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American Morning
A December to Forget: Cold Grips Country; Snow Deflates Metrodome Roof; Tax Cut Showdown: Test Vote Expected today in Senate; Newton's Heisman Win; FedEx Frenzy; "No Labels" in Government
Aired December 13, 2010 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome. Happy Monday. It's only 12 more days until Christmas. Time's flying.
JOE JOHNS, CNN GUEST ANCHOR: And it sure looks like it out there.
CHETRY: I know.
JOHNS: The weather is absolutely incredible. Weather nation. That's what I'm calling it.
CHETRY: I know. The snow in huge amounts in much of the Midwest and, boy, I don't think it's going to melt until Christmas.
JOHNS: Yes, absolutely. Well, you know, at least it's better than 95 degrees.
CHETRY: Yes.
JOHNS: I'm Joe Johns. I'm in for John Roberts this morning. And we all know Kiran Chetry who's been very busy over the past few days and weeks.
CHETRY: Oh, you know how it goes this time of year.
JOHNS: Yes. Yes.
CHETRY: It's good to have you with us this morning.
JOHNS: I'm really glad to be here. Yes. All right.
Let's get caught up on what's happened overnight. The wild, almost winter storm that brought the Midwest to a halt is not over yet. Many people stranded at the airport and stuck in their homes this morning. And dangerously cold temperatures are closing in right behind it.
CHETRY: Yes, and all the snow, too much for the Metrodome's Teflon roof. This was in Minnesota. It deflated and collapsed under the pressure of one of the biggest snowfalls in Minneapolis history. And all of it was caught on tape. There you see actually from the inside --
JOHNS: Wow.
CHETRY: -- some of the Teflon tearing and you see the snow that's coming right in.
JOHNS: Terrible.
CHETRY: It sent the Giants and Vikings scrambling to try to find a place to play. That's now been moved to Detroit. And we're going to have more amazing video from the inside of the dome just ahead.
JOHNS: And a showdown looming in the lame duck Congress over President Obama's tax cut compromise. A large chunk of your 2011 take home pay on the line today. The Obama administration predicts passage, but House Democrats promise a fight saying the president rolled over for Republicans. We're live at the White House ahead of today's key Senate vote.
CHETRY: Up first, though, the extreme weather, the snow, the bitter cold, turning lives upside down this morning. In fact, it's still snowing in many places across the Midwest, around the Great Lakes, round two on its way. And it is dangerously cold, as well. There's no telling how many people are stuck on the roads, at the airports, and in some cases in their own homes. And it may not get better for days.
JOHNS: And this morning, the Metrodome in Minneapolis is an outdoor stadium. It's an inflatable roof, flat as a pancake, caved in under 17 inches of snow. The amazing collapse all caught on tape from inside an avalanche of snow pouring on to the field. The Minnesota Vikings will now play a home game tonight in Detroit against the Giants.
CHETRY: We'll go live to the Twin Cities in just a moment. Chris Welch is standing by there. But first, we're going to check in with Rob Marciano to find out more about this system and how much more snow they could be looking at.
Hey, Rob.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Kiran. Yes, quite a storm. You know, you think about 17 inches in Minneapolis, that's a place that should get a lot of snow. Well, the fact of the matter is that part of the country to get over a foot of snow is definitely a major, major event. It's not the first major event of the season. And this storm, at least for the Midwest will go down in the record books.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARCIANO (voice-over): This storm that deflated the Metrodome and stranded the New York Giants at airport in K.C. was the fifth greatest snowstorm of all time in the Twin Cities. Saturday was the snowiest December day on record with just over 17 inches of the white stuff. And as the storm moved east, bone-chilling 50-mile-an-hour winds moved in.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's a bus. It's stuck in the snow. It can't get out.
MARCIANO: Creating whiteout conditions that made travel so dangerous that plows were even pulled off the roads.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's the best way to get around, in cross- country skis.
MARCIANO: And at O'Hare, a totally depressing departure board, especially for the guy who's packed deep dish pizzas as Christmas gifts.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good Chicago pizza may end up -- I don't know, end up in a snow drift tonight just to try to keep them cold.
MARCIANO: In all, some 1,400 flights canceled and countless nerves frazzled in Chicago. The only person the snow couldn't slow down, Tom Brady.
ANNOUNCER: Brady and Branch again for 59.
MARCIANO: As the Patriots rolled over the Bears at the snowy Soldier field.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MARCIANO: In the rain at the meadow lands, and it's still warming up for rain across the northeast. So this is definitely not a northeast storm. But typically once these fronts come through, you'll change over to snow. Most of the moisture now across the northeast is headed to eastern New England and not a ton of snow behind this even when you see start to see things change over, which they will this afternoon. But the moisture for the most part will be gone. So accumulations in the northeast I believe will be minimal with this. But look at this, snow is getting all the way down to parts of the south.
Atlanta, we had quite a bit of flurries yesterday and up through Nashville, we're seeing some snow. Birmingham, Alabama, seeing snow, and it will remain cold enough for snow across the Deep South today, but we don't expect any sort of accumulation. We do expect to see accumulation here, though. From Chicago back to Cleveland, this area could see one to two feet of snow in the favored areas. Now that we're starting to see the cold air roll in and now we'll get into the typical lake effect snow showers and some of the snow is going to be obviously heavy at times. Not only for today, but tonight and tomorrow and ongoing.
As far as what we're looking at for temperatures, it's 43 right now in New York. So you're not even below freezing. It's much, much colder down to the south, colder out to the west, as well. And again, the snows, the accumulating snows are going to be held to upstate New York, maybe a little bit down through Pennsylvania and the Great Lakes.
Six degrees right now in (INAUDIBLE). That's what it feels like. It feels like one right now in Nashville. So to give you an idea of just how cold, how bitterly cold it is, and that is driving all the way down to the Florida panhandle. Highs there will be at 43, in New York, and then temperatures will begin to drop 37 degrees in D.C. But the big story really, guys, continues to be the threat for travel. Try to get to Cleveland yesterday, couldn't do it. New York metros, Philly, D.C., Detroit, Charlotte, Atlanta, and Cleveland are going to be under the gun today for major travel headaches. Back to you guys in New York.
CHETRY: All right.
JOHNS: Wow.
CHETRY: You got lucky, Joe.
JOHNS: Yes.
CHETRY: Because you flew in from Washington, D.C.
JOHNS: From Washington, D.C, it was raining like crazy, but we're able to get out. You, of course, weren't even able to fly. So you end up in the studio instead of out in the cold. Huh, Rob?
MARCIANO: Well, you know, I have to say it's not so bad.
CHETRY: Yes, you poor thing.
JOHNS: Too bad.
CHETRY: You could have been stuck out in Cleveland snow, but instead you're in warm Atlanta. At least inside, not outside.
JOHNS: Could be worse.
CHETRY: Thanks, Rob.
MARCIANO: All right, guys.
CHETRY: Well, the pictures really tell the story, as well. The massive storm dropping tons of snow on the inflatable roof of the Metrodome in Minneapolis, home of the Vikings.
JOHNS: Right. It was simply too much weight for those old Teflon panels to take. Our Chris Welch is live inside the Metrodome this morning.
Chris, what's the situation like?
CHRIS WELCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, as you guys alluded to, as Rob alluded to, it all started with this brutal, brutal weather. We're talking about record breaking weather here, 17 inches of snow piled up on top of the Metrodome roof. I don't know if you can see very well behind me, but there's a flapping piece of Teflon fabric. Three panels on Teflon fabric on the roof of the Metrodome, basically ripped, caved in and you can see there's ice, there's snow. What was melted snow on the roof has dripped down on to the field, covered it with water which is now frozen over because it's just as cold in here, just about, just as cold in here as it is outside.
Now, I talked to the facilities director here, Steve Maki, last night. He gave me a little bit of context with this. He says, you know, this is more of a spectacle. The media likes to show these pictures. Obviously those are pretty amazing pictures. He says, though, it's actually worse than what it looks like -- excuse me, not worse, it's better than what it looks like. So we don't have to worry for too long, he says.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEVE MAKI, FACILITIES DIRECTOR AT THE METROPOLITAN SPORTS FACILITIES COMMISSION: Actually, I think -- I'll say it looks worse than what it is. In some respects because as the repair, as I understand, will be basically to unclamp the old fabric and clamp new fabric in its place and then blow the roof back up.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WELCH: Now, in the meantime, the game that was supposed to take place here in the Metrodome between the Minnesota Vikings and the New York Giants has been moved to Detroit for tonight. So if you want to see that game, if you had a ticket, if you were in Minneapolis, you've got to make your way to Detroit basically.
CHETRY: So you basically have to travel 500 miles. They say they're going to get you, what? Some prime seating I guess at the 50-yard line? But I mean, there's a lot of people that simply can't get there. Either it's too much money to fly or they're not going to drive.
WELCH: That's right. It's a very long drive. I mean, you've got to drive south past Chicago and then back up again if you want to drive. Expensive flights. But they're telling people if you do make it, if you have tickets, you can get preferred seating on the 50-yard line. Not a bad deal, but, you know, is that enough of a consolation prize to make it? I suppose if you ask the hardcore fans, they would say yes, absolutely. Now, on the other end of the spectrum, if you can't make it, because obviously there are going to be a lot of people who can't make it, they're going to be giving away free tickets to this game, as well.
CHETRY: Cool. All right. Chris Welch for us this morning, thanks.
Well, take a look at one of our I-reporters, what they sent in. It shows just how severe the conditions were in Minnesota. "Busy boy pro" posting this video from St. Paul where you could see cars completely buried in the snow. The only way to get around, a pair of cross-country skis. Road conditions are reportedly improving this morning, though, as plows begin to catch up and the snow starts to slow down.
So we'd love to air your I-report. Shoot it, send it. Head to CNN.com and click on the "iReport" tab to find out how.
JOHNS: Serious weather problems too out west where the rain just won't let up. Flooding and mud slides forcing evacuations in portions of western Washington State. Rivers cresting at record levels with more than three inches of rain in Seattle in a 24-hour period. Meteorologists say the worst of the flooding danger is over, but more rain is expected today.
CHETRY: Well, the White House says it will pass, but some members of Congress are saying maybe not. The president's tax cut compromise, the first vote just hours away, but will House Democrats ultimately derail the deal?
JOHNS: And FedEx about to get slammed. Today could be their busiest day of all time. We'll take you to their Georgia headquarters to find out why.
CHETRY: And what could be a real life Da Vinci code. The hidden symbols discovered in the Mona Lisa's eyes? We'll tell you about this newest mystery still ahead.
Nine minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
JOHNS: Today the tax cut deal President Obama cut with Republicans could clear its first hurdle with a test vote expected in the Senate.
CHETRY: Yes, it was a rough week, of course, for the White House last week. This could be a sign, though, that momentum is swinging in their favor.
Ed Henry is live at the White House this morning. First of all, we had that surprise appearance in the White House briefing room on Friday. I'm just interested in your reaction when former President Clinton came in there to eloquently sell the deal.
ED HENRY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kiran, it didn't seem like he wanted to leave. He was leaning into the podium, grabbing on to it, laughing, calling on reporters he remembers from back -- who are still here who also covered his administration. And there were some political risks for President Obama perhaps in, you know, bringing out a closer, if you will in a former president. But inside the White House they say, look, it shows this president is secure in bringing in someone like Bill Clinton who's still very popular with Democrats. And as you say, it looks like for the first time they have some momentum that's going to be a procedural vote in the Senate later today, expected to clear the super majority of 60 votes to move this debate forward. A final passage likely later this week in the Senate. And that will really push this forward and put pressure on House Democrats to come onboard.
And David Axelrod was on CNN's "STATE OF THE UNION" with Candy Crowley yesterday. Was basically saying what he said last week. This is not a perfect deal, but given the time pressures to get this done by the end of the year, it's the best deal the White House could get possible. And they're hoping the House Democrats will jump onboard, as well. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID AXELROD, WHITE HOUSE SENIOR ADVISOR: We handled it as best as we could given the time frame that we had. And I'm not looking for style points here. What I'm looking for is progress for the American people. What I'm looking for is, first of all, what would be devastating for the American people and our economy. And that's what we should be focused on.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HENRY: And the most important thing to take away from all of this is the fact that House Democrats are now saying, look, we're not completely happy. But we'll debate this. We'll get this to the floor. They hope to make it better, maybe make changes to the estate tax provisions. But what's significant about that is just a few days ago, House Democrats were saying we're not going to bring it to the floor at all. That maybe it would never come up before the end of the year. Now they're saying it's likely to come up. They hope to change it. That's a good sign for this president that it's going to move forward -- Kiran, Joe.
JOHNS: And, Ed, tax cuts are really just part of it as we all know. The president is also trying to get the START treaty done, "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," and time in the lame duck is simply running out.
HENRY: It is.
JOHNS: And what are the chances that any of this stuff is actually going to get done?
HENRY: It's really a mixed bag, Joe. Because as you know having covered Congress for a long time, you know, the members of Congress are smelling that jet fuel to get home. They're supposed to get home on Friday. It's likely that will slide a little bit into the weekend, maybe even into the early part of next week. But START treaty is looking better for this president than maybe it did a week or so ago. They think they have the votes that they can get it to the floor. Bringing up and overturning "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" is really a high hurdle. It seems like it's going to be difficult to get that done. They still have to also get, you know, funding the government through the holidays, as well as this tax cut deal.
So there's a lot to get done in just a few days. And I've got an interest in this because I'm going to Hawaii with the president, to cover him for Christmas and New Year's. We need to know when we're getting on a plane. We don't know yet, Joe.
CHETRY: Wow.
JOHNS: Yes. You're smelling that jet fuel too, aren't you, buddy?
HENRY: Yes, me too (ph).
CHETRY: Important thing, you have to go to Hawaii.
JOHNS: Yes. Too bad.
HENRY: So it's pretty tough.
CHETRY: Ed Henry for us this morning. Thanks. Well, forget Mona Lisa's smile. Experts now say that there's something in her eyes. It's a new discovery hidden in da Vinci's masterpiece.
JOHNS: And a Florida church sets a nativity world record.
It's 15 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: (INAUDIBLE).
JOHNS: (INAUDIBLE).
CHETRY: I'm explaining "Morning Talkers" to Joe, because, you know, things change. Every time you come back in to fill in, something's different, right?
JOHNS: Well, it's a beautiful thing, right?
CHETRY: Nineteen minutes -
JOHNS: I have no problem with that.
CHETRY: Nineteen minutes past the hour, and these are the stories that had us talking in this newsroom this morning.
So is it the real life da Vinci code? Historians studying the Mona Lisa have discovered tiny numbers, just not naked to the -
JOHNS: The eye.
CHETRY: Not visible to the naked eye, in dark print of her pupils, too small to see. In the right eye, the letters "L" and "V" can be seen, which are the artist's initials.
JOHNS: I'm sorry.
CHETRY: In the left eye, the symbols are harder to make out. What do you -
JOHNS: I - yes. Well, we'll just have to see. The - the guy basically wrote his initials. That - I mean, that's kind of - sort of like graffiti. OK.
CHETRY: But it's so much more than that. You know -
JOHNS: Absolutely.
CHETRY: -- it's the mystery surrounding this painting continues.
JOHNS: He's no da Vinci, but he is a master of origami. Check out artist Won Park, who works with $1 bills. We sped up a video to watch him turn a buck into a butterfly.
For some reason I thought this was illegal to, like, take money and turn it into things.
CHETRY: It is?
JOHNS: No, it's not. But I always, you know -
CHETRY: Why is he wearing a helmet? Is it dangerous?
JOHNS: The president just pardoned some guy for melting down pennies, but I guess pennies and dollars are different, and that was, you know, decades ago.
CHETRY: Well, that's a pretty impressive butterfly.
JOHNS: Yes. It's very nice.
CHETRY: Well, no shortage of the Christmas spirit in South Florida. Members of the Oasis Church - this is in Pembroke Pines - set a new Guinness record for the number of nativity scenes on display at one time.
They had 2,150 scenes, ranging from figurines to Christmas trees, to ornaments, to homemade shoebox creations. So, pretty cool.
JOHNS: Yes. A lot of stuff there.
The New York Jets losing in pretty embarrassing fashion to the Dolphins yesterday, and this did not make it any better at all. Look at that. Take a close look. That's Jets strength and condition coach Sal Alosi who sticks out his knee and trips Miami's Nolan Carroll on punt coverage.
Alosi apologized, saying his conduct was inexcusable and unsportsmanlike. No figure.
CHETRY: (INAUDIBLE).
JOHNS: But he didn't say whether it was intentional or not.
CHETRY: Well, he apologized. Obviously, it was intentional, right?
JOHNS: Well, come on. Look at that. I mean -
CHETRY: I know. Not cool at all.
JOHNS: You know? What are people - you can actually really get hurt running at high speeds and having -
CHETRY: Yes.
JOHNS: Yes, and somebody trip you like that.
CHETRY: (INAUDIBLE) game so he's out for the season.
JOHNS: I know.
CHETRY: Well it we'll get you chills some sort - of some sort when you hear former Russian president and current Prime Minister Vladimir Putin singing Nat King Cole's "Blueberry Hill." Let's listen.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
VLADIMIR PUTIN, PRIME MINISTER OF RUSSIA: (SINGING "BLUEBERRY HILL").
CHETRY (voice-over): I don't remember it being sung like that.
JOHNS (voice-over): It's unbelievable.
CHETRY: Am I confused?
JOHNS: He's sort of a Renaissance Man. He should've gone up in the da Vinci section there.
CHETRY: There's Sharon Stone, loving it.
JOHNS: Wow.
CHETRY: She was enjoying it.
Well, what you heard is real. He played the piano. He sang in front of the star-studded crowd in St. Petersburg, Russia. It was a fundraiser for children's cancer research.
JOHNS: He's a pilot. He's a black belt. Now, he's a pianist.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHETRY: Not bad.
JOHNS: All right.
CHETRY: Rock on.
JOHNS: And he is the Heisman Trophy winner - not Putin - for now, but the chances are that Auburn's Cam Newton will one day have to give that trophy back - or not. Coming up, the lingering cloud over college football's top player.
CHETRY: Also, the holiday rush is on at FedEx. We're live at their headquarters where it's shaping up to be a wild day of shipping.
We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
JOHNS: This morning, one man stands alone as college football's best player with a Heisman Trophy to prove it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The winner is Cam Newton of Auburn University.
CHETRY (voice-over): Awkward. Well, the trophy comes amid controversy for Cam Newton.
CNN's sports contributor Max Kellerman joins us now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: His dad couldn't be there. Unfortunately, he was asked not to be there, because he's under investigation right now, a pay to play scandal I guess with Mississippi State, supposedly demanding some $200,000.
MAX KELLERMAN, CNN SPORTS CONTRIBUTOR: $180,000.
CHETRY: $180,000 -
JOHNS: Yes.
CHETRY: -- or some $200,000, yes.
And it sort of marred his big night. He was indisputably college's best player.
KELLERMAN: Yes. He certainly was. And that's the rule. It's the most outstanding player in the nation. That was clearly Cam Newton. He deserved the award and he got it.
JOHNS: The question to me is whether people are sort of imputing the alleged sins of the father on the son. Is this - is that what's happening here? Is this kid just getting a bunch of bad publicity because his dad tried to pull a fast one?
KELLERMAN: It's interesting, right? Philosophically, if a guy's a minor or very close to it, I supposed - if he's under 18, you would think that any kind of behavior on the part of his family with recruiters would have to be the responsibility of the parents.
In this case, whether they're running interference and the father is taking the fall or whether, in fact, it really was the father and Cam Newton hadn't - you know, bears no responsibility, the fact is that's what the investigation has found thus far. It's an ongoing investigation.
CHETRY: Right.
KELLERMAN: And if they're able to separate Cam from his father in that way, the father is a - is a buffer, legitimately or not, then why shouldn't he get the award?
CHETRY: And the question is, this happened to Reggie Bush, he had to give his Heisman trophy back because of similar allegations. That his money - his family took money from people who wanted to represent him. What are the chances that this will happen to Cam Newton?
KELLERMAN: You know, I was talking to a Heisman voter last night and he was saying, look, so far, so good. If they wanted to do it, maybe they would have already done it. But the NCAA, when they've gone to court, they always win. Because this is not compulsory, it's voluntary. You can join or you can't join and the courts uphold their decisions. And it's kind of everything by committee now. It's not like you can point to one guy and say, hey, that guy is - is calling the shots. So if nothing else comes to light and this is all there is, I think there's a good chance he keeps it. If further things come out, I mean, they don't even really need technically a great reason. The NCAA could kind of just say we don't like the way this smells and take it away.
JOHNS: In the morning meeting today, we were looking at the video of the tripping incident in the Jets/Dolphins game, which is really pretty extraordinary, is it not? A strength and conditioning coach on the field for one team apparently intentionally trips a player running down the sideline. What do you make of this?
KELLERMAN: Well, on the one hand, it's - it's easy to judge from where we're sitting, but the level of competition that every - think of just how you feel as a fan watching the game, and when something bad is about to happen to your team, you feel like sticking out your leg and tripping them. If you're actually on the sideline employed by the team, you can see where you might get carried away.
On the other hand, they have to show better self-control on the - you know, as a member of the organization, because as you mentioned earlier in the show, at those speeds, these guys just aren't like -
CHETRY: I know.
KELLERMAN: -- running like you and me, folks.
JOHNS: Right.
KELLERMAN: These guys are zooming down the field. You can - as Kiran said, it's all fun and games until they have -
JOHNS: Right.
KELLERMAN: -- season-ending knee surgery.
CHETRY: And so, what - what came of this? Is there going to be - I mean, was there any punishment?
KELLERMAN: Not - not so far as far as this - I went to sleep and then got up very early this morning to do this.
CHETRY: To be continued, right?
KELLERMAN: Right. Exactly.
JOHNS: Exactly.
CHETRY: I'm just - sorry. And fly by (ph) the Eagles really quickly, I mean.
JOHNS: Yes, yes.
CHETRY: The other night, their division rivals, their arch enemies, Cowboys, they pulled out a win. Michael Vick's on fire.
KELLERMAN: He's on fire. DeSean Jackson's touchdown return -
JOHNS: Yes.
KELLERMAN: A friend of mine, a boxing writer, Steve Kim (ph), tweeted and I re-tweeted it last night or this - early this morning before I came here. In my opinion, it shouldn't be - what is - un-sportsman like conduct, it should be fantastic celebration or something to that effect.
I mean, fantastic showmanship. I mean, DeSean Jackson scores a touchdown, if you guys haven't seen this.
JOHNS: Right.
KELLERMAN: He holds out the football and he kind of falls backwards into the end zone as he's looking at the defender who is in no position to stop him. And, of course, he's penalized 15 yards on kickoff.
JOHNS: Wow. Well, I was really struck by that very first play from scrimmage with the long pass, the very beginning, I should have been in bed, but -
KELLERMAN: Vick is - Michael Vick is playing as, you know, other than Tom Brady who has kind of stolen his thunder recently -
CHETRY: Right.
KELLERMAN: -- Michael Vick, how do you play better than Michael Vick is playing right now?
JOHNS: Yes. It's just amazing.
CHETRY: He's got to be killing the Redskins.
JOHNS: I know. Not their year.
KELLERMAN: The Redskins can do that, (INAUDIBLE).
JOHNS: You got it. All right. Max Kellerman.
CHETRY: Max Kellerman, we'll see you in about an hour or so. Thanks so much.
JOHNS: You bet.
And it's 29 minutes after the hour. Time for this morning's top stories.
Heavy snow, high winds, bone-chilling cold, a blizzard that collapsed the Minneapolis Metrodome and canceled flights across the Midwest is on the move this morning. Forecasters warn that wind chills in some areas could dip to below 30 below. And places like Cleveland could get another foot of snow on top of what is already on the ground.
CHETRY: In fact, the snow is so heavy, it even caused the inflatable roof at the Minneapolis Metrodome to cave in. That forced the NFL game between the Vikings and New York Giants to be played in Detroit tonight. Officials say they hope to have the roof repaired in time for the Vikings' next home game tonight.
JOHNS: And Sarah Palin paid a visit to earthquake-ravaged Haiti this weekend. The former governor of Alaska toured a shelter and cholera treatment center during her stopover. Palin says conditions were much worse than she expected. She urged Americans not to forget Haiti and declined to take questions from reporters.
CHETRY: Well, it's shaping up to be absolutely positively the busiest day ever at FedEx. The company says it expects to handle close to 16 million packages today. That's what happens with all the online shopping.
JOHNS: Absolutely, e-Commerce. It seems a lot of us have been taking advantage of all those free shipping offers.
David Mattingly live at FedEx facility in Marietta, Georgia.
What's it like there this morning, David?
DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Joe. Well, like you were saying, 32 million packages today for FedEx. That's just one shipping company alone. That is double in what they would normally see on a typical day. That's because so many people were wrapping their packages over the weekend and shipping them out.
But it also tells us a lot about shopping habits around the country right now. What we're seeing is that a lot of people are going online to do their shopping this year. Three to four out of all of those packages out of every 10 packages is coming from Internet sales and catalog sales. So, that's a big change from what we saw just a couple of years ago.
And shipping is up not just at FedEx, but also at UPS; the U.S. Postal Service, as well. They're all looking at this being a very big shipping time this week. Today is the busiest day of the busiest week. There are no vacations here at FedEx today. Everyone called in. No one allowed to stay at home today no matter what kind of weather we might be having.
Here you see the very back end of the process. All of these packages came in overnight. So now they're being sorted here at a shipping area just outside of Atlanta. These are going to be going to areas north of Atlanta. So, you see this point, it's all going to go into the truck and then it comes off the truck right to your house.
And you know what? I've been looking at hundreds of packages going past me this morning, not one of them is for me.
(LAUGHTER) CHETRY: It's not too late. Maybe your family knew you were doing this so they're going through UPS because they don't want to, you know, ruin the surprise for you.
MATTINGLY: That's right.
CHETRY: You know, when you shop at the Web sites, a lot of them say still time, order now, there's still time to have it get there by Christmas. But do you know if you haven't sent your package yet how likely it is they will arrive on time?
MATTINGLY: Well, everyone is saying if you want to make sure they get there but Christmas, you want to have them being shipped by ground by Friday of this week. After that, you may have to rely on the airborne services. Those are a lot more expensive. So, if you want to make sure you save some money, you want to get it in this week by Friday at the latest to make sure that it gets there on time.
And another important thing, Kiran, you've got to make sure that you've packed things correctly. A couple of things to remember, you want to have a very good, solid rigid box. You don't want one that's been used before and is all dented up. So, you want that new box to make sure whatever you put in there stays together. You also want to make sure that it's all wrapped and put together properly so nothing's moving around.
So, for instance, if you pack the box and you hear something like this, that means it's probably not going to get there in one piece. So do yourself a favor -- be smart at the beginning so it gets there in one piece.
CHETRY: David Mattingly for us.
JOHNS: Good advice.
CHETRY: Yes, poor FedEx worker --
JOHNS: Right. I'm going to be on the groceries -- I'm going to be in the store shopping, I'm probably not going to have the time to --
CHETRY: You're going to wait until the last possible second.
JOHNS: Like I do always.
CHETRY: David, thanks.
Well, trying to make their mark in the middle, a new movement trying to cut out extremes in Washington. Is it a pipe dream? Or can it really happen? We're going to talk to two of its founding members -- ahead.
JOHNS: And one of the actress Nicole Kidman's most important roles, working to end violence against women. Big stars, big giving -- next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Thirty-eight minutes past the hour right now. Welcome back.
Well, the middle isn't a popular place to be in Washington right now. In fact, it can be a downright liability at times. But there's a new group that's promising to look for ways to move the country forward instead of to the right or the left.
And joining us right now, two members -- two founding members of the organization known as No Labels: Republican Mark McKinnon and Democrat Kiki McLean -- which I should have been even said because you guys are now being labeled.
KIKI MCLEAN, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: That's right.
CHETRY: Welcome, by the way.
MCLEAN: Good morning.
CHETRY: Mark, first, let me start with you. What inspired you to start No Labels? What is it about?
MARK MCKINNON, REPUBLICAN ADVISER: You know, we travel around the country a lot and stay out of Washington as much as possible. And when we do, we see millions and millions of Americans who look at Washington and can't believe what they see or hear. It's so hyper- partisan. It's so poisonous. And they don't feel like it reflects them.
And we know from talking to people and research that, literally, a majority of America out there don't feel represented anymore. So, we're trying to create a voice and microphone for people in the vast middle of America who want a more civil dialogue in Washington.
CHETRY: Kiki, one thing that seems to exacerbate that problem is the primary system. I mean, you saw many supposed -- I mean, referred to as centrists, Mike Castle in Delaware, for example, as well as others who are now packing up their boxes and getting ready to leave because they lost reelection. I mean, it seems like it's a tough place to be in the middle, especially in this election season.
MCLEAN: Well, elections are tough. But here's what we do know. We know that there are millions of Americans who aren't participating in primaries. We have millions of independents that some come to engage in the general election, but not in the primaries.
And so, there are some states with open primaries. And this is where this really becomes a grassroots movement. Because this is about things happening at home, on the ground, thousands of people across America, where will they participate? Where will their voice be heard?
And while Mark and I are sitting here with you today, there are 1,100 Americans who are coming to be with us today from all across the country because there are reforms they'd like to see in the process.
CHETRY: Is one of those pushes to allow open primaries in most states? MCLEAN: Well, I think the folks who are coming in today will go to work on issues like that. What's going to help in their communities?
MCKINNON: That's the subject for one of the panels.
MCLEAN: Yes, it absolutely is.
MCKINNON: And, you know, that's one of the things we're looking at, is that how did our country become so hyper-partisan. We're looking at redistricting, all kinds of election reforms.
CHETRY: I want to ask you right now, despite what's going on in Washington right now, the tax debate, how divided everybody is. How would this philosophy fit in? Because the president's getting it from the right and left, perhaps even harder from the left for this, quote, "compromise" that many feel is not.
MCKINNON: Well, that's -- it's a great No Labels approach. You know, that's what happens when you try to build consensus, not everybody's happy. But that's what leadership's all about. It's bringing people together and making tough choices. And I think the president's done the right thing on this issue.
MCLEAN: It is rare -- it is rare that a solution comes without some political cost. And we need our leaders to be willing to pay that cost. Because I think they'll find in the end, it's not such a cost, because there are millions of Americans who are willing to stand behind him and say, you did the right thing, you didn't walk away from the table, you didn't leave us stuck in a stalemate. You came up with a solution and now, we can move forward.
MCKINNON: It's the partisans that are barking. This is exactly the kind of issue where I think No Labels community can come out and say, you know, this is what we want to see more of.
(CROSSTALK)
CHETRY: When I said, we were doing this story, there were some who -- you know, have long time watchers of Washington say the reason that people get crazy with centrists is because they can't make up their mind and people want things to get done. I mean, what about that argument that perhaps you can be at the ideological center but don't accomplish much?
MCLEAN: Oh, I disagree with that tremendously. It is when you actually move away from the extremes that you can have a conversation and find common ground. Even Mr. Boehner spoke on "60 Minutes" last night about finding common ground.
CHETRY: He doesn't want to say compromise, though.
(CROSSTALK)
MCKINNON: Consensus, consensus.
MCLEAN: And here's the bottom line, this isn't about five or six people in a state capital or in the nation's capital. This is about millions of Americans across the country. This is about them being able to come together and --you know, when you're by yourself and you think there's nobody else who thinks like you do, guess? You'll sit by yourself.
But when all of a sudden you begin to connect with other people who think like you, that's when you make things happen, that's when people who are living in the middle will move this country forward.
CHETRY: Speaking of coming together, it was quite a surreal photo op at least on Friday when the current president brought the former President Clinton into the White House briefing room to answer some questions about this compromise. Let's listen to a little snippet.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm going to let them speak briefly, and then I've actually got to go over and do some -- just one more Christmas party.
WILLIAM J. CLINTON, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: First of all, I feel awkward being here and now you're going to leave me all by myself?
(LAUGHTER)
OBAMA: Here's what I'll say -- I've been keeping the first lady waiting for about half an hour, so I'm going to take off. But --
CLINTON: I don't want to make her mad. Please go.
OBAMA: You're in good hands. And Gibbs will call last question. Thank you, Bill.
CLINTON: Yes, help me. Thank you. Go ahead.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: So, at first, he said I'm awkward being left here by myself. But then he was -- he's into it quite comfortably. He talked for the next 33 minutes, answered questions, and a lot of people said this is what the president should have been saying. He explained why this compromise is important.
What did you think about that?
MCLEAN: Well, we all know what a great communicator Bill Clinton is. And he's also a great advocator for solutions and moving forward and not getting stuck in the hyper-partisan politics.
And, you know what? Good for President Obama that he felt comfortable calling on President Clinton to step out in the way that he did. And good for President Clinton for recognizing that he remains a leader to help our country move forward.
MCKINNON: That's a No Labels approach coming together, even with former presidents in your party. CHETRY: You think that was a good thing, too?
MCKINNON: Oh, it's terrific. He's a (INAUDIBLE). It's great to watch Clinton at work.
CHETRY: Kiki McLean, Mark McKinnon, great to see both of you this morning. And good luck with your endeavor.
MCLEAN: Thanks so much.
MCKINNON: Appreciate it. Thanks for having us.
CHETRY: Joe?
JOHNS: Kiran -- still to come this morning, after the clean-up, a major winter storm in the Midwest creating headaches. Rob will have this morning's travel forecast right after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
JOHNS: A few thousand Santas coming to town. Check this out. It's a Christmas tradition that gives new meaning to eat, drink, and be merry.
CHETRY: And always makes us feel old because you'll not catch us at this thing.
JOHNS: No, of course not. -- I don't know. It's just a lot of Santa.
CHETRY: Speak for yourself.
(LAUGHTER)
JOHNS: No, come on. It's called SantaCon. Thousands get decked out in their best Santa attire.
CHETRY: Yes and bar hop. How about we put that one in.
JOHNS: In fact, Michelle Murtaugh, right, we're just talking about her.
CHETRY: She is.
JOHNS: She works for AMERICAN MORNING
(CROSSTALK)
JOHNS: The Santas not only took over New York City, including Michelle, but also, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia. I'm just kidding. She's still got a job.
CHETRY: Of course, she does. And in these tough economic times, she recycled her Halloween costume. She was a chicken for Halloween, and she just put a Santa hat on it and a scarf, and now, she's used it for Santa Claus. Very creative.
JOHNS: If it works, work it.
CHETRY: Exactly. And I'm sure she didn't feel the chill.
(LAUGHTER)
CHETRY: Plenty of holiday spirit, by the way, in downtown Toronto and lots of skin, as well. This was the opposite, I guess, you could say of SantaCon. Dozens of feisty (ph) white athletes in their (INAUDIBLE) red Lycra, braving the frigid temperatures to run the Annual Santa Speedo Run.
JOHNS: That's so wrong.
CHETRY: The two-mile jog is a fundraiser for children's hospital. Actually, everybody looks in pretty good shape. I got to say if you're going to wear a Speedo, rock on.
JOHNS: That's the front of the line.
CHETRY: The back of the line doesn't look too bad either.
(LAUGHTER)
CHETRY: Runners embraced a $140,000 since starting the event six years ago. Wow.
JOHNS: Perfect.
CHETRY: It's all about generating funny (ph).
JOHNS: Yes, right. Just no thongs, OK? It's 47 minutes after the hour. Let's get a quick check of this morning's weather headlines. Rob Marciano in the --
CHETRY: Come on, Rob.
JOHNS: Extreme weather center. Rob, where's your thong?
(LAUGHTER)
MARCIANO: Come on, Joe. It's on, of course.
CHETRY: I was going to say where's your chicken costume? We all know where your thong is.
MARCIANO: Exactly. It's not red, though, just so you know. But yes, I think I saw plenty of chicken skin those guys and gals running around in barely anything in the cold. Hey, listen, let's kind of transfer out of that -- transition I should say. It's you -- what's going on weather wise. You want a white Christmas, don't you? I mean, a lot of people do, and after that, they don't want even more snow. The northeast, you've got mostly rain with this.
Looking ahead down the road, maybe this weekend into the beginning of next week, the atmosphere may set up to the point where it may be more white than it is blue and greens here. All right. What do we do as far as snowfall totals in some of the areas back across the Midwest? Believe it or not, these are records. Twelve inches in Marquette, Michigan, Detroit, 6 inches, the Midwest way from the Snow Belt doesn't do a whole lot of snow. So, when you talk about 17 inches in Minneapolis, that's a huge deal.
So, that one's going to go down at least as honorable mention in the record books. Here it is now of the cold air driving all the way down to the south. We've got plenty of snow driving down to the south, as well. Flurries flying last night and this morning in Atlanta. That'll get the kids going crazy for sure. Back to Nashville, little bit more substantial stuff up through Knoxville as well, and obviously, it's still cold enough for that, although, not a whole lot of moisture.
But biggest amounts of moisture are, of course, fed by the Great Lakes, Huron, Erie, Ontario, and Michigan, seeing a little bit of snow here. And we've got winter storm warnings up for Cleveland right now. Winds are gusting at 40 miles an hour. And if it's snowing, you could see 1 to 2 feet of snow in that area. The other big story is, of course, the cold air. It's not cold right now in New York. Current temperature is 43 degrees, but the cold air will come in, but the snow will pretty much stay out towards the west and towards Great Lakes.
So, that's where the heaviest amounts of snow are concerned. What does it feel like? If you're wearing a thong right now and nothing else, feels like 6 degrees in Atlanta. You enter in the wind factor, wind chill factor and minus 10 in Chicago. So, it's a lot more comfortable in New York right now than it is in Atlanta to be, you know, running around Central Park.
CHETRY: That's right.
JOHNS: I would say.
CHETRY: For other people running in right now, we're talking about flip-flops, of course. What did you think?
(LAUGHTER)
MARCIANO: Exactly.
CHETRY: All right. Rob, thanks so much.
MARCIANO: All right, guys.
CHETRY: The weather is hardly cooperating for the busiest shipping day of the year. Coming up, we're going to talk to one of the men in charge, talking about the pressure of getting 16 million packages out there on time for Christmas. How FedEx is feeling the effects of all those free shipping deals.
JOHNS: Also, if what you want for Christmas is a job, how to get it? Getting the right holiday party may be the key. Just lay off the eggnog, and -- we don't mean literally. The smoothing of your way to the right gig coming up next. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: All right. Well, this week and every year, we're highlighting celebrities truly giving back. And today, we've got actress, Nicole Kidman. She has worked tirelessly to try to improve the lives of women across the globe.
JOHNS: Our Alina Cho is here to explain that as part of our series "Big Stars, Big Giving." Good morning.
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning. You know, without a question, Nicole Kidman is Hollywood royalty, an academy award winning actress who is also a tabloid picture, by the way. You know, she's had her ups and downs over the years, but her work as a U.N. Goodwill Ambassador, an advocate for woman, is what she says keeps her grounded. Why did she get involved? Her mother.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NICOLE KIDMAN, ACTRESS, UNIFEM GOODWILL AMBASSADOR: A lot of my life, I've been trying to please my mother. And I suppose I still felt like I'd won an Oscar, I've done this. My mom was still not like, OK, I feel like you really -- and this is probably the thing she most responds to in my life.
CHO (voice-over): So that thing Nicole Kidman is talking about is her work as a goodwill ambassador for UNICEF, the United Nations arm that fights for gender equality and to end violence against women.
KIDMAN: Take action, say no.
CHO: A role she's held for nearly five years.
KIDMAN: We need women in this organization. They're working for nothing, you know. And they're so committed.
CHO: Ironically, it was a movie role, "The Interpreter" that first threw Kidman to the United Nations. What she didn't know was that soon, arts in part would imitate life. Her work with UNIFEM has taken her to Congress, fighting for women's rights. She's also traveled to places like Kosovo, and just this year, earthquake-ravaged Haiti.
KIDMAN: It breaks my heart. I mean, I'm a terrible person because -- sometimes for this because I can become so emotionally involved, and actually, in Kosovo I had to be taken aside and told this is going to be a very emotional path for the rest of your life. You're going to see in here things that you should never see in here, but they exist.
These girls were raped. A lot of their faces were completely battered and destroyed and their bodies, and they had nowhere to go. When you see it and hear it, I think it changes you forever. It certainly changed me forever.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: "By A Nose," Nicole Kidman.
(CLAPPING) CHO: You are an academy-award winning actress, you are married to a music star, you have a beautiful family. Some people might ask, how does this woman, Nicole Kidman, relate?
KIDMAN: Relate? I don't know how you say whether you relate, but I certainly feel. And it brings me to my knees and I feel it. I mean, it's my beauty and it's an honor to be able to do the work.
CHO: It brings you to your knees. That's a strong thing.
KIDMAN: Yes, that (INAUDIBLE)
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHO (on-camera): From behind the scenes photos or if you want to get involved with UNIFEM, go to CNN.com/AMFix. That's our website, of course. And for more on how you can make a difference in the world, go to CNN.com/impact. All of the interviews from" Big Stars, Big Giving" will live on Impact Your World, our partner in this project this week.
You know what's interesting about Nicole Kidman is that she said, and this really stuck with me, she said, you know, a lot of people talk about commitment, you know, because of something that maybe happened in their lives, but a lot of times you can burn out or that may fade when you're talking about your work with a charity.
She said, I made sure to tell them, I'm in it for the long haul. I'll be there as long as they'll have me. And of course I said, I think they'll have you. And she said, well, you know, she says, you never know, but the truth is she is really committed. You can really see it in her eyes. You can hear it in her voice. And she's doing great, great work for UNIFEM.
CHETRY: And bringing attention to this cause that might otherwise just be ignored.
CHO: You know, 3 out of 4 women around the world suffer from violence at some point in their lives. That's the 75 percent of women. So, it is staggering. And when she talks about it, people listen.
CHETRY: Who are you profiling tomorrow?
CHO: Halle Berry. Halle Berry. She's a -- not only a beautiful woman, but she is extremely committed to the Genesis Center which is a center for domestic violence victims in Los Angeles. And she has a personal connection, as well. Her mother was a victim of domestic violence, and it is one of the big reasons why she's involved. You'll hear that moving, if I might say, interview tomorrow morning.
JOHNS: Really, really looking forward to this.
CHO: Great.
CHETRY: You're making the rounds with all the Oscar-winning women. I love it. CHO: I'm trying.
JOHNS: Nothing wrong that.
CHETRY: Thanks, Alina.
JOHNS: And don't miss Alina's one-hour special "Big Stars, Big Giving" that airs Christmas eve at 7:00 p.m. eastern and on Christmas Day at 8:00 p.m. eastern.
CHO: Look forward to that.
CHETRY: Your top stories coming your way after a quick break. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
