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Northeast Blizzard Could Be Record-Breaker; Boston Could Get 2 Feet of Snow; Storm Could Affect 40 Million; Thousands of Flights Canceled; A Psychological Look at Dorner; Storm Lights Up Social Media.

Aired February 08, 2013 - 13:30   ET

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

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: I know it's too soon to tell, but some folks are actually comparing this to the Great Blizzard of '78 when you had thousands of folks stranded, even people who died who died from that blizzard, that superstorm.

Give us a sense of how you're prepared now compared to back then. I assume that there is a lot more that you can do ahead of time so that doesn't happen.

RENE FIELDING, BOSTON EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT DEPARTMENT: Yes, absolutely. So the mayor has convened us probably two days ago starting with all the city planning. And so public works especially was able to get 34,000 tons of salt in and they're ready. They're ready to clear the streets and all that. They have 600 pieces of equipment out there. We've got the mayor's 4500 number, which is a 24 hour hotline where people can call. And he has that extra staffed up so that if any resident has a concern or something, they can call in and get an answer to their questions.

MALVEAUX: And, Rene, how should you prepare? How many days should you prepare for potentially being in your home, either stranded or stuck?

FIELDING: We always, when we go out, we say try to be able to take care of yourself for 72 hours. So have enough water and enough food to get you through that time. And that should be more than enough at this point.

MALVEAUX: All right. Rene Fielding, you've got your hands full. We wish you the best of luck in the next 72 hours. Looks like there will be an awful lot of snow.

Thanks, Rene. Appreciate it.

You heard Boston, among many of the cities in the northeast bracing for the very worst. Susan Candiotti is there. We'll get a live report up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: Major blizzard about to hit the northeast, blinding snow, howling winds, flooding, all threats from New York to Maine. 40 million people likely to be affected. Boston could get the worst of the storm.

Susan Candiotti is bundled up. She has her boots and everything.

You could be standing in more than two feet of snow tomorrow, Susan?

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Oh, yes, at least two feet of snow, and possibly in some areas of the state up to three feet of snow. That's hard to imagine.

You know, one of the things they're talking about, too, is this is just the beginning stages of it. But once all that snow comes in and people starting going out and try to shovel it away, they're saying don't dump it in the streets because we have to let the truck come through and clear it out. So patience, of course, always the key.

The winds pick up every now and again. Right now, it's not so bad but then you get a stronger gust. The snow is coming right at me. It's a light but wet snow. It is sticking together, but barely covering the grass at this point.

And we're also seeing people still walking around. A gentleman was here just a couple minutes ago, said, I'm out to find some food. He didn't stock up yet. But he said he's not worried about it, about the storm, about the blizzard warnings. They're ready to see it through.

Remember, these emergency warnings are in effect for not only Massachusetts, but the surrounding states of Connecticut and Rhode Island, as well. So as you well know, this entire region will get hit and hit strong.

MALVEAUX: And, Susan, looking behind you there, you said there are just a couple folks out there looking for food. Have businesses shutdown? Are restaurants still open?

CANDIOTTI: You put your finger on. That's the problem. He was saying he hasn't been able to find anything open yet. Certainly, most of the businesses are shutting down early if they haven't already. So trying to find a store that is still open or a restaurant that hasn't closed its doors yet, has now become critical if you didn't already stock up. So you may be eating dry cereal for the next few days.

But that's why people who live in this -- as you know, you know when the storms are approaching that you have some things ready to carry you through the next 72 hours. You just had a guest on there that reminded everyone of that. And so for the most part, you know, you can fill up the faucets with water, make sure you have enough of that. Hopefully, you have some batteries set aside. Hopefully, you've got some non-perishable food to get you through the next few days, if it comes to that.

MALVEAUX: All right, Susan. And you might have to eat try cereal for a couple days, too.

Thank you, Susan. Appreciate it.

It will be a long wait for thousands of flights. They're being canceled today and tomorrow as well. This is throughout the northeast. This is what we're watching. This is what we're dealing with, next 72 hours.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: So this is what travelers across the country are actually seeing, the words "canceled." So far, more than 3500 flights have been canceled at dozens of airports across the country.

Zain Asher is at LaGuardia.

Zain, I just came from there last night in a mad dash to get out of all that. Show us the big board. People are stuck now, I imagine, yes?

ZAIN ASHER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, air travel right now is pretty much dismal. I'm going to show you what it looks like right now, LaGuardia. There is a little bit of activity, but that's all going to change as the storm draws closer. Roughly, around 3:00, 4:00 this afternoon, this whole area right here is pretty much going to be a ghost town. That's because as you mentioned, roughly, around 3600 flights pretty much canceled up and down the northeast.

Let me just break down what the airlines are saying. So Delta Airlines saying that 830 flights canceled. American Airlines saying they're stopping all flights in and out of New York City roughly around 4:00. United stopping all flights roughly around 3:00 p.m. So that's this about an hour and a half from now.

But there is a glimmer of hope because now United and American are both saying that they hope -- fingers crossed -- they hope to resume all travel roughly around noon tomorrow. So obviously, it does depend on just how severe the weather gets, but that's what they're hoping for.

And I want to mention that I did speak to one traveler -- a couple, saying that they had travel plans to go to Mexico. They wanted to get away from the crazy weather and they had plans to leave this afternoon. But they were lucky enough to get them rescheduled.

Here's what they had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP):

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We were watching the storm approach with some trepidation. We saw the forecast yesterday. We decided that we weren't going to get out of here.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If you couldn't make arrangements really early, I just would stay home. I'd really hate to be in the airport for two or three days.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ASHER: And I also want to show you one more thing. Take a look behind me. Both those boards, arrival, departures, completely canceled. Virtually every single flight canceled. And I saw some people here taking photographs of those boards because it's really something you don't see every day, especially at a huge airport like this. Every single flight out of LaGuardia Airport this afternoon completely canceled -- Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: That poor couple, too. Just trying to get to the beach to take a little vacation, a little rest. Not likely going to happen.

Zain, thank you very much. Really appreciate it.

We're covering another major story. This is Christopher Dorner. He is on the run, his face plastered on billboards around southern California. Why? Of course, he is wanted. A manhunt going after and targeting cops to kill. We'll take a look at his psychological profile.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: Could be a storm of historic proportions closing in on New England. Boston, one of the cities in the bull's-eye. Could get more than two feet of snow. Governors of Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut, they've all declared state of emergencies in their states. More than 3500 flights now have been canceled. Tens of millions of people are now in the path of that storm.

We're also following this, the search of a former Los Angeles cop, Christopher Dorner, focusing on the Big Bear resort area. That is where police say they found his torched pick up truck and footprints leading away from it. Officers say the tracks disappeared in the icy ground. Police are using armored personnel carriers, snow-cat tractors to try to search the snowy mountains.

Dorner is a sharpshooter with military training. He is accused of now killing three people, including a police officer and a retired officer's daughter.

In his manifesto, this murder suspect, Christopher Dorner, tries to explain and even justify why he's doing this. He says he's taking revenge against the LAPD because he was fired.

Want to bring in our clinical psychologist, Jeff Gardere, to talk about it.

You wonder about the guy's mindset here. 11 page manifesto, very detailed. He's on a shooting rampage. He's seeking revenge. What do we know about what kind of personality he might have, if it's a disorder, if you think he's mentally ill, or this guy just utterly dangerous?

JEFF GARDERE, CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST & CNN CONTRIBUTOR: He is a very dangerous individual. This is well planned. He's playing it out in a fluid fashion. The intelligence is there. The intent is there. The rage is there, Suzanne.

But this isn't something that just happened one day. I think this was a person with severe personality disorder, who felt that everyone was picking on him, who felt that he was a victim. We've seen this over and over again. He had the slow deterioration, and he snapped and he's over the edge.

MALVEAUX: What do you learn from the manifesto, where he says he's going to go on some sort of warfare against the LAPD?

GARDERE: At this point, he has nothing to lose. He is declaring war on the LAPD. He's very intent on what he wants for do as far as taking out certain individuals, wants to make sure that the LAPD is exposed. He wants journalists to investigate this. So he's got a very broad plan. It's not just about killing people. It's about exposing the whole LAPD and, of course, getting people to look into his story.

Again, that victim mindset, that he has been wronged and he's going to make it right, but he's going to do it in a way that no one is going to win.

MALVEAUX: So, Jeff, a lot of people feel like they're victims from time to time. A lot of people feel like they're arrest gets of racism or they've been fired unjustly. What is the difference between this guy and a lot of other folks who don't go on shooting rampages?

GARDERE: And that is the point. Many of us have been wronged in our lives. We know racism is real. And I don't doubt that some of these things have happened to him that he talked about. However, it's the way that we handle it. It's our ego system, the way that we perceive the situation, and the way that we try to solve it in an appropriate manner. This person operates strictly from the id, strictly from rage. It's only about revenge at this point. Certainly, if we all behaved this way, our society would disintegrate.

MALVEAUX: So how do you advise the cops to get with to negotiate, if you can negotiate with this guy, to convince him to turn himself in without killing others?

GARDERE: I think it's very, very difficult. I know Reverend Jesse Jackson has offered himself as far as trying to negotiate, but this person has already killed. The damage has been done. His plan has been set into motion. He knows that he does not want to live through this thing, so he's been successful in that, just by itself. I would advise the police, yes, try to negotiate. You want to preserve life. But I think the LAPD knows that, at this point, they're going to have to take him down.

MALVEAUX: He's not likely going to survive this alive, yes.

GARDERE: I don't think so.

MALVEAUX: All right, Jeff, thank you very much. Appreciate it.

The other story we're covering, of course, the weather. The governors of Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts declaring states of emergency ahead of this huge blizzard that is heading their way. We're going to take a look at some pictures that folks are sharing, social media sites up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: We're keeping an eye on social media as the storm bears down in the northeast.

George Howell is following all things Twitter, Instagram --

GEORGE HOWELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: All things on Twitter, all atwitter.

MALVEAUX: -- iPhones, all that stuff. People are worried but have a good sense of humor about it as well, right?

HOWELL: They do. I think right now it is a matter of watching a storm come in. We have iReports already. I want to show you videos of this. One iReporter in Queens took this video. See the snow coming down. Pretty sight there, starting to coat the road, yes.

Different than what you would see in Manhattan. More traffic there, less traffic right there in Queens, so we can see the snow on the road, coating the cars. Give it a few hours, may not be quite as pretty.

(LAUGHTER)

MALVEAUX: It'll look really different. Yes, the snow is really light there.

How are some other folks preparing?

HOWELL: Well, you know, we're also starting to see other pictures. I want to show you this image from Boston, from Logan Airport. Look at that. So when you cancel thousands of flights, Suzanne, and you have a storm like this coming in, that's what you get. Have you ever seen that at Logan, one of the busiest airports in the country? So that's definitely an interesting sight from Instagram.

This is an iReport, an image, an iReport, that's what we're seeing at different stores. People went to the stores in advance of the storm. They got food, water, everything like that, just to be prepared in case they're stuck in their homes for some time.

MALVEAUX: No bread. Why do people always run for the bread? I don't know.

(LAUGHTER)

I got something else.

HOWELL: What would you get?

MALVEAUX: Some fried chicken.

(LAUGHTER)

HOWELL: There you go. I would watch out for that too. People have to get as much food as possible.

I want to show you also, from our affiliates, they're covering the same thing. This is what you're seeing in the stores, the same thing. People are buying up food, trying to get ready for the storm.

And also at the gas station, Suzanne. You were talking about this a minute ago, when a storm came through the last time, fights at gas stations.

MALVEAUX: Oh, yes, that's right, in New York.

HOWELL: No fights at this point, but look at these lines. That's --

(CROSSTALK)

MALVEAUX: Already people were, like, kind of anticipating it happening.

HOWELL: Yes. That was video taken overnight. People still preparing, getting ready for the storm.

And I want to show you, or talk to you about what people are saying online. One person reached out to me to say, "No fights, just people helping people. Friends helping friends -- that's good -- in response to the fights.

MALVEAUX: Let's hope that doesn't change. Couple of days, give that a little time, that might change.

HOWELL: And I want to read this to you. "Six inches of snow in Portland, Maine, as of 1:00 p.m and we haven't seen the main event yet."

So people know that this is going to be a big storm, they're expecting, you know.

MALVEAUX: They know it's coming.

HOWELL: Yes. They could be stuck in their homes.

MALVEAUX: Hopefully, won't be fighting over anything, including the fried chicken.

HOWELL: I would probably get chocolate or something.

MALVEAUX: Yes, stock up on chocolate.

HOWELL: Chocolate.

MALVEAUX: Chocolate more than bread.

HOWELL: Fried chicken.

MALVEAUX: Yes, you know.

(LAUGHTER) HOWELL: All right.

MALVEAUX: Thank you, George.

40 million people are in the path of the blizzard that is just beginning to hit the northeast. We're going to have the latest on the potential impact from New York to Maine.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: Actor Hugh Grant among those receiving phone hacking settlements today from Rupert Murdoch's company, one of many celebrities, "News International," the folks who actually received those settlements. It's not going to go to trial. Actually, received substantial damages. The suit stems from a widespread scandal involving the hacking of celebrities, politicians and others by Murdoch tabloids.

Well, somebody hacked into private e-mails of the Bush family. Secret Service, they want to know who did this. Investigators not saying much yet. But a bunch of private family messages, photos, phone numbers, popped up on a gossip web site last night. One of the private family pictures shows former President George H.W. Bush in a hospital bed where he recently spent several weeks.

CNN NEWSROOM continues now. That's it for me. Now, with Brooke Baldwin.