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Blizzard Hammers New England; Police Search Mountains for Ex- Cop; First Lady Attends Teen's Funeral
Aired February 09, 2013 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: You are in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Brianna Keilar, in for Don Lemon.
Let's get you up to speed on the stories making news this hour.
First, this storm and now the dig out. Some parts of the Northeast got off light, and other parts got slammed with more than three feet of snow. The blizzard is pretty much over, but New Englanders have a few days of hard work ahead before life returns to normal.
And about 100 miles east of Los Angeles --
(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS)
KEILAR: That sound, police helicopters you can hear them there as they took over the air today over the San Bernardino Mountains, searching for an elusive ex-cop. Christopher Dorner has been the target of an intense manhunt after allegedly killing three people this week in a vendetta against the LAPD. Live coverage straight ahead on that story.
Saying goodbye to a teen shot dead not far from her school.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hallelujah. That no matter what the devil tries to do!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: First Lady Michelle Obama was on hand in Chicago today for the funeral of Hadiya Pendleton. The 15-year-old honor student was killed a week after performing at President Obama's inauguration. The pastor at the service said the teen has become the face of, quote, "the epidemic of violence in the U.S."
Boeing is warning airlines the investigation into the Dreamliner jets may delay delivery of the 787s. The FAA grounded the 787 over concerns about fires caused by the jet's batteries. Meanwhile, the head of the largest airlines group says he's confident Boeing will resolve problems with the 787, but it will take several months.
This weekend's blizzard had the potential to break severe weather records all over New England, I should say, while New York City and long island missed the big one. Take a look at this snow bank. This is Wallingford, Connecticut and that is 44 inches of snow. At one point, snow was coming down at four to five inches per hour.
Let me show you Boston now. Twenty-one inches of snow accumulated there. It's tapering off now as the storm heads to sea.
But live now to Boston, and CNN's Jason Carroll.
Jason, the story that you are telling is a tragic one. This has emerged from the storm. A little boy who was just helping his dad shovel some snow -- what happened?
JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, like so many little boys and little girls who came out today to help their parents dig out from the snow, we saw it on this street, Brianna, and that's how the day started for a father and his 12-year-old son. They headed out at about 11:30 this afternoon, went to clear off the snow off the car, dig out the car, they got the passenger side free.
The little boy, the 12-year-old boy, got cold. Like many children do, he decided to hop inside the car to stay warm. What the father did not know is that the tail pipe was clogged with snow, the boy became overcome with carbon monoxide.
At a certain point, a firefighter who lives in the neighborhood, Octavius Roe, heard screams, he came out to see what was going on and he saw the father was in distress. He tried to help him, he looked over on the other side and saw a 25-year-old woman who happened to be a nurse giving the young boy CPR, at that point he describes what he saw next.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OCTAVIUS ROE, NEIGHBOR & FIREFIGHTER: EMS -- EMS and fire were coming out with the boy at this point. And around this point, I got a good look at his face. Eyes were rolled back in his head. I've seen that look before.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CARROLL: The nurse who was here on the scene could not help, paramedics could not help either. The boy was later pronounced dead at the hospital.
The governor weighing in on the issue, also Boston's mayor weighing in, saying, quote, "The news of the tragic accident is a sad reminder that the danger of the storm is not over. Our hearts go out to that family and their friends who are learning of this tremendously sad accident."
And, Brianna, it is a reminder. As you can see from the street behind me here, so many cars still buried in snow. As you imagine, so many people are going to be coming out tomorrow just like they did today, to dig out their cars. And this is a reminder that even though the storm has passed, there's potentially dangerous situations that still, that still exist if you are not careful -- Brianna. KEILAR: Yes, carbon monoxide, a very real threat. You may not have thought of it, though, in that situation. A lot of times it might with people using alternative heating sources in their house, Jason. But I'm wondering, because I look behind you and I see just how the snow has built up in their road.
Were firefighters able to even get to the boy?
CARROLL: Well, what's interesting about that -- because Octavius Roe is himself a firefighter. He was able to call his local department and get them there almost immediately. So getting to the young boy wasn't the issue. Of course, the issue was the carbon monoxide, and it's one of those things that, you know, that they call it a sort of silent killer, because it's one of the things that you just don't think about -- Brianna.
KEILAR: And just a matter of minutes, as I understand it. Jason Carroll for us in Boston -- thank you.
Well, here is the blizzard by the numbers. The highest wind gust was clocked at Cuttyhunk Island in Massachusetts, 83 miles per hour. That puts this blizzard in category one hurricane territory.
Some limited airline services back, but more than 5,000 airline flights ultimately were grounded. And at one point during the storm, nearly 660,000 homes lost power.
Now, if fugitive ex-cop Chris Dorner is hiding in the San Bernardino Mountains, he's likely dealing with snow and cold. The police have been going door to door in the Big Bear area, looking for any signs of break ins at the numerous vacation homes there in case Dorner has sought shelter.
His burning truck was found in the area two days ago. This was after he killed three people, including a police officer.
CNN's Paul Vercammen and Casey Wian have the latest on the manhunt.
Paul, we're going to start with you. You are in Big Bear Lake. What can you tell us from your viewpoint there?
PAUL VERCAMMEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Brianna, we have just learned that the Department of Homeland Security has advisories out, to be on a lookout pertaining to Dorner and aircraft. CNN has looked into this and while Dorner does not have a pilot's license, this lookout said that TSA requests that operators use an increased level of awareness. This means airports in the area and that they should secure unattended aircraft and check the ID of every pilot and passenger.
Now, we checked with the Big Bear Lake Airport and they say they know who is coming and going and they said, quote, "It is not a viable possibility," meaning that Dorner got on a plane here.
And while we are on the subject of the air, you pointed out, they were able, after very bad weather conditions the past two days to get helicopters up and resume their search. Of course, they are looking at all the snow for any fresh footprints and they say that tracking someone is a lot easier in fresh snow than hardened ice over days and days.
And then, that door to door search resumed, we saw teams of officers. At one point, there was two SWAT officers, and other officers, they would trudge through snow, approach doors, peeking window, knock and make sure that there was no one in there. That because Big Bear is a vacation area, these are many second homes and many of these homes remain vacant, and that's why the painstaking search in this region going almost to a grid house to house to make sure Dorner is not hidden anywhere there.
Why is everything pointing to Big Bear still? Because that's the last clue that we've had to Dorner. That truck that we saw, the burned out truck with a broken axle, you may recall there was a bulletin at one point that said, Dorner had rifles with suppressors on them and night vision goggles. They are very concerned about Dorner because of the maliciousness that was evident throughout his manifesto and the belief that he was well-armed. After all, in that manifesto, he had bragged that he had a Barrett .50 cal, meaning, a very powerful sniper rifle -- Brianna.
KEILAR: And that he could have multiple weapons as well.
Paul Vercammen for us there in Big Bear Lake.
Let's bring in CNN's Casey Wian now. He's in L.A.
Casey, there have been sightings of Dorner, alleged sightings. I mean, obviously, it may or may not be him. We are talking Las Vegas, all the way to New Mexico.
Since authorities don't know yet know where he is, how wide a net are they casting in this manhunt?
CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you just talked about it, Brianna, from as far away as Las Vegas, where he had property, all the way to the Mexican Border, south of San Diego. And that's where CNN found some very exclusive video of Dorner taken on Monday, earlier this week.
Now, you may recall that the first two victims of this killing spree that police say Dorner is the main -- the only suspect in, were Monica Quan and Keith Lawrence. Monica, the daughter of a former LAPD official. Keith Lawrence, her fiance.
Twelve hours after their murder was reported, this surveillance video was shot outside a business in National City, California. It shows a pick up truck that police say was Dorner's pickup truck, and it shows a man reassembling Dorner getting out of the truck, throwing several items in the dumpster behind the business.
Here's what the owner said happened when this was all discovered.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) MAJID YAHYAI, OWNER, PLATINUM AUTO SPORTS: When I came in, opened the shop, and business as usual, one of the employees went to throw the trash after he came back, he came back with a clip, like a magazine full of bullets, a belt, a military belt and a helmet.
And he brought it to me, and said, where did you find it? He said, I find it in the back of the dumpster.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WIAN: Now, ironically, that business owner, all he had to do was walk across the street, the city's police station right across the street. That's how he reported it. Scary to think that Dorner was right across from a police station, just hours after he allegedly committed the first of three killings -- Brianna.
KEILAR: That is so close. Unbelievable. Casey Wian for us there in L.A. -- thank you.
Now, the temperatures, they are dropping dangerously low tonight across the Northeast, and our Ali Velshi is braving the elements, as per usual. He is Dennis Port, Massachusetts. We'll be getting a live report from him, ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KEILAR: Night has fallen on New England and what's left of the blizzard is blowing snow around on the Massachusetts shoreline. That is where our Ali Velshi is standing by for us right now.
I see, Ali -- it almost looks like it's snowing, but you said it's actually blowing snow. This has been the case for you now, for a few hours. Is it calming down at all, the winds?
ALI VELSHI, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it is. You know, I have been really -- I've been getting a PhD in meteorology tonight. I think I don't know.
It is actually -- some of it's coming from the sky, and some of it is just blowing around. The storm is not actually fully gone. We are at the back end, but the eastern part of Cape Cod, and I'm just a midge a bit in the eastern part of Cape Cod still has some residual snow.
What you see is not much wind. I mean, I've been here for 30 hours or something like that. And in many cases, I couldn't even stand, I'd be hunched over, I have been having my back to the wind, I can't completely face you. These are light snowflakes.
But the ground has become icy. It has very, very cold. We are about 22 degrees with a wind chill, it's colder. And the problem is, a number of people lost power sometime between 3:00 in the morning last night and again this morning, 6:00 or 7:00.
So, what's happened is after a day of having no power, the houses have become very, very cold. Now, this morning, we went to the local shelter. There are about 15 people there, about 200 beds.
Now, we have just come back from a drive there in the last hour and it now has 165 people there and more coming in on buses on an ongoing bases. The Red Cross is running it. The Army National Guard is helping to take pressure off of the local police and fire department for these non-emergency needs by bringing people to the shelters.
So, the houses are getting cold and they are not getting repaired because -- the electricity is not getting repaired because the roads are not cleared yet. The snow hasn't fully stopped and the wind hasn't stopped completely. So the bucket crews cannot be in there fixing power lines.
So that's the problem that we've got tonight. It is cold. It is getting colder and a lot of people who have prepared for a power outage may not be prepared for a power outage all the way through this very cold night into tomorrow. So, that's the problem we've got here, as the storm leaves New England.
I also want to tell you, it's not fully left New England. Parts of eastern Maine are still under a blizzard watch and this is moved to Nova Scotia and the Canadian maritime. So, it's not that it's gone out to sea and nobody is being affected by this. This is still a deadly storm for millions of people who are still bearing the brunt of it tonight, Brianna.
KEILAR: Ali Velshi for us there on the cape, I hope that you can still feel your fingers and toes, Ali -- although I have my doubts.
VELSHI: Yes, it's cold. It's cold.
KEILAR: It is. Ali Velshi, thank you.
Well, when the storm was at its most severe, a couple of thousand people on Long Island took shelter at one of the only places that was big enough to accommodate them all safely. CNN's Mary Snow is there.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This Wal-Mart is an unlikely shelter but more than two dozen people came out here to camp out here, forced to abandon their cars. You can see some people are still sleeping here. They have been here all night, all day. Some just miles away from their home, but they can't get there, because roads are not passable.
One person who spent the night and day here is Jean Miller (ph).
Jean, you left work, you said, at 3:30 Friday. You thought you had enough time -- more than enough time to get home safely.
JEAN MILLER: Right. What normally takes me 45 minutes took me three hours just to get to Middle Island, and another four hours, I sat in front of this Wal-Mart trying to get through, and the roads were not passable.
SNOW: You came in, this was supposed to be closed. The manager opened it up to people like you. What was it like here last night?
MILLER: Well, I was very happy to come into a warm place. I was soaking wet just from sitting out there and having to get in and out of the car to continually wipe off the snow. So were a lot of people. They came in. Some people chose to stay out in their car, but then they came in in the morning for some hot coffee and donuts that Wal- Mart store manager Jerry Greek put out for us.
And, you know, we were just happy to be indoors and not out there.
SNOW: And you are only a few miles from home.
MILLER: I'm two miles from here. Yes.
SNOW: Not sure when you are getting there.
MILLER: Nope, I was going to walk it today, but the firemen came and said the roads are very impassable and so I will stay put and as long as Wal-Mart will continue to host us and they have been very great. They equaled the American Red Cross. Yes.
SNOW: Jean Miller, thank you very much for your time.
And some other people are saying, you know, they just don't know when they will be able to get home.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KEILAR: Mary Snow for us there on Long Island. To California now, searchers are trying to pick up the trail of an accused cop killer in the mountains east of Los Angeles, new details about the extensive training that Chris Dorner has had to show just how dangerous he really is. That is ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KEILAR: One person is hospitalized and another missing after an explosion and fire at an industrial gas facility near Houston. This happened this morning at the air liquid plant. Fifteen to 20 people were in the area when the blast occurred. No word on the cause.
This is a plant that houses a mix of industrial gases that include nitrogen and hydrogen.
And in Iraq, a rocket attack today killed at least five people left dozens of others wounded. Iraqi police say 20 rockets rained own on what was once Camp Liberty in Baghdad. It's now home to an exiled Iranian group. No word on who was behind the attack.
And the Secret Service is investigating the hacking of Bush family e- mails. Some of the emails were posted on a gossip Web site, including message from Presidents George H.W. and George W. Bush. A spokeswoman for Jeb bush's office called it an outrageous breach of privacy.
And as police search snowy mountain east of Los Angeles for a suspected killer, we are getting a chilling picture of just how dangerous Chris Dorner might be. Our Kyung Lah obtained exclusive video of Dorner as a police cadet. And as you were about to see, Dorner stood out right away.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Christopher Dorner, LAPD cadet, in 2005.
(on camera): What do you think watching this? Considering what's happened?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, he's an expert with weapons, definitely. He's definitely dangerous.
LAH: This man spent months with Dorner at the LAPD Training Academy. We are altering his voice and not showing his face because he fears Dorner will go after his police friends. But he wants the public to see this, so people understand what the LAPD is facing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You look at Chris, you can see he's a little bit of an expert. The way -- watch, his arms, he'll shoot, you -- almost no movement when he shoots the gun, and then pop, like nothing.
LAH: So, he stood out?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, he stood out. He knew what he was doing. The LAPD has -- they're going to be going after one of their own former, and he knows, like I say, he knows what he's doing. He knows how to use everything.
LAH: Being a cop, do you think that it was -- could you tell that it was important to him?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, I think it was very important to him. Yes.
LAH: You could see it?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
LAH: Even during the training?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right, yes. I think it's a 300-pound dummy and he does that easily.
LAH: Easily? This is 300 pounds.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. I believe that's 300 pounds.
LAH: So, this is a very strong man?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right.
LAH (voice-over): But not everything was easy for Dorner, the aspiring police officer. This man says he witnessed drill instructors picking on him for his weight and slow running. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When I hear about how angry he is about the LAPD, I think that fits to my experience with him. I could kind of, you know -- that matches up when he says things about LAPD, matches up to the way I think he had his experience through the LAPD, especially the academy.
LAH: But this man never spoke to Dorner but he never forgot the cadet.
(on camera): But your thought was, this man represents power and --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, exactly. I wanted to show -- when I was going to use it, I wanted to show, put music, show the LAPD is powerful, look at this powerful man handling this gun.
LAH: Is it frightening to think that the LAPD is now facing this man?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, yes. I mean, this guy is no joke.
LAH (voice-over): And one police are taking very seriously.
Kyung Lah, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KEILAR: Fifteen-year-old honor student Hadiya Pendleton was remembered today. The Chicago teen has become a symbol for the nation's debate on gun violence since she was killed in a park near her school.
First Lady Michelle Obama attended the funeral.
And our Athena Jones has more on the service and the first lady's visit.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi. The first lady traveled here to Chicago because she and the president were heartbroken to learn of Hadiya Pendleton's passing. And she wanted to come and offer sympathies to Pendleton's loved ones.
The first lady did not speak here, but she did meet before the service with about 30 of Hadiya Pendleton's friends and classmates and also had a private meeting with her family. The service was about 3-1/2 hours long, and it included speeches and remarks from a long list of Hadiya Pendleton's friends, classmates, teammates and family members.
Some of it quite emotional, let's listen to what her mother Cleopatra Pendleton had to say.
CLEOPATRA PENDLETON, MOTHER OF SLAIN TEENAGER: I don't know how hard this really is. And those of you that do know how hard this, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. No mother, no father should ever have to experience this. JONES: Now, this service was also meant to be a celebration of the young Hadiya Pendleton's life. This was a young woman who was excited to go the college one day, perhaps major in journalism or pharmacology.
Her parents they want her death to be a part of the gun violence debate. And her father hopes that this will bring both sides together. He says he wants to see not a Democratic approach or a Republic approach to reducing gun violence but a multi-faceted one.
The program for Pendleton's funeral included a copy of handwritten from President Obama himself. And it read in part, "We know that no words from us can soothe your pain, but rest assured that we'll work as hard as we can to end this senseless violence."
Athena Jones, CNN, Chicago.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KEILAR: Travel bans were put in effect well ahead of the blizzard in the Northeast, a preemptive strike to prevent people from getting trapped in their cars. But just how much good did that decision do?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KEILAR: Coming up on half past the hour now. Let's take a look at some of the stories making headlines this hour.
We start with the search for a renegade ex-cop. Clear skies today allowed police to use helicopters in the mountains east of Los Angeles. Christopher Dorner's burned truck was found in the area two days ago. He has been the target of an intense manhunt after allegedly killing three people this week in a vendetta against the LAPD.
And former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords will attend President Obama's State of the Union address on Tuesday night. She will be a special guest on of Congressman Ron Barber, who replaced her last year. Giffords was critically injured in that shooting in 2011, that mass shooting. Several Democrats have invited victims of gun violence to draw attention to the issue.
Boeing conducted a test flight of his troubled 787 Dreamliner today. This was the first since the plane was grounded three weeks ago because of battery fires. That 787 was special measuring equipment flew around Washington state. Boeing has warned airlines, the FAA investigation may delay delivery of new 787s.
Out of this world news from the Mars rover, Curiosity, for the first time, the rover has used the drill to collect a sample from a Martian rock. NASA says that the rover will now analyze the rock powder sample and it could hold evidence of a wet environment that disappeared long ago. Two months ago, curiosity stumbled upon an area where it appears that water once flowed. Massachusetts, Connecticut and other states ordered an immediate travel in the hours leading up to the blizzard, many thought the ban has defines a threat of jail time was a little bit harsh, but it was obviously all in an effort, and this is what officials were saying, to keep people from getting trapped and dying in their cars during the height of the storm. Because that is what happened during the blizzard of 1978.
So, let's bring our CNN meteorologist, Chad Myers in.
Was it too harsh? Did it make a difference? Is this why we are seeing so few depth, you think?
CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, I hope it made a difference, I really do. Because if you go back and look at the tape of any show of the past three days, if the anchor asked me the question, what are you more concerned with? My answer would be that people will be that people will leave too late from wherever they are going, trying to get home. There will be a couple of inches of snow on the ground, they will slide or there will be a reckon in front of them and they will not be home and they will be stuck in their cars for 24 hours. That was my answer to Wolf, to Ashleigh, to any anchor that asked me that question. Because you know, people get stuck in cars. You have a little bit of gas left, you use it to heat. Things can happen with carbon monoxide, like we saw just now in Boston.
KEILAR: That little boy.
MYERS: That little boy. You go out to the car and you have to kind of clear the exhaust pipe every once in a while. It is dangerous out there. You are all by yourself, and you are putting firefighters, rescuers, National Guard in danger going to get you. That was my biggest concern. And I am glad that those governors did what they did. It's a gift of to it.
Another thing happened too. We had a fantastic forecast, not just watching us. I mean, just the computers --
KEILAR: Compared to 1978, I mean, that has must been so much better.
MYERS: Those computers were 48 hours in advance this time, even four days for the European model. But don't give me start on that.
(LAUGHTER)
MYERS: So, 48 hours on the forecast, we said, we could have had 24- inch snowfall. So, people were listening. It just did not pop up on them, 12 hours in advance and they are under a rock --.
KEILAR: They could plan.
And we hope it was part of that, it was common sense and they were heeding the warnings was part of it also that it was this Friday and the Saturday event? That helps. That always helps, right?
MYERS: I think part of it that it was the threat of 36 inches of snowfall somewhere and you would have no idea what to do wit and we still do not have an idea what to do with that in many years on 38 inches and the wind still blowing, and it's still snowing on Ali Velshi.
KEILAR: That is right. Of course, it is. He is the last one to have the snow out., as for usual, right? That's what I said.
Chad, thank you very much.
MYERS: You are welcome.
KEILAR: And on the phone with me right now in Boston is Juliette Kayyem. I hope I am saying that right. She is with the "Boston Globe" and is a former assistant secretary in the department of homeland security.
So Juliet, first of all, are you safe where you are and what are the conditions like in your part of the city right now?
JULIETTE KAYYEM, COLUMNIST, BOSTON GLOBE (via phone): We are definitely safe. I'm in Cambridge, Massachusetts. We got probably close to 29 inches. I did not step outside for about 24 hours and did a lot of shoveling with neighbors today. So, all is good, the streets are cleared and we will just wait for things to get back to normal over the next 48 hours.
KEILAR: So, I think you may have just heard me talking to our meteorologist Chad Myers and obviously, you dealt with severe weather response and preparation when you were at DHS. In your view, how were logistics handled for this emergency?
KAYYEM: I think incredibly. I mean, I have been working in state government as well as the federal government. I do think there was something to having that kind of notice to the governor Deval Patrick and Boston mayor Menino sort of canceling everything on Friday. All of our kids were home. You could sort of prep for it.
But, I think the most important thing was the car prohibition, the driving prohibition which was in effect for about 24 hours. The cars are back on the road now. It got everyone off the road. It was taken seriously. I mean, it sort of -- the point of it was to say, this is a big deal. And -- and then, you did not have the kind of accidents. And I think Chad was picking up on it too is that what generally happens is people get in their cars and then they get in trouble and then they call first responders and then you have this sort of domino effect and the first responders have to help them. And so, there was actually the rule in place, if you are in your car, you could get a $500 fine and up to one year in prison. No one thought that would happen, but just in case something horribly because --
KEILAR: And, obviously Juliette that says to people, it's just not worth it to be out in the snow if that is how harsh, you know, the punishment is going to be. But, the other thing we should focus on is even though we are seeing the dramatic pictures in the time of the height of the storm has passed, this is not over, right? I mean, there's still risk and also we have a lot of people without power and that brings risk in itself.
KAYYEM: Right. I mean, we have about 400,000 without power here in Massachusetts. I think, everything should probably be back on line relatively soon. Shelters are open. So, that is all good and I think to be anticipated. I think the -- the harder part is we are a coastal state. We have a lot of flooding that people are anticipating that the snow will go somewhere and the temperatures are getting warmer. So, it is going to be a very, very difficult couple of days and decisions will just be made about getting people back in the cars and getting the kids back in school. But, it's not over in terms of getting rid of all the snow.
KEILAR: No. I hope, in the meantime Juliette, you have movies to watch and maybe some hot cocoa, and you can hunker down there and just enjoy quiet time.
KAYYEM: Right. No, it has been -- for all parents it has been a long weekend and we have maybe a few more days.
KEILAR: Let the kids loose.
All right, Juliette. Thank you so much.
KAYYEM: Thank you. Take care.
KEILAR: And there's all of that snow and nowhere to go, a lot of people are trapped in doors with children. That is right. So, how do you beat cabin fever, we will show you how next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KEILAR: You have seen the pictures, two, even three feet of snow on the ground in the parts of the northeast in New England, and that means a lot of people are spending this weekend cooped up indoors, but there are many ways to spend your time.
And Brett Larson, host of the Techbytes Radio show, is here joining me from New York to tell us how.
So Brett, you have some high-tech suggestions on how to spend our time. Let's start of course, first, with the newly micro-weather app, this is -- I have never heard about it.
BRETT LARSON, HOST, TECHBYTES: Yes. The best part about it is it's free. So, that is always the best thing. But, it is going to give you the weather literally right where you are. So, it knows right now that I'm at ninth avenue and 59th street at Columbus circle. And it is telling me what the weather is. Although, right now, it is telling that there might be some more snow and it is clear skies out right now. It's at least going to give you a good accurate forecast.
I mean, no forecast will be perfect. So we will give them a pass on that. They had it right this morning that it would be sunny skies. But, that will be something good to have. And what I like about having an app like that, especially when there's still storms that could be blowing through, is you are going informed and know what is going on outside, even if your power goes out because it works on your Smartphone.
KEILAR: If you are in Boston, Brett, this next one, I read about this and wanted to talk about it. It's called the snow-ops viewer it's supposed to give you where snow plows are in real time. But here is the problem, let's try and bring it up. Let's try to bring it up. This is the problem. It's down. I mean, I was thinking about this thing, it's uber for snow plows.
LARSON: Right, exactly. And what a great idea, and I love it when cities try to take advantage of technology, we do it a lot in New York with 311. Unfortunately, I think a lot of people are trying to find out where the snow plows are, so, they are finding that even the snow plow Web site is stuck in the snow.
KEILAR: That is too bad. OK. Well, it's a cool idea.
LARSON: It's a great idea.
KEILAR: You know, hopefully they will be able to get it up and running.
OK. So, two really fun apps that you recommend. First, let's talk about crackle.com. What is so great about this?
LARSON: Yes. The reason I like crackle is it is a Web -- it's a video streaming service for the web and there's an app and the videos are free. And there's no catch to it, the catch only being that you have to sit through advertisements. They have a pretty good selection of movies, and TV shows, and it's an easy way to stay informed if you are stuck inside, it had will work on your Smartphone and your tablet. So, even if your power goes out, you are not going to be left without any form of entertainment.
They do have an app there for the iphone, so if that is how you are getting your entertainment, that is going to work. Just be mindful of your data plan. You do not want to go over it, as it were. And then, of course, all the snow. We have to go skiing, right?
KEILAR: Yes, and especially because you have people in New England who have had bad snow seasons for the past couple of years now let's take advantage.
LARSON: Exactly. So the snow and ski report, it's also a free app. It's for the iphone. It's great. You literally go in. It knows where you are. It is going to tell you all of the ski resorts that are right near you. And what I love about it, it tells you if they are open which is important if you want to go out and go skiing. But it will also tell you how much snow they have got, if the lifts and runs are open and something interesting, it monitors tweets about each ski resort. SO, maybe there are people there that are like, the lines are terrible, don't bother. Stay in your car, go somewhere else. You will, at least, get that up to the minute twitter information.
KEILAR: That's great. You are getting sort of the unfiltered information from the people who are actually using the lifts and everything. LARSON: Exactly. Exactly. People who are on the ground in the snow. Kind of like Ali Velshi, stuck out in the snow. Maybe he should start tweeting about this.
KEILAR: Giving us the real Intel.
Brett Larson, thank you so much. That was fun.
LARSON: Thanks for having me. Thanks.
KEILAR: Well, from happy days to housewives and Honey Boo Boo, my oh my, how the shows have changed. America, as seen on TV, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KEILAR: Turn on your TV at any given moment and what you see is profoundly different from the shows of years past. Gone are the happy days of the Brady Bunch (ph) and Lavern and Shirley. Here now are the days of housewives and Honey Boo Boo. So, we thought of what we have become in America.
CNN's Brooke Baldwin takes a look as part of the "I am America series."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): "Happy Days." "I Love Lucy," "Leave It To Beaver." Classic images of American life that became synonymous with the country.
But fast forward 40 or 50 years and what we are watching now paints a very different picture.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Guess what?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mama.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mommy will have another baby.
BALDWIN: From "Swiss family Robinson", to "the hunger games." And "the Real Housewives" are now more this than this.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Beaver, you made the football team, do you think you will get a letter?
BALDWIN: And don't assume you will find a more reserved America at the book store. Last year's best seller, so-called mommy porn, "50 shades of grey."
Name a, can be a book, TV show or movie, most of epitomizes America right now?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sex in the city.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Honey Boo Boo.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hunger games.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: American gangster (ph).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Here comes Honey Boo Boo.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I can't wait to go to the pageant, because we are going to win it all.
BALDWIN: Did America take a wrong turn after "Happy Days?"
The golden age or television sitcoms did not reflect the way the American society really was. What it reflected to some extent is the way America thought it should be.
BALDWIN: So, what is the reality of America today?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: "Homeland."
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Zero dark 30.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Homeland.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Zero dark 30.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Homeland.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It would be homeland.
What show time does reflects is the paranoia that most of us feel having lived through September 11th.
BALDWIN: And we got the message that America still equals family.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Modern family.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Modern family.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Parenthood.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Modern Family.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Got to be to modern family.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Modern family.
BALDWIN: It may just look a little different these days.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What is happened really is television has caught up to human reality.
BALDWIN: Perhaps so, but some of us believe that the real America is still to be found in a house in 1950s, Milwaukee.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: "Happy Days." It was a fun time, there was a sense of community, there was innocence about it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know, "Happy Days."
BALDWIN: Brooke Baldwin, CNN New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KEILAR: Basketball all star Lebron James known for his great plays on the court, check out what he did with one lucky fan. How is this for a game of catch?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KEILAR: On the eve of music's biggest night, we're bringing you a half-hour special on one of the world's hottest stars. She's earned 16 Grammys and set a record for the female artist with the most wins in a single year.
Here's a preview of Nichelle Turner's Special Report, "Beyonce: finding her destiny."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NISCHELLE TURNER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Before she was the diva. Before she was the queen bee, she was just Beyonce Jazell Knowles, a little girl in suburb Houston.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Beyonce was really a quite peer, kind to herself.
TURNER: Hoping to get Beyonce to come out of shell, Matthew and Tina Knowles sent their 7-year-old daughter to (INAUDIBLE) a dance studio.
When you first saw her and she first came in, I mean, did you even notice her?
What I did notice about her is that she's very shy. You would ask her what is your name? Beyonce Knowles. You could barely hear her. Beyonce Knowles.
TURNER: But on the dance floor --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Beyonce would dance so hard sometimes her cap and pizzas, sometimes their hat would come off because she hat was fierce.
TURNER: It was here that Beyonce created her now famous alter ego. Not that's how she fierce. That's too bad is.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I mean, when she got on these, she became a different posing:
TURNER: But no knew Beyonce had a secret.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It blew me away. And I said sing it again. And she wouldn't sing it again because once again she was very quiet, very shy. And I promised her a dollar and she sung it again. And I was floored. When her parents came to pick her up. I told them, she can sing. She can really sing. (END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: Beyonce: finding her destiny, that's coming up at the top of the hour. And that's followed by "Whitney Houston: her life, her music," right here on CNN.
Well, it looks like one basketball fan got a passing tip during from Lebron James during a Friday night the Miami heat and the L.A. clippers. The ball threw into the crowd. James nodded for that man to pass it back to him. And that fan right there, his name is Adolfo (oh), he looks pretty fired up by all of the attention. Adolfo was wearing James' number six jersey. A game changer is coming to the classic board game monopoly.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KEILAR: Whether is online on your computer of just a board game, just about all of us who played Monopoly, right. But as CNN's Jeannie Moos shows that, has if a big gamer coming.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT(voice-over): There's nothing ironic about the end of the iron. No more iron landing on park place. No more iron passing go and checking $200. The makers of monopoly are sending the iron to jail. And replacing it with this.
The iron has been replaced by a cat.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, really?
KEILAR: It's very tragic.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She irons a lot.
It's the toy maker Hasbro's latest has been. The iron had the least support in an online vote. One guy even mistook it for --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A cuff link?
MOOS: Among the replacement choices, a cat got the most voted. What do you expect with a facebook faceoff. The web is cat crazy. So the cat played the iron off. Posted one up supporter, no, no, no, no you keep the ugly stupid boot and the stupid wheel borrow but you get rid of the iron? The awesome, mini, totally functional iron? Screw you, Hasbro.
I don't know about the totally functional for it. Does this thing got steam?
At least the iron got along with the other tokens. But, will the Scottie dog co-exist with the cat? This was all a big promotional stunt for monopoly. They even made the announcement on "the Today Show" with a larger than life size cat. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have it right here on the set.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nice. Congratulations, cat.
MOOS: Hasbro gave the public five choices, guitar, robot, helicopter, ring, cat.
But not everyone was content with those five choices. And thus, was born, #bettermonopolytokes.
Among the suggestions Twinkie, predator drone, ar-15.
Iranian space monkey, Ikea monkey, Chris Christie eating a doughnut and naturally, Donald Trump's hair. But instead of running through your fingers through that --
Would you like to touch the iron?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sure.
MOOS: Hasbro is using the new versus old token to try to pump up sales for monopoly, but watch out kitty, that iron is steamy.
Jeanne Moos, CNN. New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KEILAR: I'M Brianna Keilar and I will see you back here at 10:00 eastern.
