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American Morning
Snowstorms Hit the Midwest, Minneapolis Metrodome Collapses; Tax Deal Moves to Vote in the House; Mayor Michael Bloomberg Will Not Run for President in 2012; Palin Visits Haiti; FedEx Frenzy; Royal Engagement Photos Released; FedEx in a Frenzy; Trying to Nab a Job? Do it Tactfully; Another Heisman Trophy Investigation
Aired December 13, 2010 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JOE JOHNS, CNN GUEST ANCHOR: Good morning, I'm Joe Johns in for John Roberts.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Good to have you with us this morning.
JOHNS: Very excited to be here.
CHETRY: You actually made it flying in last night, which isn't the case for that lot of people traveling.
JOHNS: Right, the east, a lot of rain. But out in the Midwest, there's nothing but snow all over the place.
CHETRY: Yes, they're digging out and will be for a long time.
I'm Kiran Chetry. Let's get you caught up on what happened overnight. The wild almost winter storm that brought the Midwest to a halt not over yet. A lot of people still stranded at the airport, stuck in their homes this morning, and dangerously cold temperatures closing in right behind it.
JOHNS: All the snow, too much for the Minneapolis Metrodome's Teflon roof. It deflated and collapsed under the pressure of one of the biggest snowfalls of Minneapolis history, and it was all caught on tape. It sent the Giants and Vikings scrambling to find the place to play. More on the amazing video coming up ahead.
CHETRY: And Sarah Palin urging Americans not to forget Haiti. The former vice presidential candidate getting a firsthand view of earthquake-ravaged Haiti over the weekend. She toured a shelter and a cholera treatment center during her trip, and we're going to have much more on her visit in a live report from Port-au-Prince.
JOHNS: Up first, extreme weather, snow and bitter cold turning lives upside down this morning. It's still snowing around the Great Lakes. Round two is on the way and getting dangerously cold. There's no telling how many people are stuck on the roads, at the airport, and in their own homes, and it may not get any better for days.
CHETRY: Also this morning, in Minneapolis, the Metrodome, it's an outdoor stadium with an inflatable roof. Well, that's flat as a pancake. It caved in under the 17 inches of snow. And the amazing collapse was caught on tape from the inside. There you see that avalanche of snow pouring on to the field. The Minnesota Vikings are forced to play their home game tonight in Detroit against the Giants.
And we're live in the twin cities in a moment. Chris Welch is there. First we're checking in with Rob in the Extreme Weather Center. I know you were supposed to be in Cleveland and you didn't make it out of Atlanta?
ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: No, and it's not because the weather was so horrifying in Cleveland last night. It is now. But just the ripple effect of all the planes trying to get to different places and coming from this storm because it was so big. This storm is so big. You live in the northeast, you're thinking, not that big of a deal, I've got mostly rain. But for folks in the Midwest, especially the upper Midwest, it's encompassing a lot of real estate, affecting tens of millions of people. And for these folks, this one's going down in the record books.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARCIANO: The storm that deflated the Metrodome and stranded the New York Giants at the airport in KC was the fifth greatest snowstorm of all time in the twin cities. Saturday was the snowiest day on record as 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 and 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, cross-country skis.
MARCIANO: And at O'Hare, a totally depressing departure board, especially for the guy who's packed deep dish pizza's as Christmas presents.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good Chicago pizza may end up in the snow drift tonight just 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 as the patriots rolled over the Bears at the snowy field.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MARCIANO: Nothing like watching the game from the comfort of your own living room when it's a snow bowl. Jets didn't do so well, and they were in rain. All the warm air is east of I-95, and that's where it is now. But we're starting to see colder air filter in to the bigger cities, including New York and Boston. But by the time it does that, most of the moisture is going to be gone.
Here it is in Cleveland, up through Buffalo. Right now it's blowing 20 miles an hour. The snow is blowing sideways, absolutely miserable, and we expect to see the snowfall totals rack up here quickly and maybe dwarf what these folks saw last week, and that includes Cleveland, Erie, P.A., Buffalo, and Syracuse. This is going to be a multi-day event.
We could see one to two feet of snow, especially some of the higher terrain north and east of Cleveland, Ohio.
As far as the numbers go, the other big story, the temperature and what it feels like out there when you couple in the wind-chill. Right now it feels like four degrees in Memphis, five degrees in Atlanta. Actual air temperatures in Atlanta will likely not get above the freezing mark.
So you're talking about tens of millions of people affected by this storm in some way, shape, or form, at least for the southeast, 20 to 25-degree temperatures below average. So this is going to eclipse what happened last week, as well. And as far as the northeast is concerned, I think it's not over this week as far as your winter weather. So hold tight.
Guys, back up to you.
CHETRY: I know. We're still sitting here looking at these pictures saying, it's going to hit us, just a matter of time.
JOHNS: That's for sure.
CHETRY: Thanks, Rob.
JOHNS: The pictures tell the story. The massive storm dropping tons of snow on the inflatable roof on the Metrodome in Minneapolis.
CHETRY: It was simply too much weight for the old Teflon panels to take. Our Chris Welch is inside with more on what the situation's like. Hi, Chris.
CHRIS WELCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Joe, Kiran, this record-breaking blizzard may have moved out of the twin cities, but it didn't do so well leaving its mark. One of those Teflon flaps is just hanging there, flapping in the wind. You can hear it thundering in the dome. It's kind of an eerie sound right now.
But you know, this Saturday storm kind of wreaked havoc basically on the city, shut down the city Saturday. Yesterday, residents waking up to the news that the Metrodome collapsed. Now, they're moving the game that was supposed to happen here to Detroit. That'll be tonight. They're giving fans free tickets to go if they didn't have any. And those who did have tickets will be able to go and get preferential seating.
One thing, though, I talked to the facility directors of the Metrodome last night. He said while these pictures are incredible to look at, it's actually more of a spectacle than it is a hassle to fix. He says it really shouldn't be that big of a deal. (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 the repair as I understand it 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: So now I think the big question will be how many fans will make the track to Detroit for the game tonight? And how many Detroit residents will want to go and see the New York Giants or the Minnesota Vikings play on their home turf?
CHETRY: All right, Chris Welch for us this morning. Thanks so much. We'll have to see. The premiere seating, 50-yard line if they do make the trek, but it's a long way to go.
JOHNS: A very long way to go, and you've got to spend a lot of money on a plane and it might not get there. So you drive.
CHETRY: Well, our CNN iReporters are all over there. "Rock Star" posted this picture. This is Eden Prairie, Minnesota. Is shows a huge snow drift at his backdoor. Fortunately, the front door was easier to navigate.
If you'd like to contribute to our iReport, see it, shoot it, and send it. Go to CNN.com, click on the "iReport" tab.
JOHNS: Rain is the problem is the Midwest this morning. Flooding and mudslides led some people to evacuate their homes in parts of western Washington State. Some rivers crested after record levels after more than three inches of rain fell on Seattle over a 24-hour period. Meteorologists say the worst of the flood danger is over, but more rain is expected today.
CHETRY: Also today, the tax cut deal that President Obama cut with Republicans could clear its first hurdle. A test vote is expected in the Senate.
JOHNS: After a rough week for the White House last week, this could be a sign that momentum is swinging in their favor. Ed Henry's live at the White House this morning. And Ed, this may have all started after a surprise appearance in the White House briefing room on Friday.
ED HENRY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Joe. Former president bill Clinton. They had a scheduled meeting, we knew about that late on Friday afternoon, but we didn't expect the two presidents to walk out together into the briefing room upstairs RIGHT above me and start talking about former president bill Clinton's endorsement of the controversial tax deal.
But also, president Obama said he had to go to a holiday party, HE had the first lady waiting. He left bill Clinton alone in the briefing room. You know what that means. He just started taking questions. He was in there for about half an hour or so.
And it might have been a little politically risky for the president to show he needed Bill Clinton to bail him out a little bit here, but White House aides say there's no one better than Bill Clinton to come in and help sell this. And as you noted, now the momentum seems to be swinging a bit for the Democrats.
Clearly this vote in the Senate later today, this procedural hurdle looks like it's going to be cleared. That will give it some momentum. And then all eyes turn to what House Democrats will do. And David Axelrod, one of the president's senior advisors, told Candy Crowley yesterday that while this is not a perfect deal, it needs to move forward.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID AXELROD, WHITE HOUSE SENIOR ADVISOR, OBAMA ADMINISTRATION: We handled it as best as we could given the timeframe 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 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 pay attention to what house Democrats are saying now in public. They're saying, look, this is not a perfect deal. They want to make changes such as the estate tax provisions, which they think are too favorable to what Republicans wanted. But they're at least saying let's bring this to the house floor, a sharp departure from last week.
So the momentum clearly seems to be going the president's way. It's going to take some more struggles, but he's likely to get this through both chambers now. Joe, Kiran?
CHETRY: It always seems they're coming down to the wire, because the tax cut deal a big part of it. They have to get moving on the start treaty and possibly the "don't ask, don't tell" legislation.
HENRY: Yes, and it looks very difficult to get "don't ask, don't tell" back up. What it means is another vote in the house to kick it over to the Senate. A lot of house Democrats telling me they don't think they're going to have time to do it and also it's controversial for some of their more conservative democratic members. They don't want to vote a second time. They already passed it months ago.
The START treaty looks a little better for the president, looks like they have the 67 votes they need to get a treaty through the Senate. The problem is, Republicans balking at bringing it up at all. And then, of course, this tax cut fight.
A lot to get done in a short amount of time. The Democrats are trying to recess the lame duck by Friday. That seems unlikely. The president was planning to leave Saturday for Hawaii. He's still going to go, but probably won't leave until next week. Joe, Kiran? JOHNS: Ed Henry in Washington, thanks so much for that.
HENRY: Thank you.
CHETRY: Forget Michael Bloomberg for president. The New York mayor says it's not going to happen. Bloomberg reignited speculation last week with a speech criticizing Congress and President Obama for their handling of the economy, but when pressed, Bloomberg says no to 2012.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAEL BLOOMBERG, (I) NEW YORK CITY MAYOR: Well, I'm not going to run for president. I've got a great job. I'm going to finish out my 1,100 days left to go. And I'll leave the politics to the experts.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No way, no how?
BLOOMBERG: No way, no how.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JOHNS: Bloomberg says the staff should probably stop dropping hints about a possible presidential bid. Yes, that would help.
(LAUGHTER)
CHETRY: Speculation swirling around Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele and his plans for the future. Steele has scheduled a private conference call tonight with other committee members, and he could reveal whether or not he'll seek a second term. Steele has remained mum in recent weeks as a slew of potential candidates line up to replace him.
JOHNS: Sarah Palin visiting struggling Haitians this weekend. We're live in Port-au-Prince with a look at her whirlwind visit.
CHETRY: Also, it's almost the end of the year. Let the lists begin. Which one did former Senate candidate from Delaware, Christine O'Donnell talk? We'll tell you about that coming up.
JOHNS: Plus, a picture's worth a thousand words. We wonder, what are William and Kate trying to say in their just released royal engagement photos? It's 12 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
JOHNS: Former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin says the destruction in Haiti is worse than she expected. The former governor of Alaska spent some time in the earthquake-ravaged nation over the weekend. Gary Tuchman is in Port-au-Prince.
Good morning, Gary. What do Haitians think of Sarah Palin's visit?
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Joe, it's funny, we were talking to people a few days ago, most had never heard of Sarah Palin before. But Haitian radio talked a lot about her visit. And most of the people we talked were very happy she was coming because they know when a well-known American comes, their plight gets more attention.
They certainly need the attention. There's still more than one million homeless people in the streets, spent the night in the rain last night. There's a cholera epidemic raging. There's violence in the streets after a presidential election a couple of weeks ago that many say was fraudulent. And amidst all that, Sarah Palin came for about a 30-hour visit.
She was invited by the Reverend Franklin Graham. He is the son of the Reverend Billy Graham. He, Franklin, is the president and CEO of a charity called Samaritan's Purse. It's a Christian assistance organization that does a lot of good work in Haiti. They built more than 10,000 shelters for homeless people since the earthquake.
But it was a very unusual visit in the sense when VIPs come to Haiti over the last 11 months, and I've been here six times and a lot of these VIPs, sometimes they do things without the news media for more national visits, but they always get all the media together for at least one of their events to give attention to this plight. Sarah Palin made the decision to not allow any of us to be with her the entire time, except for her employer, the people she works for sometimes, FOX News. So we actually, Joe, never saw her while she was here with a single Haitian.
CHETRY: So where did you get the pictures? Because we are seeing some of the pictures of Sarah looking like she's either tending to a sick child or at least listening to and talking to some of the people there.
TUCHMAN: Right, Kiran. Well, those pictures actually come from the charity of Samaritan's Purse. They took nice pictures, but they weren't our pictures. We did get a chance to see her at a news conference. However, we were told, OK, we're sorry. You can attend for events, but we're still not exactly why. We weren't given a reason, but we were told we could ask questions at her news conference. But we got to the news conference yesterday and Franklin Graham almost right away said Sarah Palin will not be taking any questions. And then Sarah Palin said to us, I don't want to get political and therefore I'm not taking any questions. She then proceeded to make a statement. And ironically, she was kind to us journalists.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SARAH PALIN, FORMER ALASKA GOVERNOR: I thank the media for keeping a spotlight on this country and on the conditions that the people are living in, that they are trying to survive amidst, and to be here and see firsthand the conditions and what it takes for the people who are living here in such adverse conditions, what it takes to just to survive their daily lives.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TUCHMAN: She said all the right things, but she really didn't say any specifics, any anecdotes about her visit. We really wanted to find out about her visit, so we tried to ask her a question about the specifics.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SARAH PALIN, FORMER ALASKA GOVERNOR: Thank you. And you're doing God's work. Thank you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you, governor.
TUCHMAN: Governor, can we ask you a question?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you.
PALIN: Much harsher than I expected. The conditions are much rougher.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TUCHMAN: Now, certainly we should emphasize it's her prerogative to do what she wants, but this was a very controlled visit. We should tell you it wasn't just us that wasn't allowed to be with her. It was all the media including like the "Associated Press," and most notably local Haitian journalists -- Kiran, Joe.
CHETRY: Interesting. All right, Gary Tuchman you did get her to answer one of your questions about how she viewed the conditions. Thanks so much.
JOHNS: Persistence pays off.
CHETRY: Yes, exactly. Thanks, Gary.
Well, she didn't say much to the mainstream media, but Christine O'Donnell did leave her mark on 2010 with one memorable quote. In fact, it's the quote of the year according to one new list. Can you guess what it is?
JOHNS: Plus, could it be a real life Da Vinci code? The hidden symbol discovered in the Mona Lisa's eyes.
It's 19 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Twenty-two minutes after the hour right now. She was the most talked about candidate of the year even though she didn't win, of the midterms, at least.
JOHNS: Who's that?
CHETRY: Christine O'Donnell, of course. She has the quote of the year, according to Yale's book of quotations. You remember this one?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRISTINE O'DONNELL (R), DELAWARE SENATE CANDIDATE: I'm not a witch. I'm nothing you've heard. I'm you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: "I'm not a witch," that was number one. She actually tied with former BP head Tony Hayward who said "I'd like my life back" in the midst of the gulf oil spill. "If you touch my junk, I'm going to have you arrested." That was from the airline passenger to the TSA. That was number three. "Don't retreat, reload," that was a Sarah Palin tweet, number four.
JOHNS: Mama grizzly.
CHETRY: And number five, you remember this one, "Chi! Chi! Chi! Le! Le! Le!"
JOHNS: Oh, yes.
CHETRY: The chants from the Chilean miner rescue.
JOHNS: Good grief.
Is it a real-life Da Vinci code? Historians studying the Mona Lisa discovered tiny letters and numbers hidden in the dark paint of her pupils too small for the naked eye to see. In the right eye, the letters "l" and "v," which could be the artist's initials. And the left eye, the symbols are harder to make out. You can't see it from here.
CHETRY: There you go. Look at the sign.
JOHNS: Yes.
CHETRY: It was indeed --
JOHNS: Clearly, it's a message.
CHETRY: Well, he's no Da Vinci, but he is a master of origami. Check this out.
This artist, Juan Parr works with one dollar bills. They speeded it up so you could see him. He turned the buck into a butterfly. I think as long as this doesn't involve tearing, it's fine.
JOHNS: Looks like a jockey hat.
CHETRY: I thought it was a helmet.
JOHNS: Nice butterfly.
CHETRY: They're beautiful. Pretty cool.
JOHNS: OK. Well, there we go.
CHETRY: Well, no shortage of 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 add 2,115 scenes ranging from figurines to Christmas tree ornaments to homemade shoebox creations.
JOHNS: The New York Jets losing in pretty embarrassing fashion to the Dolphins yesterday. And this didn't make it any better. Take a look. That is the Jets strength and conditioning coach, Sal Alosi, who sticks out his knee and trips Miami's Nolan Carroll who was running up the sideline on punt. Alosi apologized saying his conduct was inexcusable and unsportsmanlike, but he didn't say whether it was intentional, which obviously goes without saying.
And 'tis the season to get those gifts shipped out. We're live at a FedEx facility where they say this could be the busiest day ever.
CHETRY: Yes, handling 16 million packages, wow.
JOHNS: Pretty amazing.
CHETRY: You know, everyone all hands on deck is what they're saying.
Plus, how adorable is this? The engagement pictures of William and Kate. Why they're like photos never before released in the royals' history.
JOHNS: They look normal.
CHETRY: They look adorable.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Twenty-eight minutes past the hour right now. A look at our top stories.
Heavy snows, high winds, and bone-chilling cold. The blizzard actually was so intense it collapsed Minneapolis' Metrodome, canceled flights across the Midwest, and it's on the move this morning. 1,400 flights canceled at O'Hare in Chicago yesterday, causing delays as far away as Los Angeles.
JOHNS: Hackers hit Gawker. The Web site is telling millions of users to change their passwords after a security breach. The Gawker network includes sites like deadspin.com and the gadget blog Gismodo. Gawker says the attack could be a revenge for something written on one of the sites.
CHETRY: And Ambassador Richard Holbrooke is recovering after surgery to fix a torn aorta. His condition has been upgraded this morning. He is now in critical, but stable condition at George Washington University Hospital. He's currently serving as President Obama's special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan.
JOHNS: Free shipping offers are leading to quite a boom at some of the nation's biggest shipping companies this holiday weekend. FedEx says it expects to handle close to 16 million packages today. That's quite a surge over last year.
CHETRY: OK. JOHNS: Chuck Vookles is the senior station manager at a FedEx facility in Marietta, Georgia. Good morning, chuck. He joins us live to talk about the holiday rush.
CHUCK VOOKLES, 28 YEAR VETERAN OF FEDEX: Good morning.
JOHNS: So, this is a lot more packages than last year. The first question for you really is why the increase? What do you attribute it to?
VOOKLES: Well, a lot of these people are moving more to e-commerce and ordering stuff online. You know, Cyber Monday was very big and it's continued on. That and ordering from catalogs and those sort of things is really what's driving the increase.
JOHNS: You're keeping up. I would assume that you have to bring in extra people and those are just temporary workers, correct?
VOOKLES: Well, actually, this time of year we cancel vacations. And so all of our regular cover drivers are available to run the extra routes that we put on. So like today, we're going to run about 130 routes out of here. That's about 30 percent more than normal. And we'll launch about 65 pickup routes.
JOHNS: Do you guys have much of an idea what kinds of things people are shipping? Do you know if you're shipping small electronics or clothes or whatever? And if so, can you give us some idea of the kinds of things you're shipping the most of, if you know?
VOOKLES: Well, yes. We have lots of things such as cell phones, flat panel televisions, Blu-ray players. We also have a lot of food products such as Memphis barbecue, candies, and you know, all sorts of things. Anything you can think of that you can see in a catalog, it'll come FedEx.
JOHNS: I'm also hearing that you're shipping a lot of Christmas trees overseas, perhaps to the troops?
VOOKLES: That's true. We're shipping out 15,000 real Christmas trees to the servicemen and women across some of the United States, their families, some overseas to Afghanistan, and other places. These are donated trees that FedEx does all the shipping and delivery of.
JOHNS: Another question just for people who might be confused or want to know, is there a deadline date particularly for FedEx ground where you need to have things out there if you want to be guaranteed delivery before, say, the 25th of December?
VOOKLES: Yes. If you want to ship something FedEx ground, it'll have to be shipped by the 17th, which I think is this is this coming Friday. With FedEx Express, you can ship anything all the way up until the 23rd for delivery on the 24th as priority service.
JOHNS: So you probably see a lot of things being shipped through there. What's the craziest thing you've ever seen shipped? VOOKLES: Well, you know, we see all sorts of things. And, you know, one of the craziest things - we get these boxes of crickets that have -
JOHNS: Crickets?
VOOKLES: It has like a mesh cover on the box. Yes, live crickets going to the pet store for, I guess, food for the animals. And you can see them jumping around the box. So it's a little unnerving and that's one of the craziest things we see.
JOHNS: Yes, that's pretty amazing. And well, you're certainly not going to be able to sleep inside a FedEx shop like that anyway. So you'd hear them one way or the other.
Chuck Vookles, thank you so much, and we'll be watching to see how things go. All right.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Poor guy. So this is the time of year where everybody likes to take off and enjoy themselves and all their vacations are canceled.
JOHNS: Exactly.
CHETRY: Well -
JOHNS: You've got to work.
CHETRY: Packages to grandma.
JOHNS: Exactly.
CHETRY: Well, President Obama joined pop stars for some Christmas caroling and it was Washington style. The first family watched Mariah Carey and others sing at the 29th annual "Christmas in Washington" concert last night. Other performers ranged from Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli to teenage Nickelodeon star Miranda Cosgrove. That's "iCarly," right?
JOHNS: Absolutely. My kids wanted to see "iCarly."
CHETRY: I mean it must have been so hard to get an invite to this? Who could have possibly got invited?
JOHNS: You know, let's move on.
CHETRY: Joe Johns was there, ladies and gentlemen.
JOHNS: Ellen DeGeneres hosted the event joking that she was only there because Oprah was in Australia. Now this concert -
CHETRY: Probably a little true.
JOHNS: Yes. It was pretty funny too. The concert will air on Friday night on TNT.
CHETRY: You took the kids.
JOHNS: I took the kiddies. And my daughter sat on my knee and squirmed like crazy for the first half. And then my son sat on my knee and squirmed like crazy for the second half.
CHETRY: They do that, right?
(CROSSTALK)
JOHNS: Yes. You know.
CHETRY: They're the ones that introduced you last year it was Justin Bieber.
JOHNS: Right. Exactly.
And this year it was "iCarly," and very psyched to see her. My daughter wanted to rush the stage. I had to hold her back.
CHETRY: Well, Prince William and Kate Middleton have released their official engagement photos. It's really a beautiful shot of the two but they say it's a little more touchy and feely than you're used to seeing from the royal family. Is it an image makeover?
34 minutes past the hour.
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(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC)
CHETRY: 37 minutes past the hour right now. The royal wedding is still more than five months away. But we're getting a glimpse now of Prince William and Kate Middleton's fairy tale courtship with their official engagement portraits were released. The couple released two of the photos, one formal, and one not so formal.
Our next guest is the features editor of "OK!" Magazine Eloise Parker is here to give us the scoop on the photos and on the plans for the upcoming nuptials. Thanks so much for being here.
Let's take a look at the first one. This is the informal one that people are buzzing about. They look very affectionate physically, which is a bit of a departure in what you've seen in some of the royal engagement photos. And they seem relaxed, they seem happy. What did you think when you saw this one?
ELOISE PARKER, FEATURES EDITOR, "OK!" MAGAZINE: Well, this is an extraordinary departure for a royal engagement photo. When you look at Prince Phillip and the Queen all those years ago, they're standing next to each other very stiffly and even Charles and Diana. Charles actually had his back to Diana as she kind of put her arms around him.
CHETRY: He had his arms crossed. PARKER: That's right. So the sort of mutual admiration, the overall sense of romance that we get from this image is really just so beautiful.
CHETRY: Tell us about the photographer who shot all of these - famous photographer and has quite a history with the royal family.
PARKER: That's right. This Parisian photographer Mario Testino, he had a long relationship with Diana. He shot some of the most iconic images of Diana, which also did a lot to sort of soften her image and show you who she really was. Prince William has worked with him a number of times. So it's really no surprise that he chose Mario to shoot such important images of him and Kate.
CHETRY: It was amazing, actually, because you see the engagement photo of Diana and Prince Charles and you see the same exact ring on Kate Middleton's hand. You know sadly how the first marriage ended and you really have high hopes that this couple - that things will be different for them.
PARKER: Absolutely. Absolutely. You know, all the signs do point to that. When you think back to Charles and Diana. They met and they were married within less than a year. Whereas William and Kate have really taken things slowly. It's been eight years and they've waited until they're absolutely ready to be thrown into the spotlight in this way. I think they're very prepared for what's ahead.
CHETRY: I want to ask you - they also say this is the first time that an informal portrait has actually been released by members of the royal family. A contrast from the formal ones released in times past. And some say that this is proof that William is sort of driving how this is going to turn out, not the monarchy. Doing what they want to do as a couple not being led by, you know, all the pressures of the monarchy.
PARKER: That's right. Traditionally it's the queen's private office who arranges the whole royal wedding. So what we're seeing here is perhaps William having more of a hand in how things are done. We know that him and Kate did choose the images that were going to be released for the engagement. And you know, he's definitely trying to soften the image. He's winning some arguments, he may not win others. We know that he wanted to have a public lottery of 100 tickets for Westminster Abbey and security says that might not happen, unfortunately. So there's give and take her.
CHETRY: You bring up the security issue and we saw that on display last week, the student protesters, literally attacking Prince Charles and Camilla's car, throwing paint on it, shattering a window. Brought up a lot of questions about, wait a minute, how could there be that much of a breach in security that they could get that close to the royal family? What is the buzz about that in London?
PARKER: Well, it's been a huge breach of security. Everybody's talking about it. And of course, the riots and the protests in London have been a huge issue for the royal family thinking about the wedding planning. And, you know, there are worries that protesters may try to sabotage the wedding day.
So royal security has been up and obviously Scotland Yard in the UK is on full alert to try and ensure the wedding goes absolutely smoothly. It's going to be a huge world event and London wants to make sure it runs efficiently.
CHETRY: Right. And they want it to be special and private but at the same time it's going to be viewed by millions upon millions around the world.
PARKER: Yes.
CHETRY: It's a huge undertaking.
PARKER: It is, it is. But, you know, British security will be doing its utmost to ensure the event runs smoothly. That we can be sure of.
CHETRY: Well, the engagement photos are certainly beautiful and we wish the couple the very best. Eloise Parker, great to have you with us this morning. Thanks so much.
PARKER: Thank you.
CHETRY: Joe?
JOHNS: Kiran, if you thought last week's temperatures were cold, just wait until this week's second round of Arctic air. Rob Marciano's coming up next with all the weather news.
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JOHNS: It doesn't look too bad. That's Chicago right now. Cloudy, 12 degrees. Later today, windy going to go all the way up to 15 degrees.
CHETRY: What a scorcher.
JOHNS: I know, you know. And the funny thing is the football game yesterday everybody was so looking forward to it.
CHETRY: I know.
JOHNS: The snow bowl between the Patriots and the Bears. Everybody said it was Bears weather, turned out to be Patriots' weather.
CHETRY: It was surreal to see them playing out there in the snow.
JOHNS: Just amazing. Yes. It's too much fun. And they never cancel a pro football game.
CHETRY: There they go.
JOHNS: They just keep going.
CHETRY: Even if they have to move it 550 miles away like they're doing because of the Metrodome in Minneapolis.
JOHNS: A little bit. Yes. That's a little absurd, I think, but you've got to do what you've got to do.
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JOHNS: The latest chapter in the "Chronicles of Narnia" series limping to the top of the box office this week. The "Voyage of the Dawn Trader" took in $24.5 million, a huge drop from the last installment, which took in $55 million during its opening week. The Johnny Depp/Angelina Jolie romantic thriller "The Tourist," opened in disappointing second place with $17 million.
CHETRY: Well, this morning's top stories just minutes away, including will it be another Reggie Bush situation? Auburn's Cam Newton wins the Heisman Trophy by a landslide. But there are already critics wondering if he'll get to keep it. We're going to ask Max Kellerman what he thinks.
JOHNS: And the AMERICAN MORNING original series, "Big Stars, Big Giving." Alina Cho talks to Nicole Kidman about her most important role -- to end violence against women.
CHETRY: Also, it's being called the craze of the year -- the next Pac-Man. Why are millions of people buying the app Angry Birds? Those stories and much more at the top of the hour.
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CHETRY: Busy in the control room this morning.
Well, if you or someone you know is out of work, holiday cheer may be in short supply. But right now is actually the perfect time to step up your search for a job.
JOHNS: Christine Romans author of "Smart is the New Rich" explains why job seekers can't afford to take a break during the holidays.
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CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Career coach Ellen Gordon Reeves wants you to get a job for Christmas.
ELLEN GORDON REEVES, CAREER COACH: People might think that December is not a great time to look for a job. The reality is if you're job hunting all you need is one job.
ROMANS: No question. With more than 15 million Americans out of work, competition is fierce.
(on camera): People aren't really hiring at the end of the year. January maybe a little more likely. February, maybe will be when we see when employers are really confident enough to start hiring.
BILL RODGERS, ECONOMIST, RUTGERS UNIVERSITY: In terms of career openings, it's broad-based all throughout the economy, all sectors have openings. The challenge becomes because the number of people who are looking for a job relative to those openings.
ROMANS (voice-over): That number is now 4.4 job seekers for every available opening. Sounds daunting but it's the best it's been in two years.
REEVES: Please don't bring family or friends with you to an interview.
ROMANS: Reeves wants you to beat out three people to be that one.
REEVES: If you can get yourself invited to someone's office party as a plus one, fabulous, especially if it's a company or organization you want to get inside. Have a party, have a pot luck, it doesn't have to be expensive. But you've got to be out there connecting with people.
ROMANS: According to Consumer Reports, Americans will spend on average 15 hours at holiday gatherings this year. Etiquette expert Peter Post says it doesn't have to be gauche to network for a job at the parties.
PETER POST, DIRECTOR, EMILY POST INSTITUTE: Tact, honesty. You show restraint. At the same time you're honest about your situation. And all of a sudden it's amazing how people will open up, listen and offer to help you.
ROMANS: Bottom line, there are plenty of opportunities to network for a job this season. Just do it tactfully or don't do it at all.
Christine Romans, CNN, New York.
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JOHNS: Top stories coming your way right after the break.
CHETRY: Including the latest on the snow out there everywhere.
Fifty-five minutes past the hour.
JOHNS: Cold.
CHETRY: It is.
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