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American Morning
"Explosion" in Davos; Snow Gridlock in Northeast; Elton John Cover Obscene?; Meets The Mayor; Santa Fe Hiring
Aired January 27, 2011 - 07:59 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: That's right. Good morning, to you. We are following breaking news on this Thursday, January 27th. The latest on an explosion in Davos where the World Economic Forum is taking place right now.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: And we want to turn right to our Sanjay Gupta. He is there, has been covering that World Economic Forum.
And Sanjay, things were going along. Meetings were taking place. And now we're told about a little explosion. Do we know yet if this thing was set by someone? Was it a criminal act? Or could this possibly have just been an accident?
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, we're just getting some more information along those lines, T.J., and pretty convincing that there was some sort of criminal activity here because e-mails were sent prior to this detonation device, as it's being called -- e-mails were sent to people affiliated with the hotel and then to an organization that's part of a Swiss media organization.
So, they threatened specifically to attack this hotel. The e- mails seem to have come from an anti-World Economic Forum group, anti- WEF group, as they are called. And they were threatening this exact thing.
And, obviously, it was called a small detonation device. It was in the back entrance of a large hotel very close to where all of the meetings are taking place called the Posthotel. You couldn't tell if it was thrown into the back entrance or the detonation device was already there. It blew out a window. We're not hearing of any injuries.
But this is a hotel, an important one, T.J. A lot of the sort of base of the Swiss government stays at this hotel during this World Economic Forum here in Davos. And, also, tonight, there was a party planned that was going to have -- the special guest, the former President Bill Clinton. That was scheduled for 6:30 this evening. We think it's still going to go on, we're hearing.
But, again, it just gives you an idea of the context of just how important it is.
We're at the specific Congress Center where the meetings are being held. The hotel is a half a mile away from here, T.J. I was walking down the street and heard police in the area. The small town of 13,000, police started to talk about the Posthotel when this first happened and we got a sense that something was happening.
Even over the last half an hour or so, you see evidence of increasing security now, above some of the hotels now immediately adjacent to the Congress Center. You're seeing people on top of the roofs much these hotels, increasing security presence. So, no injuries but it seemed to be a criminal element, T.J., to your point.
HOLMES: All right. Sanjay, we appreciate the update. We'll continue to update our viewers on that story. But thanks to our Sanjay Gupta covering that for us.
Criminal activity -- but, again, it looks like there was no injury associated with it.
We'll turn to the weather situation right now and it is a situation. The roads are a mess. The sky is going to be a mess for while today as well.
You see this video. Folks are trying to dig out and still trying to get around. But several cities right now have at least a foot of snow.
We can tell you that the schools are closed in D.C., Philly, New York, Boston today. The federal government is going to be opening two hours late in D.C., and the major airports in the Northeast right now are struggling to get up and running today.
CHETRY: We also announced a snow emergency. That means they need to get cars off the road in places like New York and Boston so the plows can get through. They've closed schools, as we said, in all of those cities.
And since mid-December, it has actually snowed eight times in the New York City area, about once every five days. In Boston, they have gotten 50 inches and counting so far this season, gobbling through their snow removal budgets.
Reynolds Wolf is standing by this morning.
And, Reynolds, also, just one other note. We got word from Amtrak that they have suspended their New York to Boston service as well because of the weather.
REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: No surprise. I mean, we have seen some very heavy snow as you mentioned around the region. South Boston, 11.5 inches of snowfall, and certainly standstill at the airport. They've had over 300 flights canceled, either coming in or departing.
I'll tell you, though, one mode of transportation that has been working pretty well, at least since 7:00 last night, is due to these -- these cleaners that we have on the sidewalks. I want to take a look at something.
Bob? Bob Crowley is our CNN photo journalists. Let's walk over and show them the condition of the sidewalks.
I mean, we're talking picture perfect. They've got this down to a science. Got a little bit of salt that they put down, but they also have cleaning this stuff off and as clean as can be.
Now, something else they've been working on the streets. Let's hop out over here and give you an idea of what we've got. Some places, obviously, where the plows have been coming through, it's been stacking up in a few places. They still advise that if you don't have to be on the roadways, don't. I mean, use this as a good excuse to stay home.
But, again, you see a lot of cars over there. Certainly, these streets are certainly passable for the time being. City services are working and we have seen taxis. And we've seen vans, we've seen buses. We've seen all kinds of stuff.
Speaking of the city -- all city government offices are going to be open for today. Everyone is expected to come into work. So, have fun with that.
But, in terms of school, kids, all Boston public schools -- no kids have to go to school for the day.
Community centers are going to be open. In fact, they've been opened since about 7:30. They'll be opened through 6:00 tonight. And, of course, some of Boston's finest are making their way on through working with no issues.
Guys, this could have been a lot worse. Thankfully, this area of low pressure that caused a lot of this ruckus came through very quickly and it slowed down just a little bit, just a fraction or two. We might be talking about maybe six to eight more inches of more snowfall. But as it stands, the highest point we've seen in this area, 11.5.
Let's kick it back to you, guys, in the studio.
CHETRY: So, Reynolds is telling, consider ourselves lucky. It could have been worse.
HOLMES: It could have been worse.
CHETRY: Six more inches. Go ahead, Reynolds. What?
WOLF: Absolutely.
CHETRY: All right. See you soon.
WOLF: You bet. It could have been far worse than this, guys.
HOLMES: Yes. Let's turn to the airports right now and give you an idea of what's happening up in the Northeast.
Here's a look where we are right now. This is a changing situation, but you see Reagan National right now open. Boston Logan open. JFK is closed but they're trying to get up and moving over the next couple of hours. Newark closed right now, but they're going to reopen to departures in about an hour and open to arrivals around noon time.
CHETRY: All right. Well, Rob Marciano is in the extreme severe weather center with a look at all of this playing out for us, breaking records right and left today with the snow.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, just the totals in New York City, that puts you over the top for the month of January to break a record with over 32 inches of snow. The snow for the most part has stopped but the damage has been done and just digging out and trying to clear those runways.
These are airports we think will see delays even after the airports you just mentioned open on later today. New York, Philadelphia, obviously, and Boston as well, over an hour delays expected there. Baltimore and D.C., a bit of a head start as far as getting out there early because the snow stopped earlier to help you folks dig out.
In Chicago and Minneapolis and Detroit and Cleveland actually, back end of this, actually the next system, there's a little snow coming in as well.
Here's the back edge of it. Providence to Boston starting to see things wind down. You saw the live shot from Reynolds Wolf. It doesn't look like it's snowing there. We did have wind gusts 40 to 50 miles an hour with this system. So, a number of power outages across the board and a lot of folks, this wasn't just confined to one area, from D.C. through Delaware, up to Baltimore and Philadelphia, up through parts of Jersey and through Boston, everybody getting a piece of this.
And temperatures hovering right around the freezing mark, not drastically cold air behind this. And for the most part, it's been a pretty high water content event. Meaning, the snow has been very pretty wet and that makes it even more difficult to snowplow, but there's more in the way of snow coming in behind this system.
But check out some of these totals. And these totals are actually come rising as we get out there to actually measure this stuff. Clifton, New Jersey, 19 inches; Norwalk, Connecticut seeing 17 inches; Jersey City, 16; Staten Island, 15 inches; and Milford, Connecticut, 15 inches. I think New York City's Central Park will get over 16 inches before this is done because that last was measured at 1:00 in the morning at 15.3.
Here's your next system coming in from the Great Lakes. This doesn't have nearly the punch that this system does. Maybe an inch or two with this come tomorrow and another quick system coming in on Sunday. But it is accumulation of several storm systems over what has been a very long winter and we're not even into February yet.
So, T.J., Kiran, kind of just bear with us here. Spring is not really right around the corner, but it will be here eventually.
CHETRY: Yes, exactly. All right. It can't come soon enough for us. Thanks, Rob.
HOLMES: Thanks, Rob.
MARCIANO: All right, guys.
CHETRY: The storm sent the federal government home early yesterday and grounded Marine One, in fact. The president was forced to ride in a motorcade from Air Force One to the White House instead of the usual helicopter ride. He was on his way back from Wisconsin.
So, even the president had to deal with the D.C. traffic in the snow, which is not fun. Ride that usually takes about 20 minutes, it took an hour.
HOLMES: And this snow is not just causing headaches for you and trying to travel but it is doing a number on city budgets. This is expensive stuff. Take a look in D.C. They've spent about 39 percent of their $6.4 million snow removal budget. Here in New York City, they've reportedly burned through their entire $38.8 million budget. In Boston, they have gone through about 66 percent of their $16 million budget.
CHETRY: And the Dow is opening this morning at its highest level in nearly three years. Right now, just 15 points shy of the 12,000 mark. The Dow actually crossed that milestone yesterday, but then retreated slightly later in the day.
HOLMES: Also, coming up, some scary video to show you of a very popular singer taking a tumble off a stage at a concert and knocked unconscious.
CHETRY: Also a little later, why President Obama did a double take yesterday in Wisconsin when he met the local mayor.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: All right. Welcome back.
We want to show you some pictures right now. This is in D.C. WJLA, the affiliate there, has some pictures of abandoned cars -- cars literally just people leaving their cars right there on the road. You can see, it looks like a little strip in the middle there -- one, two, three and then on the side, four, five, six. Just in that shot alone of cars.
You know, we almost did that this morning. We got stuck and I didn't know if we would have to leave our car. But thank goodness --
HOLMES: You got some help.
CHETRY: Thank goodness there is a Good Samaritan who had a plow on the front of his car and helped us out. What a mess out there. And in D.C., drivers aren't used to it.
HOLMES: Several places right now are going to be a mess. We're going to continue to update on the weather situation.
Also want to give you an update on the Tucson shooting suspect. We're getting new information that he actually searched the Internet for information on political assassinations, even lethal injections, as well as solitary confinement. This is coming to us from a law enforcement source.
This is some of the newest information or evidence against Jarrett Loughner and some are saying this points to premeditation, which would go directly in the face of any insanity defense he might try to mount. Loughner, of course, accused of killing six people and trying to assassinate Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords.
CHETRY: In the meantime, doctors are using terms like lightning speed to describe Giffords recovery and her progression to rehab. Earlier on AMERICAN MORNING, I had a chance to talk to the head of the Houston rehab facility about the most encouraging thing he's seen so far from Gabrielle Giffords.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. GERARD FRANCISCO, CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER, TIRR MEMORIAL HERMANN: 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)
CHETRY: Doctors, though, say Giffords' recovery will be a marathon, not a sprint.
HOLMES: Also, take a look now and take a listen at the tumble that singer Jimmy Buffett took on stage.
(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS)
HOLMES: You hear the crowd react there. He was giving a concert in Australia when he fell right off the front of the stage. Now he apparently hit his head. He had to go to the hospital, got several stitches. But the 64-year-old was not unconscious, but he has been released from the hospital. We believe he is going to be OK.
CHETRY: Poor guy. He got lucky, though.
HOLMES: That's a nasty tumble.
CHETRY: Yes.
Well, people are doing a double take at Wal-Mart. They have mascara, body mist, body shimmer, exfoliating cleanser, right?
HOLMES: OK.
CHETRY: A line of anti-aging cosmetics, though, but marketed to 8-year-olds. "Morning Talkers" next.
HOLMES: They're starting early now, aren't they?
Also, you know, the Super Bowl is coming up in Dallas. But good luck getting a cab if you're going. We'll explain a possible boycott there with our Stephanie Elam.
It's 14 minutes past the hour. We'll try to keep it quieter in the studio.
CHETRY: Yes, we're fine. Everybody is OK here.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: "Us" magazine featuring Elton John and his partner on the cover and their new baby, Zachary, triggered a bit of a controversy in Mountain Home, Arkansas. Customers complain that they felt it was obscene, so managers at the Harps Grocery Store then decided to cover up the cover by using a, quote, "family shield," as they call it. Then, the complaints were pouring in about the shield, so they took that off. And the magazine is now being sold out, and they open again, you know, all of Harps 65 grocery stores.
HOLMES: Well, I'm not sure exactly what age women should start turning to anti-aging creams and cosmetics, but this might be a little ridiculous. Wal-Mart is selling a line of makeup for girls eight to 12 years old. This is called Geo Girl, mascara, blush, face shimmer, lipstick -- what is face shimmer, by the way?
CHETRY: Just to make your cheeks shine a little bit.
HOLMES: OK. Thank you for that.
HOLMES: That contains all these natural ingredients. No chemicals and supposed to have anti-oxidants to prevent aging. Again, eight to 12. We are reaching out to Wal-Mart for comment and haven't heard back just yet, but they did point out, at least, the Geo Girl is about teaching this generation about beauty care in a responsible way. So, teach them early, maybe, they'll pick up some things they can use later in life, maybe.
CHETRY: How about we keep it at sunscreen for now?
(LAUGHTER)
HOLMES: Let's start this one (ph).
CHETRY: That's an anti-aging.
Well, we've been talking about this. The beef in Taco Bell. Well, this morning, we now know, responding to a lawsuit acclaims their meat is only 35 percent beef. Taco Bell actually released a statement explaining exactly what is in it. They say that the season recipe is 88 percent beef and 12 percent seasoning, spices, water, and other ingredients, and they add we're cooking with a proprietary recipe to give our seasons be flavored in texture just like you would with any recipe you cook at home.
HOLMES: Yes. By the time I get down with my chicken, it's probably (INAUDIBLE) to present chicken.
Well, Ohio congressman, Dennis Kucinich, he did not appreciate it much. He is now suing --
CHETRY: Is he gone (ph) to Taco Bell?
HOLMES: At least, you know what you're getting, right? Or maybe not. Well, he didn't expect, Kucinich, at least, to get what he got in a sandwich he bit down on about three years ago, though. He was eating and he bit into an olive pit, and apparently, had some pretty serious damage to his teeth. He is suing four different vendors, the four different companies, serving this food, $150,000. And in that lawsuit, it actually says he sustained serious and permanent dental and oral injuries, and said, he suffered a loss of enjoyment.
CHETRY: Poor guy.
Well, so much for civility in government. If you check out what happened in the scene in Pennsylvania statehouse yesterday, lawmakers were all set to vote on a series of bills that would change the way state government operates and then this happened.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Representative, thank you very much. I know that the Democratic leader refer to will take a roll call vote. Laurie (ph), please proceed.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Representative Mark --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you telling us we can't debate the bill any more? Is that what you're saying?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Representative, make your speech. Please take the roll.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have members of the rules committee. We have members of the rules committee. On the House floor have a right to speak.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: May I speak? May I speak? May I?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They have a right to speak.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You stifle us here, too? You can't! You can't!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Chairman!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I can't hear anything!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We got elected to end --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Chairman!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Chairman!
(CROSSTALK) sit down!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Buxton, Frankle, George.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Maybe they should go back to sitting separately. They shouldn't mix the Republicans and Democrats there, maybe?
CHETRY: That was very odd.
HOLMES: It was very strange. And, again, maybe we need to send the memo to them about civility in our politics.
Speaking of politics, the president gave you State of the Union the other night. Now, he's on the road trying to sell it. He was in Wisconsin during a manufacturing plant there. He met the state's governor. You know, local leaders come out and met the mayor of Green Bay as well, but he kind of did a double take when he met the 24-year- old mayor of one particular town.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: He says he's the mayor of Manitowoc. I'm looking at the guy. I don't think it's true, but --
JUSTIN NICKELS, MANITOWOC MAYOR: I met with him right when he walked in, and I just said, I'm Justin Nickels, mayor of the city of Manitowoc, and he said, well, you're young. I said, well, yes, I am. And he said it's a very good thing. He said it's great to see young people getting involved in their community. So, little jab, but that's all right. It's all in good fun.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: That would throw you off. He walks up and just claims to be the mayor. He doesn't look like it when you (ph) see his credentials. Before becoming mayor, he worked at a grocery store and also was a high school basketball referee.
CHETRY: He's a younger one. I think there is a younger one. I think there's a 19-year-old somewhere.
HOLMES: Yes, where was that?
CHETRY: I can't remember. Good. Starting young. Got a lot of responsibility on your shoulders.
Speaking of young, Justin Bieber. How about this one? Do you think he is so young he doesn't even know Ozzy Osbourne in his hey day?
HOLMES: Possible.
CHETRY: Perhaps. Well, Ozzy didn't know him, either, but now, the Price of Darkness and the Biebs are teaming up for Best Buy's first Super Bowl ad. Not sure what they're going to do in it. Best Buy is only saying that they're going to help the company tell the Best Buy story. I thought they'd be rocking out together. That would be --
HOLMES: See, when I first heard the story, I thought that was going to be the case, but looking forward to the commercial, as well, seeing those two together.
Something you do not want to miss this morning. We got Charles Barkley will be live here in studio with us to make his public relations people nervous.
CHETRY: The monster storm whooping through the northeast leaving heavy snow, sleet, and absolute gridlock on the roadways. We'll have more update on the roads, the airports, the schools, the government buildings. What a mess this morning. Twenty-three minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Twenty-five minutes past of the hour. Welcome back to this AMERICAN MORNING.
You think you are concerned about security on your Facebook page? Well, even Mark Zuckerberg needs to be concerned about the security on his. Yes, the founder of Facebook, he has been hacked, apparently. At least, his fan page has. Listen to the message that was posted. I'm quoting here said, "Let the hacking begin." If Facebook needs money instead of going to the banks, why doesn't Facebook let its users invest in Facebook in a social way."
Of course, a reference there to the latest round of hundreds of millions of dollars in investment that the Facebook has been able to put together lately. They are not commenting just yet about this incident.
But speaking of Facebook looking for ways to make money, they're rolling out a new way for advertisers to push their products, and our Stephanie Elam is "Minding Your Business" starring you or you or me.
STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Well, here's a thing. You, guys have a like or check in when you're on Facebook?
HOLMES: Check-in, what does that mean?
ELAM: Yes. OK. You're younger than me. Really, you know, when you go on your phone and you say, hey, here I am at CNN. Check in. And so, all of your friends will know that that's where you are?
CHETRY: So, that's basically giving a locator with a current locator. Some people don't do that but the like a lot of people like.
ELAM: A lot of people like. The whole thing. This is going to be more than just liking or just checking in. What Facebook is saying now is that they're going to have these sponsored stories that appear on the side of your Facebook news feed, and it will say, hey, T.J., Starbucks second time today. Kiran, Taco Bell, third time today.
CHETRY: It's early.
ELAM: Right? So, it will look like this. And the ad will pop up, and it will show where you've been. Now, a lot of people are upset about this because you can't opt out if you like or check in. If you do that, this will pop up, but it says, it will only pop on your friends. That's what Facebook says. It's only going to pop up on your friends' pages, not on anyone else's, so there's no different than the content that you're posting. But, I guess, if you're OK saying that I checked in at, you know --
HOLMES: OK.
CHETRY: So, what they're saying is they're going to headline where it is and put it with an ad, so that --
HOLMES: Yes. And then, the company can put an ad along with it.
CHETRY: Oh, he is at Starbucks. I think I want a Starbucks.
ELAM: He's so cool. I want to be there, too.
CHETRY: Exactly.
ELAM: And then, they can stalk you. No, I'm just kidding. I'm just joking about that part. Maybe.
Let's go on and talk a little bit about the Super Bowl which is coming up on February 6th. A lot of people looking forward to it. Never know. These guys might have tickets. No tickets?
CHETRY: I wish.
HOLMES: I don't.
ELAM: OK. We're not going. But, for the people who are going, they may want to take a cab to get from the airport to the hotel, to the venue, whatever they want to do. That may be a little bit harder for people because the taxi association there is thinking about boycotting, because they're saying this new initiative in Dallas with the natural gas taxis get to go to the front of the line of the airport is just not fair. They'll spend hours in line, so they may boycott the entire week.
You know, the stuff that goes on, the whole week leading up to the Super Bowl, its fashion shows and parties, it's not that I've ever seen any of this, but it's really a lot in the city. So, because of that, they're saying this is not fair and if it was really about clean energy, if it was really about helping out the environment, they'd also include hybrids. The city says this is not going to really be that big of a deal. There's only, you know, at the airport about 1,800 people will use a cab on a normal day.
Problem is Super Bowl is not exactly a normal time and on top of it, a lot of people want to go out to eat. They want to go out to drink, and they don't want to drive. They want to be responsible. If the cabs aren't there, and you know, Dallas, it's Texas, everything is spread out.
HOLMES: They're going to get some work out (ph)?
ELAM: They're working on it. There's going to be some litigation to try and see if they can make it go away, but the city itself is saying, this makes sense for us. It's not that big of a deal. It's not going to cause that much of a disruption. So, we'll see.
HOLMES: Stephanie, appreciate you this morning.
ELAM: Sure.
CHETRY: Thanks, Steph.
ELAM: Sure.
CHETRY: Well, we're crossing half right now. Time to take a look at the top stories. We've been following some breaking news out of Davos, Switzerland where the World Economic Forum going to taking place this week. There's been an explosion in the basement of a hotel. The hotel, actually, hosting that forum. We're told a couple of windows were broken, but Swiss police say that no one was injured.
Our Dr. Sanjay Gupta was reporting earlier this morning from Davos that threatening e-mails were sent just before the dead nation (ph) from the anti-world economic forum group. We'll have more update on that as they come in.
HOLMES: Also, we have another weather situation. A lot of people waking up with up to a foot of snow. People are trying to dig out, trying to get around, but a lot of people not going anywhere including in New York City, got some 15 inches of snow. The roads out there are a mess. The airlines, airports are a mess out there as well. Publics schools are closed in D.C., Philly, New York, as well as Boston today.
CHETRY: And more than a thousand flights have been canceled from D.C. to Boston. Some airports in the New York area still struggling to open up. The latest update that we got on that, by the way, is that Newark is going to be reopening for departures in about 30 minutes is what they are hoping according to the GAA website and reopening to arrivals at noon. JFK is hoping to reopen at 10:00 this morning. And again, no closures at LaGuardia but many canceled flights. HOLMES: Let's turn to our Sandra Endo, who is live for us in Washington. Sandra, it is difficult to do business in this kind of weather, and there's not going to be a whole lot of business in a lot of places today either.
SANDRA ENDO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Not a whole lot, T.J. and Kiran. But you can see the beautiful blanket of snow here on the national mall. The sun is out. The snow is melting slowly.
But take a look at conditions because this is what people are dealing with. It turned to ice and it's crunchy and hard and what people have to shovel out from under their driveways and their cars, and it's pretty much slow going this morning, as you mentioned.
And you can take a look, though. Things aren't that bad because these major roads here have been plowed. But keep in mind, this would be normal rush hour for the nation's capital, but a lot of government offices have allowed their employees to come in about two hours later.
So the public schools are closed as well, so a lot of people handling this with a lot of precaution this morning because there are dangerous conditions. A lot of the area airports -- you were talking about this, Kiran -- they are closed throughout the east coast. But here in D.C., a lot of the airports as well having a tough time with the snow. They are working furiously to make sure those runways are open.
There were some closures yesterday when D.C. was hit the hardest. The snow is coming pretty much an inch an hour and six inches in all. This isn't anything like the snow-pocalypse we dealt with last year.
Some people were stranded along the streets and highways yesterday. We were hearing stories and getting tweets about people who had commutes about four miles to get home. It took two hours. So not a fun time yesterday. But, again, things are thawing out here and people are just taking it in stride.
CHETRY: That's all they can do really at this point. But a two- hour delay for the federal government and they are saying if you can work at home, you can telecommute. They might let you do that. It might be a better idea.
CHETRY: Oh, yes. One more thing -- you know, people take the good and the bad. Of course, people from Washington know how to handle the snow because of the experience from last year? Well, Facebook had a big gathering and a lot of people came out yesterday. If we have the video -- forget this, a big snowball fight. What else? We like to fight, you know? It's a pretty partisan town here so that's what they did yesterday in the snow.
(LAUGHTER)
CHETRY: There you go, making the best of it, all of those guys from California. Maybe they don't see it very often. Having fun out there with snowball fights. Looking good. Sandra Endo this morning from D.C. stay warm out there. Thank you. ENDO: OK.
HOLMES: Also at 33 minutes past of the hour now, take a look what we got here. Sir Charles in the house looking awfully serious this morning. Come on, now, put a smile on your face, son!
CHETRY: There he is!
HOLMES: There he is! He is making his PR people nervous any time he does a live interview, but we got him this morning. Our conversation after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you going to miss this?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Chuck, show them how to do Dougie! Show them how do Dougie!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(LAUGHTER)
HOLMES: You know I had to pull that out this morning. It's not that often I get to interview a friend, but I get that privilege this morning. Charles Barkley in the house, TNT NBA analyst on the road. You got the big show tonight in town, the Heat and the Knicks. Good to see you this morning.
CHARLES BARKLEY, TNT NBA ANALYST: Thank you, glad to be here.
HOLMES: Can you get a shot of those two guys standing right there? Chuck travels with PR people.
(LAUGHTER)
Yes, I got you on screen. How nervous are they right now any time you do an interview?
BARKLEY: They get nervous. I try to tell them it doesn't matter what you say. People are going to agree and disagree with it. So they overreact. I will just be honest and straightforward but I don't ever take the criticisms, because it's all dictated whether you like their team. When it comes to fans, you say something good about their team or their players. They don't have any outside part of you. They want you to stay all positive stuff about their team or their favorite player.
HOLMES: You famously said back in the day you're not a role model. What about today? Are you a role model yet?
BARKLEY: The reason I made that commercial, and I want to thank Nike, is young black kids are not getting their education. They think they are all going to be LeBron James and Michael Jordan and Dwayne Wade. Sports is great and given me everything in my life, but I wanted to start a debate.
We do have black doctors and lawyers and teachers and firemen and policemen, but, unfortunately, if you look at the graduation rates, our black kids - and it's our fault. Our parents, some of these parents have not done a good job. I want them to stop looking at black jocks and entertainers as the only way they can be successful.
HOLMES: That's parents' fault. I guess media to blame as well because we hype these people up.
BARKLEY: We are. But we're making money. The people we are working for are making money. Unfortunately, it has a negative impact on the black community and we, as black people, we as black people, have to take a better responsibility of that.
HOLMES: You told me, you say all the time you love to say you were born to early, because in today's NBA, these guys who -- a lot of people don't have hall of fame careers but making a whole lot more money you ever did. How much wealthier would you be if you played in today's NBA?
BARKLEY: I would probably have another $200 million.
(LAUGHTER)
First of all, I'm very lucky and blessed and don't hate on the young guys for making money. God bless them. It is what it is. I made more money than Bill Russell who is a much better player than me, John Havlicek, Larry Bird. I mean, I made more on the court. But those guys are better players. But it is what it is. I want them to appreciate it, though.
HOLMES: You are here with the TNT show all going to be broadcasting tonight from Madison Square Garden. Have you and LeBron made up yet? You were critical of him how he left Cleveland.
BARKLEY: Yes.
HOLMES: But also of the move itself. You said and Larry and Michael, y'all would never try to team up to make some super team. You want to beat those guys. So are you ready to say that criticism maybe not warranted because it seems to be working out pretty well in Miami right now?
BARKLEY: Miami is going to win. They have Dwayne. They are going to have a great team. My criticism, number one, was just about the way he handled the Cleveland thing, and that's all anybody would have been really concerned with.
I think also we were a little disappointed. He was a two-time defending NBA MVP. He doesn't leave his home, certainly a guy who was born in that area. People come to him.
HOLMES: Did you take this personally? That commercial when he said -- took a bite out of a doughnut?
BARKLEY: Oh, no. I thought that was a hilarious. First of all, I'm a Nike guy. First of all, I don't take too much that serious.
You know, one of the reasons I try to love having fun with basketball, it's just basketball. I tell people, there are only five real jobs in the world -- teacher, fireman, policeman, doctor, somebody who is in the service. Everybody else ought to chill out and enjoy life.
HOLMES: Another job, you think politicians, is that a real job? There was a buzz a while back you wanted to be governor of Alabama. Have you given up?
BARKLEY: Yes because it's so corrupt now. I meant the Republicans and the Democrats have sold their soul to special interest groups. And that is no fun. Nobody wants to go to work every day and argue.
HOLMES: You believe the civility thing they are trying to do now?
BARKLEY: They do that because there are no elections. They will get uncivil. Once the election cycle was over, they became civil. I guarantee you in two years when there is an election cycle they will be uncivil.
HOLMES: Take President Obama out of this equation. Who would you say the most talented politician in this country?
BARKLEY: Wow, that's a great question. I don't see the next big star, because you have to have the charisma, the personality to deal and get people to follow you.
HOLMES: Does Sarah Palin have it?
BARKLEY: She has "it," but she's not going to win. I think she is good looking, but she is not going to win. And there is no disrespect. They are not going to let a woman be the presidential candidate.
HOLMES: They're not going to let a woman?
BARKLEY: They're not going to let a woman.
HOLMES: They said they wouldn't let a black man either.
BARKLEY: But I think the Republican Party is a little bit different than the Democratic Party. I vote Democratic because I think they represent a majority more of the people, the people where I came from, the people who don't have money.
Let one thing straight, politics is rich people screwing poor people. It doesn't have anything to do with this or that. Politics are rich people screwing poor people. And I like Sarah Palin, but I tell you, she will not be the Republican candidate. And I like her but let me tell you something -- the good old boy network will not let the woman be a front-runner of their party. Who are we kidding? HOLMES: I've got to get a couple more things in here, and something you like talking about and you feel like you need to talk about. You think gay marriage should be allowed in this country?
BARKLEY: Sure. As a black person, I'm against any form of discrimination, whether it's ageism, sexism. And also, you know, we always talk about race in America, a lot of black people full of it, too. Race doesn't just go one way. As a black person, I haven't been real through anything. I studied my history. I'm against any form of discrimination. And I think gay people, if they want to on get married, it's their own business.
HOLMES: Why don't you use Twitter?
BARKLEY: Twitter is for idiots. If anybody wakes up in the morning and want to know what I'm doing, they are an idiot.
HOLMES: They want to know what you're doing! It's part of the celebrity culture.
BARKLEY: This celebrity culture is so overrated. They use celebrities to make money. Come on.
HOLMES: Who is using you to make money?
BARKLEY: Well, I think, you know, I love my job at TNT. I'm very aware. But all of these -- you know, HLN, who is dating who and who said something about anybody else. You know, it is what it is. I don't take it personally.
HOLMES: Last thing here. One of the things in the time you and I always spend together that is one of the most endearing things about you is when you talk about your daughter. Of all the things you've been through in your life, all of the MVP awards and the accolades and how proud are you going to be when she graduates? How proud of a moment is that going to be? She is about to graduate from college.
BARKLEY: You know, T.J., first of all, she is going to be the first Barkley to graduate. I'm so pumped for her, because I tell all kids when I speak to them, graduating from college is a great accomplishment. Worry about the job later but, for her to actually graduate, number one, a Barkley graduating, I'm going so proud.
Clearly, I hope I don't cry too much, but I'm going to be so pumped, because I tell kids all the time, to graduate from college is a great personal accomplishment.
HOLMES: You never went back and got your degree?
BARKLEY: I got too much money to go back now.
(LAUGHTER)
HOLMES: Come on, man, you just went through a whole speech about getting an education.
BARKLEY: People who get 20 points and 10 rebounds, you don't have to worry about an education.
(LAUGHTER)
I always say I don't have a college degree but I got a lot of people working for me.
(LAUGHTER)
HOLMES: Chuck, good to see you this morning. Charles Barkley, you heard it here, folks. Kiran, I'll hand it back over to you.
CHETRY: Sorry, 20 points and how many rebounds?
BARKLEY: Ten for a career.
CHETRY: I tweeted out that "Twitter is for idiots."
(LAUGHTER)
Thanks, Charles. Now we got something to talk about in our Twitter stream today.
While the Northeast getting pummeled again, but we're not the only ones dealing with a snowstorm. Rob Marciano will join us with more on where this is headed next. It's 45 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: We are giving you a firsthand look today what it is like to drive around in it. One of our producers Brian Vitaliagno (ph) is in Parksley (ph) Brooklyn driving around today.
If you didn't get your car off the road, you're probably going to be in for today because some of these cars are literally buried along the sides of the street because of all the plowing that's going on. We got another 15.3 inches. I think that's probably going to go up -- actually that total in Central Park breaking the record for January and chewing through our entire snow budget for the season here in New York City.
So what a mess.
HOLMES: All right.
The Boston highlight pick we have as well --
(CROSS TALK)
HOLMES: -- this morning? A mess there as well. So many places. So much snow. Rob Marciano, the stuff is piled up now. Is it going to be melting any time soon?
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: You know, I'm thinking May, April, yes, we should get a good strong melt going with this one.
(CROSS TALK) HOLMES: All right, very nice, it's very nice.
MARCIANO: It's going to be slightly above freezing today so that will help a little bit. It's not going to be horribly cold. Here are the latest numbers out. Check this out.
Central Park now coming in at 19.0 inches, a foot and a half in Central Park, my goodness; Philadelphia, 15 inches; Newark got almost 19 inches; Norwalk and New Canaan, Connecticut saw 17 and 18 inches of snow and it came down in a hurry. This is not a long drawn out of event, it pretty much -- it came down on 18 to 24-hour period and is now winding down in Boston. And I think they got about a foot, maybe an inch or two less than that.
Winds, we saw 40, 50-mile-an-hour winds and there are still a number of people without power especially down around Maryland and Delaware where the snow is mixed with sleet and freezing rain and that really weighed this down. This was a heavy wet snow event which has been different from the blizzard which was really dry and fluffy and blowing around quite a bit.
So a different beast nonetheless and making it of course very difficult to clear away when you have that much weight in something you try to move around. The temperatures right now around 30 in Boston. Temperatures around the freezing mark in New York City.
Back to the west behind this front is not terribly colder air so we will see some melting today but mostly on the roadways you know where they are treated with salt and on -- on -- on the sidewalks.
But the -- the bulk of the snow which is piled up on the sides is going to hang around and will refrigerate the air tonight. So temperatures will easily get below freezing tonight.
All right, JFK and Newark still battling to open those runways as some of them will do so in the next couple of hours. But regardless obviously a number of flights canceled and there's going to be delays where those flights have not been canceled.
Boston, New York, Philly, Baltimore and D.C., all will see delays. D.C. and Baltimore are obviously are getting a head start because the snow stopped there a little bit earlier. But Chicago and Minneapolis, Detroit, Cleveland, yes, they've got another little snowstorm that's barreling across the western Great Lakes.
Here it is. This isn't the blockbuster event that we saw with this last one, but, nonetheless, it's got some snow and warm and windy out west. And you might see a couple of more inches of snowfall in New York City come tomorrow afternoon with this next one.
And that may put you over the edge for the snowiest month ever which was set February of last year. Two years in a row for a blockbuster winter, guys. Buy your gear and hold onto it.
CHETRY: I know, with snow pants. I mean, I haven't had to break these things out. Come on. This is getting crazy. HOLMES: You got pants too?
CHETRY: Yes. I got snow pants.
HOLMES: Wait, I just -- I just got me on the boots. I got to get pants? I didn't know there was more to the outfit.
CHETRY: Yes. You know what? It's going to be a long winter, T.J. I want to get you boots.
MARCIANO: And a jacket.
HOLMES: And a jacket?
CHETRY: And a jacket.
HOLMES: And a scarf? Ok. Anything else?
CHETRY: All of these things are so strange. Next you're going to see warmers for my hands.
All right, well, we'll help you out.
HOLMES: I'll be all right.
All right, all those coming up, 13 football players from one university all had to go to the hospital. What's going on here?
It's on nine minutes to the top of the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Thirteen players from the same university team all having to go to the hospital. These players from the University of Iowa, they were diagnosed with a muscle disorder, a stress-induced muscle disorder that can actually damage cells and cause kidney failure.
And they all had to be hospitalized. All are in stable condition but they believe this may have been caused by some of the strenuous off-season workouts.
CHETRY: That's unbelievable.
HOLMES: Yes, 13 players.
CHETRY: All right, well, we'll continue to follow that and find out more from our medical unit about what exactly is going on here.
Five minutes to the top of the hour. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: So we are getting close to the top of the hour. Santa Fe is that the place to be? Are you still tweeting? CHETRY: I'm just laughing. I tweeted out that Charles Barkley thought that Twitter was for idiots and we got a lot of Twitter responses this morning.
HOLMES: They took offense to that.
CHETRY: Shocking --
HOLMES: A lot.
CHETRY: -- shockingly.
HOLMES: This guy has an opinion. Give him a break.
CHETRY: All right, mark my words. Within six months he's going to be on Twitter.
HOLMES: He will not.
CHETRY: All right, we'll give him six months.
HOLMES: He will not.
CHETRY: He will be on Twitter. He's got a new show to pitch. Come on, he'll be on it.
HOLMES: All right. So we're talking about Santa Fe.
CHETRY: Oh yes.
HOLMES: Some people are trying to make that the place to be right now.
CHETRY: Right, they are mixing business and pleasure to create some unique opportunities and jobs in the city.
Tom Foreman takes a look in today's "Building up America."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Santa Fe is one of the oldest settlements in all of the west and it draws thousands of older tourists interested in all that history. That's good for some businesses but not so much for some young professionals.
DANIEL WERWATH, MIX SANTA FE: You know, I've been here about seven years and probably -- you know every summer I see around a dozen friends move on for jobs or more opportunity often in more exciting places like New York or Portland, Oregon or places like that.
FOREMAN: And that's where Mix comes in. These are the founding members and this is Mix, part pre-forum social club, part business networking group, part town hall meeting. Mix is a once a month party in which young people are urged to meet, have fun and share ideas about what they want their community to be. LACIE MACKEY, MIX SANTA FE: And the idea is if you do get people involved in that, they feel more invested in the community and they do want to stay and do want to invest their time here.
FOREMAN: To make that happen Mix, which has the backing of the city and Chamber of Commerce, poses a question or challenge which participants answer on video. The best answer gets a prize. Kieran Clark (ph) popped up one night to explain how he had use a $200 prize to help disadvantaged teens with job training particularly in green industries.
KIERAN CLARK, MIX SANTA FE: And with $200 I would start a T- shirt company for youth who can help.
FOREMAN: He got the money. His group YouthWorks used it to make T-shirts to sell at the next Mix event to raise more money and provide more training. Everyone wins.
ZANE FISCHER, MIX SANTA FE: You know, all it takes is a little nudge to get people together and realize that their work can transform or enliven a place.
FOREMAN: Or even keep notoriously young workers happy and here.
Tom Foreman, CNN, Santa Fe.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHETRY: Very nice to hear about that as we dig out from a record January of snowfall.
HOLMES: Yes. Let me hand this thing over now to Kyra Phillips in the "CNN NEWSROOM," in Atlanta. Good morning to you, Kyra.
