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American Morning
Epic Winter Storm on the Move; Record Snow in Oklahoma City; Uprising in Egypt; Kids' Tonsil Surgery and Obesity; America's Cholesterol Crisis; TSA Testing New Scanning Technology; Update on Congresswoman Giffords' Recovery
Aired February 02, 2011 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Well, ahead on this AMERICAN MORNING, an epic winter storm yet again. Sounds like Groundhog Day. It is Groundhog Day. Counting a third of the country shutting down city after city.
This morning in Chicago, everyone is being warned to stay inside, stay off the roads if you don't have to go anywhere. Schools are closed and airports really suffering. Thousands of flight cancellations and we're not out of the woods yet.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Also, Egypt's uprising. Demonstrators out in the streets again, even though the president has given them what they wanted. He's just not giving it to them soon enough.
CHETRY: They call it America's cholesterol crisis. More than 70 million people have bad cholesterol levels that are too high. And now comes a new report that says even if you're taking medication, it may not be doing any good.
HOLMES: Well, you didn't like those old TSA scanners? Well, they have a new scanning technology. See how you like this one and see if it compromises your security.
CHETRY: Plus, could having your kid's tonsils taken out make them obese? All that ahead on AMERICAN MORNING next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Through thousands of years, Egypt has known many moments of transformation. The voices of the Egyptian people tell us that this is one of those moments.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: President Obama and the Egyptian people making a big push for change. But Egypt's embattled leader is still clinging to power. We have new developments on the situation in Egypt as we speak on this AMERICAN MORNING.
And welcome. Thanks so much for being with us on this Wednesday, February 2nd, Groundhogs Day. HOLMES: It is. We'll be talking plenty about that this morning. Welcome back.
CHETRY: Thank you. Barely made it back. We were spending some time in the Dominican and a lot of flights canceled.
HOLMES: Glad you made it back.
CHETRY: Yes.
HOLMES: Hello to you all. I'm T.J. Holmes. We are going to get to the situation in Egypt, but we need to tell you about this storm.
We weren't just, you know, blowing smoke, quite frankly. This one lived up to the hype. Cities across this country are shut down right now.
Take a look at the map. This storm has been moving east but it stretched over 2,000 miles. Talking about a third of the country affected. A hundred million people affected.
Blizzard warnings in eight states now. And the weather service is telling you folks in Chicago, do not go out. The Fire Department in Chicago has had to rescue people. They're expecting up to two feet of snow. That would be the most they've ever gotten.
Lakeshore Drive closed right now. They're seeing on Lake Michigan, 25-foot waves. School is cancelled in Chicago. That might seem like a no-brainer because of the storm, but listen to this. This is the first time in 12 years they've actually closed school there.
Let's head a little bit to the east now. Ice rinks are the roads now. An inch of ice on the roads in Indiana. You can imagine what this -- what happens. Cars slipping. Tree limbs a little heavy bringing down some of those power lines. People could be without power for days. Also, you folks trying to travel, give it up for now. Some 9,000 flights canceled across the country.
CHETRY: And we are following all of the details of this massive storm. We have people across the country. Jacqui Jeras is in the extreme weather center. Ed Lavandera is live for us in Oklahoma. And Rob Marciano right in the thick of it, live for us in Chicago this morning.
So they're talking about breaking snowfall records there, Rob. What's it like?
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: It's really unreal. It was a harrowing night last night beginning around 8:00, 9:00, 10:00. And from that point on, things really went downhill in a hurry. Snowfall rates were at two, sometimes three inches per hour. We had thunder and lightning for seemingly constant for about two hours. To give you an idea of just how dynamic and how strong this system was. And during that entire time, emergency vehicles were running up and down Michigan Avenue. The night sky was filled with sounds of thunder and sirens and it was snowing to beat the band. Check out some of this video on Lakeshore Drive, right along the lake. Main thoroughfare just east of the city. Obviously it's going to be getting the brunt of the storm. They had to shut it down. There were abandoned vehicles all over the place. And the Fire Department had to make rescue after rescue. They had to open up shelters last minute. The libraries were open just for heating. They were trying to bring in buses just to heat these people up that were stranded in their vehicles. A dangerous, dangerous situation last night, no doubt about that.
Coupled with the wind, we had wind gusts over 60 miles an hour around the Chicagoland area. That's damaging wind. We had damage at Wrigley Field among other places. So when you didn't have the thunder, the sounds of thunder, you had the sounds of scaffolding and other debris flying around this city. It was truly like being in a hurricane but temperatures were in the teens and wind chills below zero.
Clearly it's still snowing now. How much snow have we got? Well, we already broke one record, the 24-hour record of seeing over a foot of snow for the month of February. And it's snowing there right now. Folks are walking on the streets. The ones that are actually out here braving the elements. The winds are still obviously gusting, but the streets are the best spot because that's where they've actually done some plowing.
This snow bank is probably a couple of feet tall. We're trying to get to that record of 24 inches. And that may happen. Now we have northwest winds off the lake. Jacqui will talk about that. More lake enhancement. That's a lighter, fluffier, but it stings just as badly, T.J. and Kiran, on your face. This has been quite a storm. And obviously, it's pushing to the east and the folks there are going to get the brunt of it next. Back to you.
CHETRY: Yes, you can see it. You can see it blowing horizontally. You're used to being out in this stuff and, boy, it does look like a mess out there.
Rob Marciano for us. We'll check in with you throughout the morning. Thanks.
HOLMES: And, of course, travel is going to be a problem today. Might not be back to normal for several days. We just mentioned 9,000 flights across this country have been canceled. The two airports in Chicago, O'Hare, Midway, grounded all flights.
Take a look here at some of the airlines that have made these cancellations. American, Delta, JetBlue, US Airways. American with the most cancellations so far at 2,900. Delta at 2,150. You see it there on your screen. But you need to check with your airline because a lot of people in many parts of this country are not going anywhere any time soon.
CHETRY: Yes, and it's actually proving to be a big problem in Dallas. This is why they have the Super Bowl usually in the warm weather states like Florida, California. Staging areas for Super Bowl events were covered in snow and ice. Some were even damaged by high winds. They're also worried about many, many flight cancellations for people that were supposed to come into town early to take part in a lot of the events leading up to the Super Bowl. Wind gusts, by the way, and snowy conditions collapsed a tent in Fort Worth. That's supposed to be used for part of the NFL Super Bowl fan fest activities.
HOLMES: A foot of snow in Tulsa, Oklahoma as well. And see the problems they're having? These are always a mess. It's tough for people who still have emergencies, of course, during these storms. But it makes it difficult for even as you saw, the ambulances and also the police cars getting stuck in the snow. Had to be rescued. Need a little help themselves. You see it happening there, but it's just causing fits for everybody.
CHETRY: And Oklahoma City getting hit pretty hard. We get a firsthand look at that right now from our Ed Lavandera.
Hey, Ed.
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Kiran and T.J. The story here in Oklahoma is really the temperatures. A high of 12 degrees today. Low of minus one. The wind chill right now, minus 11 degrees with 25-mile-an-hour winds.
We are on the edge of downtown Oklahoma City. And check out this little river. We were out here late yesterday afternoon. And this is a little river that kind of runs into an area of downtown called brick town, popular kind of a hangout area and a tourist area here in Oklahoma City. This little river that runs into that area was flowing pretty well late yesterday afternoon when we came by to check it out. This morning, you could probably walk across it. Not that I would do that on live television. Probably a bad idea. But you can get a sense of just how quickly and how frigid the temperatures are here. So when you hope that all of the snow that fell so dramatically yesterday would start melting off, isn't going to happen. In fact, we're not supposed to get above temperatures above freezing until sometime on Friday -- Kiran and T.J.
CHETRY: And what a mess out there as well. All right. Ed Lavandera for us this morning. We'll check in with you throughout the morning as well. Thanks.
HOLMES: Well, we've showed you so far with this storm we showed you the snow. We've showed you the ice. Well, let's throw in a tornado now.
This is in Rusk County in eastern Texas. The National Weather Service has confirmed this was a tornado even though it didn't measure that severe on the intensity scale. But still, you see the damage there. At least two homes damaged. Good thing no reports of anyone hurt or killed.
CHETRY: So it's certainly a major storm as we've been saying both in terms of its strength and its size. And these pictures from NASA really illuminate this. This is satellite imagery showing that the entire system is so massive that the cloud cover almost stretches from coast to coast.
We're going to get more now from Jacqui Jeras in the extreme weather center. So just by checking in with our reporters, we see what a mess it is out there. How long is it going to stick around?
JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, we have about 24 hours before this thing is completely out of here, but the impact certainly will be lasting much longer than that. Some of the people without power, that's certainly going to last for days. And those people who've been stuck on the roadways, you know, conditions are still terrible out there. And if you get stuck, it's going to be really windy and the temperatures are going to be at dangerous levels. So you really want to heed those warnings today.
We've got parts of I-70 in Missouri closed. We've got parts of I-80 in Illinois closed, parts of I-43 and 94 in Wisconsin are closed. And look at the warnings that remain out there. So we're really looking at the winter blizzard conditions still lingering in parts of the Midwest. And then in the northeast, our problem here today is going to be the freezing rain. We've even got an eye storm warning in effect for New York City and Philadelphia at this hour.
Check out some of the snowfall totals we've had so far. Twenty inches in parts of Oklahoma. Missouri, looking at 17 inches there. Tulsa, 14. That was a record for you for the month of February. And you did it in one day. And Chicago O'Hare had about 13 inches. You have about 14 1/2 so far at midway.
Now take a look at the radar picture. And there you can see that snow that's coming down and these intense bands. As it comes in of the lake, that really enhances the situation. So it brings down the snow level to come down it like an inch or two inches per hour. And at times we could see it heavier than that. You throw in the winds and it's just impossible to see.
We're getting reports now of snowdrifts in southern parts of Wisconsin just south and west of Milwaukee between 10 and 15 feet. Ten to 15 feet. That's incredible. And look at the winds. Milwaukee still in the 40s in terms of sustained winds. And we could see some gusts up to 60 yet this morning.
Here's that freezing rain moving into New York City. It's going to create a glaze of ice on the roadways. We could see as much as a half of an inch to an inch in some of these areas, especially watching parts of Pennsylvania. Airport delays. There are none. That's because all the flights are canceled. Nobody is going to in and out of there, but we'll keep you up to date on any closures or anything like that.
And just want to show you the temperatures, if I can get to this next map. There it goes. And to give you an idea, that bitter cold air goes all the way down into Texas. There are wind chill advisories in Brownsville, Texas, this morning. That's how far south this arctic air mass plunges.
CHETRY: Yes. JERAS: And that cold air is going to stick around, guys, into the weekend. So it's going to take a long time to melt off some of the ice on those roadways.
CHETRY: Super Bowl Sunday, what a mess. Thanks.
JERAS: No, they should warm up by Friday probably.
CHETRY: All right. Hopefully people can get in on time. We bumped into a couple when we were down in the Dominican from Syracuse. And they're used to snow. They said they have snow banks piled so high that their dog can climb up and on to their roof. I mean, even in Syracuse where they're used to this.
HOLMES: They're used to it. They're still seeing stuff they haven't seen before.
CHETRY: Well, we're going to check in with the latest on the uprising in Egypt now. New developments this morning.
Thousands of Egyptians are once again gathering in the main square this morning in Cairo. They say they will not leave until their president does. Hosni Mubarak though is not bending on this. He says while he won't seek re-election this fall, he is not going to immediately step down. He angered millions of Egyptians yesterday by announcing that he's planning to stay in office until then.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PRES. HOSNI MUBARAK, EGYPT (through translator): My first priority is retain the stability and security of the nation, in order for a peaceful transition and to protect the nation and to allow for the transition of power for whoever is selected by the people in the forthcoming elections.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Again, thousands of demonstrators watching that speech from the streets shouting for him to step down immediately. Protesters also took off their shoes and raised them into the air. It's an insult of the highest order in the Arab culture.
And just a couple of new developments that we're getting. Word that perhaps Internet service has been restored. That's kind of interesting. And also that the Egyptian military apparently sent out text messages to some cell phone users urging them to help return the country to normalcy and pledging not to use force against protesters.
Well, President Obama calling for a transformation in Egypt. But he's not publicly demanding President Mubarak step down. So what exactly does the administration want? Ed Henry is working his sources. We're going to check in with him with a live report from the White House next.
HOLMES: And, of course, many of you not a fan of those graphic full- body scanners at the airport. Well, the TSA now ruling out some new technology that's supposed to be a little less revealing, but will it keep the skies just as safe?
CHETRY: Well, first you're liking their status, then you're having lunch. And before you know it, are you hooking up again? The temptations of staying Facebook friends with your ex. You won't believe how many people do it.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Fifteen minutes past the hour right now. This morning the army is telling people to go home. Ben Wedeman is live from Cairo, Egypt, this morning with more on this.
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, T.J., I don't think anybody's going home. What we have here right on the Nile is about 4,000 people. But what's different is that this is a demonstration of people who support President Hosni Mubarak and they're chanting, "He will not go. He will not go." And this seems to be, T.J., part of a concerted effort by the Mubarak government to rally support around it.
And one interesting bit of information is that at about 11:00 this morning, I started getting phone calls on my mobile and in the office. And, of course, I don't give my mobile number out. And it was all people, all women, oddly, saying that we should be covering the pro- Mubarak demonstrations and that we should be conveying the message of what they call the silent majority of Egyptians who are anxious for the country to get back to normal.
There does seem to be some return to normalcy this morning. For the first time in five days, the internet is back up. We're also hearing that the curfew has been shortened. It now goes from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m., as opposed to 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. So it appears, as I said, that the government is starting a counteroffensive to the massive protests that have taken place in Cairo over the last eight days -- T.J.
CHETRY: Ben Wedeman for us this morning, following the latest right there from Cairo.
Thanks so much.
HOLMES: And as we've been showing you, the news broke yesterday, President Hosni Mubarak said he's going to do what the protesters want -- he is going to leave office. He's just not doing it on their timeline. And even after he leaves office he says, this is my country. I will die on its soil. So it doesn't appear he's going anywhere. He's not going to seek re-election in September, but he will stay in office, he says, until then. President Obama still turning up some pressure.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: What is clear and what I indicated tonight to President Mubarak is my belief that an orderly transition must be meaningful, it must be peaceful, and it must begin now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Well, our Ed Henry is live for us at the White House this morning.
Ed, good morning to you.
ED HENRY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.
HOLMES: Tell me, what do those words mean? An orderly transition must begin now.
HENRY: It means start packing, President Mubarak. But the president here is trying to be somewhat diplomatic and not maybe shove him out of office, but at least is giving him a push.
There was a dramatic backstage story here at the White House before President Mubarak even spoke. The U.S. had sent an envoy, Ambassador Frank Wisner, to send a tough message in private to President Mubarak that the White House had lost patience. It was time to go relatively quickly.
And then the president convened a high-level meeting here in the White House Situation Room that paused briefly while President Mubarak spoke. So they were -- the President, Secretary of State Clinton and others stopped, we're actually told started watching President Mubarak's speech play out on the television. And they were quite disappointed in private, we're told, because they thought he might go a little further, this transition that's going to take months and months is not exactly what the U.S. was looking for.
And that's why the president later came out after a phone call with President Mubarak, where sources say President Obama was much more blunt and direct in saying you've got to leave a bit sooner than that. And then he came out publicly and you heard it. The transition needs to begin now. That's pretty direct in diplomatic terms that they want to see him go pretty quickly.
HOLMES: Well, Ed, you said pretty blunt there but it seemed a bit nuanced, as well. You can have a government that starts its transition a bit, with still him at the top.
Is the president or the administration, anybody going to come out and say, President Mubarak, say this publicly, you need to get out of there right now?
HENRY: That's where that diplomatic dance continues. It's frustrating many around the world because the U.S. is not being that direct in public as you suggest. Instead, hoping to, in private, send that message and with their public words make clear, number one, you've got to leave.
But secondly, you'll also notice that in the president's remarks he went further than he had before in saying, look, directly to the protesters. We hear your voices. To try to start getting behind them a little bit more than the White House has been before because, as you know, and we've been reporting, many of those protesters frustrated the U.S. has not gotten behind them sooner.
But, look, inside the White House when you mention that nuance, they don't want to two things to happen. Number one, they don't want their fingerprints over pushing Mubarak out of office and picking a successor. They don't think that will solve anything. And number two, they're still unclear here at the White House, who will fill the power vacuum. That's still a big question, T.J.
HOLMES: All right. Ed Henry for us at the White House.
Ed, thank you as always.
HENRY: Thank you.
HOLMES: And coming up later, we're going to be talking to a scholar on Egypt. He's a Notre Dame professor who's going to be joining us in just about 10 minutes here at the bottom of the hour -- Kiran.
CHETRY: All right. Also new this morning, the TSA is testing new software that makes the controversial airport body scan machines less revealing. The new technology shows just a generic outline of the body, rather than actual, physical characteristics, I guess you could say. And they're just seen by the screeners and the travelers. It's being tested at airports in Atlanta, in Washington, and in Las Vegas.
Up next on AMERICAN MORNING, could Florida's Turnpike soon become the Disney Turnpike? The new era of innovation as states try to close those budget gaps and come up with creative ways to make money.
And America's out-of-control cholesterol problem. Is the medicine you're taking even making a difference? A startling new study coming out that we'll tell you about. Twenty-one minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Well, breaking up is hard to do. And a new survey shows nearly 60 percent of people stay friends with their exes on Facebook. Seventy-four percent actually admit to Googling their exes and a third say that they've had relations with their ex after reconnecting online.
HOLMES: Moving right along -- Christine Romans.
(CROSSTALK)
HOLMES: Christine Romans, welcome back. Had a birthday this week. Happy birthday.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Thank you. Thank you. I did.
CHETRY: Happy birthday.
ROMANS: Thank you, guys. I took a couple of days off, played with the kiddies in the snow. Now it's ice and this is something -- the ice is coming at a crazy time, you guys, because the states are drowning in red ink, quite frankly. Now they're drowning in snow budgets.
This is all basically the worst year in history for state budgets trying to close these gaps. A veteran of the Governors Association, an outgoing executive director of the National Governors Association. This is what he told the "Washington Post" you guys. You basically had revenues fall off the cliff -- he's talking about the last five or six quarters. The financial meltdown and the great recession was just a huge game changer and I think it's going to last a decade -- a decade -- in terms of state impacts. He says you're not going to get back to where we were for state budgets until maybe 2014.
What does this mean for you? Everything from prisons to parks to pensions to pre-K, school principals, how much they're (sic) made and how long they were on the job. All of these decisions are made by state money.
CHETRY: You know, and every single one of those started with a P.
ROMANS: I know. Alliterate, right?
You can consolidate, you can cut, you can furlough for only so long. And now they got to get creative. Here are some of the things they're doing to try to come up with money. And you're going to be some really creative things over the next couple of years.
Renaming roads for cash in Florida. Imagine the Disney Highway -- Florida's Turnpike being called. That's just one idea out there. Increasing toll roads. Or imagine this. You got all these people spending all these hours in traffic. Record actually, last year, sitting in traffic. So you pay to go in the faster lanes. How's that if you -- yes. HOV lanes -- paying to be in HOV lanes.
Schools having slashed funding. Medicare funds. The incoming New York Governor Andrew Cuomo actually proposing that here in New York. $10 million budget gap he's got to close. We've seen advertisements on lockers. Advertisements on school buses. We've seen advertising on subways. You're going to be seeing a lot of new and innovative ways. Some would say innovative, some would say irritating ways --
CHETRY: Irritating, right. The red light cameras. We're talking about the red light cameras, they're up everywhere. And then that was to get revenue. It ended up finding out that it saved lives, as well.
ROMANS: Yes. So it'll be -- this is going to be a period of innovation for the states. They have got to find out ways to raise money because their revenues have just, as this man said, fallen off a cliff. Six and a half percent revenue growth, on average, since the '70s. And now it has just gone like that off the cliff.
You're going to feel this at home. And, if you have some creative ways, Facebook it for us. I'm interested in some creative ways to try to raise money on the state level.
HOLMES: Sounds like nickel and dime solutions, however, but it could add it. Every little bit helps.
ROMANS: That's right.
HOLMES: Christine, good have you back.
ROMANS: Sure. Thank you.
CHETRY: Well, next on AMERICAN MORNING, Egypt's uprising. President Mubarak is saying he will go away, but not right away. That's not sitting well with the protestors. We're going to talk with an Egyptian scholar about the country's unrest as its president clings to power.
HOLMES: Also this morning, we are getting an update on Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords' recovery from the person who has been boy her side the whole time. We're getting close to the bottom of the hour on this AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Welcome back.
There's a shot this morning of Boston. Six-thirty there right now, 25 degrees and snow. A little bit later, going up to 33 degrees. And they're looking at snow as well.
And apparently, service on Amtrak suspended on the northeast corridor between New York and Philadelphia. They say they are having some problems as well, power problems. So, probably weather-related.
HOLMES: Yes, people -- whether you are on the road, whether you're trying to take a train, whether you're trying to fly, you're going to have a problem today.
Welcome back to you all. T.J. Holmes here alongside Kiran Chetry. Bottom of the hour on this AMERICAN MORNING.
This winter blast -- it is moving. This massive is heading east, causing all kinds of problems. We've got blizzard conditions in the Midwest. And that ice in particular is moving to the east.
We have 11,000 flight cancellations over the past couple of days. Stay tuned with us. We're checking in with our crew who are all over the place.
Also today, NASA going to possibly reveal that there is life out there? Maybe. Maybe not. They're going to reveal the results of a space probe that has been out there looking for other planets and possibly some that could support life.
This is the Kepler probe that launched back in 2009. And that its mission: looking for stars and other planets out there. And the goal is to find those capable of supporting life. But, again, they are going to make an announcement today but we're not sure what that announcement will be. So, stay tuned.
Also, an update for you on Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords' recovery. Of course, she's recovering from that shooting. She's at a rehab center in Houston right now.
We haven't heard from her husband who has been by her side, Shuttle Commander Mark Kelly. But he did send us a tweet. The first one he's sent out for everyone in the past several days. But this is all it says, quote, "Today was a huge day for G.G. Lots of progress."
That's all we got, but we don't know what that progress was, but it sounds like she is still on her way to recovery -- Kiran.
KIRAN: All right. Well, now, to the unrest in Egypt. Anti- government protests have been going on for nine days now. Egypt's military is calling for an end to the demonstrations, saying their message has been heard. President Hosni Mubarak is stepping down, but not until a successor is elected in September.
Emad Shahin is a professor of religion, conflict and peace building at Notre Dame. He's also taught at American University in Cairo and joins us this morning from Washington.
Thanks so much for being with us.
EMAD SHAHIN, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR, UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME: Thank you for inviting me.
CHETRY: What is your reaction to Mubarak's statement last night saying that he wanted to be there for the transition so that he was not going to be seeking re-election but he's not immediately leaving either?
SHAHIN: Well, I think Mubarak is in a state of denial. As you know, he's a former pilot. And I think he's now driving by his pilot instincts. He think he's can dodge, outmaneuver, and buy time to mobilize some kind of support. We have seen today and last night some pro-Mubarak demonstrations, to give the impression that there's still support and there are still demands for him to stay in power in Egypt.
CHETRY: Right. I think our Ben Wedeman was reporting on this as well. We just checked in with him live. And he said that some aren't necessarily pro-Mubarak but they're pro establishing a little bit of normalcy right now because of the unrest due to the anti-Mubarak protests.
What do you think about how significant that is?
SHAHIN: I think it's insignificant. This is very classical that the government usually manipulates people. And sometimes pays them, instigates them, just to go for pro-government demonstrations. This is something very usual and it's very commonly seen in Egypt.
CHETRY: So, what is the next step then? What role should the United States have, if any, in trying to shepherd out Mubarak and see who comes to fill that vacuum?
SHAHIN: Well, I think -- what I heard from President Obama's speech yesterday shows that this is -- or at least for me -- this is as far as the U.S. administration can go in intervening or in meddling into this crisis. This is an internal debate between the Egyptian people and the regime of Hosni Mubarak. And I think it was a strong statement.
President Obama pitched a number of very important values and themes, and it's now up to the Egyptians to draw the lines between the dots. He talked about respect for human rights. He talked about the Egyptians' right to choose their leaders, and he talked about the need for transition now. So, it is really up to the Egyptians now to draw between the lines and change their government.
CHETRY: What about the concern about what role the Muslim Brotherhood will have? Is this a movement toward Islamic law, embracing a more fundamental Islam, subverting democracy as some have claimed? I mean, this was a group that was outlawed in '54.
SHAHIN: Yes, I don't think so. I think the Muslim Brotherhood has maintained a very low profile throughout the crisis. We haven't seen any kind of placard, slogans that embrace -- that embrace any of the Muslim Brotherhood's ideologies or themes. And at the same time, they behave as one of many key players in the crisis.
And we have models. Iran is one model. And I think we have another model, just in case, you know, the Muslim Brotherhood might play a role in the future. I think, you know, we have the Turkish model where there is a respect for democracy, respect for the fundamental basis of a secular republican system and (INAUDIBLE) transfer of power.
CHETRY: All right. Well, we'll have to see where this goes. We did get the news that the Internet access has now been restored and they are shortening curfews. We'll see how this plays out.
Emad Shahin, associate professor at Notre Dame -- thanks so much for joining us this morning.
SHAHIN: Thank you.
CHETRY: T.J.?
HOLMES: All right. Well, coming up next: a link possibly between removing a child's tonsils and weight gain? That's coming up.
Also, you think that roach motel you stayed in was bad -- how about a hotel made of garbage?
It's 36 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Thirty-nine minutes past the hour on this AMERICAN MORNING.
Protesters in Egypt have been saying it for a week. They've been saying it loud in the streets -- Mubarak must go. Well, he says he will, but not now.
CHETRY: Yes. CNN's Zane Verjee is following the latest developments from our London bureau.
And it was interesting because we saw pictures brought to us by Ben Wedeman in Cairo of a pro-Mubarak rally taking place. And our last guest, the professor who studies this at Notre Dame said that that just propaganda.
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it could be. It's unclear whether that was a spontaneous demonstration or that was deliberately planned.
There are a few things to keep your eye on today, guys. I mean, the message from the army today is very clear. They say go home. We've heard your message. It's time for Egypt to get back to normal.
The key thing we're going to need to see is how many protesters get out again on the streets and what happens with the demonstrations. Just keep in mind, too, that Egypt is a country of 82 million, OK? So, the video that we show you and the protests and the pictures are actually a small but very loud, and so far effective chunk of the population.
The other thing that's kind of a scary development -- I was talking to someone in Cairo this morning who says that there are gangs attacking people out on the streets that are against Mubarak and the other key question to ask is whether those are rent-a-mobs, you know? So, that could be an ominous development.
One question "The New York Times" says that you really should ask yourself, too, is, in any transition, what would be acceptable to the military, to the people on the streets that would not mean a win for the Muslim Brotherhood.
HOLMES: That's an interesting way to put it -- rent-a-mob there, Zain.
We want to turn to Australia. We've been watching -- they have gotten historic flooding there over the last week and month. But now, Australia is getting ready for a cyclone.
VERJEE: Yes, think about Katrina, guys, OK? This is as powerful as Hurricane Katrina. It's called Cyclone Yasi and it's packing winds of something like 155 miles an hour. There are people that have been told to evacuate. They haven't.
This is in Queensland, a place called Cairns. And basically, they are on their own for the next 24 hours. The government says you can't leave now.
So, people are really bracing themselves. There are about 150,000 people that are going to be impacted. And let's hope that the damage isn't too bad. But, you know, they've already been hit by devastating floods. So they just can't seem to catch a break.
HOLMES: All right. Zain, we want to keep chat with you but we got some news coming out of Egypt we want to get to. But thank you as always. And folks, you can see Zain every morning on "WORLD ONE," 5:00 a.m. Eastern Time right here on CNN.
CHETRY: All right. Well, developing in Cairo, pro-Mubarak demonstrators are now gathering in Tahrir Square with thousands of anti-government protesters.
And our Frederik Pleitgen is right there in Cairo following the latest developments for us.
Potential for clashes right now, Fred?
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): Well, there certainly is the potential, Kiran, for some big trouble brewing here. Let me show you the scene. The guys in the foreground you see moving towards Tahrir Square there, those guys are all anti-Mubarak protesters. Several thousand showed up here in central (INAUDIBLE) today. And as you can see, they are very vocal and heading towards Tahrir Square.
And if you pan over to Tahrir Square itself, the square itself is still occupied by anti-Mubarak protesters. And then if you go right in the middle to this building right here, that's the Egyptian museum, right there, there's only one little small line of soldiers that is separating these two sides. So, certainly there is a big, big danger here of these two sides clashing. The pro-Mubarak protesters which started coming here earlier this morning, more and more are coming into the city and are trying to make their way to Tahrir Square.
And as I said, there is very little holding these sides apart. It appears as though a lot of these anti-Mubarak protesters who have been in Tahrir Square for a very long time are also moving towards that little cordon. It's that big group of people that you see sort in that very small area. It's just separated by a couple of tanks there. Now, there's a little barricade there, but there isn't very much.
And down below, I can still see literally hundreds of pro-Mubarak protesters flocking to that area. If we go down there and look by that tank in the foreground, those guys are all pro-Mubarak guys. They're all trying to get over there.
I heard from some of these guys. This is also interesting. There were a couple of guys in the pro-Mubarak gathering who came up to me earlier today and said that they were workers for the national petro chemical company and they've had been forced to come here by their bosses. We don't want to say obviously all of these guys were forced to come here, but some of these state-run companies may be sending their people here. It is a lot of people and right now it seems like a very, very edgy situation here, Kiran.
CHETRY: Yes, and we can see it and we can hear -- we can hear the roar of the crowd. So, we'll check in with you as developments happen this morning. Thanks so much, Frederik Pleitgen for us.
Interesting that he said some of the pro -- people at the pro-Mubarak rally were oil workers who said that their bosses ordered them to go to it. So --
HOLMES: And it's so loud there, it's hard to make out. But there, once again as you see in the streets, even though Mubarak announced yesterday he was going to give them what they wanted, just not when they wanted it, and that's him exiting it.
CHETRY: All right. Well, still to come this morning: the massive storm continues to impact much of the U.S. We have thousands of flights canceled all over the country. We're going to be checking in with Jacqui Jeras next for the travel forecast and a timeline on when we could see this move out.
HOLMES: Also, fresh off of insulting just about everybody in the room at the Golden Globes. Ricky Gervais says, oh, he'll be back next year. It's quarter of the top of the hour on this AMERICAN MORNING.
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HOLMES: Forty-seven minutes past the hour. Good morning to you all. Good morning, Chicago. Stay home. That's what the National Weather Service is telling folks there. We could see record snowfall up to two feet there. And to give you an indication just how bad it is in Chicago, they canceled school today. It might not sound like a big deal, but it's the first time they've done it in 12 years.
Also, turn to Milwaukee now. Yes, they are -- ooh, they are getting it and getting it good this morning, aren't they? You just see an illustration there. Snow is going sideways. We've got blizzard conditions in many parts of the country as this storm continues to make its way east.
CHETRY: See. So, it's really been a nasty wake-up call for millions of Americans. The snow and the ice actually because, I mean, even if you have a four-wheel drive car, you're no match against ice. The monster storm, the worst we've seen in decades, hammering the nation's midsection. And the storm is, as we said, moving east into New England now where the season long deep freeze has melted away, not the snow, but the snow budgets of many communities.
Allan Chernoff is live for us in Boston this morning. And I know they were about two-thirds through it last storm. So, do they have anything left?
ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: No, it's blown, baby. It's blown. There's no doubt about that. But you know what they really need on every street have a look down there, if you can see, they just passed us by. These are incredible sweepers that have got the sidewalk in front of our hotel. Check this out. Nada. Pavement nothing. That's pretty incredible, because right now, we are getting round two.
Yesterday, we got six inches in Boston. It's more to the north. We're getting another six inches right now. And just look across the street, we basically got a winter wonderland over here. Untouched. And you can see it's just going higher and higher. This is pretty dry stuff. So, it's easy to move. But that doesn't mean that it's cheap to move.
Boston, because of this storm, will now have blown through its $16 million snow cleanup budget. Yesterday, we were in Quincy, they have spent three times what they had budgeted. So, this is turning out to be a very, very expensive winter. Back to you, guys.
CHETRY: You know, and $16 million for Boston. It doesn't actually sound like a lot for their budget. I mean, they get a ton of snow.
CHERNOFF: Yes, and, you know, they've got to do what they've got to do. I mean, you know, when it comes to snow, municipal officials know that is one of their primary tasks. You've got to keep those streets clean. They're doing a great job over here in Boston. People have been able to get by.
But keep in mind, there are certainly very narrow streets in this town and some streets, there's simply no place to put the snow. That's a big complaint right now. Some of these roads, they say they're turning into cattle pats.
CHETRY: Yes, and we are just in the first week of February. a long way to go before this melts. Allan Chernoff for us this morning in Boston. Thanks.
HOLMES: Let's turn to Jacqui Jeras now. She's at our Extreme Weather Center. How much longer, Jacqui?
JERAS: About 24 hours, guys, and this storm will be out of there, but, you know, the impact from it certainly is going to last a whole lot longer than that with people trying to get places and trying to keep those roadways clear. You know what, let's start out with a shot of Milwaukee. Let's talk -- because this is really the worst location on the nation right now when it comes to this blizzard.
The government there has issued now a civil danger warning because people are, apparently, trying to get out and drive in this on their way to work this morning. Hello! Stay home. You're going to get stuck. They're saying the emergency crews can't come and get you because it's so bad. Winds are gusting 45 miles per hour in Milwaukee. You had thunder snow last night for about four hours. So, the accumulation is going to be incredible.
Over a foot of snow is going to be expected here. And this is going to last at least through the morning hours. So, very dangerous. South of Milwaukee, we're talking about 10 to 15-foot snow drifts, believe it nor not. So, yes, you just can't move in that kind of stuff. Here's the storm system as a whole. The worst of it is because these winds are kicking in with those heavy accumulations and the enhancement as this thing comes off of the lake.
There you can see the winds and that's why it's just a complete white out. We've got icy conditions into the northeast. Freezing rain in New York. Allan was telling you about the snow in Boston, but that's going to be changing over to some freezing rain later on today. And I just want to scroll through a couple of things going on on the interstates. These are from the Department of Transportation. This is from Illinois. Everything is ice covered here across northern parts of the state.
This is Missouri. I-70 is closed down. Let's go to the next state. I believe, yes, here's Wisconsin. There you can see I-94 and 43 are closed. And then all of these little red dots here in Iowa, those are road closures. So, nobody is going anywhere today, guys. Just terrible out there.
CHETRY: Better to stay home if you can. Thanks, Jacqui.
HOLMES: Thank you so much.
Could there be a link between kids' weight gain and tonsillectomies? This was a study that was done by researchers who tested out 800 kids here, and they found out that more than half of them gained weight after having their tonsils taken out. They're not exactly sure why. Some are speculating maybe kids feel better, the throat feels better, maybe they're eating more. Half of million kids have their tonsils removed every single year. The study also says that, maybe, the risks outweigh the benefits.
CHETRY: The morning's top stories just minutes away, including Phil to the rescue. Will the Groundhog end all of this insane winter weather? We're going to find out in the next hour.
HOLMES: Also, free pizzas for everybody on Super Bowl Sunday, but first, something needs to happen that has never happened before. It's seven just top of the hour.
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CHETRY: A rumor mill is churning this morning about Ricky Gervais and whether or not he's going to return as the controversial host of the Golden Globes for a third time. It appears that Gervais himself actually started this rumor writing on his blog that the awards show organizers asked him to, quote, "consider a third year."
But the head of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association denies that Gervais was asked back. The group thought Gervais crossed the line with some of his jokes at last month's ceremony. Gervais says I don't know what I could do better, and the ratings were huge. So --
HOLMES: And I'd watched. If they bring him back, they will have a huge audience waiting to see what he's --
CHETRY: Was he going to pull out of chat this year?
HOLMES: We're going to go to the top of the hour, your top stories, including the weather and Egypt, right after the break. Stay here.
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