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American Morning
Snow, Slush and Security; Snow Plow Slowdown; Coming into Her "OWN"; Oopsies of 2010; So Happy Together
Aired December 31, 2010 - 07:58 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. It's Friday, December 31st. New Year's Eve. I'm Christine Romans, in for Kiran Chetry.
JOE JOHNS, CNN ANCHOR: I just can't believe that. Not that you're not in for Kiran Chetry --
ROMANS: "I can't believe she's in for Kiran Chetry!" Thanks, Joe!
(LAUGHTER)
JOHNS: I can't believe it's December 31st!
ROMANS: Ending my year on a high note, Joe Johns!
(LAUGHER)
JOHNS: It's like, it's so hard to believe we're at another end of the year. There's Times Square and it's looking a little gloomy down there, but can I tell you what. After this week in New York City, you are seeing a lot less of the white stuff on the ground.
ROMANS: Oh, yes. They moved that stuff out of Times Square fast. As we know, by 11:00 this morning, they will be have completely emptied Times Square of everyone. No one will be there. They'll do a complete sweep and then they'll let people start to come in ready for tonight.
JOHNS: They were already putting up the stanchions when I was walking in, so it was kind of hard to get around all the metal stuff now that all the white stuff is gone.
ROMANS: We'll have a lot of folks there to tell you about it. We'll tell you about the preparations all morning. A lot to talk about this morning. It's going to be party and a fortress. We told you about Times Square. Wow. I mean, a million people begin to gather to ring in 2011. An army of police to make sure it's safe.
And we're going to be live ahead of -- live in Times Square, rather -- ahead of the biggest celebration in the world. Another big celebration brewing right now, too, in the city.
JOHNS: I know! That's right.
ROMANS: Eleven seconds or something.
JOHNS: Unbelievable. We are almost there. You know, it's so funny here in New York City, when you look at the crowds and then when you look at the shot from Sydney, which we have seen in years past, it's this big, wide, expansive shot looking across water when the New Year arrives there.
ROMANS: I know.
JOHNS: Here we go.
ROMANS: As if on cue. Wow. How did that happen?
(LAUGHTER)
ROMANS: We go to Sydney.
JOHNS: It's just so good.
ROMANS: There you. This is ringing in the New Year Down Under. This is always a really beautiful -- I mean --
JOHNS: It's just amazing.
ROMANS: It's just great coming off the bridge. Nice.
JOHNS: Yes. You have to wonder, though, some of the fireworks displays and celebrations we have here in the United States around July 4th, if this one is better than the one we had back here in the States. I'd like to get votes on Facebook on that one.
That's incredible, though, isn't it?
ROMANS: AC/DC in the background, too.
(CROSSTALK)
ROMANS: That's really nice. And about two hours ago, Auckland, New Zealand said good-bye to 2010. It was one of the first places to ring in the New Year. Fireworks set off from the Sky Tower, the tallest tower in the southern hemisphere.
JOHNS: Fantastic.
Just a few blocks away from us, in Times Square here in the United States, they're expecting 1 million people and the city is dealing with a few new challenges it didn't have in 2010.
ROMANS: Allan Chernoff live for us in Times Square this morning.
So, Sydney's ringing in the New Year. We're still ringing up the preparations, right, Allan?
ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: That's right. You know, we've only got 16 hours to go here in New York and I still don't see much of a crowd. Hey, New York, you know, it is -- it is not New Year's Eve unless you waited for 16 hours for the ball to drop.
The truth is: there will be a lot of people who will wait about 10 hours or so in this cold weather just standing out here waiting for that ball to come on down. They will have a wonderful party. Festivities will get under way here at Times Square at about 6:00. They'll have music, dancing, confetti.
A marriage? Yes. A couple that are actually going to get married underneath the ball.
It's going to be something else. As you said, lots of people here in Times Square, perhaps 1 billion people watching on television. And this year -- yes, you can even follow the festivities on the Times Square ball app on your mobile device.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JETT STRAUSS, PRESIDENT, COUNTDOWN ENTERTAINMENT: This year, the big news: we have a Times Square ball app. After 100 years of silence, the Times Square ball actually talks. You should go to TimesSquareBall.net and it actually talks. And you can actually see the event live on our app wherever you are, whether you're at a bar, a party at home.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHERNOFF: So, the idea is that you can be virtually in Times Square wherever in the world you are. They've come a long way definitely made this a lot more high-tech than it used to be.
As I recall many years ago, they actually used to pull that ball down with a rope. They had somebody with a stopwatch and there was six guys up on the top of One Times Square just pulling that little ball down with a rope. When I was up there and I saw it myself, I couldn't believe it because everybody always thought, oh, you know, that lever, they just let it down. Now, it really is computerized.
ROMANS: You used to be able to pop champagne, as well. You used to be out bringing a bag and set up an old picnic if you wanted. But, now, it is a totally new world. This is a well -oiled machine. A family friendly -- it's not like it used to be, right?
(LAUGHTER)
CHERNOFF: Yes. There are no more -- no more fighting, no more drunkenness in Times Square.
JOHNS: That's what I miss the most.
CHERNOFF: And a lot of other stuff that we can't even discuss in a morning show.
(LAUGHTER)
ROMANS: All right. Allan Chernoff, let's just leave it to the imagination.
JOHNS: I know.
ROMANS: Allan Chernoff.
In North Dakota, really extreme weather there. Causing two semis to jackknife in the snow, ice and rain and leading to a 100-car pile-up just west of Fargo, North Dakota, on Interstate 94. Four people were injured, one critically.
JOHNS: And snow, lots of it in southern Arizona -- 25-mile- per-hour wind gusts causing drifts and poor visibility. You're talking about Arizona? Conditions today are not likely to improve.
ROMANS: Wow.
JOHNS: Drivers are warned that highways such as I-40 near the New Mexico state line, and I-17 are icy and hard to navigate this morning.
ROMANS: Happy New Year's to you. Geez.
Reynolds Wolf is in the extreme weather center. Hi there, Reynolds.
REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Hey, guys.
Hard to believe that just a few months ago, parts of the Northern Plains, it was like paradise up there. I mean, just beautiful. But now, winter's on with a vengeance and it is just roaring as we speak.
Take a look at this imagery that we have behind me. In fact, we're going to take full and show you the big picture. You happen to see part of the map where there's a little bit of almost a rectangular shape. Well, that red-shaded rectangular shape is an area where we have a tornado watch that's in effect until 8:00 Central Time.
For parts of the state of Missouri, you get everything. You got rain. You got a little bit of thunderstorm activity. You even have some sleet and then your neighbors just to your northwest, up in parts of, say, Nebraska getting some heavy snow action.
But it's not just the snow. You also have blizzard conditions, too. In fact, look at the map. We've got blizzard warnings that remain in effect through Saturday morning, eight to 14 inches of snowfall expected with some winds anywhere from 35 to 45. Some gusts could even be stronger.
You know, for some of our viewers who might be tuning in in other parts of the country, say, in southern California or maybe in south Florida, you may have never seen or even experienced a blizzard. Take a look at this video. And better yet, listen to it.
(VIDEO CLIP)
WOLF: You're seeing Fergus Falls, Minnesota. Just last night, winds just roaring by. The wind was just insane. The snow is still coming down. You see widespread accidents up and down parts of 94.
If you can avoid getting the roadways in parts of the Northern Plains, today is the day to do so and you can see the reason why. If by all means, if you don't have to travel, just stay at home on a day like today.
Let's go right back to the weather maps to show you where else who might be experiencing that. Up and down parts of the Central Plains and back into the Central Rockies, it is all going to be snow business. On the other side of that line, we're going to see scattered showers and thunderstorms. Maybe even some flash flooding in places in the Tennessee Valley where you have poor drainage areas.
But for the East Coast, high pressure is going to be the dominating feature. Plenty of sunshine for the Mid-Atlantic States. A few more clouds in New York, but all things considered, not that bad. And then back out to the West Coast, from San Francisco to about Portland, they expect some scattered showers. But for southern California, all the way to Phoenix, Arizona, it should be fairly dry for you.
That is a quick snapshot of your forecast. We're going to have an idea, we'll show you an idea of what you can anticipate as we ring in the New Year, that's coming up in just a few moments.
ROMANS: All right. Reynolds Wolf -- thanks, Reynolds.
JOHNS: We've been talking all morning long about something that if it's true, it's a total outrage. New York City is now investigating allegations that snow removal workers were told to take it slow to get back at the mayor.
ROMANS: Thousand of people in the city that never sleeps were socked in for days after last weekend's blizzard, including some women who went into labor. Also socked in, ambulances, fire trucks and police. Some people may have died because of what's been called a pathetic plowing attempt.
David Ariosto joins us now.
DAVID ARIOSTO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. For a city that's often prided itself on its abilities to respond, this week's holiday blizzard has left many residents in some of the outlying boroughs wondering why days after this holiday blizzards struck, they were still caught in a snow.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ARIOSTO (voice-over): Allegations and accusations swept through the Big Apple just days after a monster blizzard blanketed roadways and runways, clogging neighborhoods and stranding thousands of travelers. At issue, whether New York City sanitation workers were ordered to intentionally delay cleanup efforts ahead of budget cuts to the department.
MAYOR MICHAEL BLOOMBERG (I), NEW YORK: I don't think it took place but we're going to do an investigation to make sure that it didn't. It would be an outrage if it took place, but I just don't know.
ARIOSTO: The rumors reached a fever pitch after a city councilman said three sanitation workers and two other state supervisors contacted him alleging sabotage.
(on camera): Do you personally think that sanitation workers and the supervisors would put New York City residents at jeopardy by not cleaning up some of the streets?
DANIEL HALLORAN, NEW YORK COUNCILMAN: Well, I don't think there was a -- I don't think that these supervisors who made this call were looking at the big picture. I think they were looking at the short term issue which is: 100 of them were about to be demoted.
ARIOSTO (voice-over): The president of the Sanitation Officers Association could not be immediately reached for comment. He did respond however to the allegations on WNYW, a local TV station here in New York.
JOSEPH MANNION, SANITATION OFFICER'S ASSOC. PRESIDENT: Absolutely not. No. No. Absolutely no sanctions from the union or from the membership at all. They know their job. Snow is a serious aspect of our job. We know that.
ARIOSTO: Mayor Bloomberg who was occasionally mentioned as a presidential candidate has faced mounting criticism over the speed of this week's snow removal.
But what actually went wrong is now the subject of investigation.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ARIOSTO: Now, a union rep that we later spoke to blame harsh winds, mechanical failures for some of the slow efforts that were result after this week's holiday blizzard. One thing that's not clear, however, is how this will affect the political future of Mayor Michael Bloomberg. If true, this is a major allegation. It's one thing that could say that, but it's really stemming from only a handful of sanitation worker that made these claims.
So, again, an investigation is set to take place and we'll find out if it's true.
JOHNS: Let's tease that out just a little bit more. First, we had the storm. Then we had people pointing the fingers at the mayor of the city, saying, you didn't get your act together and you left a lot of people in bad shape. Now, we have this allegation that seems to mitigate the blame on the mayor.
And the question is whether this is just a story that's out there to make it look a little better for him.
ARIOSTO: It's -- the question on many New Yorkers' minds right now. It's really difficult to know exactly what the truth is. But it does highlight some of the ongoing budget cuts that the city and the state and states across the country are going to be facing. Whether these allegations are proved to be true will probably come out and may never come out in the resulting investigation. But it does put this issue on the map.
ROMANS: All right. David Ariosto, thank you so much.
JOHNS: Thanks.
Also new this morning: a California firm recalling over 34,000 pounds of ground beef that may contain the potentially deadly E. coli bacteria. The packages were sold in at least six states. Check out your freezers for 16-ounce packages of Nature's Harvest or Organic Harvest ground beef bricks and patties.
ROMANS: The streak is over. The University of Connecticut women's basketball team lost last night to Stanford 71 to 59. That ends the record-breaking run of 90 consecutive college basketball wins. The last time the Huskies lost, April of 2008, beaten by a now very familiar opponent, Stanford.
JOHNS: Two years ago?
ROMANS: Yes.
JOHNS: And the Russian redhead accused of being a sleeper agent in the U.S. makes a TV debut. Anna Chapman on a Russian talk show "Let Them Speak" where she was called the woman of the year. She told the host she enjoys pistols. She's a very good shot and would love to have a pet lion cub some day. Chapman also promised to reveal all her secrets on TV in 2011.
All her secrets? That's a little dangerous.
ROMANS: You read "The Post" trying to know all of her secrets.
(LAUGHTER)
ROMANS: Coming up: a convenience store robber with a very big stick? That's next.
JOHNS: That's quite a shot.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: New this morning -- he didn't walk softly but this robbery suspect certainly carried a big stick -- a wooden staff, in fact.
JOHNS: A club.
ROMANS: Right. A Manassas, Virginia, store owner grabs a hammer in self defense. It's a little hammer and a very big stick. It's a bizarre standoff ensuing there.
The big stick won. The robber jumped over the counter and subdued the store owner, making off with an undisclosed amount of cash. Miraculously, no one was hurt.
JOHNS: Whew!
The NFL fining the New York Jets $100,000 for the trip seen around the world -- this trip earlier this month. Assistant Coach Sal Alosi stuck out the knee, tripping a Miami Dolphin player in a punt return. Alosi was suspended indefinitely and has been fined $25,000 by the Jets.
ROMANS: Wow.
Big recalls to tell you about from both Ford and Chrysler.
The Chrysler recalls involve nearly 150,000 trucks and SUVs. There are issues with the steering and airbags, as well as some stalling problems involving certain Dodge Ram trucks and the 2009 Dodge Journey.
At Ford, it's close to 20,000 trucks and crossover SUVs being recalled in the U.S., also in Canada. This is to fix an electrical problem that could start a fire. Those models include, listen up, the F-series pickup trucks and Edge and Lincoln MKX crossovers.
JOHNS: Ready to start with a New Year outlook on your finances?
ROMANS: You should. Financial adviser Stacy Francis and I have some tips on avoiding money mistakes in 2011 in this week's "Smart is the New Rich."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROMANS: What are the top three mistakes we make with our money and that we should avoid for 2011?
STACY FRANCIS, FRANCIS FINANCIALS: Well, there's actually three.
ROMANS: There's more than three. Well, give me your top three.
FRANCIS: I know. I know. The biggest is that we don't have a plan. The second is that there's just one person that's knowing where the money is.
ROMANS: In the household.
FRANCIS: In the household.
ROMANS: One person taking all the financial responsibility.
FRANCIS: And the next one is that we're just -- we're not paying enough attention to our investments.
ROMANS: Huh!
FRANCIS: All of these things are really big pitfall that will put us behind and the plan really tells you what to need to be doing in all pieces of your life with the debt, with the savings. With the --
ROMANS: Investments, retirement.
FRANCIS: -- investment. It's really the foundation.
ROMANS: College planning.
FRANCIS: Exactly. And because we're starting the New Year, this is when we write our goals and our resolutions. This is what we need to do for the finances.
ROMANS: This is interesting to me because a lot of times, it's women who take on this responsibility in the household and it can be a -- it can be source of strain and strife --
FRANCIS: Yes.
ROMANS: -- when one person knows where all the stuff is, where all the documents are, making all the financial arrangements and knows what's coming in and what's coming out.
FRANCIS: There are too many individuals --
ROMANS: Right.
FRANCIS: -- in relationships with a partner becomes incapacitated or sadly passes away, and they're absolutely lost. And because of this, this will help you by both knowing, get those skills in order.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROMANS: One thing really interesting, Joe, that she said, you know, a lot of times, one person, often it's the woman, takes the control of money in the family. And that's really a good idea, because, you know, money can cause strife in marriage and the like. She has a financial date night out with her husband and every -- you know, a recorder. It's just every month that most do (ph) a recorder, where you talk about your goals, where you are, how you got there, brings along a little spreadsheet. I mean, it sounds maybe a little geeky, but come on.
JOHNS: Both partner should have a buy in.
ROMANS: Absolutely. And one person can be in charge of the money but you just have to keep revisiting what you're doing because one thing that I have found so interesting and writing the book and also in meeting some of these really amazing people like Stacy Francis is that this money is sort of the grease for our entire life and we spend so little time kind of figuring out what our goals are and paying attention to it. We kind of let it happen to us. We let our finances happen to us.
And right, now there's no margin for error, you know? And the economy is still pretty tough.
JOHNS: Good time to start thinking about doing it differently.
ROMANS: I know. New Year's resolution. Make a plan. Take your investments. Rebalance. Come on. It's easy.
JOHNS: Absolutely. Ring in the New Year.
ROMANS: Right.
JOHNS: Actually, ringing in the New Year with a giant fish on the line.
ROMANS: Whoo!
JOHNS: How about a big fat bug? There you go.
ROMANS: Yes. How about a stiletto? That's my favorite.
JOHNS: Yes. That's just incredible. All kinds of things, some small town planning to compete with Times Square tonight. We'll show you how.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
JOHNS: They always have good music for this segment.
ROMANS: Whoo!
JOHNS: That's 2010.
(LAUGHTER)
JOHNS: In New York, we have the ball but we wanted to show you some of the more unique ways to count down the New Year from across the country. They may sound funny to you, but you got to be there.
In Atlanta, what else? They drop the big peach. And none other than Tito Jackson is set to headline the largest New Year's Eve celebration in the Southeast.
ROMANS: In Port Clinton, Ohio, thousands shiver the cold to see Wally Walleye, a 20-foot long, 600-pound fiberglass fish. Port Clinton is the self proclaimed Walleye capital of the world. But as a girl who grew up vacationing in (INAUDIBLE) Minnesota, there's got to be some place in Minnesota that thinks it's the walleye capital of the world.
JOHNS: Absolutely.
All right. In Honolulu, what do you guess? Pineapple, of course. The pineapple express. An eight-foot paper mache, LED-lit pineapple dropping from the top of the Kahala Hotel. Our Ed Henry who's in Hawaii covering the president got to meet the pineapple and its creator.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ED HENRY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: We got our own Anderson Cooper. He's going to be with Kathy Griffin in Times Square and they're laughing at us now because they got --
STUART KOTAKE, DIRECTOR OF CATERING, KAHALA RESORT: You're in Hawaii.
HENRY: I know, but they got that big giant ball in Times Square. That's a classic. How are you going to overtake that? Do you really think you're going to overtake it?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: What I love is that he's getting paid.
JOHNS: I know.
ROMANS: He's getting paid.
JOHNS: To wear those clothes.
ROMANS: Not even taking vacation -- not even taking vacation days to be in Hawaii with the president.
All right, in the town of Eastover, North Carolina, just outside of Fayetteville, they drop a giant bug. A big, fat, three- foot tall, 30-pound flea to be precise.
JOHNS: Oh, that's hilarious.
ROMANS: It's actually a new tradition this year. The town was called Flea Hill until the 1920s. Legend has it that fleas once invaded the church. The priest would open the Bible with one hand, scratch with the other.
JOHNS: Right. That's kind of thing that give you bad dreams and nightmares.
Anyway -- on the "Jersey Shore, Snooki will drop at the stroke of midnight. That's right. Snooki. Originally, MTV planned the stunt for Times Square, but we know what happened to that. Organizers kicked her out. Now, MTV confirms the Snooki ball will drop and it's going to occur at a new location -- Seaside Heights, New Jersey, the original location for that hit reality television show.
ROMANS: We are not, I can report to the world, moving Anderson Cooper to go there live.
Millions have watched her one at a time, but starting tomorrow, it's Oprah around the clock. The queen of talk launching her new network. We'll have a new preview for you.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: I guess you could call it Oprah's New Year's resolution. The queen of talk launches her own network, OWN, the new Oprah Winfrey Network tomorrow.
JOHNS: We're hearing there's going to be chockfull of series and shows handpicked and created by Oprah herself. Here's a preview from CNN entertainment correspondent, Kareen Wynter.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KAREEN WYNTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Joe and Christine, good morning. The final countdown is officially under way. No, not just to New Year's, but to the day millions of Oprah Winfrey fans have been waiting for -- the launch of her very own cable TV network.
OPRAH WINFREY, TALK SHOW HOST: It all begins here.
WYNTER (voice-over): It's arguably the most ambitious endeavor of her career, a 24-hour television channel dedicated entirely to the vision of Oprah Winfrey.
WINFREY: I could take every hero who inspired me.
MATTHEW BELLINI, TV EXPERT: The launch of OWN is a huge deal in the television business.
WYNTER: TV expert Matthew Bellini says he knows what OWN's greatest strength and challenge will be.
BELLINI: Oprah, she has a huge advantage because she is a brand. The danger is that the programming may not live up to the brand. And that's the big question mark.
WYNTER: Here's how Oprah plans to answer that question.
DR. PHIL MCGRAW, TV HOST: This is a time for new beginnings.
WYNTER: In "Ask Oprah's All-Stars," a live audience goes one on one with Dr. Phil, Suzy Orman and Dr. Oz.
WINFREY: Everybody has a story.
WYNTER: "Master Class" profiles eight world icons.
"Season 25" takes fans behind the seasons of Oprah's hit talk show, while "Big Bowl of Love" invites viewers into the kitchen of Christina Ferrare.
CHRISTINA FERRARE, "BIG BOWL OF LOVE": This is my "dream come true" chapter. And this is what I love to do.
WYNTER: And for those who love clutter, Peter Walsh has "Enough Already."
PETER WALSH, ENOUGH ALREADY: This is a show that looks a the people's stuff and gives them a road map out of this overwhelming amount of clutter in their house.
WYNTER (on camera): But, Peter, so many new networks fail. Why do you think this one is different?
WALSH: People want -- want to be the best they can be. People want heroes. People want inspiration. Here at last is a level of programming that brings people that.
FERRARE: There are a lot of critics out there. I personally don't understand it. Why wouldn't she want to have this kind of programming when today, all you see now are those shows about, you know, housewives pulling each other's hair.
WALSH: I know it's easy to be cynical or skeptical. But I for one am so excited about what's going to happen when that switch is flipped.
WYNTER (voice-over): The switch gets flipped New Year's Day when viewers will decide whether they will shine a light on OWN.
(on camera): And the first official program on OWN, it airs at noon on New Year's Day. It's going to be a two-hour special hosted by Oprah herself. It's going to be called "Oprah's Guide to OWN." As for all those discovery health shows, only two will remain on the network, "Deliver Me" and "Mystery Diagnosis" -- Joe, Christine.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
JOHNS: All right.
It's 29 minutes after the hour, time for this morning's top stories.
They always bring in the New Year in style, and the 2011 celebration was magnificent in Australia's Sydney Harbor. The fireworks, part of a huge light show accompanied by music. An estimated 1.5 million people were in the city for the show while a billion others watched it on TV, including us.
ROMANS: Just a billion.
Blasted by snow, ice and cold -- extreme weather moving across the coast. Colorado and the Dakotas face up to 10 inches of snow and wind chills well below zero. The storm has already brought traffic to a screeching and smashing halt in more than one state.
JOHNS: A California firm recalling over 34,000 pounds of ground beef that may contain the potentially deadly ecoli bacteria. The packages sold in six different states. Check your freezers for 16 ounce packages of Nature's Harvest or Organic Harvest Ground Beef Bricks and Patties. ROMANS: Call it organized pandemonium. We'll take a live look at Times Square this morning. A million people will pack that spot right there to see the ball drop tonight.
JOHNS: And the NYPD is tweaking its plan and checking it twice using lessons learned from botched terror attacks that took place a few short months ago. Mary Snow goes inside the security for us this morning.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Christine and Joe, several thousand New York city police officers including counterterrorism units will be working in Times Square. The area will be frozen and mailboxes and metal garbage bins will be removed from the streets for the night and everyone going in will be checked.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Three, two, one, happy new year!
SNOW: A rehearsal of Times Square of the ball drop to ring in the New Year as thousands crowd in to watch it. Behind the scenes, the New York City police department is gearing up for a massive security operation.
COMMISSIONER RAY KELLY, NEW YORK POLICE DEPARTMENT: This is sort of a nerve center.
SNOW: New York City police commissioner Ray Kelly says the department updates the plan every year. Radiation detectors are also used and backpacks are banned.
KELLY: We're concerned about a device that someone might bring in on their person, a vehicle-born device, a vest of some sort, explosives on the bodies.
SNOW: Cars and sand trucks prevent bombs. The commissioner says the department is always looking to learn from terror incidents around the world, including attempted car bombing in Times Square this year.
SNOW (on camera): This is also the first New Year's Eve since the attempted bombing in May.
KELLY: May 1st, that's right. Faisal Shahzad.
SNOW: Lessons learned from that?
KELLY: Oh, sure. Yes, a lot of lessons. We were very lucky. No question about it. He was not on anybody's radar screen.
SNOW: One thing that's different this year, cameras like these now feed into this nerve center. Authorities say roughly 400 police and private cameras just in the Times Square area that can be monitored. The private sector also works with the police. Sam Tompkins, president of the Times Square Alliance, says people in hotels in Times Square are restricted in terms of where they can go. TIM TOMPKINS, PRESIDENT, TIMES SQUARE ALLIANCE: People make thing, oh, I'm in a hotel. I can just wander into Times Square. Absolutely not. It is controlled. Once the pens are filled, it really is locked down.
SNOW: Tompkins estimates the crowd could be anywhere from 750,000 to 1 million people.
TOMPKINS: It is a big, complex operation. And, you know, you always breathe a sigh of relief when it's over.
SNOW: The police commissioner says that recent terror-related arrests in Europe have given the NYPD, in his words, "some pause for concern," but he says there are no specific threats against New York City. Joe and Christine?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
JOHNS: Well, that's hopefully will be a very safe new year's here.
ROMANS: Sounds like it.
JOHNS: Feeling stressed? Need some inner peace on New Year's? There's an app for that. IPhone's pocket therapist is coming up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
JOHNS: Now, if you're looking for a way to relieve stress and anxiety or get in touch with your emotions or get somebody close to you in touch with their emotions, look no further, believe it or not, than your iPhone and iPad. It does everything else, so why not this? Holistic psychotherapist Ronit Herzfeld said there's an app for that which you have just created. Good morning.
RONIT HERZFELD, CREATOR, AWARENESS I-PHONE APPLICATION: Good morning.
JOHNS: Tell me how it works. You've just developed it and a lot of people are talking about it. It's got great buzz.
HERZFELD: Right. So before I tell you how it works, why don't I ask you a question?
JOHNS: Sure.
HERZFELD: What are you feeling right now?
JOHNS: At the moment I'm feeling pretty good, content, a little tired.
HERZFELD: Great. That's an unusual question. We rarely ask ourselves or each other what are you feeling right now? That's because we're not in touch of what's going on inside of our feelings. This app is really developed to get you to stop and find out what are you feeling right now? JOHNS: How does it work? What do we do?
HERZFELD: The first thing you do is you download awareness application from iTunes and then you put the setting in. And you have an opportunity to record your feelings.
JOHNS: Five times a day.
HERZFELD: Five times a day, 20 times a day.
JOHNS: Why? While we're talking about this, when's the importance of it?
HERZFELD: In your day-to-day life, you are running around. You are busy, pressured, stressed, always taking care of everybody else but not stopping and asking yourself what's going on with me right now?
JOHNS: And this is your life's work?
HERZFELD: This is my life's work to be in touch with your feelings, to stop, understand, and then when you know what you're feeling you are going to respond to the world differently.
JOHNS: So we have done the things. Now what do we do?
HERZFELD: Then you get a -- so this is the bell. This is the sound and different sounds can come up and choose a different sound. This is the gong.
JOHNS: And they tell you when it's time to record your feelings?
HERZFELD: It will set off, this gong will set off as many times you want in the day and then this is what will happen. An alert will come up that says "record your feelings."
JOHNS: All right, so say right now, good example. After I talked you and learned how it worked, last night I went to an institution here in New York, a lot of people very stressed.
HERZFELD: Right.
JOHNS: I walk in and I'm standing in a line and somebody who is working at this place starts yelling at me, doesn't know my name. We have had no conversation. I'm feeling bad about that. You know, I'm angry, upset. I want to say something to her. I don't. I walk away. I open up your program.
HERZFELD: Right. You normally walk away and stew.
JOHNS: Right.
HERZFELD: And you would kind of accumulate and then the next person.
JOHNS: What I did is I hit "I'm angry." HERZFELD: Great. And angry is a mood. Under angry, there are so many emotions so here it's also trying to teach you about the different emotions that live inside of you because the more you understand your emotions, the better you are able to operate in life.
Join Right. So what I said was I was angry and both my body and my head angry. I hit both.
HERZFELD: Both places. Right?
JOHNS: See if we can get it to come up.
HERZFELD: It is there.
JOHNS: Continue. And so -- interesting.
HERZFELD: Meditation comes up to just take a deep breath.
JOHNS: Find a quiet space.
HERZFELD: Find a quiet space. Move deeper into your feeling. Don't run away. Move deeper. Find your center and then smile. The neurons release a chemical to calm down a little bit. This is a 20- second meditation. This happened to be for anger and we have it for all the other moods and then continue. And now, it's -- what are you doing right now?
JOHNS: At that moment I was watching TV.
HERZFELD: We have to go back.
JOHNS: Sorry.
HERZFELD: That's OK.
JOHNS: So let's go back. Go back to the feeling and you're angry. And it was angry and we continued. Might have a different -- you can continue. What are you doing right now? It is not right now but at that moment you were doing that.
But let's pretend, let's go for work. You could be angry at work at that moment and say you were overworking. That's what you were doing and activities of all different things that you were doing at this moment.
JOHNS: It's recording all of this?
HERZFELD: What's the reason for that? When you are in touch with your feelings and you find out what you're doing, you can record. When you are in touch with your feelings and find out what you are doing, you begin to see an association between feelings and your activities.
There's a cute little poem that says "if you're irritated by every rub, how will you be polished?" So it's teaching you to be in touch. JOHNS: What does it do for me over time?
HERZFELD: It does two things. The first thing it does is it interrupts you. The second thing is it does is begin to show you -- and let's go there. It begins to show you so there are reports. So when you go to the reports, now it begins to show you what your percentage of feelings were for the day, for the week, for the month. We have not changed these.
And then within that, so let's say we're looking at 33 percent of the time you're angry. If you go in there, then it shows, well, part of it, 80 percent angry, 20 percent disappointed. If you go further, you must not like what you were watching that day. You were disappointed at that moment. You're getting a diary of your life, your emotional activity life.
JOHNS: This is also a social network in a sort of ways because what you are doing is getting other people to connect through this program.
HERZFELD: Exactly.
JOHNS: In different communities. What is the point of that?
HERZFELD: Exactly. Again, first of all, to begin the conversation of getting in touch with our emotions. Emotional intelligence is really a critical piece if we're going to succeed in life.
JOHNS: So if you have a partner you don't think they're in touch with their feelings and need to be so, this is for them?
HERZFELD: This is perfect for them, a common language. So now I hear people saying, during the day, even when it doesn't go off, someone says what are you feeling right now? And it stops you. It's not hi, how are you? You can ignore that.
What are you feeling right now is it forces you to check in with yourself and take that 20 second meditation and begin to really feel more connected to who you are and your partner as a result of that.
JOHNS: Thanks so much for coming in.
HERZFELD: My pleasure.
JOHNS: This is something very interesting to look at at the beginning of the year.
HERZFELD: May I suggest anyone that doesn't have the iPhone or iPod may go up to whatareyoufeelingrightnow.com, and it will be up there for everyone to be able to use temporarily.
JOHNS: All right, thanks so much. Happy New Year.
HERZFELD: Happy New Year, thank you. ROMANS: Joe, what I'm feeling right now is, hmm, I would like to know what's happening in the weather. Reynolds Wolf will have the morning travel forecast right after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
JOHNS: I love that town, Norfolk, Virginia; 25 degrees, very cool. Still looks pretty sunny but the wind whipping up off of that water is no joke. I can tell you that.
ROMANS: It looks beautiful on the last day of 2010 in Norfolk.
Let's go to Reynolds Wolf in Atlanta who's got the -- the weather headlines for us and our commute this morning on the last day of the year. Hi there.
WOLF: Hey, it looks pretty good in Norfolk. You know I mean, that's a great way to wake up. The sun coming up and nice freeze off the water, cool but nice but you compare that with what people are dealing with in the Midwest, it's a different story altogether.
We go from Norfolk to what we have on the map here. It is a combination of rain, sleet, even snow and now we've got something else. We've got a tornado watch that's in effect for portions of the Midwest, from Illinois back into Missouri, even Arkansas and just a sliver of Oklahoma until 3:00 p.m.
On the top half of the system and a little bit farther back to the west, it is not rain we're talking about but rather some snowfall. Blizzard warning in effect through Saturday morning; 8 to 14 inches of snow expected and winds anywhere from 35 to 45 miles per hour. Some gusts possibly approaching 50 miles per hour.
Well we've got this frontal boundary that's going to give us the rain, sleet, the snow and the possibility of tornadoes but also it's going to bring in that big reinforcing shot of cold air.
As we fast forward into the rest of your day, you're final day of this year, 23 is the high in Minneapolis; five in Billings; 42 in Kansas City; 42 in New York and 62 in Atlanta. In New York, you should expect -- you should expect temperatures fairly -- fairly comfortable. Upper 30s but above the freezing point and maybe, maybe a rain drop or two as we fast forward into tomorrow's forecast.
More on your weather throughout the entire morning on CNN; we're going to give you the full rundown of what you can expect travel wise and of course as you bring in the New Year.
ROMANS: Reynolds Wolf, thank you so much -- Reynolds.
WOLF: You've got it guys.
JOHNS: Still to come, they said what? Many politicians, public figures went off script this year and they didn't always end so well. Kiran will bring us the biggest "Oopsies of 2010" coming up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: That's where the magic happens right there.
(CROSSTALK)
JOHNS: All of it.
ROMANS: The control room.
In the hustle and bustle of the election year, a lot of people saying a lot of things; many, you know, some of the things they want to take back but can't because we have it on tape.
JOHNS: Thankfully we do have it on the Internet and you can remember all the bombs and flubs and with that Kiran Chetry brings you the gaffes of 2010.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): He said --
TONY HAYWARD, FORMER CEO, BP: You know I'd love my life back.
CHETRY: And she said.
SARAH PALIN (R), FORMER VICE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Obviously I got to stand with our North Korean allies.
CHETRY: Left foot --
JOE BIDEN (D), VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This is big (EXPLETIVE DELETED) deal.
CHETRY: -- and right.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Some of you look a little more Asian to me.
CHETRY: Planted firmly in mouth. And don't forget to talk to the hand.
It was the year of the gaffe. A year of election madness where some sound bites bit back.
REP. NANCY PELOSI (D), HOUSE SPEAKER: But we have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it.
CHETRY: There were newcomers.
CHRISTINE O'DONNELL (R), FORMER DELAWARE SENATORIAL Candidate: I'm not a witch. I'm nothing you've heard. I'm you.
CHETRY: And some old favorites who never seemed to disappoint.
JOE BIDEN, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: God rest your soul and -- although she's -- wait. Your mom's still -- your mom's alive. It was your dad that passed. God bless her soul. CHETRY: A year in which one candidate lost the confidence of an entire nation.
DAN REA, WBZ NEWS RADIO: Yes, but now Scott Brown has Curt Schilling, ok.
MARTHA COAKLEY: And another Yankee fan.
REA: Schilling?
COAKLEY: Yes.
REA: Curt Schilling a Yankee fan?
COAKLEY: No. All right, I'm wrong I might -- I'm wrong.
CHETRY: And where one decision left a city without its favorite son.
LEBRON JAMES, MIAMI HEAT: And this fall, I'm going to take my talents to South Beach.
CHETRY: Other athletes spent 2010 swinging and missing and apologizing.
TIGER WOODS, PROFESSIONAL GOLFER: I am deeply sorry for my irresponsible and selfish behavior I engaged in.
CHETRY: Some other people owned 2010 or at least 15 minutes of it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Rent is too damn high.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you touch my junk I'm going to have you arrested.
CHETRY: So thanks, 2010. Thanks for the laughs.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We cannot sustain -- oops --
CHETRY: And for the gaffes.
BIDEN: There's an old Irish proverb that some of you know that I heard my grandfather use but never really applied to me before. He said it goes a silent mouth is sweet to hear. Well, I'm going to yield to that proverb.
CHETRY: We'll miss you, too, Joe.
Kiran Chetry, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROMANS: Yes wait for -- now we're going to call it 2011 or 2011. Or you know my grandfather in the last century they called it '11. JOHNS: Yes I think I'm going to go with 2011 at least for now.
ROMANS: Ok.
JOHNS: And by the end of the year I'll be calling it 2011.
ROMANS: We'll see if a standard shakes out.
JOHNS: Yes.
ROMANS: You know we only have 16 more hours -- 15 more hours really. The Times Square preparations under way; 11:00 they're going to clear that joint.
JOHNS: Wow.
ROMANS: They're going to do a complete sweep. It will be pragmatically sealed and ready to go so that people can get in there and then wait all day in the cold until they do the ball drop thing.
JOHNS: It sounds like so much fun.
ROMANS: I can't wait.
We'll be right back. Seven minutes until the top of the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
JOHNS: Well, everyone knows he's her BFF and tonight Anderson Cooper and comedian Kathy Griffin are together again for the fourth "NEW YEAR'S EVE LIVE" from Times Square.
ROMANS: The preparations already under way at the so-called "cross roads of the world". A million people are expected to be partying (ph) themselves inside the barricades to ring in the New Year.
JOHNS: Here's a preview from the sarcastic stand-up queen of "The D List".
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KATHY GRIFFIN, COMEDIAN: First of all, should we talk about the dirt that I have on you that I have from your mother's apartment?
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR, "AC360": Yes. You know, what a lot of people don't realize is -- actually, I think it happened at the end of last year's broadcast. Was that the first time you talked to my mom? I think it was when my mom called me right after --
GRIFFIN: Yes.
COOPER: -- broadcast, she wanted to talk to you so I handed the phone and my -- you and my mom have become very good friends.
GRIFFIN: Did you have any idea what you were starting or that it would end up with me -- that's right. Look at how nervous you are. Look at your face in the picture.
COOPER: That's me and you and my mom and Gloria Steinem who you brought along to a book-signing with my mom. But you have become a -- you actually had -- my mom gave a dinner party for you for your birthday, right? Or just in your honor.
GRIFFIN: In my honor.
COOPER: In your honor, which I wasn't invited to, by the way. But that's fine.
GRIFFIN: It was for me and in my honor. Yes. You didn't -- well, it's sort of uncomfortable. Not that you weren't invited it's that she had like an A and a B list and we were going to call you if somebody fell through. But, you know, everybody shows up at your mom. She's famous.
But I have to say some of my favorite moments were sneaking into your old room and I'll be revealing some of the things I found in that room live New Year's Eve until they pull me or you just knock me off the riser yourself.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JOHNS: That's really scary.
(CROSSTALK)
ROMAN: Imagine her -- oh my God. I can't wait to find out what that's all about. So, buckle up. You can enjoy the revelry of Times Square from the comfort of your warm living room. Watch Anderson Cooper and Kathy Griffin for "New Year's Eve Live"; our coverage starts tonight at 11:00 Eastern.
JOHNS: That's going to be fantastic.
It takes a lot of people behind the scenes to get the show on the air every day, a lot of witty and informative and strikingly good- looking people.
ROMANS: And then these people that we're going to tell you about next.
JOHNS: I'm just reading the teleprompter, folks.
ROMANS: We want to take the time to give them their credit as the year comes to a close.
JOHNS: Happy New Year, everybody.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
