. Not too terrible. In fact California having the warmest temperatures in the country. I cringe by the way every time I see that video Fredricka. It is just a good reminder for everybody that deals with winter driving, that it is dangerous and you have to use so much caution.

For the most part this arctic blast hasn't been that record breaking. We had a couple of record lows this morning from South Dakota to Texas, so Aberdeen at 31 below zero, we had 8 degrees in Waco, Texas and San Angelo, your temperature this morning was only 10 degrees. The wind chill still well below that freezing mark, feels like 22 below in Fargo. Look at Winnipeg, 31 below, Minneapolis, feels like minus eight. But we are doing better than some of the 40s and 50s that you have been dealing with in the upper Midwest.

There, you can see the picture as a whole in the nation. You can see that Los Angeles, 73 degrees, making you feel warm for about 5 seconds there, 22 in Atlanta right now, 31 degrees is the temperature your body is feeling in Orlando. We have been seeing moisture moving in across parts of Florida. You combine that with temperatures near the freezing mark. We have been getting some sleet in some of these areas. Tampa has been reporting, we have seen a little bit of that in Orlando as well as over towards Daytona Beach.

As that freezing line of the arctic air pushes further south, we will start to see more of that, maybe down into West Palm Beach. Temperatures, how much cooler are they than normal, look at that 28 below your average in Springfield, 25 below average in New Orleans and Orlando, 30 degrees below where you should be. Some folks trying to have a little bit of fun in this cold air. You have to make the best of the situation.

WHITFIELD: I love that, come on.

JERAS: Our I-reporter Adriana Maxwell, from Georgia that is a suburb of Atlanta, said her kids in a half inch of snow decided to try and do a little sledding.

WHITFIELD: Even if you have to use your heels.

JERAS: Desperate times call for desperate measures.

WHITFIELD: I remember doing that plenty of times when there was just a little light dusty and you thought, I am going to make this happen.

JERAS: My kids were like trying to get snow off mailboxes and everything else. We love your I-reports; it really helps tell the weather story. So send us more, keep them coming at Ireport.com.

WHITFIELD: That is great. Thanks so much Jacqui. Appreciate it, we love those ireports.

OK. You've got to hear this. It is a new song from a group of young ladies in Wisconsin.

OK. So the tune sounds familiar. It is one of the most popular songs to date. You will meet some of the performers this hour in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So how do you turn $300 into $30 million? You could go to Vegas and take your chances. Or you could do this. You could make a short film about robots attacking South America, post it on the Internet and then sit back while Hollywood launches a huge spinning war for your creative services. That is coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: A look at the top stories right now. A new video shows the man blamed for the deadly attack on a CIA outpost in Afghanistan sitting next to the head of the Pakistani Taliban. It was apparently made ten days before the attack and in the video, Humam Khalil Abu Mulal al Balawi (ph) calls on Jihad to attack U.S. targets.

And a New Jersey man accused of touching off a massive airport security scare is due in court next week. Police say 28-year-old Haisong Jiang dunked under a security rope at Newark Airport early this week and that forced officials to shut down the terminal and rescreen thousands of passengers. It delayed flights worldwide. Jiang was arrested yesterday and charged with defiant trespass.

The Nigerian man accused of trying to blow up a Northwest Airlines plane on Christmas Day has pleaded not guilty. Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab made his first court appearance yesterday in Detroit. A grand jury indicted him on six charges, the most serious, attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction, which could bring a life sentence.

Much more still ahead in this hour. First, we want to take a short break. Just for a little fun. Josh Levs has this week's "Viral Video Rewind."

LEVS: I look forward to this.

WHITFIELD: I do too. We all do. It's fun. Nice departure.

LEVS: This week, we are starting off with a bit of a newsy story. Because most Internet videos we see you know are these amusing distractions with little or no commercial value. But recently we came across one that not only went viral but caught the attention of Hollywood.

See that boy running. He is going to be looking at huge robots walking their way into town. I mean huge. This is a short film by a filmmaker in Uruguay entitled "Panic Attack." These giant robots come and attack the capital city. The filmmaker was quoted as saying it only cost him $300 to make but obviously that would not include all the time and equipment he already had to make this happen. It gets pretty violent. Take a look at this. I mean, they went all out for this video.

WHITFIELD: Kind of like Godzilla with robots.

LEVS: That's just what it is like, Godzilla with robots. Its set to music called "Panic Attack" by this band, snake. This video went huge online, and now the filmmaker has a $30 million deal from Hollywood producer Sam Rangy (ph), best known for "Spiderman." Some people are saying, he obviously can do the special effects. Will he be able to direct actors? Who knows, he doesn't really have to here.

I will tell you this parents, your kids are into posting videos on youtube, you might be one of the people for who it pays off.

WHITFIELD: Yes, that is some return.

LEVS: Here is something you might actually see running around outside. Take a look at this. This is real. This, Fred, is a motor less robot, powered only by the wind. This is real. The creators, this Dutch engineer. They say it is about 15-feet tall, weighs a couple tons. The idea here is that robots like this could ultimately do some practical things, work on farms.

WHITFIELD: Is it really windy there right now?

LEVS: The way he designed it, it doesn't have to be that windy, a little wind starts it going. It is aerodynamic so it moves it's self along. You are not really likely to see that outside but you might see this real life wind-powered phenomenon. Look at this thing. There are some tumble weeds but this family posted their video of a tumbleweed stampede. You can hear them laughing. Listen to this. They are having a field day.

WHITFIELD: Their laugh is contagious.

LEVS: I love it. Enough with the scary stuff even if it is fun. The ultimate video to chill to. This is a challenge for me. It is all about calming down. Take a look here. That's probably why it is going viral. Let's watch it. This one is called one year.

WHITFIELD: Feeling better already.

LEVS: It feels so good. A time-lapsed video shot by a guy in Norway who mounted his camera on his deck to record the passing of the year. It's beautiful. I want his house. That's his view.

WHITFIELD: Yes, it is gorgeous.

LEVS: You can read all about it in his blog.

WHITFIELD: No stress in his life. Look out the window of his home.

LEVS: Seriously, I want that view. It's so awesome.

WHITFIELD: Listen to the birds. Hear their chirping and hear the leaves unfolding. LEVS: I think I'm going to get too calm. Some of those videos only take 20 seconds to watch. Look at this. This outfielder, Josh Womack, look at what he is about to do, on an AAA team, during spring training. You see that. See what he is going to do? He is going to do that again. He let go of the bat ball while swinging, instead of flying off the infield, it spins a couple of times and then he catches it.

WHITFIELD: Is there a trick to that video?

LEVS: It is real.

WHITFIELD: I am a skeptic about everything.

LEVS: The state-of-the-art thing. These homes around the world that are being used basically as platforms for these laser light shows. This is at a country estate in England. All sorts of stuff happens. We are going to end on this last video. Take a look at this, Fred. This one was done over the holidays. Keep it going there, in Houston at the convention center. The spectacle made the building seem to come alive. It keeps going and going. Look at this. It is just laser projecting on to the building. So cool. I love it.

Here is how you can send us your favorite viral videos. You have the blog, CNN.com/josh, facebook and twitter, Josh Levs@cnn.

WHITFIELD: All of those were wonderful. I like the moment of decompression.

From the great depression to the great recession, how one business is actually surviving both.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Long's Bedding Store survived the great depression. But will it survive the great recession? Christine Romans finds out how business is going in this week's "Turn Around."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN HOST, YOUR MONEY (voice over): Bob Long has been serving customers at his New York mattress store for 46 years, just like his father and his grandfather, who started the store in 1911. Long's Bedding has seen a lot in 98 years but Long couldn't foresee this recession.

BOB LONG, OWNER, LONG'S BEDDING: I would say this has been the worst, yes, absolutely, this is the worst I have seen business since I have been here in 46 years.

ROMANS: Long's company didn't carry any major debt and was in pretty good shape financially. But sales fell 20 percent. That meant he had to take steps to help turn around the business. First stop, cutting costs, like the yellow page ads the store has taken out for decades.

LONG: I found over the last couple of years that people are going a lot more towards the Web and they are not using the yellow pages. I have been paying a fortune for a full-page ad in the yellow book.

ROMANS: Now, Long's wife Judy maintains the businesses Website at a much lower cost.

LONG: We have also changed our lineup of bedding over the last year, last six months to a year, where we have brought more reasonable priced bedding to the store which is what's selling now, the mid to high priced bedding is not selling all that well.

ROMANS: He says one thing he won't change that sets his business apart from the big chain competitors.

LONG: Service. We service our customers. Somebody has a problem with a bed, we, ourselves go up first.

ROMANS: That's why, despite lower sales, he says, he has refused to lay off his delivery men including one that has been with the company for two decades.

LONG: I have gotten countless calls from customers, thanking me, not for the product but for the men that made the delivery.

ROMANS: Long says with the combination of great service and a few smart steps, his business will be around for future generations like his daughter, Terry, who has already worked here for 12 years.

Christine Romans, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Political news coming up. Senate majority leader Harry Reid apologizes to President Barack Obama for some controversial comments coming out in a new book. We will take a look at that and some other hot political stories as we look ahead to a new election season.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, we have barely gotten though one election cycle and another is just about to begin. Both Democrats and Republicans have a lot riding on the mid-term congressional elections in the fall. And the jockeying has already begun with new turns just about every day. Andy Barr covers national politics for "Politico." He joins us from Washington. Also joining us from D.C. is CNN political editor, Mark Preston.

Good to see both of you. OK, well let's talk about something that just potentially could impact any upcoming election. We're talking about Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who comes out today saying he is apologizing for a quote that is now about to be printed and out on book stands in a book about politics by two reporters. And he is quoted from a private conversation. And he is quoted as saying that President Obama, while he was a candidate, stands a good chance to be successful because he is, "light skinned and speaks with no Negro dialect." And now, we're getting a statement today by Harry Reid o who says, "I deeply regret using such a poor choice of words. I sincerely apologize for offending any and all Americans, especially African- Americans for my improper comments. I was a proud and enthusiastic supporter of Barack Obama during the campaign and have worked as hard as I can to advance President Obama's legislative agenda."

So Mark, let me ask you to tackle this one first because, A, I guess the real news flash here is that these words from his private conversation are part of a book now and that Harry Reid very quickly is coming out to try to correct or clean up this. How might this affect his relationship with the president?

MARK PRESTON, CNN POLITICAL EDITOR: You know, this is terribly embarrassing for Harry Reid. I mean, clearly, he did come out, Fred, this morning and acknowledged saying those words and really try to clean it up. This is not necessarily been a good day for Harry Reid.

Just this morning, a new poll in Nevada shows that he is in deep trouble of winning re-election. This is the third or fourth consecutive poll we've seen now that shows Harry Reid, if he were running today, would lose re-election. Now, he has to deal with these comments.

I will tell you what I expect, Fred. I think he will do a lot of contrition. He will say that he is sorry. And you will probably see black leaders across the country come out, accept that apology and then try to move on. I don't think this is a fatal thing for Harry Reid, but it's very troublesome.

WHITFIELD: Andy, how do you see it?

ANDY BARR, POLITICO.COM: Well, the one thing I think this doesn't affect, oddly, is his relationship for the president. I mean, he has moved mountains for Barack Obama in terms of advancing his legislative agenda. Did just about everything he possibly could to get that 60th vote on health care. So I think there, he'll be fine, in Washington he'll be fine.

Mark is actually right, though. It's this election he's got to face. He is already running really close, if not behind. Democrats are going to have to spend a ton of money to keep him in office. And he is someone who has won a lot of close races. But looking at this one, a lot of people concerned that he may not be able to pull this off. And this is just more fodder. I mean, his Republican opponents already putting stuff out there and it's election focus, it's not so much on him as the Senate majority leader.

WHITFIELD: Does it make a difference that Harry Reid didn't, you know, either, A, try to say these were not my words or this was a private conversation, and I don't want to talk publicly about what was a private conversation? Instead, he is addressing it right off the bat that, Mark, that indeed, it did happen, these were his words. Because, he's apologizing for those words.

PRESTON: Yeah, you know, Fred, I think too often what happens in Washington is when something like this happens a politician will -- an initial reaction will be to step back and say, look, that was a private conversation, I don't want to talk about private conversations. I think Harry Reid realized that, look, it's out there, I need to address it. I want to try to make this a one, two, maybe three-day story and then move on. As opposed to going out and then saying, look, it didn't happen or try to sidestep it. And then look like he's lying. So, I think Harry Reid saw that the damage control, the best thing to do was to try to get out in front, apologize and we do know this, Fred, I have spoken to his office today, he has called the president and he has called him and said, I apologize for these remarks. It's a call that just happened this afternoon.

WHITFIELD: Do we know what the president said?

PRESTON: We haven't heard, yet. You know, they did not want to speak for what the president said, but Harry Reid has called the president.

WHITFIELD: Yeah, OK, and the book we are talking about is called "Game Change" and that's supposed to hit, actually, bookstores as early as this week. Let's talk about somebody else who wrote a book and the Republicans are saying, we didn't know you were about to do this. RNC Chairman Michael Steele, has a book right now, a 12-step program for defeating the Obama agenda and a lot of GOPers are saying we're caught by surprise on this. We don't necessarily endorse this nor like it. What's going on here, Andy with this party and this party chairman?

BARR: Well, this has been a week of just brutal self-inflicted wounds from Michael Steele as a chairman of the Republican National Committee. You know, not only is his book coming out which reports to be the pathway for Republican resurgence, even though no other Republican knew what was going to be in it. But in addition to that, early in the week, he said, Republicans can't win the House, which the National Republican Congressional Committee quickly came back and smacked him back. It is rarely that you have two campaigns committees hitting each other.

He's not only done that, he's done all sorts of kind of crazy things this week. And it's all self-inflicted form this book. You know, Democrats don't have to do anything; they just have to kind of sit back and watch this whole thing explode. It's been -- I mean, for us, it's been unbelievable, just a new thing every two or three hours it seems like because he's doing as much media interviews as he can. But for them, it's just been a tragic week and there are no Republicans who are really getting behind him, right now.

WHITFIELD: OK, and accept that he's also kind of canceled some interviews at the last minute too, once he got a little bit of heat or heard of the heat that some folks didn't endorse or like the idea of this book. And you have to wonder about, I guess, his political future as the chairman of this party. This is not good for the party to show this kind of infighting.

PRESTON: Well, you know what it is, Republicans are just so frustrated, Fred, because this time last year, it looked so bleak for them. President Obama came in with 75 percent approval rating. He was the king of the world. Democrats had picked up seats in the House, they picked up seats in the Senate, it looked like they were unstoppable. And then, we seen this really bad spade of news for Democrats over the past couple weeks. Republicans were jubilant, they were happy. And then guess what. Michael Steele comes out and says some things and it really frustrated them. So that's what you're seeing, you are seeing a lot of frustration in a party in turmoil.

WHITFIELD: OK, and real quick, we're actually out of time, but I'm trying to squeeze it in: Harold Ford, Tennessean, but pursuing now a New York seat. Why? And also being discouraged from doing so. Why, Andy?

BARR: Democrats really don't want him to do this. He would be a challenge to Senator Kirsten Gillibrand from the right, which is something that she's already too conservative for some New Yorkers. They're letting it be known. Yeah, they're letting it known that that they don't want to run Chuck Schumer, the senator from there has said publically they don't want Harold Ford to run.

WHITFIELD: Wow. All right, Andy Barr, Mark Preston, thanks so much. Appreciate that. Very busy new year all ready in politics. It's going to be very busy the rest of the year, as well.

All right, 100-mile-an-hour winds plus one reporter equals a big story and a big fall. Ouch, and caught on tape.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, Jacqui Jeras joining he now. Jacqui, has this ever happened to you? I mean, you know, it's tough covering bad, sever weather, you know, when you're in the elements, whether it be a hurricane, in this case it was serious winds. And this is Oregon, right?

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yeah.

WHITFIELD: But so cold and so windy, 100-mile-an-hour winds. It did this to her. Ouch. I mean, that hurts when it's cold.

JERAS: It does. And, now, everybody in America knows.

WHITFIELD: I am feeling for girlfriend, there. And you know, Jude (ph) was trying to hold ter down t still didn't work. Keely Chalmers, there and her crew, no match for those winds. Sorry, girlfriend.

JERAS: It's that fine line, right, between telling people to not go out in it and trying to stay safe yourself. Yeah, so don't go out there if you don't have to.

WHITFIELD: I know, I know.

JERAS: Find a protective...

WHITFIELD: That was a little reporter involvement, take it to the extreme.

JERAS: I know. A lot of people...

WHITFIELD: It was very demonstrative. And she let everybody know, you don't want to go out here.

JERAS: Absolutely. A lot of people are slipping and sliding, too, by the way, and falling down. We've seen police officers doing it lately. We have seen people trying to get from car to car after accidents occur. And so there are going to be a lot of that going on over the next couple of days. Our arctic grip continues. Some people trying to have a little bit of fun out there in this weather.

We showed you some sledders in Atlanta earlier. Well, now, these are tailgaters in Cincinnati. Here they have got the fire going. That's smart.

WHITFIELD: It's fun.

JERAS: Yeah, it certainly is. Big game there this afternoon. Of course some wild card playoff game against the Jets and those Bengals fans are crazy, they don't care how cold it is. The wind-chill has been down there in the single digits, and low to mid teens all morning long. And you know, maybe it is the meteorologist in me, maybe it is the mother in me, but y'all are not appropriately dressed.

WHITFIELD: I know, I was thinking the same thing. I'm like, where are your gloves?

JERAS: I know, you go to bundle up. It's too cold out there.

WHITFIELD: And I'm a whimp in the cold. I'm telling you, layers, layers, and layers.

JERAS: I know, and you know, that's one of the big things. We've been focusing so much on the southeast and parts of Florida too, Fredricka, because it's so cold here, and it's so cold here, and it's unusually cold. And part of the reason why it is so dangerous for so many people is because "A," you're not used to it, but "B," you don't have the clothes for it. I mean, who in Miami has gloves, right? You don't have much more than a hat, maybe.

So, our arctic front has gone through, here. We've got some rain in the area, we've even seen sleet in places like Orlando, yeah, the Sunshine State, they had a 5-K at Disney there, today, they've got it tomorrow, as well, actually a marathon, I believe, and temperatures are going to be below freezing. So, wind-chill warnings in effect for almost all of Florida. It's going to feel like 30s and 20s in Miami. There you can see the teens on up to the north. So, very cold conditions, but we are bottoming out tomorrow morning for the most part. So, that's good and we will start to warm up and be close to normal probably by the middle of the week.

WHITFIELD: I'm forgetting what normal is, even in January. I don't know anymore.

JERAS: Never expect normal.

WHITFIELD: No. All right, thanks, Jacqui.

Well, take a look at this. I know you like music, Jacqui, and you do too at home.

(SINGING)

Is that familiar?

Aren't they sweet? Yeah, they are talking about good grades, being a scholar. And it's become very, very popular. We're going to be joined by some of the students and one of the teachers responsible for this very cute, cool, smart new video.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: You probably know the words, the rhythm by now. Beyonce's song "Single Ladies." Well, it's been nominated for three Grammy's and it hit No. 1 on the Billboard charts as well and it has been downloaded more than three million times. Oh, and one more thing, the video is now an educational tool. When students at HOPE Christian School in Milwaukee were challenged to create an educational music video, "Single Ladies," became "Scholar Ladies." Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(SINGING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: It was so cute. So, if you learned it, you should have gotten an "A" on it, books on the hips, scholar ladies. I'm joined right now by some of those scholar students and teachers. We're talking about HOPE Christian School students, Demetric Clark and Erika Bradley, also one of the teachers that you saw in the video, Megan Huff.

Good to see you all. Very catchy, very clever, cute and most importantly, very smart. All right, so where did this idea come from? Who came up with it?

MEGAN HUFF, HOPE CHRISTIAN SCHOOL: Well, at you know, HOPE, one of our mantras is that we are a team and a family and so it definitely used the whole family to create this video. We came up with it in my class, my sixth grade class came up with this song and dance and then we recorded it onto a computer and we had a video crew come in and tape it.

WHITFIELD: Oh, my gosh. And the vocals aals are so impressive.

HUFF: Thank you. Yeah, it's one of our students.

WHITFIELD: Wow, fantastic. So, Dmitry, give me an idea what this was like, I mean, the song is "Scholar Ladies" but we see the dudes in it too. Any idea what it was like for you to be a participant?

DEMETRIC CLARK, HOPE CHRISTIAN SCHOOL: I was very excited that I was getting a chance to make a video and see what it feel like to make a video. I was elected to sing and dance in this video, "scholar ladies." WHITFIELD: Oh my gosh, that was such an honor to be elected to be in it, singing and dancing, et cetera.

And so, Erika, what role did you play in all this? And how much fun was it for you?

ERIKA BRADLEY, HOPE CHRISTIAN SCHOOL: Well, that day, I was absent but it was very -- I feel very excited about it, because we were actually able to learn how the equipment learned and to make a video about how you actually learn how to learn how to get your education.

WHITFIELD: And so, how difficult or easy was it to get some of the other teachers involved? Megan, I see you were a willing participant, it's your class, after all. But, you know, some of the other teachers here seem like they just had a good time being a part of it, too.

HUFF: Oh, yeah, we were all so happy to use this as an opportunity to show off how hard we work at our school. And that we're getting our students ready for college so everyone is really proud to be a part of it.

WHITFIELD: So, where did the lyrics come from? Take me through the process, How'd you came up with the dialogue?

HUFF: For the video, for the lyrics?

WHITFIELD: Yeah.

HUFF: Well, the lyrics were actually created over the summer. Me and my sister created them and then we just opened a brand-new school and so I wanted to come up with something we could each our students about the culture of the school. We work hard to get ready for college and the competitive workforce and beyond and I thought this would be a great opportunity to introduce what it means to be a HOPE scholar.

WHITFIELD: And so, what do you do with this video, what next? I mean, the students, you all were challenged to put together this video, come up with a educational, catchy tool. Now what?

HUFF: Well, we have a couple goals. Would you like to talk about it?

CLARK: Yes.

HUFF: Go ahead.

WHITFIELD: All right, Demetric, you're on.

CLARK: One of our goals is to get a million views on YouTube and we're going to spread the word to everyone that we know so we can reach our goal.

BRADLEY: Also, we want other students around the world that hard work pays off.

WHITFIELD: Oh, yeah. Hard work and teamwork paying off since you all did this collectively. Fantastic. So, of some of your students have any of them said being a participant in this video, writing a song, et cetera, has it changed their mind about their future aspirations, Megan, are some talking now about maybe the entertainment industry is something I want to get into?

HUFF: Well, the video wasn't made to inspire people to get into the entertainment industry, but it was made so we would encourage students to climb the mountain to college. Our goals right now are to improve two grade levels in reading and math for all of our students. And so we're working very hard.

WHITFIELD: You think it's going to work now?

HUFF: Definitely.

WHITFIELD: All right, we're going to gage the progress. Megan Huff at HOPE Christian School and Erica Bradley and Demetric, thanks so much, you guys. We're going to listen a little more to this video.

HUFF: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: Demetric, oh here's your last name, Clark, I'm sorry, Demetric Clark, thanks so much. Let's listen to a little more of your video before we say good-bye.

HUFF: Thank you.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(SINGING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: For three years now we have been proud to introduce you to "CNN Heroes," everyday people who are changing the world. Well, today you will meet our first CNN hero of 2010. She's a trucker turned lawyer in Vermont, where 72 percent of adult homicides are domestic violence related and mostly in rural areas. Her name is Wynonna Ward and her motto is, "have justice, will travel."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WYNONA WARD, PROTECTING THE POWERLESS: When I was growing up on a rural back road, family violence was an accepted way of life.

This is my mother and I'm the baby here, and my father and my brother Richard and my sister Pauline. My father would commonly abuse all of us. He raped me and beat my mother and my other siblings. When the neighbors heard screaming coming from our home, they just turned their heads.

For domestic violence victims in rural areas, it can be very devastating. They're out there on these back roads with no access to in-town services. Many of them do not have telephones. Some of them do not have driver's licenses for an automobile. So we go to them.

My name is Wynona Ward. The turning point for me is when a child in my family revealed that she had been abused by my father and my brother. I just said, this has to stop. When I graduated from law school, I was 48 years old.

Good morning, my dear.

I go to people's home, give them in in-home consultation, provide them with free legal services and transportation to and from court hearings. I don't want children to have to go through what I did as a child. I want to see my clients become empowered. I can understand them and they know that I will be there to protect them.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Wow. Wynona Ward has helped almost 10,000 victims of domestic violence, 10,000 victims. She drives 30,000 miles a year to do that. And to see the inspiring story of one woman she has actually helped or to even perhaps somebody you think is changing the world, go to CNN.com/heroes.

Bad weather has many of us at a standstill. Jacqui Jeras back with us.

JERAS: Hey, Fredricka. Yeah, it just a great weekend to stay at home if you can and stay bundled up.

(WEATHER REPORT)

WHITFIELD: Thank you so much, Jacqui. Appreciate that.