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Christie Back On Trail In New Hampshire After Handling Storm Preps; Trump: I Could Shoot Somebody And Not Lose Voters; Charlotte Thaws Out For NYC Championship; Threat Of High Winds And Black Ice As Snow Ends; Massive Snow Storm Slams Into East Coast States. Aired 2-3p ET
Aired January 24, 2016 - 14:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[14:00:13] FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. And thank you for joining me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. You are in the NEWSROOM.
The East Coast is digging out of record-breaking snowfall from Tennessee to New York. And many major airports are bracing for a travel nightmare in its aftermath. Airlines in New Jersey and New York are already cancelling some Monday flights. And D.C. area airports are at a standstill. Runways still buried and operations are shut down. It will be a series of messy days to follow.
Backups and delays after widespread cancellations left thousands of passengers stranded throughout the region. Dangerous icy roads are beginning to reopen in some places, though, driving is being highly discouraged in the cities hardest hit.
The death toll from this storm rose to 14 overnight. And massive snow melt is putting parts of coastal New Jersey under flood warnings now. One resident sent us this video of waist-deep water overtaking his business. The cleanup is just beginning.
And this overnight time lapse video from a viewer in Maryland showing the rapid snow accumulation there. Baltimore broke its snowfall record after getting slammed with 29 inches of snow.
And in Washington, look at these amazing photos of Arlington cemetery. Headstones just barely peeking over the thick, white blanket of snow.
And Philadelphia got more than 22 inches in two days. That's as much as the city typically gets in an entire season.
And in New York, utility workers and snowplows are attempting to clear the roads for Monday's commute. But some New Yorkers are already getting out. But some people are actually enjoying it very much today.
Let's get to Poppy Harlow who is in Manhattan there. And you see that some of the sidewalks are cleared off. People are definitely not letting the snow stop them.
POPPY HARLOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Not at all. I mean, it is actually a glorious day in New York City. The sun is shining. A lot of the streets are clear, Fred. What a difference 12, 24 hours can make as they do the big dig here in New York City.
Look. You've still got a lot of headaches here for travelers. You have 85 percent of flights out of LaGuardia canceled today, 50 percent out of JFK. That huge international airport are canceled. But you are seeing things reopening.
Broadway back on track, back open today after shuttering last night. You've got a lot of restaurants, hotels, everything like that is back to normal. The governor, though, Andrew Cuomo, saying we are not out of the woods yet.
The big headache right now is for people that rely on the Long Island railroad to get in and out of the city. That is still completely shuttered. They are having issues getting it back online ahead of the Monday commute. No idea when that is going back online. So I think that's the biggest headache. All the subways still running above ground and underground and now in New York City.
Let's go to check on how things look around the city. I want to go to Chad Myers, our meteorologist, in Times Square.
My friend, I bet you the tourists are out in force.
CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: They are. From their bummer day yesterday when they got all their things canceled on them, the Broadway shows and the opera and all that, to now we have traffic again, traffic and honking as far as you can see. So we are back. Now you have to understand the snow only stopped 12 hours ago. A record snowfall for the day ever in New York City and we're moving again. Very few cities in the world can do this.
But the smells are back, Poppy. You have the burning pretzel. You have the hot dogs. You have little halal food. The food stands are back. That's what we were missing last night. New York didn't smell right last night. But now it is -- now it's looking good.
Hey. How you doing? We're live on CNN. How did the storm affect you?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, I live in a condo so not too much.
MYERS: You just went up and down.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Doorman came down and shoveled everything. Had enough food for a week.
MYERS: Ever seen know snow like this before?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think back in ninety --
MYERS: You were here?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
MYERS: So was it this bad? Was it this bit of clean up this fast?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No. It's pretty incredible.
MYERS: Yes. This is really is pretty amazing. All right. Thanks very much for your time.
Yes, I think everybody here is looking at the sidewalks, looking at the streets and going, I can't believe we are up and running again. But we are - Poppy.
HARLOW: We are. And you know what, Chad, the schools all reopen tomorrow. So for my niece and nephew here who are hoping to get a day off of school, that's not happening for them.
Chad Myers, thank you so much. Enjoy it out there. It is a lovely day here in New York City.
I want to take you to Ryan Young. He is at Penn station.
And Ryan, this is where the headache comes many. Because I cannot tell you -- you probably know how many millions of people rely on the Long Island railroad and right now, no dice.
[14:05:109] RYAN YOUNG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. No dice so far. We know that 2000 worth, we have been trying to work to rectify this issue. We actually drove in from New Jersey this morning. I can tell you the roadways were clear to get here to New York City. And as we have been driving around the city so far. Yes, people are slowing down and having to deal with those mounds, but you have to think about those workers who were working behind us to try to get this Long Island railroad back together. That Monday morning commute is something so many will be concerned with. Three hundred thousand people depend on this to get to work and school and everything in the morning. So you can understand with all the snow this week and all the cabin fever that people are going to want to get in. In fact, the governor talked about it earlier this afternoon.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAYOR BILL DE BLASIO (D), NEW YORK: First of all, do not drive if you don't have to unless it's really urgent. We want people to stay off the streets. We want people to keep their cars where they're parked. It is very important to recognize. There's a lot of work being done to get the city up and running for Monday. We need people off the streets for their own safety. We need people off the streets for the safety of others. We need them off the streets so sanitation can clear the streets. We need you off the streets so our first responders have the freedom to get to emergencies.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
YOUNG: And that's actually New York's mayor talking. Hopefully my brain is not as log-jammed as the railroad tracks here. But look. They are trying to get it back open so people can get to work on Monday morning. You obviously understand that as they try to negotiate the road around here, people seems so far seem to have patience. Little hawking going on, but that's just New York City - Poppy. HARLOW: Do we know why it is that the Long Island railroad, Ryan, is
having such a hard time getting back online? I believe, and correct me if I'm wrong, New Jersey transit is running.
YOUNG: Well, they said that because the lines are exposed, of course with all that snow that comes down, someone's got to clear it all so they're working to get that done. That's the explanation that we heard earlier. But of course, we made those calls to figure out just in terms of maybe any technical issues they may be having along the way. They want those lines open and safe for everybody to get to work on Monday.
HARLOW: Yes, no question. And get there safely.
All right. Ryan Young, thank you so much.
I want to take you now to my friend Jason Carroll in Central Park, who has had -- right, Jason, if you have to cover a blizzard you kind of got the best assignment.
JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I would say so because you're out here with people who are in a good mood, who are having a lot of fun, taking a few risks, if you don't mind me saying. If you take a look at here, you can see this is the hill where everyone's been packing themselves into here at central park where we actually broke a record. 26.8 inches of snow measured here, Poppy. As you know, that is the second largest snowfall recorded in New York City's history.
Everyone coming out here doing what they can. Some not doing so well. These are some of the casualties coming out here and going too fast on the hills. But the Kaufmans are going to brave the hill anyway. They are out here. You didn't drive here, actually. You kind of drove here. You Ubered here, correct?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. That's driving in the city.
CARROLL: How were the roads?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Rush - a lot of snow, but they did a pretty good job plowing. So, no trouble getting over here.
CARROLL: And what's your assessment so far of how the city did? How they are fared? I mean, it seems from our point of view, and I'm told in some ways that the streets seemed to be plowed pretty well, lots of salt out there.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. I think they did a pretty good job. You never know what you're going to get but got a lot of snow and they cleared the streets and here we are.
CARROLL: No. We know he is out here also, Poppy, with his daughter and her friend. They also have a few of their new closest friends behind them. You guys have been looking forward to this since yesterday, yes?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
CARROLL: So have you taken a ride down so far?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
CARROLL: Fast, slow?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Very fast.
CARROLL: I have to ask you something because I'm looking at this and maybe I'm old school, but I don't see a brake on here or even any sort of method of steering. So when you are going down there on that hill, how do you prevent yourself from crashing into someone?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You don't. You just breathe.
CARROLL: OK. Well, have at it. Good luck. And I'm sure there are a lot of attorneys here on this hill as well in case you need one later. All right, guys. Thanks very much. Be well.
So again, Poppy. Everyone out here trying to do what they can to enjoy every inch of this snow. A lot of these folks were thinking about telling us that, you know, telling us they were trying to take the subway up here. I know you were talking about travel as well. I want to point out there are still delays on some of those subways as well. We experienced that this morning. So anyone watching this trying to get around the city, realize it's still very much slow go -- Poppy.
HARLOW: Jason, I have to tell you, last night after we were on live with you with the revelers and the people building the snowman in the middle of Eighth Avenue, I got a lot of angry tweets. People were mad at me for telling them to go home and be safe. So everyone, go outside today. Have fun. Right, Jason?
CARROLL: Slowly. As long as you do it slowly. Then yes, go have some fun.
HARLOW: Go have some fun. Jason Carroll, thank you so much.
Fredricka, I will send it back to you.
But Fred, interesting fact here. 26.8 inches of snow yesterday in New York City. We missed the record, Fred, by 0.1 inch.
[14:10:07] WHITFIELD: Oh my goodness.
HARLOW: 26.9 inches back in 2006. So I guess we need to get dumped on again to get a record.
WHITFIELD: Well, I'm sure nobody really wants that to happen.
HARLOW: Right.
WHITFIELD: But you know, at this point it's just about pacing oneself, right? HARLOW: Exactly.
WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks, Poppy. We will see you again momentarily.
Meantime, the cleanup a different story in New Jersey. The storm brought significant flooding to parts of the garden state.
Our Boris Sanchez is there. How's it looking?
BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Fred. The cleanup is under way. This looks significantly different than it did just two hours ago when this road was totally impassable. We are going to give you a look at the cleanup and talk to some neighbors to see how they are doing right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:13:22] WHITFIELD: All right. Welcome back. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.
Hey, the story along the jersey shore, it's not just about the snow and the wind but the flooding that came along with it. Parts of towns there under several feet of water. And there are still isolated flood watches and warnings for several areas up and down the west coast.
Boris Sanchez is live for us now from (INAUDIBLE) city in New Jersey, just south of Atlantic City.
So, it looks like some of the water is receding behind you, but that doesn't mean that, you know, the problem does not persist there.
SANCHEZ: That's right, Fred. Fortunately, the water has finally receded after high tide today. The winds have shifted. And so, it definitely lessens the chances of more flooding. But I can tell you, just two hours ago this road was covered in ice, water, and debris. Just trash strewn about for the entire block.
Part of the reason why is that we're in a neighborhood that faces a canal. And it's got a bay connected to it. And as those the storm surge came in, the water had nowhere else to go, so the water just kept rising and rising. And partly making things much worse, exacerbating the problem is the fact as this storm was peaking there was a full moon so the tide was just that much higher.
We're here with a neighbor who's lived here 20 years. His name is Bob Gross.
Bob, thank you so much for chatting with us today. You were telling me just a moment ago that this was one of the worst floods you have seen for this neighborhood.
BOB GROSS, NEW JERSEY RESIDENT: Correct. That's correct. Probably the second worst. We get small ones periodically as you pointed out with the moon phases, but this is the worst far while.
SANCHEZ: And what's the damage look like? Your garage looks like it's got some water inside.
GROSS: Yes. Just -- the garage, as you can see, we took everything up off the floor and prepared pretty well, so other than being a little wet we're pretty good. The water was up to that rungs in the porch if you can see in back here.
[14:15:12] SANCHEZ: Sure. So I have to ask, we talked to a few people yesterday. We are a bit further south in Margate City and we asked why so few people had sandbags outside their homes. We were told the sandbags don't really do much. Do you feel like preparations are kind of pointless for neighborhoods like this because the water is just coming anyway?
GROSS: Well, the preparation you do is what we did here, you just lift everything up off the floor, take all your furniture, make sure that everything is tied down. Because the worst thing is furniture flying around and flying and breaking (INAUDIBLE). But sandbags is useless because you have the water coming from all four sides plus underneath. So it's going to do nothing. It's not like it surges in. It comes all around.
SANCHEZ: Got it. Another question I had for you. We've seen a couple homes in this neighborhood that are being raised. Part of this the reason we have asked neighbors is because of the continual flooding. You mentioned Sandy. Are you planning a potentially raising your own?
GROSS: (INAUDIBLE) as you can see. So don't have that problem. The only problem we have is a garage. And the worst it ever got -- see where the line is there, it got about two-and-a-half times that. Over to here. Which was -- which was Sandy. So really that was really high. So that never really got anywhere near our living area. So, if the house was at this level, yes, we would raise it, but don't have to worry about that, fortunately.
SANCHEZ: Neighborhood doesn't look so bad right now.
GROSS: No. Did you see - were you hear yesterday? You were. Did you see bay, the way the water was boiling and running in?
SANCHEZ: Yes. Different problems.
All right. Bob, thank you so much again for speaking to us.
As you can see, Fred, the damage not as expansive as it has been for other storms like Sandy, but still a headache when you have to clean up a road like this. We'll get a better idea of the extent of the damage in other places further south in New Jersey as the days pass -- Fred.
WHITFIELD: All right. Boris Sanchez, thank you so much. Appreciate that. We will check back with you.
All right. Record snowfalls have crippled air travel in the northeast and mid-Atlantic. CNN aviation correspondent Rene Marsh is in Washington with the latest
where, oh my God, national airport still very much deserted behind you. When will planes be able to take off again?
RENE MARSH, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: Yes. It is a ghost town here. I mean, look at this place, Fredricka. We are the only ones on this level here. It's not often that you see a situation like this on a Sunday afternoon.
Since Friday, nearly 12,000 flights canceled including 3,400 today. Here at Reagan national airport. Just take a look at the boards. That tells you the story. The situation here, flight operations still shut down. The same scenario at Dulles.
Now that I've given you the bad news, give you a little bit of good news. I will give you a little bit of good news. At New York City airports there is limited flight operations. We know that. Also in Philadelphia, they have roughly four runways open so you have limited operations there as well. When it comes to Baltimore, they are telling us limited airline operations later on this evening. So we are starting to see some movement as far as the air travel, but we are nowhere out of the woods. It still is a rough go for anyone trying to get anywhere by air, and it will be like that for the next few days, Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: Yes. And Rene, you know, there is no laughing matter. I mean, people are stranded there. I mean, if they had any plans to get in or get out of national, it's just slow going. But then, I'm hearing a recording behind you as if there's like music and it's all being played just for you and your crew because no one else is there.
MARSH: Hey, we need some entertainment because after a while we are going to get tired of talking to each other. So, yes, we need some entertainment. You know, I was just speaking with the folks here at Reagan national because everyone wants to know when are things going to get up and running. Right now they say that the runways are looking pretty good. But what the problem is all of the lighting that they have along the runways, that's still buried. So they have to actually shovel that by hand. So that's what they're dealing with at this point. They hope to have a better idea later on today as to whether they'll be able to resume operations possibly tomorrow.
WHITFIELD: All right. Fingers crossed for all the folks there.
Thanks so much. Rene Marsh, appreciate that.
All right. We are going to head into D.C. in a moment. The city has shut down since this storm blew in. We will check in on the cleanup and what it will be like for Monday commuters.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:22:14] WHITFIELD: All right. It is still of snow lockdown in the nation's capital. And that's why schools in D.C. will be closed tomorrow because of that monster snow storm. Right now at the White House, look at that, a beautiful blanket of
snow there but throughout the city, roads still need to be plowed. It's slow going there. And the city is bringing in more equipment to remove the snow.
Let's turn to meteorologist Jennifer Gray now on the national mall.
So, Jennifer, let's take a look at where you are. How's it looking? It looks gorgeous. It just means, you know, it's kind of a ghost town, isn't it, in some parts?
JENNIFER GRAY, AMS METEOROLOGIST: You know what, Fred? It almost feels giddy being out here after what we've experienced the last two days alongside everyone in the nation's capital. It was a brutal, brutal 48 hours. And now, you have a blue bird sky, visibility for miles, and just white all around. It is actually very beautiful.
And kudos to the city officials and all the people working around the clock to try to keep these roads clear. A loft the major roads actually in pretty good shape. It's just those secondary roads that are still having some trouble. That's why a lot of people are just trying to stay home and stay indoors for yet another day.
As you said, schools are closed again tomorrow. Congress has actually suspended votes for this week. And so, yes, the city will be pretty quiet for the next couple days.
But you know what, this was an epic snowstorm. It definitely lived up to all the hype. Actually more than 18 inches of snow in Reagan, a little more than 28 inches at Dulles, ranked in as number two snowiest storm ever recorded. Reagan ranks number four.
And so we had a mess for a long time. This was a slow-moving storm. And so that's why it was so dangerous. But luckily D.C. is going to be all right. We didn't have any fatalities here in the D.C. area. And as of this morning, only a handful of people without power.
So I think that we're going to get a little bit of melting today. We have a lot of sunshine, temperatures just above freezing. And so, we will see a little bit of a refreeze as we go through the overnight hours as temperatures dip below freezing. And so we could have a pretty icy commute on our hands as we get into the Monday morning rush hour. It's already pretty slippery if you walk around on the sidewalks or getting some of that slush. So it will be interesting, Fred, to see how the morning commute goes and how those airlines deal with some of that.
However, the good news is a little bit of melting makes better snowballs, it makes better snowmen, and we know that there are lots of people on Capitol Hill today enjoying the snow and getting a little sledding in - Fred.
WHITFIELD: Right. And all the kids who no longer have to go to school in D.C. public schools tomorrow are excited about that too. But what about, you know, the federal government, the business of Washington, closed tomorrow as well? [14:25:04] GRAY: Yes. Well, I'm not for sure about the federal.
Obviously, I do know that they suspended voting for this week. It was going to be a short week for Congress anyway. But now it's going to be basically nonexistent for those as far as the votes go and things like that.
Schools will be closed. It is kind of eerie seeing D.C. in such a quiet state today as well as tomorrow. So I guess it will get back up and running probably around Tuesday or Wednesday - Fred.
WHITFIELD: Boy. All right. Jennifer Gray, thank you so much on the national mall there in Washington.
All right. Let's go to Nick Valencia now, who is also there in the Washington area.
Yesterday we saw you with Virginia transportation officials and we saw the exits that were just blanketed with snow. So give us an idea of what commuters can expect tomorrow or the next day.
NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Much like what Jennifer is seeing there just on the other side of the river, Fred. We are seeing the sun out. The sun is shining. The recovery efforts are still well under way, though. Let me step aside so you can see exactly how many tons of sand these emergency vehicles have to work with.
Four thousand pieces of heavy equipment going out on these roads. This is just an example of one of them. This one just looks like it just came back from plowing some snow. We actually also just heard from the Virginia department of -- I should say the Virginia state police, I'm sorry, five people now confirmed dead as a result of this winter storm. Four of them from hypothermia. Much of that happening about three hours south of here. Two other fatal car crashes are being investigated perhaps as being weather related. So the death toll for this fatal storm that affected more than 85 million Americans rising.
Here we are at the Virginia department of transportation where as I mentioned these salt trucks, plows are still working around the clock. I was speaking to one of the drivers earlier and he said he was on for 24 hours straight. Some of the other drivers are working in 12-hour shifts, getting a 12-hour break, but this work and preparation.
It has really been exhausting for the commonwealth of Virginia. It really was worth it, though, Fred. I mean, we saw these roads and these interstates treated so well. A lot of them coming back. You could see here after working, all night long to make sure that any of those motorists that were not heeding the warning of government officials, that they had a safe passageway, many of those roads, however were impassable. Today it's a much different story.
Businesses of course are still closed. Schools will be closed tomorrow. Quietly some of those businesses will start to reopen. And as Jennifer was saying, the businesses here and the normal life so to speak will probably get back under way sometime on Tuesday. This winter storm really living up to the expectations here in Fairfax, at least 30 inches of snow, feet and feet of accumulation. We heard from our weather department in West Virginia, up to 42 inches of snow. And this really causing a lot of problems for commuters. Some stragglers were out there, did not heed the government officials' warning to stay off those roads. Though, for the most part, this really was an impressive display of preparation by the emergency officials here in Virginia - Fred.
WHITFIELD: All right. The D.C., Maryland, Virginia area really socked by a lot of snow there, up to 30 inches in some parts.
Thanks so much, Nick Valencia there in Virginia. Appreciate it.
All right, still ahead, New Jersey governor Chris Christie back on the campaign trail a day after his state was hard hit by the blizzard.
Plus we will tell you why these two candidates have reason to smile.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:31:00] WHITFIELD: Hello again, everyone. Thanks so much for joining me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.
New Jersey governor and Republican presidential candidate, Chris Christie, back on the campaign trail in New Hampshire after spending Friday and Saturday in his home state dealing with the snowstorm. This morning during a townhall he touted his handling of the blizzard.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOVERNOR CHRIS CHRISTIE (R-NJ), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It's not that I was somehow innately born with the ability to deal with snow emergencies or, you know, hurricanes. It's that you've done it, you learn.
And it's the point I've been trying to make to everybody, and I think the storm helps me to make it really clearly to folks -- it matter what is you've done before. It matters.
You know, some candidates in this race try to tell you it doesn't matter what you've done before. It does. It does matter. It does matter are you going to be ready when you sit in that chair the very first day.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: A new Fox News poll shows that Christie has work to do in New Hampshire. He is tied for fifth place with Jeb Bush at 7 percent. Trump still the clear frontrunner in that first primary state.
Let's bring in our political panel, Democratic columnist Ellis Henican and Republican strategist, Brian Morgenstern. Good to see you, guys. Glad you're able to brave the storm.
Alright, Brian, Chris Christie playing two roles here as governor demonstrating he's on task for snow and flooding emergencies as it was happening, and now already back in New Hampshire in his second of three stops there today stumping for votes.
So does he have the advantage among Republicans showing leadership, not just talking about it but showing that he's doing it?
BRIAN MORGENSTERN, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Well, he's hoping that this will be the sort of opposite situation of 2012 when Sandy hit and he, you know, showed that sort of leadership, which was good for New Jerseyans but embracing Obama shortly before the election hurt him with Republicans around the country a little bit.
So while this normally would help a governor being able to show that kind of leadership in crisis, this is a bit of a reminder for Republican primary voters of what happened last time around where they felt like he kind of threw Mitt under the bus at that point.
So maybe there's a bit of a counteraction here. He also in this situation didn't jump at the first opportunity to go back and show that leadership.
He had first said I'm going to stay on the campaign trail. When public opinion kind of ratcheted up he said I'll go back to New Jersey for a day and shoot back up here.
There are a couple of, you know, little errors there in the execution that, you know, maybe he's not going to capitalize in quite the way he would have been able to otherwise.
WHITFIELD: And so Ellis, do you feel like he was, you know, talking to two sets of, you know, concerned citizens there, the New Jersey, you know, crowd when he was talking about how he's been handling the storm as well as speaking on a national pulpit by reminding people that he's handled 17 storms since he's been governor?
ELLIS HENICAN, DEMOCRATIC COLUMNIST: You know, whoever gets elected in November definitely ought to consider Chris Christie as the director of FEMA. I'm sure he would do great at getting the windbreaker, be out there, and have his hair tussled.
Sadly it won't get him the Republican nomination for president and if this is the best pitch he has at the 11th hour in Iowa, it suggests how little he has an alternative.
WHITFIELD: All right, and then this new Iowa poll, this from Fox News showing Trump out in front, but while making a push for voters in Iowa yesterday. Listen to what he said about the commitment of his supporters.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[14:35:10] DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: My people are so smart. You know what else they say about my people, the polls? They say I have the most loyal people. Did you ever see that? I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody and I wouldn't lose any voters. OK? It's like incredible.
(END VIDEO CLIP) WHITFIELD: Ellis, what do you do with that?
HENICAN: What's the difference between a supporter and a crazed zealot? Maybe if you can -- if you can explain that distinction, Mr. Trump, we'll understand how many of them will slip away if you start to fire a gun on Fifth Avenue. Listen, there's a point, yes, some of his people are very zealous, but I'm not sure that's entirely a good thing.
WHITFIELD: And Brian, you know, he did spin it further this morning on the morning talk shows when pressed about it. He says, you know what, I'm just grateful that his supporters are as dedicated as they are.
MORGENSTERN: And they are, but I think, you know, kind of calling them out for sometimes blindly supporting him, you know, kind of highlights the difference between a political leader and a cult leader, and might wake some folks up a little bit. So I think, you know, it's obviously a funny joke and, you know, probably being overblown a little bit.
WHITFIELD: Would his supporters say that is presidential?
MORGENSTERN: Does anything he do qualify as presidential? I'm not sure. But he is nothing if not entertaining and interesting to watch. So, you know, and his supporters are very loyal, dedicated people.
Again, I think highlighting the intensity of their loyalty might actually kind of snap people out of the trance a little bit and maybe wake them up as we head into the actual time to vote.
WHITFIELD: OK. Iowa caucus right around the corner, eight days away. The "Des Moines Register" endorsing Marco Rubio and Hillary Clinton. So, you know, I wonder, you know, Ellis, for the Democrats, you know, there seem to be conflicting messages.
While the newspaper throws its support behind Hillary Clinton saying she is, quoting now, "thoughtful, hardworking, public servant, ready to take on the most demanding job in the world," the contrasting message of the latest Iowa poll by CNN saying that Sanders is the choice at 51 percent. So how defeating or how momentum building is Iowa?
HENICAN: Listen, I've spent 25 years working on newspapers. I love newspapers, but I was trying to think how many votes that endorsement is likely to sway. And I came up with Mrs. Childers. That would be the mother of the publisher of the register might have her views swayed on this.
These things don't matter anymore. The momentum is going on its own. The enthusiasm is with Bernie and Trump. We'll see if the others can come back and do it. I don't think you look to the "Des Moines Register" for the explanation.
WHITFIELD: OK. Brian? MORGENSTERN: Yes, I mean, well, it can be an -- I agree with Ellis, I think the dyed in the wool voters will be showing up to caucus in, you know, negative degree weather won't be there by the mainstream media who to vote for.
It can be a nice moment. It can get a little exposure that the candidates may not have and have a nice sort of framed argument for that candidate. It doesn't hurt but I think the question is to how much it helps.
I think Ellis may have hit it on the head. There are a few paid staffers for the newspaper and maybe some close relatives who will be persuaded to caucus because of it.
HENICAN: They disagree with the publisher anyway. They don't like the publisher anyway. Don't worry about that.
WHITFIELD: All right, Brian Morgenstern, Ellis Henican, we'll see you again soon. Thank you so much.
All right, you'll want to see our townhall tomorrow night in Iowa. All three Democratic candidates taking questions from Iowa voters hosted by our Chris Cuomo, airing at 9:00 Eastern right here on CNN.
Alright, the NFC Championship football game is set to kick off in just a few hours in Charlotte. They, too, were hit by the storm. Will the stadium be cleared and will it be ready in time for the big show?
How about those fans? Are they hardy enough to be able to endure the brunt of this storm? We'll have a live report coming up after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:42:18]
WHITFIELD: All right, lots of snow and ice brought the Carolinas to a 24-hour standstill. Officially 3 inches of snow in parts of Charlotte. But a warm-up is thawing out the region just in time for today's NFC football championship game in Charlotte.
On Friday, the Carolina Panthers practiced in frigid, snowy weather. Snowplows were brought in to clear the practice field and the team's stadium in preparation for today's championship game against the Arizona Cardinals.
Polo Sandoval joins us live now from Charlotte with more on the prep. It looks like most of the snow has melted, but does that mean that everything is ready and in place for the big game?
POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, Fred, that's a really good question. If you're driving to the game, you shouldn't run into any issues. If you're walking, that's where the problem is. The sidewalks here in Charlotte, a lot of them are covered with ice.
Many folks have actually scraped it off this parking lot and make room for all the tailgating that's happening here. City officials are reminding people to be very careful after they drive and park at some of the parking lots when they're walking to the stadium.
It's only about three blocks from where we are, we almost took a tumble getting here alone. That's the big concern, but at this point Mother Nature is clearly cooperating.
When you talk to some of the fans, including one in particular I talked to, there was a little bit of concern when that place took a beating on Friday. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SANDOVAL: Given the historical significance, were you concerned that maybe a little bit of snow was enough to dampen everybody's spirits and maybe even postpone or cancel the game?
THOMAS SARTON, CAROLINA PANTHERS FAN: Definitely. My car got stuck yesterday so I got into an SUV and drove all the way here. The highways were iced over.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANDOVAL: So those concerns obviously no longer really what a lot of people are feeling. In fact, game officials have been working around the clock to make sure that the field is clear.
They laid out a tarp ahead of the ice and the snow that we saw out here in uptown on Friday and then removed that tarp, and now the forecast looks very promising, Fred.
We've heard the numbers, all the snow accumulation up north, but the number people here are relieve to see is zero. That's the chance of precipitation for tonight's kickoff, which is scheduled to happen in about four hours.
WHITFIELD: Those tailgaters look very happy already. Polo Sandoval, thanks so much in Charlotte.
All right, six states in the mid-Atlantic and north east were hit with at least 30 inches of snow from this storm, but now the threat in some of those states now flooding, black ice, and cold temperatures. We'll tell you who is going to be affected next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:47:48]
WHITFIELD: All right, so many states and millions of people still frozen after that big massive storm. Let's go to Tom Sater in the weather center. So while you've got snow melt in some places that means it's making way for black ice in others.
TOM SATER, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes.
WHITFIELD: What are the concerns in your book?
SATER: With 14 fatalities already, Fred, there's going to be more unfortunately added because anyone who perishes from black ice, as many as 20 states will be added to the list.
For the next five nights as the refreezing occurs, just anything wet, consider it icy. And another thing too, history has shown us when you have this amount of snowfall there's a number of heart attacks from shoveling snow as the heart is beating faster to keep your body warm.
But let's go back because Thursday morning into Friday, New York City was only going to get anywhere between 2 inches and 22.
Keep in mind, New Yorkers you're at the very end of the trail here, so again as the storm moves up the coast, which it finally did, you'll be the last to see a revised forecast.
If you look at what actually happened, it is amazing. And no two storms are alike. You never see the same amount of snow blanket the entire region, but this was one for the record books.
One day totals, two day totals, three-day toe teas, it would take all day to go through the numbers but 40 inches in some places. The major airports, this is interesting, JFK, 30.5, but Reagan National 17.8.
There was a discrepancy right now going on because you get to around Arlington and you have 25 inches. It is believed there may have been a three, four-hour period where the measuring wasn't done correctly.
They'll look that to see if it needs to be revised. New York City missed it by that much, a tenth of an inch for the all-time record, which was 26.9.
Fred, that's like training your whole life as a sprinter, finally getting to the Olympics, then you miss out on the goal by a hundredth of a second.
WHITFIELD: I don't know if people would be disappointed or just, you know, barely -- I'm not sure. What do you do with that kind of gold?
SATER: A pleasant surprise, we didn't have millions lose power. That could have easily been the case. So there's nothing on radar, but again, there is going to be the melting and the refreezing from New York City to Washington, D.C. So again, black ice is going to be a big problem and seriously, I know the mayor says don't shovel the snow yet.
[14:50:10]He really means don't throw it back in the street. But the longer you wait, the harder it's going to be.
WHITFIELD: I know. It's a nightmare. It really is. Thank you so much, Tom Sater. Appreciate it. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: All right, welcome back. This is just in to CNN. Former Israeli President Shimon Peres has been taken to a hospital with chest pains. He's suffering from an irregular heartbeat. This comes one week after the 92-year-old suffered a heart attack. Doctors say he will spend tonight in the hospital for observation. And do you have a person who inspires you, influences you, or may have even changed your life? We have some people here at CNN who do, and they are sharing their intimate stories with the world.
Here's a glimpse of CNN's special tonight featuring the person who changed our Brooke Baldwin's life.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): It was the fall of 1991. With one of the best guitar riffs of all time, Nirvana became the kings of grunge. The governor of Arkansas made his move.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I proudly announce my candidacy.
BALDWIN: And I was in middle school.
(on camera): Such a southern gentleman.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's how we do it.
BALDWIN (voice-over): It was also one the year I met one of the most inspiring people I know -- Bobby Rashad Jones.
(on camera): Do you remember your locker combination?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I do not.
BALDWIN: Same noise.
(voice-over): We were in the seventh grade here at the Westminster's schools in our hometown of Atlanta, Georgia.
[14:55:10](on camera): Whoever wants to go back to seventh grade in your lifetime? Not me. But I remember Rashad and we pretty quickly clicked.
LT. COMMANDER RASHAD JONES, U.S. NAVY: Brooke was very outgoing and she was very welcoming and very compassionate towards the new students and she always was. And so we kind of hit it off there in seventh grade.
BALDWIN (voice-over): Rashad and I had a lot of things in common. He was a starting linebacker. I was the captain of the cheerleaders. And our parents had the same rule -- education first.
JONES: Education is the one thing that you can gain in life that no one can take from you.
BALDWIN: Rashad's high school football coach remembers Mrs. Jones, who yanked her son out of practice one day because Rashad hadn't done his homework.
GERRY ROMBERG, FOOTBALL COACH: Bobby Jones! And I'm not saying it as loud it was being said there. Get up here right now! You get off that football field right now! BALDWIN (on camera): We're in a golf cart because this campus has grown so much since even we've been here. What jams were you listening to senior year?
JONES: Quad City D.J.s. -- All-stars.
BALDWIN (voice-over): We bonded over music. I introduced Rashad to Pearl Jam's heavy Seattle sound. And he opened my eyes to the dirty south beats of Atlanta rap.
(on camera): Then he taught me about outcast. It was music education for me with Rashad, but that was just the beginning of this long, long friendship that, you know, that's gone so beyond that.
(voice-over): So far beyond that. Two decades ago, Rashad and I sat on these same steps. Our talks about boys and basketball soon developed into discussions about much deeper issues like race.
JONES: I'll never forget the O.J. Simpson trial.
BALDWIN (on camera): I remember that. I remember you -- we sat around on classes and watched it on TV.
JONES: It was the time I had real conversations about race at this school. When I was here at Westminster, when I first came in seventh grade, it was a culture shock that first semester.
BALDWIN: There were four black kids in the class?
JONES: There were four or five black boys in the class, three other girls. It was very small.
BALDWIN (voice-over): Rashad and I came from different worlds. I think that was one of the reasons why early on, just certain people you have them who expose you to a totally different perspective and a way of life.
It really resonated with me in high school in particular. He's taught me to always be open to other points of view, to tell the stories of people who may not always be heard. I'm actually in the middle of police and to be fair.
JONES: When you interview people during the Ferguson and Baltimore riots, you did your best to empathize and that's why the conversations were very real.
BALDWIN (on camera): But I think the only reason they've been able to fully do that, one of the reasons is because of what you've taught me.
(voice-over): Rashad was recruited by more than a dozen college football teams, but he turned them down to attend the U.S. Naval Academy.
JONES: I will tell you that I've never been so proud to be a part of something so much bigger than myself.
BALDWIN: On graduation day, exuberance.
JONES: I kind of lost my mind.
BALDWIN: Even bear hugging his commander-in-chief. Rashad rose through the ranks to become a lieutenant commander in the U.S. Navy.
(on camera): This was the first terrorist attack on the United States from ISIS.
(voice-over): Now our worlds are converging again.
(on camera): Secretary of defense yesterday --
(voice-over): I'm reporting on a world at war. He is fighting in one.
JONES: Every day that I put this uniform on I just don't think about the Navy, the naval service. I think about the classmates I went to school with, some of who have made the ultimate sacrifice in defense of their country. And it's very humbling to even be considered part of that group. Very humbling.
BALDWIN: Right now, Rashad is stationed in the Middle East as executive officer on the "USS Enzio," actively engaged in the war on terror.
(on camera): I am incredibly proud and not at all surprised. Cheerleading, football. Here's the football.
(voice-over): I've often wondered what makes a real friend?
(on camera): Somebody who keeps you honest. Somebody who keeps you in check.
(voice-over): I found that and so much more in Rashad.
