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A Brutal Winter 2011; Insurance Dropped Over Two Cents; D.C. Drivers Stranded for 10+ Hours

Aired January 27, 2011 - 10:00   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: 10:00 a.m. on the East Coast, 7:00 a.m. out west. Much of the northeast virtually paralyzed by the snowstorm. It dumped six to 19 inches of snow from northern Virginia to Maine. Major airports have flight cancellations or delays. Schools closed. Amtrak has suspended some train service.

And the nationwide color-coded terror alert system is going away in April, expected to be replaced by this new system, focusing on threats in geographical areas. Homeland Security secretary Janet Napolitano will announce the changes this afternoon.

And mystery solved. Remember the 5,000 birds that fell out of the sky into an Arkansas neighborhood on New Year's eve? Well, a new report says that they died of blunt force trauma, saying such injuries occur when wild bird fly into stationary objects like trees or power lines.

All right. It's been a brutal weather year this year. Storm after storm, snow, sleet, rain. Right now the northeast buried under all that white stuff. The latest winter cold cocking is the area's sixth snowstorm in 30 days. January of 2011 going down as the snowiest in New York City since they started keeping records.

Old snow records in Connecticut buried under new ones. And there's a prediction that this could be the coldest January in the U.S. since 1985. Last hour I had a chance to talk with physics professor, Michio Kaku, who says that, guess what? This is our new normal.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHIO KAKU, PHYSICS PROFESSOR (voice-over): No smoking gun as to the cause. However, 2005 and last year went down as the hottest years ever recorded in science since 1880 when records were first kept. So it's consistent, consistent with global warming which means more swings in the weather which means more hurricanes, more droughts as well as more monster storms, and we're going to have to get used to it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: The Boston area is dealing with about a foot of new snow. CNN meteorologist Reynolds Wolf checking out conditions this morning for us. Hey, Reynolds. REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Hey, I'll tell you what, we certainly did have quite a bit of snow here yesterday. 11.5 inches is what we had in Boston. Certainly not the biggest snowfall they've had in history. And they're fairly prepared for it. They did a great job, the streets are in pretty good shape. We've seen large earth movers have been used as snow movers. Even the smaller variety that is cleaning some of the sidewalks. City services have resumed.

We got a lot of taxis coming through, a lot of buses. Something else we've been seeing, a lot of the restaurants still open. The business, a lot of these guys bringing in their deliveries, the produce, the seafood, that kind of thing. The city really hasn't stopped. That being said, though, all public schools in Boston are closed. Great for kids. City hall, however, remains open which means people got to make their way to work.

And with roadways like this, it will be slow going, but they'll be able to make it. What's interesting is we have more snow that's on the way. Second round that's going to be coming through from an area of low pressure that's developing back over parts of the midwest may come through this weekend, bringing maybe another inch or so of snowfall. But certainly not an earth breaker.

You know, you were talking about the professor who was talking about the issues with storms. It seems like this year has been very busy. But you've got to remember last year, things were especially rough especially in February in Washington, D.C., where, Kyra, we had a couple of snowstorms. One monster one that came through. Then we had a respite of, like, maybe a day and a half. Just time for the nation's capital to clean up a little bit of the snowfall before they got pummeled again by a secondary storm that brought in another two feet.

So no question about it, we have seen some very intense winters, and this one is long from being over. Back to you.

PHILLIPS: All right, Reynolds, thanks.

And here's a developing story from overseas now. Police in Davos, Switzerland, say that was what they are calling a little explosion at a hotel that's hosting the World Economic Forum. It's the Post Hotel where all the high-powered guests stay. In fact, former President Clinton is even scheduled to speak there tonight. No injuries. A little damage reported. But you can imagine it's got authorities pretty spooked.

Also this morning, there's troubling news in a country that's already linked to terrorism. Yemen. Now the latest Arab state rocked by anti-government protests. In fact, an activist there says that the country is now in revolution. He can't confirm how widespread those protests are or what threat they pose to the Yemeni president. Activists are demanding that he step down. A similar movement succeed in Tunisia with the long-time president fleeing the country.

And a similar movement succeeded in Tunisia. Protests there toppled the long-time president, chased him out of the country. That's raised concerns and other unpopular governments in that region could be at risk. Egypt is now in a third day of massive protests. It's unlike anything that country has ever seen. And here, too, protesters are demanding the ouster of the president. Hosni Mubarak is a key U.S. ally in that region, and protesters say that his government is corrupt, and its economic policies have failed.

So imagine this. You're about to undergo a critical medical procedure. You're literally on the table when you discover that your insurance has been canceled. It's what happened to this vet in Colorado. And get this. He only owed the insurance company two cents. We're talking to him and we're talking about why this is a cautionary tale for all of us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, the battle to overturn health care reform has moved to the Senate, a central player in the Tea Party movement, South Carolina Jim DeMint has introduced a bill to repeal the law. DeMint says that refining the legislation is not enough.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JIM DEMINT (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: The government is basically deciding that every American has to have a government-approved insurance policy. They're going to decide the criteria of what meets that standard of what you can buy, and it's going to limit the choices. And what you're going to see is fewer and fewer insurance companies in the private sector. And as the president is on record saying, the whole idea of this is to move us towards a single-payer government system like they have in Europe.

So there's no question that anyone who understands health insurance and how it works, that this will destroy the private sector health insurance system, and we will have a government system within a few years.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Senator DeMint has 38 co-sponsors for his repeal effort. Republicans in the house have passed their own repeal bill.

So in this economy, how much will two cents get you? It turns out a pair of pennies can get you kicked off your health insurance plan. Listen to this.

A Vietnam vet and his wife from Colorado, Ron and Frances Flanagan, were supposed to pay $328.69 for their monthly insurance premium. Well, Frances made a tiny mistake one month. She paid $328.67. OK, a difference of two cents. No big deal, right? Not enough to even qualify as chump change.

But you know what? That tiny mistake cost the Flanagans their coverage. And the timing will blow you away. Flanagans found this out when Ron was at the doctor's office getting ready for a crucial bone biopsy. Over two cents. Ron's been trying to beat cancer for the past two years. Cancer, he thinks might be the price for serving in Vietnam and his exposure to agent orange. Happy to say common sense prevailed.

And this has all been straightened out, and Ron's therapy can go forward. But you know what? The Flanagans' story is a real cautionary tale. Even the tiniest mistake can have enormous consequences. Ron and Frances with us now from Denver.

Good to see you both. And it's great to hear the good news. But boy, what a scare and what a lesson for all of us. And Ron, you know, you have been dealing with a serious medical condition. Just put into perspective how important your health insurance has been for you through all this.

RONALD FLANAGAN, CANCER PATIENT, VIETNAM VET: Oh, it's been very important. Every step of the way, we have Kaiser and they've just been great. I cannot believe of having any better care. And I've been very comfortable with them. And they've been comfortable with me. We're on a first-name basis. It's been just wonderful.

PHILLIPS: And it's been what's kept you alive.

RONALD FLANAGAN: Oh, yes, very much. I was close to dying this last July when my cancer came back when my kidneys were starting to fail. They got me back into shape again, ready to do another stem cell transplant.

PHILLIPS: Oh, my gosh. So Frances, your husband's just about to get this biopsy. And I understand you come running into the room, and you said, "Stop! Don't do it. We're not insured." What happened?

FRANCES FLANAGAN, RON'S WIFE: Well, I was on the phone, actually, with Ceridian. I was downstairs. And when they told me that, "I'm sorry, but you're not covered anymore. We canceled your insurance." And I asked them, "well, what am I supposed to do?" "Well, we canceled it. You don't have insurance." And I asked them, "what did I do wrong?" And they said, "well, you know, you were two cents short."

(CROSSTALK)

PHILLIPS: And they actually said to you - they actually said to you, you are two cents short?

FRANCES FLANAGAN: Yes, they actually said that to me on the phone, on my cell phone when I was speaking to them. And so I panicked. And they told me, well, you know, you don't have insurance. So whatever they charge you comes out of your own pocket.

So that's when I - I got on the elevator, and I went straight to the third floor. I did run in. I asked the doctor and the nurse to stop, you know. Don't go any further because we had our insurance canceled because I mistakenly didn't pay them the two cents.

PHILLIPS: And here's my question. I want to bring in Erin Moaratty. She's actually on the phone. She's a patient advocate. She's with the Patient Advocate Foundation. Erin, when you heard the Flanagans' story, were you surprised? And doesn't anybody monitor these bills? I mean, two cents. Come on. You would think that someone's paying attention. It's not like they owed $2,000.

ERIN MOARATTY, PATIENT ADVOCATE ASSOCIATION (ON THE PHONE): Right. You know, it's not really monitored. The Employee Benefits Security Administration at the Department of Labor doesn't enforce the C.O.B.R.A. law itself, and they will address issues that you face when your coverage was canceled inappropriately, such as with in your grace period. However, they don't necessarily have a reporting mechanism to identify how many patients have this issue such as this family.

We personally have seen this come into our doors and recently had a patient where they were canceled their C.O.B.R.A. insurance over 40 cents of nonpayment. So we understand that this is a challenge.

CHETRY: It just seems so crazy. So if you have a two cents delinquent payment, Erin, you're treated just the same as if you had a $2,000 delinquent payment.

MOARATTY: Yes, the way that the law has been interpreted is C.O.B.R.A. is a law to allow you to continue your coverage after qualifying event and in order to remain insured, the entire premium must be received by C.O.B.R.A. administrator by the first of the month. And they are subject to a 30-day grace period. But otherwise the policy can be canceled.

What we often do here is that they contact with that scenario, we do try to contact the plan to try and reinstate coverage. However, it's not - they're require it. So often times we end up working with the employer. But it is truly, whether it's two cents or it's $1,000, there is an opportunity for that to happen.

PHILLIPS: So Ron, obviously, it was reinstated. You're going to be able to go forward with the treatment that you need. Did you get a call of apology? What happened?

RONALD FLANAGAN: I got a call from the CEO of Ceridian. I believe his name is Steven Harvey. And he wanted to talk man to man and how sorry he was for what my family and I have gone through. You could only imagine the stress I was put through. And he did not mean to run a company that seemed so heartless.

But then on "World News Tonight" when it was shown that we got our insurance back and the reporter asked the employee if he had any apology for me, the employee said, "Why? We did nothing wrong." So in that respect, it sounds like maybe the CEO's sorry, but the employees are going to still be doing the same thing.

PHILLIPS: Well, this is a lesson for all of us. And Frances, my guess is when you pay those bills, my goodness, you're probably going to watch what key you push and make sure you're not off by one cent.

FRANCES FLANAGAN: Definitely. Definitely. I will double check before I click. PHILLIPS: I tell you. It's a lesson for all of us. Erin, Frances, Ron, thanks so much for weighing in. And Ron, we wish you the best. And we appreciate everything you've done for our country.

RONALD FLANAGAN: Thank you very much.

FRANCES FLANAGAN: Thank you very much.

PHILLIPS: You bet. Take good care of him, Frances.

RONALD FLANAGAN: There is a web site for Ron's two cents now.

PHILLIPS: Oh, there is? OK. Tell us quickly the web site.

RONALD FLANAGAN: It's called Ron's two cents. And locally you can give to a bank, Vector Bank, on 136 in Colorado. But it's called giving two cents, and we're going to use it for any other people that have a problem such as mine.

PHILLIPS: Fantastic.

FRANCES FLANAGAN: We're going to pay forward.

PHILLIPS: There you go. Why does that not surprise me? Ron's two cents. All right. Click online and get involved. Especially let Ron know if you've gone through the same thing. That's fantastic, guys, paying it forward. Thank you so much.

Well, when you think college, keggers, frat parties, that might all come to mind, right? So would it surprise you to find out that college freshmen say they've never felt so stressed out. We'll tell you why just ahead.

And doggone, it's hard to think about traveling in a car for nearly 800 miles, let alone on foot. But this little doggy is no diva. She managed to make it all the way from L.A. to Idaho.

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(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: All right. We're keeping you in the 'burgh as we look at cool stories from across the country. Meet the Baumgartners. Their astrological sign, Steelers Taurus. Get this, Adam was born in the year the Steelers won a Super Bowl, 1979, wife Trish born the next year, when the Steelers won another Super Bowl. Their daughters, oh, yes, both born in years when the team won it all. And guess what. Trish is (INAUDIBLE) now. Not a good sign for the Packers on Super Bowl Sunday. So what happens if she goes into labor during the game?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ADAM BAUMGARTNER, STEELERS FAN: It's going to be tough. I told her she knows the way.

(END VIDEO CLIP) PHILLIPS: On to Boise, Idaho, now and a dog named "Diva," rescued from the middle of the street. Her rescuer had the dog scanned for a microchip. And surprise, surprise. It turns out diva is a California girl. Somehow she had gotten from her home in Lancaster near L.A. to Idaho. 800 miles. Any other diva would have just flown first class. Her owners are hoping to get her back next week.

Check out the cute, fluffy critter that was found wandering the streets of Riverside, California. No diva, and it's not an extra from the TV show "V," probably someone's pet that got out of its cage. He's five foot long, monitor lizards, by the way, are natives of Africa.

So some young professionals in Santa Fe, New Mexico, have found the right mix for building up America. When they noticed a lot of their peers moving away from the city, they formed a group called Mix Santa Fe. It's part social club, part business networking group and part town hall meeting.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DANIEL WERWATH, MIX SANTA FE: All it takes is a little nudge to get people together and realize that their work can transform in life.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Mix Santa Fe has the backing of the city and the Chamber of Commerce. It gathers once a month, and members are urged to meet, have fun, share ideas about what they want their community to be.

Another pounding of snow and cold for the northeast. Hundreds of thousands of people shivering without power in D.C.. Drivers there stuck in their cars for more than 10 hours. Check out these tweets.

"Hash tag disaster commute." "My bro left work at 4:00 p.m., got home at 11:00 p.m." Just talked to mom. Took dad 11.5 hours. Holy moly." We're tracking the storm next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, snow, sleet, rain. It's been a wild 24 hours with another winter storm clobbering cities from Virginia to Maine. Public schools in Washington, Philly, NYC, Boston, all closed today. The federal government opening two hours late in D.C. and here's a big reason why.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've been a mile in two hours.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: People got no clue. They just should stay home and just get cozy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm not driving for the next few days. It's crazy out here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Well, Denise Borders definitely had to get cozy. She's in Reston, Virginia. She was stranded for nearly 13 hours. Joining us live by phone, Denise, what the heck happened?

DENISE BORDERS: That's what I'd like to know. When I first got on the parkway at about 4:10 p.m., it wasn't even snowing very hard. And we were rolling along, and all of a sudden, stop. And there we sat for at least five hours without moving an inch. Not an inch.

PHILLIPS: And was it because of other cars? Was it the condition of the road? You just couldn't move the car? What was the -

BORDERS: Well, there were two lanes of cars, and I was stuck in between all the cars. So you just knew nothing for so long. And then there were emergency vehicles trying to get through. And we were so tight because the snow was coming down fiercely after about a half an hour.

And so people started - I mean, I started calling the park police and trying to get through to just find out what was happening. And then people were getting out of their cars and stopping emergency vehicles to ask. And we just heard that there was an accident at 123. And they were trying to clear it. And that's all we got.

PHILLIPS: Did you have any food? How did you go -

BORDERS: No food. I usually have protein bars. Usually it's my normal commute usually takes 30 minutes, 30 to 35 minutes. It's beautiful. I love the parkway rather than taking 66. But this particular day, I had no protein bars. I had absolutely nothing.

PHILLIPS: What about, I mean, going to the restroom?

BORDERS: I know, exactly. I don't even want to tell you how I did that. But I saw men had it very easy. They were getting outside of their cars. But women, I talked to two women who had their children's potty cars in the back.

PHILLIPS: One reason you thank god for children, you've got the little port-a-potties in the car.

BORDERS: Exactly.

PHILLIPS: Wow, Denise. So are you heading to work today?

BORDERS: I am, I am heading to work today. And I do want to say that the park police had a voice mail so you couldn't get through for so many hours. I called emergency because I had no medication with me. But I did there was one person I just want to thank. I believe his name was Payton, and he was very helpful when he said, there is one lane. Just know if you can get to 123, that there will be one snaking lane. And you can turn around and go back the other way. It is open. But that was after at least 11 hours that we even got that message. So I did want to thank him for that.

PHILLIPS: Was Payton another driver?

BORDERS: No, National Park Police.

PHILLIPS: At the National Park Police.

BORDERS: Finally got through after all of this time, being just on voice mail.

PHILLIPS: One hero out there, Payton, whoever he is. Payton, you are loved. Well, Denise, we're glad that everything's OK, that you survived it. What a horrible story. But boy, it shows the realities of the conditions.

BORDERS: In the car at 4:00 and out at 5:30 a.m. I mean, it was something. But let's hope that doesn't happen again and we find some better ways to communicate with National Park Service, police and 911 so that people at least get information.

PHILLIPS: Definitely a lesson there about response. Denise Borders, thanks for calling in.

Well, it's not just D.C. that's getting hammered. Rob Marciano is tracking everything here in the weather center. Boy, you hear stories like that. Sometimes you just never know. When you've got to get somewhere, and all of a sudden the conditions kick in like that, you're just - you're hosed.

(WEATHER REPORT)

PHILLIPS: You heard firsthand from Denise.

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Spring's coming.

PHILLIPS: Yes, exactly. Positive note! Spring's on its way.

MARCIANO: Give it a couple months.

PHILLIPS: Thanks, Rob.

MARCIANO: All right. See you.

PHILLIPS: It's half past the hour, and time for some stories that are making headlines right now. Massive protests and growing concerns in Yemen this morning. The latest Arab nation to be hit with a growing antigovernment movement. In recent years, Yemen has become a growing terror concern for the United States.

And at the World Economic meeting in Davos, Switzerland, a small explosion there. It rattled nerves but caused only minimal damage. Former President Bill Clinton had been scheduled to speak there tonight. There's been no claim of responsibility.

And even though Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords still has a long way to go in her recovery, doctors say she's making lightning-speed progress.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. GERARD FRANCISCO, TIRR MEMORIAL HERMANN: I believe the speed of her recovery, the fact that when I see her every day, there is something new. So, that's been quite challenging to us, which is great because now we will have an opportunity to challenge her as well.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Doctors say it could still be months or longer for Giffords to get back to where she was before she was shot.

The stock market just opened about an hour ago. Checking the numbers, Dow Industrials up almost 32 points.

Today's unemployment numbers don't look so good. Initial jobless claims surged to 454,000 for the week ending January 22nd. That's up 51,000 from the week before.

Darryl Johnson of Fort Worth, Texas, hopes no longer to be unemployed. He says the last three years have been a constant emotional challenge. Paying the bills, trying to get job interviews, and most importantly, trying to figure out what the heck his life's purpose is now.

He needs to get back in the job market. We're going to give him 30 seconds to try and get there. Darryl's with us from Fort Worth for our 30-second pitch today. So Darryl, how do you keep up the strength?

DARRYL JOHNSON, JOB SEEKER: Well, it is a difficult challenge. But with the support of family and friends, this has been -- it has helped me quite a bit.

PHILLIPS: Well, this is pretty ironic. I was reading about your background. And you actually worked as a life coach, inspiring others for so many years. Are you using those same skills to coach yourself right now, and what are you doing?

JOHNSON: Absolutely. I always inform individuals that in order to be a strong leader, you have to be able to travel the distance that you're speaking on. And so this is definitely building my character to be able to be a better life coach in the future. Absolutely.

PHILLIPS: Well, let's get down to it. Are you ready for your 30-second pitch?

JOHNSON: I am.

PHILLIPS: All right. We're going to start the clock. Darryl Johnson, take it away.

JOHNSON: I am seeking employment with an organization where I can provide educational training for the productive organizational workforce and workplace learning. I have over ten years experience in leadership development curriculums for organizations. I have experience in developing lifelong, life coach experiences with top executives. I have produced curriculum for all adults of all modalities. I'm a professional author, professional public speaker and facilitator. I am - (BELL RINGS)

PHILLIPS: That's okay. Final thought, Darryl.

JOHNSON: I am a component of human and capital building for all corporations.

PHILLIPS: There you go. Boom. DarrylK.Johnson@yahoo.com with his 30-Second PitchYou keep us posted and tell us what happens, all right, Darryl?

JOHNSON: I sure will. Thank you so much for allowing me to be on here.

PHILLIPS: You're so welcome. Keep up that beautiful smile.

JOHNSON: Thank you!

PHILLIPS: If you're out of work and you want to sell yourself to prospective employers, let us know. Send us your resume like Darryl did and a letter to 30secondpitch@CNN.com. And also if you want to hire our 30-Second pitchers, just go to our blog, CNN.com/kyra. All the information and their e-mails will be there.

So, if your college freshman's feeling stressed out, he or she is not alone. A new survey says the emotional health of incoming freshmen is at the lowest level in years.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, the horrors of war, all too real for our men and women in uniform. And what they see on the battlefield often haunts them for quite a long time. Up to 20 percent of our vets in Iraq and Afghanistan suffer from posttraumatic stress disorder. And they suffer like this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MATTHEW BROWN, U.S. MARINE CORPS: They weren't really sure where I was shot because there was blood everywhere. Sorry, a little difficult to talk about sometimes.

JUNE MOSS, U.S. ARMY (RET.): We saw the charred bodies from the explosions and seeing all the debris. You didn't know when you drove through a crowd whether there was a suicide bomber or not.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You have a hard time with a lot of stuff coming back. Just traffic going through malls, crowded areas, things like that.

(END VIDEO CLIP) PHILLIPS: But it doesn't just impact this generation of soldiers. It affected the greatest generation, too. Often troops from World War II suffered in silence when PTSD was a disorder without a name.

Well, Leila Levinson understands this firsthand. She stumbled upon her father's 1940s photos and discovered a legacy of grief that actually plagued her family for decades. She writes about it in her new book, "Gated Grief." Boy, what a powerful story. I mean, it was your father's silence that actually inspired you to write the book, right?

LEILA LEVINSON, AUTHOR: Yes. When I found those photographs, it suddenly opened up a whole new window on my childhood that was really encased by my father's silence. His complete inability to talk about my mother who we last saw when I was five. Never had any idea what had happened to her, why she never returned. He couldn't begin to explain that or to allow my brothers and me to grieve at all. So, the silence was deafening in our home.

PHILLIPS: And it's interesting, when we look back at how our men and women in uniform suffered from previous wars, everyone -- oh, they've gone crazy. They've gone mentally ill. It seems like there was such a lack of respect for what they went through. And it was PTSD. And we know it so well now. But you write in the book how you don't even have to be someone that experienced something traumatic. Just living with a parent who went through something traumatic, it infects the whole family.

LEVINSON Right. It totally seeps through the silence. And we have put World War II G.Is on a pedestal, calling them the greatest generation without recognizing how their silence carried their trauma. If you ask any child of a World War II veteran about their fathers, almost the first word they'll say is silent. they never talked about the war.

Yet our homes were filled with that repressed grief. And when you repress grief, you really don't allow the other emotions to come through. So, my generation never had the full range of experience of joy and happiness. And we're the generation that's made Prozac a household term. I think there's a huge amount of depression in baby boomers as a result.

PHILLIPS: And it's interesting, you're absolutely right because if you look at the number of people that are responding to your book and your blog, this one entry caught our attention. "My brother and I both suffer from our father's PTSD, and my mother died for it. I take pills every day to maintain normalcy. And my brother struggles in his own ways. Now that we have somewhere to acknowledge the trauma that we have lived as children of Vietnam vets, where do we go?"

These are the kind of questions you're even getting on your blog. How do you stop this unhealed trauma and push forward to keep it from not reverberating within the family?

LEVINSON: I think it is so important that we show our returning vets that we want to hear their stories. We want to know what they have suffered. World War II G.Is, when they came back from Europe and Japan from have having witnessed terrible atrocity including the holocaust like my father --

PHILLIPS: Yes, your dad liberated a Nazi camp, right?

(CROSSTALK)

LEVINSON: People stateside didn't want to hear the stories. They wanted to get on with their lives, let the good times roll. And those veterans didn't know where else -- where to go. They didn't know what else to do besides lock the stories up inside themselves.

It is essential that we not force our veterans into silence, that we show them we are present for them. It is more important than ever since we have an all-volunteer Army. So few of us are impacted on a daily level by the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan that we show the veterans today, you know what? You can come to us with our stories.

And there are writing workshops all around the country that are enabling veterans to learn the strategy of telling stories, to learn how to tell them slowly and in a safe way so they don't just go into their homes, go to their families and feel like if I don't lock these stories up, they'll spill over and wound my children. So, we have a process. But the second part, you don't just teach a veteran how to write their story. We need to hear their stories. We need to create space in our society for them to come and share them with us.

PHILLIPS: The book is "Gated Grief." very powerful. Leila, thanks so much for joining us.

LEVINSON: Thanks for having me.

PHILLIPS: Appreciate it.

The stress level of college freshmen is at its highest point since researchers started looking at it a quarter century ago. The latest survey reported in "The New York Times" actually finds the economy impacting students' emotional health. They're worried about their college debt, job prospects after graduation. And the survey also found that students are putting more pressure on themselves, and overall women are feeling more overwhelmed than men.

Well, the winter storms don't just affect you and me. They can even stop the president of the United States. We'll explain in our political update.

But first, politics makes strange bedfellows. And apparently, so do Super Bowl ads. You ready for this? Ozzy Osbourne and Justin Bieber teaming up for a Best Buy commercial. We'd like to think that Bieber is excited about working with the Prince of Darkness, but just one month ago, here's what Ozzy had to say about the teen sensation on the cable network Fuse.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So you listen to a lot of Justin Beiber?

OZZY OSBOURNE, SINGER: Who?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Justin Bieber?

OSBOURNE: Who the (EXPLETIVE DELETED) is Justin Bieber?

(LAUGHTER)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: And there you have it. You can catch the ad next weekend, Super Bowl Sunday, February 6th. And Ozzy, a little Bieber for you on our way to break.

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PHILLIPS: Sharron Angle fell sort at her beat to - unseat, rather -- Senator Harry Reid, but now she may be setting her sights on even higher office. Political producer Shannon Travis has that story for us. Hey, Shannon.

SHANNON TRAVIS, CNN POLITICAL PRODUCER: Hey, Kyra, good morning. So if you can't beat the most powerful Democrat in the Senate, maybe you want to try and beat the most powerful free leader of the free world.

Sharron Angle is not ruling out a presidential run. She was in Iowa last night at some kind of conservative movie premiere. And she was asked about her possible presidential intentions. And according to "The Des Moines Register," let me read this quote. She said, quote, "I have lots of options for the future, and I'm investigating all of my options." So will we see a candidate, a presidential candidate Sharron Angle? Who knows? Anyone's guess.

The man that she could potentially - if she announced she would run against, she's actually going to be answering some questions today on YouTube, talking about President Obama. A little under four hours from now, he'll be taking questions from people who submitted questions on YouTube and other places. And he's going to be talking about some of the administration's policies, some of their goals in this post-State of the Union, two days after, of course.

And speaking of President Obama also, you think if you're the leader of the free world, Kyra, that you could get around town pretty easily, but not so much for President Obama last night. He got a little bit stuck in his motorcade last night as he was coming back from Wisconsin. He traveled there after the State of the Union. Got a little bit stuck in the snow. It look a little longer, about an hour, we're told from pool (ph) reports to get through Washington, D.C., back to the White House.

But hey, you know what? The snow was the snow, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: That's right. Even stops the president.

TRAVIS: That's right.

PHILLIPS: Thanks, Shannon..

We'll have your next political update in an hour. A reminder, for all the latest political news, you can always go to our Web site, CNNpolitics.com.

Tonight, Piers Morgan spends an hour with Kim and Kourtney Kardashian. The sisters talked about their lives, loves, price of fame and the high price of personal gifts.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PIERS MORGAN, CNN HOST: What's the most extravagant thing either of you have ever bought for yourselves?

KOURTNEY KARDASHIAN, REALITY TV STAR: I don't really like --

KIM KARDASHIAN, REALITY TV STAR: Probably jewelry.

MORGAN: What's the single most expensive thing?

KOURTNEY KARDASHIAN: Probably a watch for yourself?

KIM KARDASHIAN: yes, a watch.

MORGAN: How much would that be?

KIM KARDASHIAN: $115,000.

MORGAN: 115 --

KIM KARDASHIAN: Thousand.

MORGAN: Dollars?

KIM KARDASHIAN: Yes.

MORGAN: $115,000 for a watch?

KIM KARDASHIAN: Yes, but I got a really good deal on it -

(LAUGHTER)

KIM KARDASHIAN: -- and I traded two in for it! So, technically, I probably paid about $50,000 or $60,000.

MORGAN: Oh, then that's OK, then!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Kim and Kourtney Kardashian tonight, 9:00 eastern on "PIERS MORGAN TONIGHT." We're working several stories for the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM. Thousands of guns disappearing from gun shops. We'll try and explain how it's happening.

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PHILLIPS: "Fast Forward." Some of the stories on our radar. In just a couple hours, Johnson Space Center in Texas will honor the crew killed aboard the space shuttle Challenger. Tomorrow marks the 25th anniversary of that explosion.

And just about three hours from now, homeland security officials will announce that the color-coded threat level is being retired in April. The much maligned system unveiled after the 9/11 attacks. A department source says the new system will be more specific on the threat and the geographic areas involved.

The first lady takes her campaign against childhood obesity on the road. She's visiting Fort Jackson in South Carolina to learn about the Army's efforts to fight obesity. In fact, later today she'll appear on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" to discuss her other signature issue, helping military families.

And a live view from the Brooklyn Bridge. CNN producer Jillian Cummings braving the elements, trekking through New York, trying to get in to put in those long, hard hours. The Northeast is getting hammered by a winter storm. It's on the way out. But not before dropping up to 19 inches in some places. Thanks, Jillian. Great video.

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PHILLIPS: So, what happens when the good guys are bad boys? FBI agents, elite protectors of American justice, hitting the strip club, driving drunk, checking out porn, acting like frat boys instead of G- men. A pattern of misconduct making J. Edgar Hoover turn over in his grave.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS (voice-over): This is the FBI we know and trust. Agents who take down bank robbers.

911 OPERATOR: Shots are being fired.

PHILLIPS: The mob. Russian sleeper cells. Agents who swear to uphold fidelity, bravery, integrity. But what we found inside one of the most respected federal intelligence and law enforcement agencies doesn't always match that image.

(on camera): Why did you lie?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I panicked. I lied about speaking to somebody about a piece of information.

PHILLIPS (voice-over) : Ashamed that he was caught, fearful that he'll be identified, the story of this former agent who illegally searched the FBI database for personal use and then lied about it is not unique. As a matter of fact, the FBI confirms about 1,000 cases of misconduct over the last three years.

(on camera): Many are highlighted right here in confidential summaries of disciplinary reports that we obtained. Bad behavior that may have you wondering why many of these employees didn't lose their jobs.

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PHILLIPS: And the content in those documents may shock you. We reveal them right here on CNN in "THE SITUATION ROOM" with Wolf Blitzer. That's tonight at 5:00 p.m. Eastern.

All right. Carol Costello, take it from here.