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Three To Seven Inches Of Snow Likely For Philly, D.C.; Almost 100 World Leaders Honor Mandela; Obama Recalls Mandela's Impact, Legacy; Mandela Memorial Draws Thousands In South Africa; Possible Vote On Iran Nuke Agreement; Couple, Four Children Missing In Brutal Cold; GM Names First Female CEO; Snow Brings More Delays, Traffic Nightmare

Aired December 10, 2013 - 10:00   ET

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

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: You can see from the radar, of course, it's affecting air travel. Philly's International Airport is seeing ground delays topping four hours. Here's a live look from the nation's capital. D.C. and Philly could see up to 7 inches of snow before the day is done.

CNN has reporters spread out across the region. Fred Pleitgen live in New York City, Athena Jones in McLean, Virginia, along the George Washington Parkway. Let's start there. It looks nasty, Athena.

ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You can't ask me --

COSTELLO: Athena?

JONES: We're here in D.C., standing outside of Reagan National Airport. I can tell you the federal government is closed this morning, so we haven't seen at lot of traffic on the roads. Of course, they do that to try to avoid these freeways that look like parking lots when you have a whole lot of snow in situations like this.

I can tell you that D.C. area airports like Reagan National and Washington Dulles Airport say that their operations have not been significantly impacted. There have some flights pre-canceled, but we in the last few minutes have seen several flights take off from here. The visibility is bad but you hear them flying overhead.

I should mention just because the federal government is closed, it doesn't mean that everything is ground to a halt. There was supposed to be on Capitol Hill an investigative hearing into the Asiana Airlines crash in San Francisco last summer, that's off, but the hearing with Secretary of State John Kerry about the Iran nuclear deal and the House Foreign Relations Committee that's on.

The Senate is in session today. They'll be dealing with some of these nominees that were blocked previously by Republicans in the Senate. There's a confirmation vote today for Patricia Mullet up to be a district court judge on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals and also going to try to move forward on the confirmation of Representative Mel Watt, to head up the Federal Housing Finance agency. He was blocked a few weeks back as well, so they're going to try to move forward on that and under new rules they just need 51 votes to do so. We could see that confirmation vote happening by day's end. So government is closed, but doesn't mean everything has stopped -- Carol.

COSTELLO: All right, that's good. Athena Jones, thanks so much.

We're going to head to New York City to check in with Fred Pleitgen, but his camera has frozen so let's move on to other news. We have to talk about the memorial for Nelson Mandela now. Thousands of people, nearly 100 world leaders among them, packing a Johannesburg soccer stadium to pay tribute to the former South African president, one of the highlights of the day, a speech by President Obama who spoke about Mandela's impact.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Mandela taught us the power of action, but he also taught us the power of ideas, the importance of reason and arguments, the need to study not only those who you agree with, but also those who you don't agree with.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: CNN political analyst and executive editor of" The Daily Beast," John Avlon joins me now from New York. Good morning, John.

JOHN AVLON, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Good morning, Carol.

COSTELLO: Thanks for being here. President Obama got a standing ovation after his speech was done. Your thoughts?

AVLON: It was a powerful, powerful speech. The president really drawing into themes about Mandela's own personal inspiration to him as a young college student, becoming active in politics and world affairs because of the struggles of apartheid and it really was classic Obama to a great extent. He really was hitting those rhetorical notes and had the crowd clearing. It was a proud moment.

COSTELLO: There were a lot of great moments to see, like four American presidents were there, all together, that was a beautiful thing to see, 100 world leaders, of all political stripes, that was great to see, all in one place. And then there was this moment with President Obama shaking hands with Raul Castro, who is, of course, the president of Cuba, as you know, John, the United States and Cuba aren't exactly the best of friends so this moment took a lot of people by surprise.

AVLON: Yes. I guess there are two ways to read that, Carol. One is awkward. The other way is look, Mandela is bringing people together even in his death. I do think that there's a reality check here. I mean, Raul Castro is a dictator. Nelson Mandela was a liberator. While no doubt President Obama is catching hell on some Twitter feeds on the right side of the spectrum for shaking hands with Raul Castro. He did have a specific line in his speech that seemed to be targeted to Mr. Castro, saying there are too many that claim solidarity with Mandela, but don't tolerate dissent for their own people. That was a point at Castro in particular.

COSTELLO: President Obama as you said, he took time to directly address his counterparts and urge them to better follow Mandela's example. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: There are too many people who happily embrace Madiba's legacy of racial reconciliation, but passionately resist even modest reforms that would challenge chronic poverty and growing inequality. There are too many leaders who claim solidarity with Madiba's struggle for freedom, but do not tolerate dissent from their own people. And there are too many of us, too many of us on the sidelines comfortable in complacency or cynicism, when our voices must be heard.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: OK, he could have been talking about any country in the world, but it seems like he was talking about the United States. Am I wrong?

AVLON: I don't think he was speaking exclusively about the United States but that was the heart of the speech. I mean, when he rebuked that implicit rebuke to the Castros and Mugabes, the dictators that often claim solidarity with Mandela, that was to a national audience. That rebuke not content to sit on the sidelines, be cynical, resist reforms and ignore the growing gap of inequality that is a domestic message as well.

I think one that resonates more widely. The president was speaking from the heart here. These are moral themes as well as political themes, a tribute to Mandela as a man who was able to free his jailers as well as the captives, but at the same time, really a message for folks at home. That's one of the reasons why I think this speech just might endure beyond the event itself.

COSTELLO: Well, the president also said during his speech that one of the great things about Mandela is he studied the other side's views, to really try to understand them, so he could come up with effective arguments and that there could be a true meeting of the minds. Wouldn't that be nice if that could happen here?

AVLON: Wouldn't that be nice? It is a lesson. It's one of the reasons Nelson Mandela's life still inspires us all. That real focus on reconciliation, on being the lawyer on Robben Island and making arguments that were ultimately able not only to persuade but to change the politics of a nation, that kind of moral leadership is rare in the world but it's the kind of hiring that transforms cultures and environments and on a smaller scale, yes, we could use a lot more of it here at home.

COSTELLO: John Avlon, thanks for your insight this morning. Appreciate it.

AVLON Thanks, Carol.

COSTELLO: As I said nearly 100 heads of state, a-list celebrities and thousands of everyday South Africans young and old alike braved the heavy rain to join the Mandela family and pay tribute to the revered statesman. Errol Barnett live in Johannesburg this morning with some of the morning's best moments.

ERROL BARNETT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, welcome to the area outside the home of late President Nelson Mandela. You know there's been a lot of activity here. You may hear some screaming next to me and that's because supermodel Naomi Campbell has just come here to the home of the late president, waved to the crowd, and walked inside.

You know there's a lot of rain and gloom around me, but anyone who doesn't think there can be joy amid storms needs to come to South Africa now and see the atmosphere here on a day when we've seen the first formal memorial for the anti-apartheid icon. Here are a few highlights from just the past few hours.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BARNETT (voice-over): In front of a packed stadium here in Johannesburg, President Obama delivered his very personal thoughts on the legacy of Nelson Mandela.

PRESIDENT OBAMA: And while I will always fall short of Madiba's example, he makes me want to be a better man. He speaks to what's best inside us. Nelson Mandela reminds us it seems impossible until it's done. South Africa shows that is true, South Africa shows we can change. That we can choose a world defined not by our differences, but by our common hopes. It matters not how straight the gate, how charged the punishment, I am the master of my fate. I am the captain of my soul, what a magnificent soul it was.

BARNETT: Those words spoken minutes after an unprecedented sight, Obama sharing the stage and shaking hands with Cuban President Raul Castro. An image most people never thought they would see happen and won't soon be forgotten. The festivities started hours before the ceremony even began. There was singing, dancing, and celebration. The wet weather not dampening spirits.

PRESIDENT JACOB ZUMAN, SOUTH AFRICA: We were not able to stop the rain. When it rains when you're buried, it means that your God welcoming you.

BARNETT: Tens of thousands of mourners listened to the mass choir sing the South African national anthem. This followed by prayer. Leaders and public figures from 91 different nations, including President Obama, First Lady Michele Obama, waved to a roaring crowd and Mandela's grandchildren who ignited the cheers of the entire stadium.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We tower over the walls, leaving streaks of light for us to follow. BARNETT: In fact, those overwhelming cheers forcing a good-natured plea for order.

PRESIDENT ZUMA: Can we appeal for those behind the stage to please tone down their singing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BARNETT: And we're only halfway through these ten days of memorials for Nelson Mandela. Tomorrow we are going to see Nelson Mandela's body lying in state at the union building in Pretoria, significant because it's the same location where he was sworn in as the first democratically elected and black president 20 years ago.

His body going to lie in state Wednesday through Friday and his funeral going to be this upcoming weekend, but for the moment the exciting news in to CNN for some is that supermodel, Naomi Campbell, has just visited the home of late President Nelson Mandela.

COSTELLO: All right, we'll have pictures of that later I'm sure. Errol Barnett reporting live from Johannesburg this morning.

Coming up in the "NEWSROOM", a desperate search in the Nevada mountains, freezing, cold and snowy and a family of six is missing, including four children. The latest on the search next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Secretary of State John Kerry is heading to Capitol Hill today, despite the snow. He's expected to clash though with Congress over the fragile Iran nuclear agreement. A bipartisan group of lawmakers is now preparing a possible vote on new sanction against Tehran.

Jim Sciutto is live in Washington where the White House has warned new penalties could threaten the historic deal. Good morning.

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. He's going to have a tough sell, Secretary Kerry up on the Hill today. As you mentioned it's a bipartisan push for new sanctions. He's facing some powerful senators, certainly the Republicans, but also the Democratic chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Bob Menendez, Chuck Schumer, powerful senator from New York, expressing support for the new sanctions bill.

That's a problem for the administration. And when you look at the sanctions they're proposing they run directly counter to many elements in the interim deal that was just negotiated two weeks ago in Geneva, particularly on this issue of uranium enrichment. The president reiterating this weekend he's comfortable with Iran having a modest, monitored enrichment program in the country. Senators disagree.

They want is done, stopped, completely and that's a problem going forward. Secretary Kerry is going to have a tough case to make.

COSTELLO: Jim Sciutto reporting live from Washington this morning. Thank you.

Checking other top stories this morning at 17 minutes past, text messages sent by the so-called cliff bride around the time of her husband's death could prove to be a motive for murder. Prosecution continues its case this morning in the trial of Jordan Graham. Prosecutors say Graham was unhappy in the eight days she was married to Cody Johnson and pushed him off a cliff in Glacier National Park in Montana.

Eighteen sheriff deputies in Los Angeles County accused of beating inmates and covering it up. That's according to a new indictment. The charges range from civil rights violations to blatant lying. Current sheriff says 99.9 percent of his deputies do the right thing and that nobody is above the law.

Rescuers are desperately trying to find a couple and four missing children in Nevada. They vanished after going out to play in the snow. The search is taking place in Pershing County in Northwest Nevada where the temperature has dipped to below zero. CNN's Pamela Brown is following the story. Tell us more, Pamela.

PAMELA BROWN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Carol, I just go got off the phone with authorities in Pershing, Nevada and they say no trace of this couple and the children. Thermal imaging helicopters were out overnight searching for them. The 34-year-old James Glanton and 25- year-old Christina McIntee and their two children 3 and 4 years old and niece and nephew, 4 and 10 years old. Authorities say no one has been located yet.

It really is a race against the clock today, as search and rescue teams from surrounding counties resume the aerial and ground search. They're going to be looking for the family's silver jeep with a black top. The hope is that this family stayed inside the jeep and are able to keep warm rather than venturing out in the frigid temperatures. Since they went missing, Carol, temperatures have dipped to as low as 17 below zero in this remote region of Nevada.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHERIFF RICHARD MACHADO, PERSHING COUNTY, NEVADA SHERIFF'S OFFICE: The temperatures out here are very cold and we'd like to bring a successful end to this. We'd like to find them just as soon as we can.

JOAN WEAGANT, VOLUNTEER: We just got to find them. We've known them forever, you know, and those tiny kids can't be out there. None can be out there in the cold.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: And this family, carol, was last seen Sunday at 2:00 in the afternoon after going out to play in the snow. Their family members reported them missing at 8:00 that night after they were unable to get in touch with them and there still hasn't been communication from this missing family. It's unclear if they had any supplies with them such as food, water, a fuel tank that would allow their jeep to keep running with the heat on. Of course, carol, this is a dire situation like this with these subzero temperatures and every minute counts as the search and rescue efforts resume today.

COSTELLO: I know they have lots of searchers out and I know a navy helicopter is being employed, so man, that's really scary. Pamela brown, thanks so much.

Still to come in the "NEWSROOM", a day after the government sells its remaining shares, General Motors names its very first female CEO, details next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: General Motors has just done something historic. Yes, they've named a woman as its next CEO. Her name is Mary Barra. Let's head to New York to find out more. Alison Kosik is there. Good morning.

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning. The thing with Mary Barra she's not just going to be the first female CEO of General Motors but the first woman to head a major automaker ever. She's replacing Dan Akerson.

Here's a bit of a bio on her. She is 53 years old, been with GM for 33 years. She's become quite the super star. She started I love this as an intern on the factory floor at the age of 18 to help pay tuition while she was getting an electrical engineering degree and reportedly said recently that being a car gal rather than a car guy, has never stood in her way.

She said, it's about no kidding results and no kidding is right. She's been a leader in GM's turnaround since the company emerged from bankruptcy. She's even listed as number 35 on "Forbes"s list of the top power women, power on.

COSTELLO: You're not kidding. That's fantastic. Alison Kosik, thanks so much.

Still to come in the "NEWSROOM", a single mom with little hope.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I just feel like what's the point, like. What's the point of trying, I'm not going to make it anyway.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: The debate over the minimum wage goes on. Workers are struggling to survive. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Good morning. I'm Carol Costello. Thanks so much for joining me. The snow is coming down hard in several major east coast cities, Philly, D.C. and New York seeing the second round of the -- of a massive storm that's dumped heavy snow and ice across much of the country, snow affecting travel on the ground and in the air. CNN's Fred Pleitgen live in New York City now to tell us more. Good morning.

FRED PLEITGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. How are you doing? The snow has intensified in the past couple hours. We expect it to peak around maybe noon, lunch time. As I said, it started about 9:00 this morning so it missed the early morning rush hour. However, for many New Yorkers and many people working around this area, the evening commute could actually be a problem. Information, the city seems to be prepared for all of this. They have 365 salt spreaders that are driving around town right now spreading that pumpkin colored salt all over the street.

Also, about 1400 snow plows that are in action as well. About the same picture in the New Jersey area, a lot of the highways have been salted. The latest information we're getting there, there don't seem to be too bad delays in the New Jersey area but the airports are a different story. We were talking about this earlier, Newark is going to get hit badly by a lot of cancellations and delays. Some of that has to do with the fact not only is it snowing badly and the snow is picking up but the visibility is really poor in this area - Carol.

COSTELLO: If you're flying out of New York City or Philadelphia or Washington, D.C., please call ahead. Fred Pleitgen, try to stay warm. Thanks so much.

They met only once but to President Obama Nelson Mandela's influence went beyond that hastily arranged meeting some eight years ago. Now, today, when the world gathered to pay tribute to the late South African leader, President Obama spoke to what he called Mandela's greatest gift.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PRESIDENT OBAMA: Mandela understood the ties that bind the human spirits. There is a word in South Africa -- "ubuntu".