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D.C. Mayor: Lots of Work to be Done; Virginia Gov.: Most Expensive Snow Event Ever; ISIS Released New Video of Paris Attackers; LIRR Closed by Frozen Switches, Buried Yards; Blizzard Triggers Flooding in New Jersey; Pennsylvania Turnpike Reopens, Chairman Apologizes; Tina Fey Returns to SNL to Skewer Sarah Palin; Bloomberg Considering Independent Run; Christie Attacks Rubio Over Blizzard Remark; Chinese Orphan Adopted, Heads to the U.S. Aired 7-8p ET

Aired January 24, 2016 - 19:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:01:02] POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: Top of the hour. I'm Poppy Harlow in New York. Thank you for being with us this Sunday evening.

The nation's capital now trying to dig out from this weekend's monster blizzard -- deep snow and ice covering most of Washington, D.C. right now. We just learned limited flights will resume at D.C. Metro airports tomorrow morning.

The first storm-related death in Washington also being reported tonight -- an 82-year-old man had a heart attack while shoveling snow. Elsewhere in the city crews are scrambling to move piles of snow and ice. All schools are closed tomorrow. And all U.S. government offices will also be closed, only limited bus and subway service will resume in the morning.

A short time ago, we got an update from Washington, D.C.'s, mayor.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR MURIEL BOWSER (D), WASHINGTON D.C.: We're making a lot of progress. We are nearing the end of day one of the dig-out. Our crews worked all night and all day and we have deployed most of the 400 new pieces of equipment that I mentioned to you this morning.

While we have made some progress, there is still a lot more to do and we will work to continue to clear our major arteries. A lot of the blacktop you're seeing in many cases we still have restricted width on those lanes so either we don't have the full number of lanes that we should, or we have some -- also some concerns about how we get through intersections and turn intersections and sight lines and the rest. There's still a lot of work that has to be done.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: A lot of work that has to be done. Rene marsh is live for us tonight at Washington's Reagan National Airport. There is not a soul in sight, Rene, which does not bode well for travelers there, but a little sign of relief tomorrow morning, is that right? RENE MARSH, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: Yes, you know, we won't be

alone tomorrow because we just found out that they plan on opening at least one runway here at Reagan National Airport as well as Dulles. So they're getting things started again tomorrow.

Limited number of flights in and out of these D.C. airports, but still, welcome news for travelers. Of course, we saw today New York City as well as Philadelphia and Baltimore they started limited service out of those airports today.

Now, when you talk to the airlines, they say most of these passengers have been rebooked on other flights, however, everyone's not going to get to their destination on Monday. It will take airlines well into this week before they can get everyone to their destination -- Poppy.

This really has been a nightmarish scenario for air travelers. Since Friday, we're talking about more than 12,000 flights that have been canceled. But again, we deliver some good news here. Things are starting to get back up and running again -- Poppy?

HARLOW: Be patient, be patient, be patient and bring something good to read. I think that is a lesson for all of us trying to fly this week. Thank you so much, Rene Marsh, live for us there.

Nick Valencia -- not far away in Fairfax, Virginia. When you look at the effect of the storm there, Virginia hit incredibly hard -- a lot of backup on the roads there. Also five deaths -- Nick.

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, we are smack in the middle of the cleanup effort -- that recovery process. Just terribly unfortunate news -- the Commonwealth of Virginia really hit substantially hard by this winter event. Four people died as a result of hypothermia, another person lost control of his car.

They are as well investigating two other fatal car crashes, perhaps storm-related. That's still yet to be determined. But let me give you a sense of exactly what they're still dealing with here.

You remember this is the live shot location we were at about 24 hours ago. The snow is a little less but with every step I take, it's still about ankle deep. This is the thoroughfare that we were referencing yesterday that was primarily emergency responders, emergency vehicles, some of those spreaders, the snow plows.

You can see behind me, there still is that case but there is also normal traffic -- this thoroughfare far from back to normal however. The governor of Virginia talked about just how massive of an impact this storm has had on the state. It's going to be a lot of money before this is all cleaned up.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. TERRY MCAULIFFE (D), VIRGINIA: This is a very expensive storm. It is costing the Commonwealth $2 million to $3 million an hour. I believe at the end of the day this will probably be our most expensive snow event ever -- could top over $100 million. (END VIDEO CLIP)

VALENCIA: You see behind me something really cool going on here. This is part of a snow plow train -- essentially they get into a smaller caravan. This is one of the smaller ones we've seen. They push that snow off to the right shoulder, trying to clear that roadway for -- hey there, guys -- trying to clear that roadway for anyone that is getting on those roads.

1,200 accidents -- more than 1,200 accidents; 2,000 vehicles that were left disabled -- of course, that was a big concern for the Virginia State police this weekend. They do say they're worried about icing and freezing temperatures tomorrow. The sun was out this morning. That's expected to be the case tomorrow.

However, that snow that did melt is expected to refreeze, so there's a chance of black ice on those roadways, and certainly a chance of even more damage -- Poppy?

[19:05:06] HARLOW: Nick Valencia, live for us tonight in Fairfax. Thank you, Nick.

All right. I do want to bring you some breaking news just in to us here.

ISIS -- the terrorist group ISIS has just released a startling and graphic new video. It claims to show nine Paris attackers carrying out those atrocities long before the deadly November the 13th massacre that took the lives of 130 people in Paris. Seven of the attackers died in the gunfights that followed with authorities. The other two were killed in a raid a week later. The video, though, shows them alive and issuing threats somewhere in ISIS-held territory.

CNN's international diplomatic editor, Nic Robertson, joins me now live on the phone from London. Talk to me, Nic, as I should note, we're not going to show this video. Talk to me about the significance of it.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR (via telephone): Poppy -- this is the video I think many of us suspected might be coming. That ISIS wanting to get -- trying to score another propaganda advantage from that attack in Paris would release statements from the attackers prior to the attack.

That's what they've done here. It's a 17-minute slickly produced video. It montages a lot of news footage from the night of the attack with news commentary from the night of the attack. But it also shows what they claim are the nine attackers. Three of them they say are French, four Belgian, and two Iraqis. Most of them most of the time are wearing camouflage military uniforms. They deliver on-camera messages. They also involve while they deliver those on-camera messages involve brutal executions of prisoners. It's not clear who those prisoners are.

One of the attackers, a man we believe became one of the Bataclan attackers attacked where the band was playing almost 90 people shot and killed there. He says, "We will attack you at the foot of the Eiffel Tower." Another of the attackers said "Soon on the Champs Elysees," of course, that famous boulevard in the center of Paris leading up to Arc de Triomphe.

So some very clear indications even when they were shooting these videos that appear to have been shot either in Syria or Iraq that they knew their intended target, although they may not have known the details but they knew that their intended target was in Paris -- Poppy.

HARLOW: Nic, if this video is authenticated, it shows that the Paris attacks were not just inspired by ISIS, but that the group carried them out, that they were trained in ISIS territory, et cetera. That's the real key here, isn't it?

ROBERTSON: That is the key here. Some of them are seen reading their messages from pieces of paper in their hands, others appear to be reading, perhaps, from paper that's held off screen, others perhaps from memory.

One of them says that this was authorized by Baghdadi, the head of ISIS. We see them training with automatic weapons shooting at what could be drawn human figures on the side of a building. There's somebody whose identity is obscured in training, during that.

And of one chilling piece at the end of this video, there are sequences from the British House of Commons from just very recently the debate in the British House of Commons about should Britain join the United States and others in air strikes on Syria.

This appears to be a threat and the words seem to match that -- a threat to Britain as well. This wasn't just about the attack in Paris, but an apparent threat to Britain to come.

Absolutely. And when you look at it, I also understand that it shows images sort of this warning, if you will, images of obviously British Prime Minister David Cameron, also President Obama -- is that the case?

ROBERTSON: President Obama is there, David Cameron is there, the French President Francois Hollande is there. We've come to know that this is what ISIS does. That it makes these propaganda videos, that it tries to threaten and intimidate the United States, Britain, and France.

But what it's done with this one, in particular, is to take the attack in Paris and to show that they were planning it so far in advance that they had these attackers. We've seen them on the streets in civilian clothes. They have them in camouflaged equipment. Almost they're brutalized before they ever arrive on the streets of Paris because they're involved in the bloody types of executions that we've come to know familiar from ISIS. This is ISIS trying to score another propaganda point from this attack in Paris -- Poppy.

[19:10:01] HARLOW: Nic Robertson, CNN international diplomatic editor, live with us for that breaking news. Nic -- thank you very much for that.

We'll take a quick break and we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:12:48] HARLOW: 2,000 transit workers tonight racing to get the Long Island railroad up and running again after a crippling blizzard along the Eastern Seaboard. 300,000 people in the greater New York area depend on the Long Island Railroad to re-open tomorrow morning to get in for work.

The system is one of the last major pieces of the city's mass transit system not operational at this hour. That is because rail yards are still, as you see, buried under snow, stranded trains blocking some tracks and frozen switches still need to be thawed out.

This is how the storm's aftermath looks from the air. This is a drone-captured image. Along the coast of Staten Island, everything covered by a thick coating of white snow as far as you can see -- pretty beautiful images there.

Our Ryan Young live for us in Penn Station. I know we're waiting for an update from city officials. We thought maybe an hour ago about the railroad. Any update?

RYAN YOUNG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No update so far. You know, people have been stopping next to us asking us if we had an update -- so many people here in Penn Station wanting to know when things would get back to normal.

When you look at all that massive snow that's throughout the city, think about the idea that all these workers are out there hitting it hard trying to clear the snow. It's amazing to see all the New Yorkers who are on the street and upstairs here at Penn Station. But Poppy -- I have to point this out to you, if you come over here and look at the big board, it tells you the story. Service suspended. You can see it going all the way down the line.

We know 300,000 people usually use this line system to get here and that traffic jam tomorrow could be quite impressive if they don't have a chance to get on this train and come into the city.

We have seen some of those workers who have been heading out that way. There have been announcements that have been going overhead like the one you hear right now.

But other people have been showing their tickets asking when are the services returning to normal? The lines here -- not too bad, in fact, they've been not that long throughout the afternoon. But this is something that people know, come Monday when they are getting ready to go to work, when they want to return life back to normal, they're going to be pushing it trying to get on these train lines, not sure if that can happen just yet.

Hopefully an update can happen, but when you think about those workers -- those 2,000 workers who had to get out of their own homes and to go out there and work in all that snow, record snowfall, the idea they'll be able to clear this out within 24 hours is still an amazing feat.

[19:15:01] And we're hearing from a couple of security guards who were walking around here thinking they believe things will return back to normal tomorrow. That's just something they said unofficially, of course. But, you have to ask anybody you can at this point as the information is coming slowly through that straw -- Poppy.

HARLOW: I know. Absolutely. And our thanks to gosh -- all those workers out there digging out in the cold so everyone can get in --

YOUNG: Oh yes.

HARLOW: -- to work tomorrow morning. Thank you so much, Ryan Young, appreciate it.

Let's go straight to Tom Sater. He joins us in the CNN Severe Weather Center. When you look at this band of weather, obviously you got the kids there on the screen enjoying it very much, but when you look at the concern now, right, it's these freezing temperatures.

TOM Sater, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes. There's still a lot of concerns for several states -- Poppy. Every state that picked up some snowfall really is going to be looking at refreezing overnight. That means in some states there could be schools out for possibly five days or so.

The purple you see is another shot of cold air. Not cold enough to rupture water pipes but cold enough to keep this around for a while. Then we'll have a nice big warm-up. But temperatures are going to warm up enough and with the help of sunshine, it's going to be some massive melting going on.

But this is when you've got to really test your patience. With the snow of this magnitude, side roads and secondary streets are not going to all get cleared at once.

For the thousands of you without power in the Carolinas, if you're at the end of the power grid, it could be a good five, six days. And we're with you on this.

But every state you see with that magenta color is up to two feet of snowfall. So again, each state every morning, unfortunately, will have traffic accidents. There's going to be mishaps and probably some visits to the emergency room just walking around.

The numbers are really something, though. JFK 30.5 inches, Dulles 28.3l. We had over 30 airports closed. And even though these are not closed, many of them are just not up and running. We did have an international flight this morning that made it in from Doha to Philadelphia. So look for some improvement here but patience for the airports as well.

And for the kids that are home and could be home, I think metro schools may open before some of the rural schools. Poppy -- it's not like when you and I were going to school, they just -- schools today just don't want that liability when it comes to getting kids on a school bus with the black ice. 26.8, well, the one below that, 25.8 -- that was 1947. So, again, we jump right into second place by only a tenth of an inch. And, of course, number 1, well, was 2006 -- so just ten years ago. Remember that one very well, February. But you missed it by just that much.

Overall, though, the forecast, pretty much was amazing. We saw it last Sunday at this time starting to come together.

But the good news now is a lot of melting during the daytime hours and we'll see that sunshine really help a lot of areas. I know this is just New York and Washington, D.C. but this is one we're going to study for some time and put back in the record books. But what a storm of this magnitude -- one for the books for many states.

HARLOW: Certainly was. All right. Tom Sater -- thank you so much. Appreciate it.

SATER: Sure.

We have a lot ahead this hour.

Sometimes it is not the amount of flood water but the frequency that does the most damage. We will take you to a town in New Jersey along the shore there that this blizzard put under water again after Superstorm Sandy.

Also to Philadelphia, people sledding down the iconic stairs of the Philadelphia Art Museum -- loving that. But a major apology coming tonight from a city official to drivers stranded on the turnpike for some 24 hours. We're live in Philadelphia ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARLOW: The blizzard up and down the East Coast caused major flooding in New Jersey, specifically on the Jersey Shore and some parts where residents say the damage has been worse for them than what they experienced during Superstorm Sandy. Other spots did not get hit as hard. The problem is, though, they got hit once again.

Our Boris Sanchez for us tonight in Ventnor, New Jersey.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Poppy -- the cleanup continues here in Ventnor City in New Jersey. As you can see behind me the street is somewhat clear right now. Just a few hours ago this was totally covered in water, ice, and trash -- debris that had washed up into this neighborhood. This is a coastal community, and this neighborhood specifically is cut through by a canal.

I want to show you right behind through this garage, there's water right behind us, and as the storm came in right as the storm was peaking, it just so happened that there was a full moon and so the high tide brought in all the water to this neighborhood. You can see the high water mark here.

This neighbor told us there was some damage to his garage, minor water damage. But he was prepared. He was able to put his stuff in the garage up. Others not quite as prepared for the storm. Many people did not put on sandbags outside their homes. Others simply just left.

I asked several of those neighbors why they didn't but up sandbags. Many of them told me the sandbags really don't do much because when you live in a coastal community like this, the water's going to do what the water's going to do.

Obviously it came into this neighborhood. We've also seen several homes here, important to note that are on stilts. They're essentially being raised right now. Part of that is because many of these communities were hit by Superstorm Sandy. This storm doesn't compare to that, Superstorm Sandy brought about four feet of water into this neighborhood, specifically.

Today we're looking at about a foot or so. As these communities begin to clean up, we get a clearer picture of the full extent of the damage -- Poppy.

HARLOW: Wow. Boris -- thank you so much. Quite a shock for all those people there on the Jersey Shore. Appreciate it.

I want to turn to Pennsylvania now because the chairman of the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission has now offered a public apology for the seven-mile standstill that took place yesterday during the blizzard along the highways there. We'll show them to you in just a moment. He said "I can promise you all that there will be a thorough analysis of the events that led up to this incident as well as a review of what occurred over the course of the last two and a half days. We want to be certain that we do a better job the next time something like this occurs and that we can learn from this tragedy.

Sara Ganim, live for us tonight at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Let's, as we talk, Sara, show some of those images so people can see what he's talking about -- seven miles long. Some of those drivers stuck on the freezing turnpike for 24 hours.

SARA GANIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right -- Poppy. Some of those people stuck for more than 20 hours. The National Guard was brought in to help them. This was all during the height of the blizzard. They couldn't get out of their cars. They had to be rescued.

Imagine, too, when they finally got the people out, then trying to move the cars out on the roadway that hadn't been plowed through this entire storm. So thankfully we've learned that just in the last few hours both lanes of the turnpike had been re-opened.

You heard the director of the Pennsylvania turnpike say that there will be a review. Meanwhile, in another part of the state -- York, Pennsylvania feeling the effects of this blizzard -- an airport hangar as you can see collapsed under the weight of the snow on its roof.

Thankfully those were the two major incidents that we know of in the state of Pennsylvania. Here in Philadelphia, in Center City, there will be no classes, no schools open tomorrow as officials here continue the cleanup process. We saw them taking dump trucks full of snow. Remember, they got 20 inches here in the city. Taking that snow out of here, getting it to snow melting machines where they can get rid of it.

[19:25:08] Fourth largest storm ever on record here in Philadelphia and as you can see here, Poppy, we're at the Philadelphia Museum of art. These are the rocky steps. These kids have been cooped up in their homes all weekend and they are finally getting a reprieve. Reaping the benefits of a storm like this, the snow-covered rocky steps and they are sliding down them, releasing some of that energy -- really long-awaited and well-deserved release of fun here in Philadelphia.

As they continue the cleanup, at least they can have a little fun today and tomorrow because they don't have to go to school -- Poppy.

HARLOW: Have you gone down yet -- Sara?

GANIM: I did go down, actually.

HARLOW: Very good.

GANIM: Just a little one.

HARLOW: All right.

GANIM: I made my producer, Lynn, push me, give me a little nudge. It was all in good fun.

HARLOW: Take another one for all of us back here. Sara Ganim, live for us tonight in Philadelphia. Thank you so much -- Sara.

Coming up next, to politics we go and well, when politicians talk, "Saturday Night Live" loves it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TINA FEY, COMEDIAN: They stomp on our necks and say, what's the big deal? Take a chill pill, Jill. But we're mad. We've been had. And we're not so glad, quote, the Lorax.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: Sarah Palin getting the SNL treatment after endorsing Donald Trump this week.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARLOW: When Sarah Palin made headlines this week for endorsing Donald Trump the writers of "Saturday Night Live" were watching and they were watching closely. They brought back Tina Fey for a political spoof that has everyone talking.

Our Brian Stelter has more.

BRIAN STELTER, CNN SENIOR MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Poppy, the blizzard could not stop "Saturday Night Live". You know, Broadway shut down last night but NBC kept the show going and not surprisingly Tina Fey was back playing Sarah Palin, mocking that endorsement from earlier in the week.

[19:30:07] Here are, depending on what you think, either the highlights or the lowlights from the "open".

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FEY: I'm here because we Americans are struggling. So many of us have lost our jobs at the factory, our reality shows about Alaska, and we've seen our own children targeted by the police for no reason other than they committed some crimes.

We turn on the news every morning and are shocked to see we're not even on it because we've been replaced by immigrants like Geraldo Rivera.

I'm here for you all teachers and teamsters, you farmers and charmers, whether you're a mom or two broke girls or three men and a baby, or a rock 'n' roller, holy roller, pushing stroller, pro bowler with an abscessed molar.

TRUMP: She's a firecracker, she's a real pistol. She's crazy, isn't she?

FEY: Thank you, Iowa, and god bless some of the United States of America.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STELTER: Now, no matter what you think about the liberal tendencies of the "SNL" writers I think they were touching on something with that last line, the god bless part of the U.S., it gets to how polarized the country sometimes seems to be.

Now if you like democrats getting skewered, you might like "SNL" two weeks from now. Because last night the show announced that Larry David will be hosting on February 6th. People have loved or maybe hated his impersonation of Bernie Sanders. The show will have ample opportunity to poke some fun at Sanders right after the Iowa caucuses.

Poppy, back to you.

HARLOW: Brian, thank you so much for that.

Joining me now, let's talk about this and a lot more, CNN political commentators, Ben Ferguson, host of "The Ben Ferguson Show" and Errol Louis, political anchor Time Warner Cable News. Thank you both for being here. Gentlemen, I appreciate it.

Ben, let me start with you. Donald Trump, Ted Cruz battling it out for the evangelical vote in Iowa. This week "The New York Times" had an interesting write talking about the Palin endorsement. Evangelical leader Ralph Reed saying "Palin's brand among evangelicals is as gold as the faucets in Trump Tower." "SNL" jokes aside, Ben -

BEN FERGUSON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes. HARLOW: How much do you think her support helps in Iowa? Because, by the way, the Fox News poll that came out this morning now gives Trump an 11-point lead over Cruz in Iowa.

FERGUSION: I would say when you're talking about one or two percentage points being the difference probably between winning or losing at the end of the day, it is significant. Sarah Palin is one of those, that obviously Donald Trump looked at her and said, "I need some help, who can I get?" And Sarah Palin is the person he chose.

I don't even think this was a choice that was going to go much beyond Iowa. I don't think you're going to see her used throughout the entire campaign. I think this was a get in early on this one, I need to win Iowa, if I can win Iowa, I'm going to be very hard to stop. Look, that's one of the things about this. If he does win Iowa, it is going to be incredibly hard to stop Donald Trump on the way to the nomination, minus there being some insane scandal.

So it was a smart political move for the short term. Does it alienate people long term or in the general? I think it certainly can, but I think Donald Trump's pretty good at knowing when to shelve somebody and he'll use her when he needs her and he'll put her at the back of his plane when he doesn't.

HARLOW: Errol, you wrote a fascinating piece on cnn.com about this potential run for president by former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. He has reportedly, according to sources telling CNN, really seriously considering a run if it looks like Bernie Sanders will be the nominee against Donald Trump or Ted Cruz.

Here's part of what you wrote. You said, "Bloomberg is doing a political fan dance, playing peek-o-boo with party leaders intrigued by the prospect of a politically successful billionaire candidate from New York who actually has government experience. Has been a democrat, a Republican, an independent, and who doesn't resort to cussing, personal mockery, and fact-free fantasizing on the stump." Pretty clear here you're comparing him, one New York billionaire, to another New York billionaire, Donald Trump.

There have been White House whispers surrounding Bloomberg many times. Why do you think now is different?

ERROL LOUIS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, I think it is different because there's a scenario that actually has some reality to it. Has some possibility to it. In the past, and this is really fundamental to Michael Bloomberg's career in politics, he's always said he wanted to either become secretary general of the United Nations or president of the United States, or mayor of New York City. One of those is down. He's not going to become a diplomat now. I guess, the second is out of reach.

[19:35:05]

The presidency has always been alluring to him. The reality is that third-party candidacies have almost no history, you know, the last one elected was in 1848. I point that out in the article. So it's very, very hard to pull off.

On the other hand, the extreme case that you just suggested, if there's Donald Trump as the Republican candidate, a man who never served a day as a government employee, and you got a democratic socialist on the democratic party line, Mike Bloomberg starts to look a little more attractive. He starts to argue for a kind of centerism that, you know, I'm sure he's polled this to death, that may find some support among voters.

HARLOW: But you know what -

As you point out in your piece, Errol, and to you, Ben, on this, 2010 you got Bloomberg saying "I'm not going to run for president, period." In 2014, he says "no is the answer, plain and simple."

FERGUSION: Yes, look, everybody that says I'm never going to run for president is usually the person who's going to run for president. We see that from every candidate. It's like a qualifier. If you walk out and say, I'm going to run for president, no one cares. You usually don't have a very good shot at it.

But I do think that there's a big vulnerability and a void here to fill especially if you do have Bernie Sanders. We know there's a lot of people that are very worried about Hillary Clinton. I think he - Bloomberg could tap into a lot of those voters who say, I like you as an individual.

HARLOW: He says he won't run if it's - I mean, the source saying if it's Clinton.

FERGUSON: Yes. Well, look, he also said he wouldn't run, period, so I don't put a lot of stock into that, but if it's Bernie Sanders, there's a huge opportunity for him and big void to be filled in there and I think he would probably get into it. I think it would only hurt the democratic side. Personally I would love it, if Bernie gets it, I hope he runs. Because for every one vote he takes from the Republicans, he's going to take two, three from the Democrats and that works out well math wise for us.

HARLOW: I want to move on, Errol, to something that Governor Chris Christie said this morning on "State of the Union" with Jake Tapper. He was scolding his competitor, Marco Rubio, from making a joke about how this weekend's snowstorm shut down the federal government. Rubio said it was "one of the best things to happen to the Republican in quite a while." Here's how Christie responded.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. CHRIS CHRISTIE, NEW JERSEY: 14 people died across the country and that shows a real immaturity for Senator Rubio to be joking as families were freezing in the cold, losing power and some of them losing their loved ones. But I don't expect that Senator Rubio would be able to understand that because he's never had to make a decision of any consequence at all he's had to be held accountable for.

(END VIDEO CLIP) HARLOW: So here's what a spokesperson for Rubio told the "The New York Times," in response, "Chris Christie wasn't even going to return to New Jersey until he was shamed into it. Christie should worry less about Marco's jokes and more about his own liberal record on gun control, judges and abortion."

I mean, the storm didn't even end 24 hours ago, Errol, and it's starting to being politicized.

LOUIS: Well, not just that. (INAUDIBLE) standing in what looks like the snows of New Hampshire sort of castigating one of his rivals. I would remind him, you've been reporting it all afternoon, you got record storm surges in places like Cape May and West Wildwood and Ocean City and lots of people don't have power.

I think he might have left a little early if he wants to play the role of the experienced government hand who's going to look out for his people rather than play politics, I'm not sure he caught the right flight out of New Jersey.

HARLOW: That's interesting. I mean, because, Ben, you're dealing with Chris Christie grappling with a 31 percent approval rating in his home state.

FERGUSON: Yes, look, politics are in all of this, whether you go back to your state, you're going to say that you try to use tragedy and people's distress to your advantage to look like commander in chief. If you don't go back, then people are saying that you're not doing your job, your current job, so why should they vote for you for the presidency?

Rubio made a joke, he's from Florida, it doesn't snow very much down there so he doesn't quite realize how bad it was. I think this is just welcome to the campaign of 2016. No right, no wrong, depending who is looking at you and how they judge it. Look, Rubio made a joke. Do I think it's going to tear down his campaign? No. I think this is what you see when you're this close to Iowa, this close to New Hampshire. We're getting finally down to the very important parts of this campaign. Everything matters. Where you're doing TV from matters. What you say matters. The jokes you say matter.

Rubio honestly probably should have known better than to make this joke. He should have said this is very serious, we need people to step up. The federal government to help out where they can. And I think he missed a point there. But if he said that, people are going to say that was political, too. HARLOW: Ben Ferguson, Errol Louis, gentlemen, thank you so much.

LOUIS: Thanks, Poppy.

FERGUSON: Thanks, Poppy.

HARLOW: Exactly one week before Iowa chooses. Clinton, Sanders and O'Malley will be face to face with voters. This is tomorrow night, the final pitch, the last televised event with these candidates before the caucuses on February 1st. Moderated by our very own Chris Cuomo, CNN's "Iowa Democratic Presidential Town Hall," 9:00 p.m. Eastern, only right here on CNN.

Coming up, nearly 30 inches of snow falling at Dulles Airport in Washington, D.C.. We are live in the nation's capital, ahead.

[19:40:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARLOW: Right now, a manhunt under way in California after three inmates escape from a jail in Orange County. The men somehow cut through steel bars, made their way through plumbing tunnels, used towels and bed sheets to rappel off a four-story roof and then escaped on foot. It happened on Friday. One of the inmates is charged with murder. A sheriff's official called the escape well thought out and planned, possibly months in the making. There's a $50,000 reward for any information leading to their capture.

We just learned back here on the East Coast that the Long Island Railroad will operate at about 80 percent tomorrow morning and in the nation's capital, people are still digging out from that monster blizzard. All that snowfall. We just learned limited flights will resume tomorrow morning at D.C. Metro airports. At least one runway will be open at both Reagan National and Dulles International Airport.

Right now both airports closed down still due to the snow. Elsewhere in the city, crews are scrambling to move piles and piles of snow and ice. All schools are closed tomorrow in D.C., all government offices including federal government offices will also be closed. You've got limited bus service and subway service resuming in the morning.

Our meteorologist Jennifer Gray joining me now from Washington. Sort of a slow roll for D.C. to get things back up and running, huh?

JENNIFER GRAY, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, you just covered it. I mean, so many things are still going to be closed tomorrow. The streets are still not in tiptop shape as you can imagine. I mean, look at all this snow. We had so much snow that Dulles ranked as the second snowiest storm ever recorded. Reagan at the fourth.

[19:45:05]

And so a lot of people have never seen snow like this. It's just going to take a while. The plows were out all day long, and most of the major thoroughfares are cleared out for the most part, but a lot of the secondary roads including roads right here in downtown are still not plowed and so you can imagine how some of the residential areas are looking if some of the roads downtown aren't even cleared out of the way.

So it is just going to take time. 400 additional pieces of machinery have been brought into the city to help speed up that process, but everyone just needs to be patient. One thing to note is that we had a little bit of melting today. Temperatures got a little bit above freezing. We had clear skies today. And so some of this melted. During the overnight hours, though, it's going to refreeze. And so it is good news that they closed those government offices, federal offices as well as the schools because it is going to be very slick as we go through the morning hours tomorrow.

But not only tomorrow morning, Poppy, you have to keep in mind, we'll warm again and then freeze, warm again, then freeze. Every single night for the next several nights. And so it could be quite a while before the city is back to normal. Poppy?

HARLOW: Before I let you go, I hear you have some fun video for us?

GRAY: Yes, it's possibly the cutest video of the entire -

HARLOW: Look at this.

GRAY: The National Zoo, tenten (ph), one of the pandas was just enjoying it as only - I mean, I think that's probably - you have to be a panda to appreciate this amount of snow and roll in it like that because probably one of the only things in D.C. that wasn't cold yesterday because it was brutal. Poppy?

HARLOW: That is pretty precious video. Jennifer Gray, thank you so much. Great job, all the way through covering this storm for us. Despite the elements last night. Thank you, my friend.

GRAY: Thanks.

HARLOW: Well, coming up next, life is changing in a big way for Jaja ph), that is the Chinese orphan that CNN told you about first last summer.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFED MALE: These are happy tears. It doesn't make this any easier.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Bye-bye, da-da.

UNIDENTIFED MALE: Soon Jaja begins his new life in Kansas City with a new American name, Jason Jaja Wilson.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARLOW: We're going to share with you the heart-touching story and the journey as Jaja says good-bye to China, heads to the United States with his new family. That's next.

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[19:50:28]

HALROW: Jaja, the nine-year-old Chinese orphan with spina bifida whose dreams of adoption were slowly slipping away is beginning a new life in America this weekend. A Kansas City family raised enough money to adopt Jaja after CNN reported on his story last summer. Five months later Jaja finally said good-bye to his life as an orphan.

Our Will Ripley follows this family's journey. WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Poppy, I first met Jaja about five

months ago working on a story here in Beijing about China's abandoned children. I can tell you he really touched my heart, he touched the heart of everybody on our crew. When we showed his story, it touched a lot of viewers' hearts around the world. Because it was thanks to their generosity and donations that allowed this moment to happen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RIPLEY (voice-over): The Wilsons have been waiting almost a year to make the 6,600 mile journey from Kansas City to Beijing. The boy they're about to meet has been waiting his whole life.

We first met Jaja last summer, the oldest orphan in a Chinese foster home for kids with disabilities.

(on camera): You've been here all your life, right?

JAJA: Yes.

RIPLEY: Long time. Nine years.

(voice-over): Another family broke their promise to adopt him.

It's OK. Jaja desperate for parents of his own.

UNIDENTIFED MALE: He's a rock star.

RIPLEY: Brian and Jeri Wilson have been trying for months to adopt him but they needed $36,000, money they didn't have.

BRIAN WILSON, ADOPTIVE PARENT: Right after the story aired, I think it was 8:00 that night, we met our goal.

RIPLEY: Donations came in from all over the world. The Wilsons raised almost $50,000 in a matter of hours. Five more months of paperwork, and today they finally meet their son.

JERI WILSON, ADOPTIVE PARENTS: As soon as he looked at us, he smiled.

RIPLEY: Within minutes, crucial bonding begins. Jaja's three older sisters back in Missouri busy preparing his new room.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We can't wait for him to get here.

UNIDENTIFED MALE: Oh, look, I got it.

RIPLEY: The Wilsons, both 50, say their Christian faith led them to make this life-changing choice.

JERI WILSON: It's like he's already been a part of our family forever.

RIPLEY: Before they can take him home, they must travel to Jaja's hometown in central China, continuing the tedious process of finalizing the adoption. The identity of Jaja's birth parents, unknown.

(on camera): It's heartbreaking to imagine what his biological parents must have been going through. He was only three months old and desperately needed life-saving surgery that his parents most likely couldn't afford, so they left him here at this fertility clinic.

(voice-over): A place where people go who want children. Jeri believes Jaja's mother did not abandon him, she saved him.

JERI WILSON: I pray for her and I thank god for her and I want him to know that she loved him.

RIPLEY: Hundreds of thousands of Chinese kids with disabilities end up at orphanages and many become permanent wards of the city. Their lives spent at institutions, hidden from the prying stares of strangers. For Jaja, time was running out. In China, the law says kids can to longer be adopted once they turn 14.

JAJA: Watch my hands.

BRIAN WILSON: I'm watching your hands.

RIPLEY: His future in America about to unfold. Already, he's learning more English.

BRIAN WILSON: 52.

RIPLEY: Learning what it feels like to be spoiled.

UNIDENTIFED MALE: A lot of spoiling.

UNIDENTIFED MALE: Yes.

RIPLEY: But first, Jaja leaves the only family he's ever known. To the other orphans, he was like a big brother. To the volunteers who raised him, like a son, many will never see him again.

BRIAN WILSON: We know he loves you guys, and he's going to miss you.

RIPLEY: It's time to say good-bye. These are happy tears. It doesn't make this any easier.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Bye-bye.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Bye-bye, Jaja.

RIPLEY: Soon, Jaja begins his new life in Kansas City. With a new American name, Jason Jaja Wilson. As the other orphans wait and hope that someday their parents will come and take them home.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

RIPLEY: Friday night in Kansas City, a huge welcome at the airport, not only friends and family and church members but also several local news crews as well. It seems like Jaja is becoming something of a local celebrity there.

[19:55:05]

Soon he will start school, English lessons, of course, and also there are doctors who have volunteered to take a look at Jaja and see if there's anything they can do to help him after that botched spina bifida surgery.

So a very bright future ahead for this young man thanks for the Wilson family's willingness to fly all the way out here to China and take a chance to love this young boy and bring him home. Poppy.

HARLOW: Breaks your heart, warms your heart at the same time. Will Ripley, thank you for bringing that story to us tonight.

Coming up next, as that monster blizzard slammed the east coast, people either hunkered down or went outside to play. Through the worst of it, American soldiers at a hollowed place stood guard. The story behind this beautiful picture. Next.

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HARLOW: Well, many people stayed inside to avoid that blizzard along the east coast last night, some braved the wind and the snow for honor. Like this U.S. soldier. A sentinel of the old guard standing silent at the attention of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. And that is why tonight's number is 24,765, that is how many consecutive days sentinels from the Old Guard have stood watch before the tomb at Arlington National Cemetery.

The Old Guard is part of the third U.S. infantry and is the oldest active duty infantry unit in our armed forces. A uniformed sentinel has kept eyes on that tomb every minute of every day since July 2nd, 1937. Tonight we thank them for their service and thank all of the public servants who helped keep all of us safe during the blizzard.

Next on CNN "THE PERSON WHO CHANGED MY LIFE," a two-hour special hosted by our Anderson Cooper and Michaela Pereira. We asked here at CNN are giving you a look at the person who has the most significant impact on all of our lives. That is next.

Tomorrow night, Clinton, Sanders, and O'Malley go face to face with voters in Iowa, the "CNN IOWA DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL TOWN HALL" 9:00 p.m. Eastern only on CNN. From a snowy New York, I'm Poppy Harlow. Have a great week.