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D.C. Mayor Assures Public Ahead of Storm; U.K. Report Links Litvinenko Death, Kremlin; Zika Cases Reported in Four States; Will Smith on #OscarsSoWhite Boycott. Aired 10:30-11a ET

Aired January 21, 2016 - 10:30   ET

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


[10:29:44] CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Hi -- Chad.

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Hi -- Carol.

Fair enough, if the mayor shows up, just interrupt me. No problem there.

We talked about the bull's eye over D.C. already for the next storm. There is the bull's eye. I'll show you how that matches up to the numbers on the raw scale in a second. I'll show you how there's not going to be a lot of precip up and down the East Coast other than rain, maybe some sleet mixing in and then a light accumulation in New York City. This is the American model.

Now, let me get you to the European model -- slightly farther to the north with more snowfall into New York, not that much, still only 6 inches. But then the bull's-eye is far west and south as Roanoke kind of spreading out the pattern just a little bit -- spreading that snow around the country.

New York City on the GFS, which is American, four; European, six; Philadelphia, a tie -- three and three. But then look at what the American model does to D.C., especially west of the D.C. -- Dulles, Vienna, Boylston, Rockville, Gaithersburg 33 inches of snow possible with this storm.

That's why there is a blizzard watch in effect because there's going to be wind with it as well; heavy snow, heavy wind, low visibility for more than three hours. That's what it takes to make a blizzard.

Winter storm warnings all the way from Memphis, back into Nashville, Knoxville, Columbia -- I can go on and on. But all the areas here in the pink -- London, Kentucky will have an ice storm. Farther to the north, that's where it will be a snowstorm.

The snow piling up, piling up enough to shovel in a lot of spots if you're west of the I-95 BW Parkway -- that's where the snow is going to be all snow to Buoy and Annapolis. It's going to be mixing in with rain and the snow won't pile up as much.

Just as much moisture, just as much heaviness of the snow, but it won't pile up because it won't be as fluffy. It will be blowing around though -- Carol. Wind speeds 40 to 50 miles per hour. COSTELLO: I'll be ready. I've already bought toilet paper and paper

towels.

MYERS: Oh no.

COSTELLO: That's right. I'm ready.

MYERS: It should be -- you're not going to be in there that long, are you?

COSTELLO: I'm just joking.

We're still awaiting this press conference to begin in Washington, D.C. As you can see everybody has assembled except for the mayor of D.C. Hopefully she'll pop behind that podium soon and we can find out what the heck happened last night.

I'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:36:04] COSTELLO: All right. Finally the Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser got behind the microphone at the Salt Barn in northeast Washington. As you know, it was sort of a traffic nightmare last night in Washington, D.C. An inch and a half snow, people stuck in their cars on icy roadways for more than six hours.

This is how the mayor reacted moments ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR MURIEL BOWSER (D), WASHINGTON, D.C.: Good morning, everybody. I am Muriel Bowser. I am the mayor of Washington, D.C. And I am here to provide a briefing on the district's preparations for a forecasted blizzard in Washington, D.C.

Before I do that, though, I want to say a couple of things about the snow of last night, last evening, and last evening's commute. I want to say, first and foremost to the residents of the District of Columbia, that we are very sorry for inadequate response. We believe that we did not provide adequate resources at a time where it could make a difference in last evening's commute.

We should have been out earlier with more resources. Our city has a responsibility to residents and visitors to deliver essential services every single day. And last night we didn't meet those goals. And for that, we are very sorry.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: All right. A mea culpa from the mayor of D.C. And she went on to say she's focused, as you could hear, on the blizzard that is forecast. She assures residents that the city will be ready.

In other news this morning, Russia is firing back after a British inquiry links the murder of a former KGB spy Alexander, Litvinenko directly to Russian president Vladimir Putin. The country's foreign minister calling the report politically motivated, saying it has darkened the relationship between Russia and the U.K.

But Litvinenko's widow offered words of praise saying the inquiry validated her husbands death bed claim that Putin was behind his poisoning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARINA LITVINENKO, WIDOW OF ALEXANDER LITVINENKO: Vladimir Putin and Nikolai Patrushev, the Director of FSB at the time, personally approved assassination. I'm, of course, very pleased that the words my husband spoke on his death bed when he accused Mr. Putin of his murder have been proved through an English court with a high standard of independence and fairness.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: So Litvinenko died in Britain. He died of poisoning. He died a slow and agonizing death. Matthew Chance, live in Moscow to tell us more. Hi -- Matthew.

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey -- Carol. That's right. In fact the Kremlin within the past few minutes has issued its first reaction as well, saying the report, the public inquiry report that was released in Britain earlier today, may poison the relationship between Britain and Russia. They're sort of treating it as a kind of a joke in the sense that they made a pun out of the word "poison", which really gives you a sense of how they've been treating this investigation from the (inaudible) just a few days ago.

The Kremlin spokesman told us that this investigation in Britain was not something that Russia was concerned about. It was not on the agenda. But the fact that the report came out and did something that no one was really expecting which is to actually name Vladimir Putin as possibly involved in the ordering of the killing, or approving at least of the killing of Alexander Litvinenko in London, has put a whole new complexion on this scandal.

[10:39:59] I mean we always knew, of course, or suspected that it was state-sponsored; the fact that polonium 210 was used -- this radioactive isotope. It can only be created in nuclear reactors. But the fact that that goes straight to the top of the Kremlin is really scandalous and it's going to cause ruptures in the relationship between Britain and Russia.

COSTELLO: All right. Matthew Chance, reporting live from Moscow this morning. Thank you.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, the disease that has some pregnant women terrified. It can cause birth defects and brain damage and now it's made its presence known in the U.S.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Fears over the Zika virus are hitting the American soil. The Center for Diseases Control says a dozen cases have been reported across four states and that a baby was born in Hawaii with a birth defect linked to the virus after the baby's mother was infected while living in Brazil.

[10:45:02] The CDC is now warning women who are pregnant and who may become pregnant against traveling to 14 countries, including Mexico and Puerto Rico.

So, here to help us sort out what's happening, Dr. Sujatha Reddy. She's an obstetrician/gynecologist in Atlanta. Welcome, Doctor.

DR. SUJATHA REDDY, OB-GYN: Thank you.

COSTELLO: How worried should we be?

REDDY: You know, this is a pretty devastating virus when it comes to pregnant women and their unborn child. I think for pregnant women this is a very serious issue.

COSTELLO: Is there any way that women can protect themselves against catching this?

REDDY: Unfortunately, the only thing pregnant women can do is avoid mosquito bites and the way to do that is going to be with mosquito repellants with deet, which the CDC (inaudible) say are safe in pregnancy, long-sleeve clothing and as the CDC has recommended avoiding nonessential travel to areas where this virus has become widespread. That's about all pregnant women can do at this point.

COSTELLO: There's no antidote. There's no cure?

REDD: That's an excellent point. There is no vaccine. There is no cure. It's important to know that most people who contract the Zika virus are going to get a mild cold-like symptom -- it's going to be a mild viral illness. It's really devastating to the unborn child of pregnant women.

The majority of people who recover from this think they had a common cold and move on with their lives. But as we've seen for the unborn child, this can be deadly or lead to a life-long severely compromised life for that baby.

COSTELLO: This is all kind of scary because as you know, the upcoming Olympics are going to take place in Rio, just six months from now.

REDDY: Yes. And, you know, the peak of this typically is in the April spring time frame so we may not have seen the absolutely peak of this. But I think as we get closer to the Olympics, we're going to have to rely on the CDC and other organizations to tell us where to go with this.

But right now, I do think pregnant women should heed the CDC's advice.

COSTELLO: All right. Dr. Sujatha Reddy -- thanks so much.

Checking some other top stories this morning. Surveillance video out of Florida shows just what a mother will do to protect her children. You're going to see two men in ski masks run up to a red car and then they jump in. And that's when the woman dived in after them. She drags one guy out through the driver's side and away from her children. Her children were in the backseat. That would-be carjacker and his friend were caught after an officer followed their speeding car.

Good for her.

Actor Will Smith is breaking his silence over the Oscars So White controversy. Many people think Smith should have been nominated for his role in "Concussion". Now Smith is joining a list of stars boycotting the Oscars over its lack of diversity.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SILL SMITH, ACTOR: Diversity is the American super power. That's why we're great. So many different people from so many different places adding their ideas, their inspiration and their influences to this beautiful American gumbo.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Smith's comment comes after his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith took to social media calling for people of color to boycott the Oscars. Smith said he had no idea she would post this video, but he's glad she did.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, I want to introduce you to someone very special to me. The person who changed my life, the advice and guidance he gave me after I was fired from my first TV job. What he told me at the age of 21 that stuck with me through all of these years.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Do you ever look at your life and think about one moment, a single moment that changed everything? For me the game-changer was a cold call to a legendary news director at the start of my career. He gave me encouragement and guidance and taught me how to be a better journalist. And he's not done giving me advice. Here's to you, Ron Bilek, the person who changed my life. Part of a new CNN special.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Four, three --

COSTELLO: Good morning. I'm Carol Costello. Thank you so much for joining me.

I have always wanted to be a TV reporter since I was 12 years old.

I cannot tell you the sense of excitement.

Really easy to feel the hope and the love.

Take a look at all those people.

I watched Mary Tyler Moore. She worked in the news business and I loved her. She was independent. She was strong. She was sassy. She was everything that I wanted to be.

Maybe it was a little of Mary's spunk that gave me the courage to cold call a legendary news director I have never met.

I'm Carol Costello.

I was 21 and working as a reporter in Akron, Ohio. I needed some guidance. I needed to work in a bigger market. So I took a big risk.

Ron Bilek at the time worked in Cleveland. So I called him one day out of the blue and he deigned to talk to me.

RON BILEK, FORMER TV NEWS DIRECTOR: Somebody came and drove through town and said I'm in town, could I talk to you? I said, why not. The guy driving the 13-A bus may be a better talent than the anchor you have on the air right now.

COSTELLO: We just struck up a great conversation and it got to be a relationship. And I called him every two weeks for the next -- I would say for the next three years. And those phone calls consisted of advice, encouragement.

You can find everything down here.

[10:55:00] I needed it. I was struggling. My confidence was shot after I was fired from TV 23 in Akron.

And I said to him, I don't think I'm ever going to make it in journalism. And he told me to be patient. He just gave me the courage to continue.

BILEK: How you doing?

COSTELLO: Good.

BILEK: Good seeing you.

COSTELLO: Ron was right. My patience paid off. When he became the news director here at WSYX in Columbus, he hired me.

Do you remember where your office was?

BILEK: Yes. It was over there, I think.

COSTELLO: I've always wondered, though. The fact you took my call meant the world to me. Did you realize that?

BILEK: No.

COSTELLO: Really?

BILEK: No. What I got out of our conversations was that you got what the business was all about. This is somebody that has got more meat on the bone than most of the people that I talk to.

COSTELLO: What was my role?

BILEK: I thought you were one of my best reporters so I always wanted you to be covering stuff that I thought was some of the most important things in a community. And at that particular time, the city had somewhat of a crime problem.

COSTELLO: And sometimes you just don't care. That's exactly how violent kids are living their whole entire lives.

The best advice that Ron ever gave me was finding that nugget of information that makes me different from every other reporter on the air.

But Ron's advice was often harsh. He didn't mince words.

I would bring scripts to you and you would look at them and say, this is a piece of (EXPLETIVE DELETED).

BILEK: Because it was, right?

COSTELLO: Right.

BILEK: I'm not politically correct, but I'm -- but I care. No matter how rough, hard, obnoxious I was. It wasn't mean-spirited. It was -- damn it, I want you to be good because I know you can be good.

She was telling me she had a crappy newscast. One day she was hiding behind a computer and you threw an apple at her.

I liked his bluntness because I always knew where I stood with Ron.

Ron certainly He had his share of haters. He was the news director at ten stations across the country. But there are others just like me who appreciated his candor and the way he pushed us to succeed.

Joe Johns -- many thanks to you.

Joe Johns and I work now at CNN but more than 30 years ago Joe worked for Ron in Charlotte.

JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Ron Bilek was the greatest learning experience I could have ever had in this business. It was like a masters in television without having to pay tuition.

I can't say that I enjoyed it 100 percent because it was so tough, but I'm very thankful for it because even to this day, in sticky situations, I know how to do it. And I think of Ron Bilek.

COSTELLO: That's exactly how I feel.

I used to work here. I did. And he hired me here. Ron Bilek.

BILEK: Hi -- how are you.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi. Alicia Henry. Nice to meet you. I've heard your name before. He's a legend around here.

COSTELLO: He is a legend.

While Ron had a knack for coaching on-air talent, he was always happy to stay behind the scenes. It took a lot of convincing to get him to do this interview.

What was your hesitation?

BILEK: I'm extremely shy. I don't think I look good. I mean as you guys know, there are no pictures of me.

COSTELLO: That's kind of odd -- Ron.

BILEK: I'm kind of an odd guy. You know, I mean --

COSTELLO: Were you surprised you were the person that made the most impact in my life?

BILEK: Yes. I was taken aback. I thought it should be a parent or a priest or --

COSTELLO: See, that probably says something pathetic about me.

BILEK: Yes, I was going to say. Yes, I sit back and say, whoa.

COSTELLO: Exactly, what is wrong with her?

BILEK: My God.

COSTELLO: But I'm a career-oriented person and I always have been -- right. You taught me how to do television.

That was me, young and energetic. Ron helped me channel that enthusiasm into success.

Thank you so much for stopping by. I really appreciate it.

BILEK: I'm at the gym when you're on air.

COSTELLO: So you're forced to watch me?

BILEK: Well, yes.

COSTELLO: What am I doing right and what am I doing wrong?

BILEK: I wanted to tell you, stop saying, I appreciate you being with me. That says you're shocked that they would be willing to be with you. COSTELLO: I can take anything. I've been fired three times and I've

always bounced back. And I credit Ron with giving me the toughness to survive.

So, I think I did become my own version of Mary Tyler Moore.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If I don't like you, I'll fire you. You don't like me, I'll fire you.

COSTELLO: I had to ask myself, who was my Lou Grant? Ron was.

Because Lou was gruff. He didn't quite know how to talk to people but he was loveable in a weird kind of way and that's Ron Bilek. Thank you -- Ron.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: Thank you, Ron. I so appreciate it although I do wonder why you didn't tell me to change my hair. You know, take a look at this picture. This is from the 80s. Oh, it's going to switch. The woman with the red hair, can you guess who that is? Not these women, but the first women. Put it back up, man, I only got six seconds. There it is.

Liz Claman -- she works at the Fox Business Channel now. But we once were colleagues and we're still friends today.

The entire two-hour special "THE PERSON WHO CHANGED MY LIFE" airs this Sunday night right here on CNN, 8:00 p.m. Eastern.

Thank you for joining me today. I'm Carol Costello.

"AT THIS HOUR" with Berman and Bolduan starts now.