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New Day

Deadly Storm Barrels North; Massive Storm Blasts Northeast; Accident on DC Beltway; Jury Gets Loud Music Murder Case; "Wicked Tuna" is Back; Devin Logan Wins Silver in Slopestyle Skiing

Aired February 13, 2014 - 08:30   ET

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

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to NEW DAY.

We're tracking breaking news. Look at the live pictures. That's snow coming down on the roads in New York and just outside D.C. The northeast is getting blasted this morning by a winter storm. It's already knocked out power to hundreds of thousands of people.

We show these pictures as a caution to you to think before you drive, if you must drive at all. Meteorologist Indra Petersons begins our coverage just north of Manhattan in snowy White Plains.

Indra, I've been watching the scene behind you change all morning. It now looks like you're up in the mountains and it was a suburb to start the morning.

INDRA PETERSONS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: I mean it's truly an unbelievable difference out here. We're now talking about really heavy snow because we're so close to that freezing line. So it's that very heavy, wet type of snow. Definitely accumulating very quickly out here. Some snowfall rates of even an inch, if not two inches per hour.

D.C., Baltimore, already having reported anywhere from six to nine inches of snow. Think about that. I mean just four years ago, the big snowstorm everyone remembers was only five inches. They've already almost doubled that storm and we're still talking about snow falling throughout the day.

Now, in the southeast, we've already seen half an inch to an inch of ice. A crippling ice storm. And more ice still expected on the way. Plus, they've seen the snow, anywhere from five inches to a foot of snow in the southeast. All of that now continuing to make its way into the northeast. I say make its way because that low is still making its way up the coastline. As it does so, you're not only going to be talking about some heavy snow but also strong winds. Thirty, 40-mile- per-hour winds. Gusts could be even higher. That's going to bring your visibility down. Just keep in mind, the closer you are to the coastline, this will transition over to sleet. Some places even some rain throughout the day. But as soon as the sun goes down, those temperatures drop back down, you're going to see more of this heavy, heavy snow for those evening hours. So definitely a lot still in store for many of us. Tough to think about when so many people are without power this morning.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: That's an excellent point. Indra, thank you very much.

Let's go to another city in the northeast that is also getting hard hit. They're bracing for a foot of snow or more in the Philadelphia area, where they're under a state of emergency right now. Even worse, as Indra was really pointing out, thousands of people in the area just got their power back from a previous storm and will very likely lose it again today because of the conditions. Margaret Conley is live this morning from Abington, Pennsylvania, just north of Philadelphia.

How's it looking now?

MARGARET CONLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kate, the sleet - the sleet or the snow is coming down at about two to three inches per hour. I don't know if you can actually hear it hitting the microphone here or hitting my jacket. It's coming down hard. And emergency workers, they are standing by just in case there are any more blackouts.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CONLEY (voice-over): Just days after Pennsylvania was hit with crippling power outages across the state, residents are bracing this morning for yet another storm. Heavy snow fell overnight, threatening blackouts in some counties here that were hit harder last week than during Superstorm Sandy. Emergency workers from as far away as Canada have stayed in town to help residents face this storm.

ANITA CRAWFORD, ABINGTON TOWNSHIP RESIDENT: It was very eerie in the town last week. Every street was blocked off and there was trees laying everywhere.

CONLEY: Residents have had to restock or get new supplies from last week.

CONLEY (on camera): Are you worried about this next storm coming up?

LAURA HEACOCK, ABINGTON TOWNSHIP RESIDENT: Yes. My husband is buying a generator right now. He tracked one down somewhere on the Internet.

CONLEY (voice-over): And some residents just got their power turned back on. This restaurant owner was out of business for seven straight days.

WALTER MANTON, OWNER, (ph): It's a little hard. About $6,000 or $7,000 of business lost for the week.

CONLEY: His fear, along with many others here, is another round of outages too soon, as they wait to see what this storm will bring.

MANTON: Getting up tomorrow morning. See what I got. Get in my truck and drive here. That's all I can do.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CONLEY: Now, we've talked to the authorities here, the emergency service group, Red Cross, all the shelter areas. They say that so far all the reports have been normal. Chris and Kate.

CUOMO: Good. The key is for them to stay that way. Margaret, appreciate the reporting.

Now, from the Midwest to New England, it does seem as if there's been no let-up in the snow this year, right? New York and Chicago have been pummeled. And we keep talking about record snowfalls. Let's look at the numbers, shall we, and see if we're talking the truth or not here.

New York has received a whopping 41.5 inches of snow. Context, that's almost double the yearly average of 26.7. Chicago, 51.9 inches. The average in that city, only 38. So you can see, it's not just hype, it's history. The numbers are big and they're bad and they're going to continue, Mic.

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: All right, Chris, thanks for that visual. It really helps us understand what's going on.

Time now for the five things you need to know for your new day.

At number one, on that weather story, close to 5,000 flights have already canceled today because of that catastrophic winter storm. And as we always tell you, be sure to check with your airline provider if you need to travel.

Sixty-five prisoners with links to deadly attacks on American troops have been freed in Afghanistan. The move comes despite vigorous objections from the U.S. amid growing tensions between the two nations.

The jury in the so-called loud music murder trial set to resume deliberations this morning. Jurors requesting late Wednesday to view surveillance video from the night of the shooting.

Safety on America's rails will be the subject of a Senate committee hearing this afternoon. This follows a series of deadly derailments. A House panel will hold a second hearing on the issue later this month.

And at number five, a big day for Americans in Sochi. A clean sweep in men's slopestyle skiing. Joss Christensen, Gus Kenworthy and Nicholas Goepper won gold, silver and bronze, decorating the podium red, white, and blue. How about that?

We're always updating those five things to know. Always news at newdaycnn.com if you want the latest.

Kate.

BOLDUAN: Thanks, Michaela.

Coming up next on NEW DAY, a verdict could come this morning in the so-called loud music murder trial. Did testimony from Michael Dunn's own fiance convince jurors his story doesn't line up?

CUOMO: And here's a good way to beat the cold, dreams of fishing. The return of "Wicked Tuna." It's coming. We're going to take you behind the scenes of this huge cable hit. Even you get to see me there a little bit with some of the big stars. We have a couple of the captains here on the show. It's going to be great. Stick with us. Look at the size of that tail.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CUOMO: All right, take a look at this. Let's get to Brian Todd. He's on the scene of a tractor trailer accident on the D.C. beltway outside Maryland.

Brian, you just came upon this accident. Most importantly, is the driver OK? Is anybody else involved?

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Chris, no one else involved. The Maryland State Police tell us that the driver of this vehicle suffered minor injuries. We'll -- I'll kind of move you back. We literally just came upon this scene. This is the beltway heading southbound. Three of the lanes are closed off. State police on the other side of this. This driver, we're told, suffered minor injuries.

But there is another accident almost identical to this one just south of here where there is an active rescue going on. We're told that a driver is trapped. We don't know how close we're going to be able to get to that accident. We're going to leave here and head toward there, see if we can get close.

Very quickly, though, I can get up here to the cab and show you that, you know -- you can see that the hood of the truck just split open. The engine is exposed here. I looked in the cab. Nothing in here. They pulled this gentleman out. And we are told he suffered only minor injuries. But there is, as I said, Chris, an active rescue. Almost an identical accident to this one just a few miles south of here and we're going to head over there now.

CUOMO: All right, Brian, thank you very much. People will wonder how it happened. You have to remember, it looks like snow. If there's ice underneath, when you brake, you actually can accelerate. And that's why even big vehicles like that can just tip over like nothing. So we'll monitor the situation through Brian and other.

BOLDUAN: Further evidence, you do not need to get on the roads. Do not this morning. It's not over yet, that's for sure. We'll continue to follow that.

But we also have another big story that we're tracking this morning. Deliberations are about to resume in the loud music murder trial. Prosecutors say Michael Dunn killed a 17-year-old just for having, in their view, a big mouth. Dunn's lawyers, though, say it was self- defense. And this morning we're learning about a late night request coming from the jury. CNN's Alina Machado is in Jacksonville and has been tracking the latest on this case.

So what is the latest, Alina?

ALINA MACHADO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kate, the jury last night asked to see the surveillance video where you can actually hear the shooting the night that Michael Dunn shot and killed Jordan Davis. And that was a request that came after they deliberated for about three hours yesterday. They got the case after a full day of closing arguments. And the defense, as expected, argued that Michael Dunn simply shot in self-defense. That he was fearful for his life. They raised again the issue that the teens were armed, even though no gun was ever found at the scene.

The prosecution turned the attention to Jordan Davis, calling him a victim, reminding the jury that he died in this confrontation, and also raising questions about where Dunn went right after the shooting. Why he didn't dial 911. A lot of what we saw throughout the trial.

Now, what's next today? The jury is stet to come back this morning and they will probably look at that surveillance video that they requested before continuing deliberations.

Chris and Kate.

BOLDUAN: We'll see if we do get that verdict today. Thank you so much, Alina.

CUOMO: Coming up on NEW DAY, the hit show "Wicked Tuna" is back. We're going to take you behind the scenes. You can see how we stacked up when we tried to fish with the big boys. There he is himself, the big boy himself, Captain Dave Carraro Italiano.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right here. Right here. To my left.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN HOST: No, I don't want to talk. I want to watch. How amazing that is. Look at the size of that fish. Look how many guys are on that boat. Look how many it takes to safely secure something that size.

And the obvious celebration of something that's so many hours in the making even a Rottweiler gets it. What are we watching? Like you need me to tell you.

Welcome back to NEW DAY.

You are looking at a scene from one of the hottest shows on television that's now back on the hook, so to speak, "Wicked Tuna". The stakes are higher, the captains are smarter and their battles to hook the biggest fish even more dangerous.

This is high drama on the high seas. You can catch enough tuna often weighing a thousand pounds or more and you are set for the season. Fail -- and more than just your pride is at stake.

We have with us this morning, Captain Dave Carraro of the stars of "Wicked Tuna". He's from the infamous tuna.com, top of the earnings list last year. Will he stay there? That's the big battle -- right?

CAPT. DAVE CARRARO, "WICKED TUNA": You're going to have to watch.

CUOMO: Oh boy, He's going to tell us in just a minute what happens this season -- a little bit. Now, I'm a fisherman myself. I kind of stink compared to someone like Dave. But I thought maybe if I hitch a ride with Captain Dave I can get even better.

You tell me what happened.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CUOMO: We set out early, even for a morning news guy. By 3:00 a.m., we were already on the water. Captain Dave Carraro, he clued us in to the simple secret of these big beasts.

CARRARO: They only have two things on their mind -- tuna and sex.

CUOMO: This makes them so unlike us.

From which bait to use, how deep to put it, right up to the time of day to go out -- I was slowly picking up on the tricks of the trade.

CARRARO: Going to put out three rods at various depths and we're going to wait.

CUOMO: But by wait, Captain Dave means work. Over 12 hours, Carraro and his mate Sandro were in a veritable frenzy of watching the monitor, checking bait, preparing bait, cleaning lines. I tried to help with bait fish and didn't help much.

Sandro said I'd be perfect for this because I have unusually weak wrists.

All of this effort in the hopes of that magical win.

CARRARO: Oh, yes, baby. We are on. Whoo-hoo.

CUOMO: Tuna. Now Carraro comes alive going from tactician to tow truck.

Can you believe there's a 300-pound, 400-pound fish right under the boat?

Battling a bluefin that could be five times his size.

CARRARO: Come on Chris. You can get in -- get in there.

CUOMO: Nail-biting seconds turn into minutes. Minutes can turn into agonizing hours. Snap a line on the side of the boat or pull a hook. It's all for nothing.

CARRARO: Power in reverse.

CUOMO: But do everything right and --

CARRARO: Got him.

CUOMO: Wow. What a beautiful and big beast -- some seven feet long and north of 350 pounds. Ironically to these guys, it's called a rat -- an early season tuna that could bear some fattening up. It was just one day but enough to appreciate that this is a hard life but a pure life. Living by the eternal rule that if you work hard and try your best, sometimes you get lucky.

CARRARO: See you tomorrow?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CUOMO: Although one of the first things the captain will tell you is it isn't about luck is it, Captain Dave?

CARRARO: No, it's not.

CUOMO: There's a reason a guy like you catches more than me. And that's one of the things we get to see in the show, right.

CARRARO: I mean sometimes there's luck but when you consistently catch a fish, there's more to it than that. You know, it's skill. It's what you're doing. You are doing something that somebody else is not.

CUOMO: You don't have to sell me because I'm already a diehard fan. But tell people why is this season the best yet for the show?

CARRARO: I mean this season is going to be the most competitive season to date out of the three seasons. This is it. And then we have Paul who is my ex-deck hand now running his own boat. So that's going to add to the competition.

CUOMO: Tension. Drama.

CARRARO: Absolutely. We have two new boats. We have Timmy on the "Hot Tuna", well-competent, well-established, well-known fisherman. And we also have Billy Muniz "Hollywood" on the "Lily" -- also a well- competent, well-established, well-known fisherman. So the competition is going to be intense.

CUOMO: Now, how much work is this about? You have to focus on the glory when it comes, the highs and the lows. But how much of this is just grinding it out?

This season, there was not a lot of fish around or we were just not fishing in the right area, you know. With that said, you had to change your strategy. You had to adapt. You had to adjust. And that's exactly what we had to do this year. We had to grind. You had to live out there to catch fish.

The more time you spend out there, the more time you have lines in the water then the higher your probability of getting that bite. And that's what we had to do this year and we got it done.

CUOMO: Now, one of the reasons I love your show is because so many reality shows are about exploiting a certain thing. You know, just do what's the most and the best and everybody watches us. You guys are so conscientious about saying catching a ton of fish is wrong. We do it one fish at a time, a hook at a time. You know, long liners, the commercial industry.

We have to think about how to sustain this population. It's very important to you.

CARRARO: Sure it is, you know. I want to do this for another 20 years until my health no longer allows. I want to keep fishing the way we do -- you know, one hook, one fish at a time. It's a sustainable way. You know, this could last for future generations to come if it's done properly.

CUOMO: And that's a big message you try to get out. There are a lot of breaks in the show to remind people about the fishery.

CARRARO: Absolutely.

CUOMO: And then of course, one of the overtones there's always the danger. So many of us don't even know fish this size exist, let alone trying to take them on. How much of that dealing with weather, the seas, the size of the fish -- the danger element of it?

CARRARO: There's a lot of danger involved. You know we're in little boats. These boats are 35 to 45 feet. They are fiberglass, they're very light. We're going 180 miles offshore.

You know we do fish in rough weather. We don't fish in very rough weather but sometimes we get stuck out there, you know, in unforecast weather. That can be a problem. Windows blow out. We take waves over the side. A lot of boats sink. This year that happens out there. A boat actually goes down and somebody doesn't make it.

CUOMO: Of course, the big question is whether the tuna.com is able to stay back on top -- the infamous black boat. I know you can't tell me but it's a lot of pressure on you Dave.

CARRARO: Yes.

CUOMO: A lot of people want to see you go down.

CARRARO: Everybody wants to see the winner go down. No doubt about it. But you know what -- I welcome the competition.

CUOMO: You do. Nobody seems to love getting after it. Nobody has less ability on the show to hide the competitive nature.

CARRARO: It's there. It's there. Trust me. It's there.

CUOMO: I love when you hear that someone else has a fish on how much it disgusts you.

CARRARO: It's filthy inside. I'm happy for them but deep inside, not just myself, it's Sandro and Garon included -- it kills us. CUOMO: It was great for you to bring us out with you. It was amazing to see. Even though I've been fishing for so long to see the pros like you do it at such a different level. Did I have any chance of getting it done when I'm out there? Do I have any of the skill?

CARRARO: Absolutely. Anybody can catch these fish -- anybody. But you know, we live out there, you know. We're out there 24 hours a day. We're in their environment. We know where to go, when to go, what bait to use. We know how to catch them. But for somebody just coming out for that one day, a month, it's going to be tough.

CUOMO: Yes. I'm that guy. Captain Dave Carraro -- a real pleasure.

CARRARO: Thanks for having me.

CUOMO: I look forward to the season. I got a little advance from you guys. I'll even watch it. I'll even watch it. I want to watch it as it unfolds.

CARRARO: All right.

CUOMO: All right. "Wicked Tuna" is great. I'm sure you're going to check when it's coming on and make sure you watch it. Just a great show. Thanks again to the captain.

CARRARO: Thank you.

CUOMO: Kate?

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN HOST: I'm still blown away by the size of that fish and that's considered a small one? I don't understand. I'm having a hard time here.

We've got a lot to talk about in the break.

All right. Let's take a break.

Coming up next: 20-year-old Devin Logan, a young athlete working past a knee injury to become a silver medalist in the first ever Olympic SlopeStyle event. Logan joining us next from Sochi with all the details on her historic run.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BOLDUAN: Higher and higher they do get in this event.

Welcome back to NEW DAY.

In less than a week, Devin Logan plans to celebrate her 21st birthday in Las Vegas. But this Olympian has something even more impressive to celebrate this morning. She's a newly-minted silver medalist grabbing a podium spot for the first ever Olympic SlopeStyle skiing event -- and quite an event it is.

Devin is joining us live from Sochi. We'll say it right off the bat for our viewers. We're dealing with a tough delay from here to Russia, Devin, but we'll work through it together.

As we said -- silver medal, fabulous. Not only that, the first ever, the inaugural SlopeStyle skiing event in the Olympics. Does that make it just that much sweeter for you?

DEVIN LOGAN, SLOPESTYLE SKIER: It definitely make it that much sweeter. I am so happy to have made history, and it's such an honor to be here representing my country and so glad to be able to stand up on that podium.

CUOMO: Why is the U.S. so good at this event? Sage, you, the others that keep winning -- why do you think it is?

LOGAN: I don't know what it is about the U.S. We're very competitive and we want to be the best in our sport. And I think we showed that here with Sage's win and then Jamie Anderson's win and my second and then today all the boys swept the podium so that was an awesome, awesome viewing of the new SlopeStyle sport.

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN HOST: Well, her mom got her into snowboarding, or into skiing rather -- into the snow sports, which I think is just so cool -- a lot of kids watching right now, probably because of snow days. This is a way you can be -- she's turning 21 next week. What an amazing, amazing voyage it's been for her.

BOLDUAN: Absolutely. Real quick, what are you going to do for your birthday? Can you top this?

LOGAN: Yes, I'm planning on going to Vegas and celebrating my 21st with a bunch of good friends.

BOLDUAN: Good way to celebrate that birthday.

PEREIRA: Look out, Vegas.

BOLDUAN: Devin Logan congratulations. You are making the U.S. proud out there. Thank you so much.

CUOMO: What better coaster to have for your first legal drink.

BOLDUAN: Not a coaster. It's not a coaster.

PEREIRA: It's a silver medal.

CUOMO: Congratulations to her.

Well, that's all for us at NEW DAY. A lot of news this morning -- obviously monitoring the ongoing situation with the nor'easter that's crushing the East Coast.

So let's get you to the "NEWSROOM" and Miss Carol Costello -- Carol.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: I know, we're turning into a nation of hibernating bears, aren't we?

Have a nice day and stay safe. "NEWSROOM" starts now.