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Dangerous Winter Weather; Dennis Rodman Speaks Out

Aired January 07, 2014 - 15:00   ET

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

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Every one of you in the U.S. saw below- freezing temperatures. This is the kind of cold that would give you frostbite within minutes.

Every state, Florida, Hawaii, you are not immune to this deep freeze. The snow and icy conditions still grounding flights, just today, more than -- not just cars here. Imagine shoveling out of this -- 2,300 flights have been canceled.

Airlines scrambling to clear the backlog of stranded passengers, and this weather quite literally stopping trains on their tracks. You have heard about this outside Chicago. More than 500 passengers spent the night stuck inside not one, not two, three Amtrak trains, stranded for some 15 hours, huge snow and ice strips blanketing the tracks.

This video here actually shot but one of those stuck passengers. He talked to CNN just this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHARLES HARDING, PASSENGER: Everything they have tried has failed up until now. Initially, they were going to try and push it with other trains. They were going to send in a rescue train and just a whole bunch of different strategies. And it was and, well, we're going to try that and then we wait for two, three hours without any update.

And they gave us a kind of makeshift meal even yesterday evening and that did help. But, yes, and for the most part, I think the passengers have been pretty tolerant of the situation. I mean, what are we going to do? We're stuck.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: They were stuck. They are no longer. They hopped on buses heading home. They were rescued, finally en route to Chicago. We will be talking to one of those no longer stranded passengers here momentarily. So, stay tuned.

The cold weather also hitting places like Minneapolis especially hard.

Erin McPike is there.

You do look a little colder this last hour than the last time we chatted, Erin. Just describe for all of us the bitter cold.

ERIN MCPIKE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So, Brooke, right now, it is still zero degrees. It feels like 12 below. But it's going to feel like 25 below later tonight because of the windchill factor.

It's going to stay cold tomorrow. Some reports say that it will be about three degrees. But we're still going to have those windchill factors that make it still feel like it's below zero. So, here are some of the things to keep in mind. People are saying this is historic and, of course it is. It's dangerous.

So whenever I go to a part of the country that's experiencing really bad weather, people ask me, what do the homeless do? Here in Minneapolis last night, the local homeless shelter that's run by the Salvation Army said that they had 750 people stay there, and that is a record.

The other thing I can tell you is that a local hospital in the area says they usually see about 30 patients a year for frostbite, but they just saw 30 patients in December alone and they say they're on track to see another 30 patients this month. They have already seen about a dozen so far. Now, if you look around, you can see that it's not snowing right now and it hasn't been snowing.

There is, of course, snow on the ground. And people in Minnesota are of course used to very treacherous driving conditions, but what is different about this time is that when you have subzero temperatures, that combined with car exhaust makes for this black ice sort of condition.

BALDWIN: Yes.

MCPIKE: So the AAA says they have received more calls than ever in the last day or so because of some of these dangers, 3,000 calls yesterday alone in this area, as opposed to 2,500, which is a previous record set in 2007.

So it has been obviously dangerous. So, it's going to be getting better tomorrow and into Thursday -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: Yes, I have been to Minneapolis. They have all those tunnels downtown, so you don't have to walk outside. You just stay indoors and bundle up, but I'm sure you're starting to lose feeling on your face, Erin McPike. So, I will let you go and get warm.

Erin, thank you very, very much.

And it's not just the cold here. Airports, they are full of these stranded passengers because of this weather. The airlines, they are in crisis mode. But one airline cannot blame all of its woes on weather.

I'm talking about JetBlue. They are today dealing with this massive fallout caused by its extraordinary decision to voluntarily ground flights for 17 hours at four of the busiest airports in the country.

Zain Asher is at New York's La Guardia Airport.

And we know, Zain. We talked about this, that JetBlue held this media call not too long ago. Did they say why they did this? ZAIN ASHER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: OK.

Yes, so I just off this call with JetBlue, Brooke. Here's what they're telling us. They're telling us that they are resuming flights. They also scheduled additional flights. But they wanted to really sort of take the time to explain why this particular winter storm proved so tricky for them.

Here's what they're saying. They're saying that, look, 80 percent of our flights originate or touch down in New York City or Boston. Therefore, when you have a massive winter storm hit the East Coast, it does affect them disproportionately.

They also mentioned that JFK was closed for several hours due to an inability to remove snow. Now, they did also talk about these new FAA rules that required pilots to get more rest. Now, what they're saying is, it's not the rules itself that proved so tricky. It was having to implement these rules; these rules actually went into effect on Saturday, so having to implement them right in the middle of a winter storm.

That was also tricky for them as well. But they did take the steps to preemptively cancel flights because they wanted to protect the crews and they wanted to protect the aircraft as well. But the most important thing for them right now is really protecting customer loyalty and winning back those customers -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: What about those customers? What are JetBlue passengers being told right now?

ASHER: OK. So here's what they're being told. They're being told that they will receive a refund for canceled flights. There are also going to be additional flights being scheduled to allow JetBlue to actually catch up. But also they talked about this compensation plan.

Right. If you incurred extra expenses because your flight was canceled multiple times, as I have heard from passengers, you will sort of probably get compensated for that. You probably will be reimbursed for that. You have to reach out to JetBlue directly. They do have an e-mail address on their blog.

But one thing I am hearing from a lot of passengers is how difficult it is to get hold of a real live person when you call JetBlue. One woman actually saying to me she ended up calling JetBlue 30 times. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We had a flight at 10:00 and thought it was canceled. We tried to call JetBlue. They wouldn't answer. They kept hanging up on us. And they said, your call is going to end now. They hang up. They hang up. Thirty calls later, I just gave up. And then we finally tried like one time last night around like 7:00 and then they finally answered the phone, but it was an hour-and-a-half wait on the phone.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ASHER: JetBlue also saying they have had trouble with their automated system, when you call them, so if you're rebooking, it is best to wait until you get hold of a real live person -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: OK, Zain, thank you very much.

Even some polar bears and the penguins had to take shelter at zoos across the country, as all 50 states in the U.S. saw temperatures plummet below freezing today.

(WEATHER UPDATE)

BALDWIN: Stay with me, because, on a lighter note, we did have two special visitors earlier, one of whom had a particular interesting penchant for your job. Tell me about that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEVIN HART, ACTOR: First of all, this is weather. This is what I'm most educated on. So, if you want me to really do this, I can.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Right there.

(CROSSTALK)

MYERS: There's the polar vortex.

(CROSSTALK)

HART: OK. Well, let me tell you what's going on here. You got heavy condensation up here, which is raining down precipitation.

And basically what happens is evaporation comes here, which causes the cloud storm and rainbows across the world.

MYERS: OK.

(CROSSTALK)

MYERS: ... earthquake...

(CROSSTALK)

MYERS: ... wherever you want.

HART: Well, the earthquake is going to go where it's supposed to be. You see here this little crack down here?

Well, let me tell you why this crack is coming. Basically, what happened was, the thing right here which that needle comes down splits it. And that's when it talks.

BALDWIN: Is that your best weatherman voice?

(CROSSTALK) HART: Now, now -- no, actually, this is it. I'm trying to make sense.

Now what happens is you have got a loss of heat, which causes a massive wave of water rafting rapids, which go around the world and it all comes back to my house.

MYERS: That's class four rapids right there.

HART: Yes. Yes.

MYERS: That's where we are? We are cold right there.

HART: Yes, no, definitely.

MYERS: You brought it with you, didn't you?

HART: Definitely.

Well, not only did I bring them with me. I brought somebody here who can make it cooler, which is Ice Cube. And if you look right here, this is where Ice Cube resides, right here. And that goes here through here.

And that's where it gets pretty windy, guys. We're not going to shake this wind until we get here and get a loss of that heat, which comes up around here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: He was so fun. He was talking about having unicorns and rainbows on the -- how did he do? I don't think he's coming to CNN. Just a hunch.

MYERS: You know, weathermen never get anything wrong because nothing is really scripted. So he was perfect. He was flawless.

BALDWIN: Chad, thank you for playing along.

And that was comedian Kevin Hart. He was in studio, as well as Ice Cube. So, they will be coming up here later in the show. You cannot miss this, because we talked about everything, from some serious topics, legalization, recreational use of pot in Colorado, to Dennis Rodman, to whatever that was, with this exclusive interview this morning with CNN from North Korea. Roll it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DENNIS RODMAN, FORMER PROFESSIONAL BASKETBALL PLAYER: People around the world, around the world who do one thing. You're a guy behind a mike right now. We're the guys here doing one thing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: This is what people are talking about today. Dennis Rodman, he's combative. He's emotional, some even saying he suffers a meltdown. You will have to see this right here on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Dennis Rodman, he is back at it again. He is back in North Korea.

And this time, he brought a group of former NBA players along with him. And take a look. Just into CNN, this is new video of Rodman leading a practice session featuring the North Korean team and the one-time NBA stars. New video for you. They're supposed to play this exhibition game tomorrow, which, by the way, happens to be Kim Jong- un's birthday. We believe it's his 31st. Who really knows?

Earlier, Rodman and friends joined us for CNN's "NEW DAY" for this exclusive interview all the way from North Korea. Rodman lost his cool at one point. He implied that American Kenneth Bae, held by North Korea for more than a year, did something wrong. Now, he didn't quite say what.

But first Charles Smith insisted to our Chris Cuomo that the trip is about culture and not politics.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHARLES SMITH, FORMER NBA PLAYER: We're not in here for complications.

And again, we apologize for what has kind of the storm that has been created from our presence. We're not apologizing for doing what we do. Those people today, the North Korean team, meeting the citizens, we're connecting people to basketball and people to people.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: I get it. That's all good, Charles.

SMITH: All relational.

CUOMO: That's all good.

SMITH: You say you get it, but that's all we're doing. So, don't --

(CROSSTALK)

CUOMO: But the game has been presented -- the game has been presented as a birthday present to the ruler -- the game has been presented as a birthday present to the ruler. I'm not here to fight with you guys. I respect what you're doing. I'm concerned for the family of this man who is held there. And I'm concerned, as many Americans are, about giving a birthday present to a man who is seen as a despot, who just had his uncle executed.

Dennis, you understand the issue. It's not about hating on American basketball player.

SMITH: Yes. But you can -- you can continue to talk about the different at this times that is -- activities that take place here. We have -- there's activities that take place all over the world. We are using basketball as a bridge for cultural exchange. And that's all about communication. We're not -- again, we're not here to deal with the politics. The date of the game is the date of the game. It was arranged that way.

CUOMO: Right.

RODMAN: The one thing about politics, Kenneth Bae did one thing, if you understand -- I got a guy -- if you understand what Kenneth Bae did.

CUOMO: Yes.

RODMAN: Do you understand what he did --

CUOMO: What did he do? You tell me.

RODMAN: -- in this country?

CUOMO: You tell me. What he do?

RODMAN: No, no, no, you tell me. Why is he held captive?

CUOMO: They haven't released any charges. They haven't released any reason.

(CROSSTALK)

SMITH: Listen.

RODMAN: Let me do this, I would love to speak on this.

CUOMO: Go ahead.

RODMAN: You know, you got 10 guys here -- 10 guys here that have left their families, left their families to help this country in a sports venture. We got 10 guys, all these guys here. Do anyone understand that?

CUOMO: We do. And we appreciate that. And we wish them well with cultural exchange.

RODMAN: No, no. I'm saying -- I don't give (EXPLETIVE DELETED) what the hell you think, I'm saying to you, look at these guys. Look at them!

CUOMO: Yes, Dennis, don't put it on them. Don't use them as an excuse for the behavior that you're putting on yourself. You just basically were saying that Kenneth Bae did something wrong. We don't even know what the charges are. Don't use these guys as a shield for you, Dennis.

SMITH: Listen. Listen. Listen.

RODMAN: Shield, I got it. Let me do this. Let me -- let me. I'm going to tell you one thing. People around the world -- around the world -- I'm going to do one thing. You don't die behind the mike right now. The guys here do one thing.

We have to go back to America and take the abuse -- do you have to take the abuse? Well, we're going to take. Do you, sir, let me know -- we're going to get it. But guess what though? One day, one day this dude is going to open because these ten guys here, all of us, Christie, Vin, Dennis, Charles, everybody here, if we could just open the door just a little bit for people to come here and do one thing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: So he wants to open the door. He thinks maybe his presence will do that. That conversation -- after that conversation, Brianna Keilar, our correspondent, asked the White House spokesperson about Rodman's comment, specifically on Kenneth Bae. Jay Carney says the U.S. continues to believe that Kenneth Bae should be released, should be granted amnesty.

As for Rodman's remarks this morning on "NEW DAY," Carney said he would not respond to what he said he understood to be a -- quote -- "outburst."

Coming up: They were considered heroes on 9/11 when they rushed in to help save innocent victims. But now some New York police and firefighters are accused of using that tragedy to steal millions of dollars in this elaborate scam, and police have just released evidence in the case. We will tell you that story.

Also, a teen just over five feet tall weighing about a hundred pounds shot and killed by a police officer. Self-defense? Police brutality? We will play you the 911 call made by an officer on the scene moments after the shooting.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: As of today, mega-bank J.P. Morgan Chase owes the federal government 1.7 billion, with a B, dollars. That is the fine that was announced this morning to settle civil and criminal charges stemming from the Bernie Madoff Ponzi scheme.

Now, this money will go into a fund for Madoff's victims. The government says the nation's biggest bank failed to tip the government to Madoff's shady dealings.

After 9/11, of course, our hearts went out to the police, to the firefighters, the first-responders who bravely ran toward Ground Zero without a single thought for their own safety. When some claimed post-traumatic stress disorder, PTSD, afterwards, no one questioned them.

But now it turns out some of them may have been lying. Prosecutors have indicted more than 100 retired officers accusing them of scamming more than $21 million in a case that included post-9/11 cases, others going back for years and years.

Susan Candiotti has been working this one for me today. She joins us live. And what exactly are these other officers, Susan, accused of?

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Brooke, this is just an amazing case.

Cheating the system and, perhaps even worse, stealing from those who legitimately deserve it. More than half of the accused allegedly blaming their inability to work on 9/11 trauma, post-traumatic stress. Prosecutors say it was all a sham to rip off taxpayers to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars, an alleged scheme going back to 1988.

Some appeared in court today and pleaded not guilty. Now, here, here is a video and some photos offered by authorities they say helped prove their case.

Example, the man in the middle there, a martial arts instructor, is a retired officer allegedly on permanent disability. One guy, another defendant, playing basketball, another one deep-sea fishing, another posing on his motorcycle and deep-sea fishing, another one having a ball on a jet ski.

Now, the Manhattan district attorney alleging the accused socked away an average of $50,000 a year in benefits they did not deserve. Authorities calling them thieves and liars.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CYRUS VANCE, MANHATTAN DISTRICT ATTORNEY: This fraud not only forced federal taxpayers to finance the lifestyles of New York scammers. It also took away importantly from the already limited resources we have for people who actually suffer from psychiatric disabilities.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Susan, let me jump in, because this allegation that more than half of these people blame their disability on 9/11, the terror attacks, it's appalling. How did that work?

CANDIOTTI: Authorities say here's how it went. A lawyer who used to be a prosecutor, by the way, working with three other people, including a police union official, coached applicants about what to say and do, like I nap all day, or I can't groom myself, or I can't sleep at night.

Some had legitimate disabilities, but to get full Social Security disability, they had to prove they could not work at all. When they collect, they pay off the lawyers, and then were warned not to withdraw too much at a time from their banks to avoid suspicion.

We have reached out to several lawyers representing some of the alleged ringleaders. No response yet, Brooke.

BALDWIN: Susan Candiotti, thank you.

The frigid weather wreaking havoc on airports across the country with hundreds of flight delays. But that is not all. Take a look at this, an Amtrak train stuck in a snowdrift. And it wasn't the only one -- 500 passengers stranded for hours waking up with this out their window. We will talk with one of them live who is hopefully finally home.

Plus, a teen with a mental illness shot and killed by a police officer. The officer maintained it was self-defense, but witnesses are telling a different story. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)