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Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees

At Least 10 Dead in Record-Breaking Storms; Boston Postpones Patriots' Super Bowl Parade; 102 Measles Cases Reported in 14 States; Bobbi Kristina Brown "Fighting For Life," Says Family; Obama: U.S. Deploying All Assets To Find Hostage; Fate of Jordanian Pilot Unknown; Japanese P.M. Vows Revenge After Journalist's Death; Freed Al Jazeera Journalist: I'm Relieved; Suge Knight Charged With Murder; Butler's Path to the Super Bowl

Aired February 02, 2015 - 21:00   ET

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

ANDERSON COOPER, AC360 HOST: Welcome back to 9 p.m. here in the East Coast where winter storm warnings remain. And in fact, this latest weather system has now claimed at least eight lives in the Midwest and the Northeast. The number has been rising all night.

New England which all so much in the last week began the week with even more, another foot to 16 inches in some places, more snow in the last seven days and they normally see all winter long. If want to know how serious they're taking this in Boston, the city has postponed tomorrow's Super Bowl victory parade for the New England Patriots. It's that bad.

We have reporters out in the elements keeping track of the flight delays and there are a lot of them.

Let's start with Jennifer Gray in Boston. It looks brutal. I mean, it looks just miserable all day long. Where are you right now and what's it like?

JENNIFER GRAY, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yeah. It is really rough out here, Anderson. We are right here on Atlantic Avenue, one of the main (inaudible) here in Boston.

You can see this huge snowman behind me. They've been plowing the streets trying to keep up but they are literally having to take the snow and hauling it out of the city. And in fact, they are taking it to three different snow farms. They're actually putting it in these big machines and trying to melt some of the snow and put it in these underground drains. But we have seen that relentless snow all day. Snow still start -- it's still falling at this hour but we're also looking at temperatures plummeting and we're going to be well below zero, temperatures are going to run some 10 to 20 degrees below zero during the overnight hours.

And so, that's why we're talking about a flash freezing. And see the roads right there are still just very slushy. And so, all of this is going to freeze even New York City is going to be dealing with icy conditions for tomorrow morning's commute. It's going to be extremely dangerous anywhere from New York all the way up to Boston. And we've been talking about those records being set. We have now had the snowiest seven-day stretch in Boston ever. We have had the snowiest February 2nd on record here in Boston and we have also received more snow since January 1st than they typically see in an entire year, Anderson.

And as you were saying, they did postpone that parade until Wednesday. The city just needed more time to get rid of some of the snow that has lining the streets.

COOPER: So the snow is going to stop or it already stopped in Boston, I know in Andover it was still snowing where Brian Todd was and we're going to have him shortly. But tomorrow, no more snow, just really cold temperatures?

GRAY: Yeah, just really cold temperatures. It's still snowing a little bit here in Boston but it has tapered off quite a bit compared to what it was earlier today, earlier this evening. But, yeah, we are going to see this snow taper off tonight in just -- left in a deep freeze by tomorrow with wind chills in the morning, 10 to 20 degrees below zero.

COOPER: Brutal. All right, Jennifer Gray, get warm. Thanks very much.

As we were speaking, we just learned the death toll has risen yet again at least 10 people are now known to have died.

Let's go to Brian Todd, who I just mentioned, is in a town of Andover, Massachusetts. Is it still snowing there, Brian, because it was the last hour?

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is still snowing, Anderson. It is starting to taper off. That's the good news. And it is going to continue to taper off just gradually until we head toward midnight then it'll probably stop altogether. But the bad news is that the temperatures are really dropping significantly.

As we just heard, these roads are freezing over more and more every minute pretty much and there are going to be really treacherous as we head into the morning rush hour tomorrow.

You know, this snow storm impact the two rush hours today to a really significant extent because there was no travel ban and there was more volume of cars on the road. And, frankly, less visibility than we have last week when they were getting 2.5 feet of snow.

Here's another day dray (ph), Anderson. Snow on the roofs of houses. Take a look at this house here in Andover. This has got about a foot of snow. And this roof is fairly steeply slope, so it's not as bad as some other roofs around here but check out the icicles.

Pretty dramatic icicles on this roof here in Andover but officials here are very concerned about this. They have told us that between last week's snow fall and this week's snow fall some houses could have several feet of snow on the roofs that gets very, very heavy. They are worried about roof collapse. That was also an issue in Buffalo during that mass of snowstorm back in November.

So, you know, the snow is tapering off but the danger here at Andover and elsewhere in this region, Anderson, certainly not ending anytime soon.

COOPER: And with these icy roads, just be clear, no travel ban in effect just officials telling people to be very conscious on the roads.

TODD: That's right. And you know what -- here's the problem. There's really no road that's all that safe. The inner states are not safe even though they're wider. There's no place to pull over if you feel like you're going to have car trouble or you're getting stuck. And they don't want cars left on the roads. The side roads, there's just all snowing bank that there's really no place to put your car there. Even the parking lots, Anderson, are very dangerous.

You've mentioned the death toll. We were on the scene earlier today in Weymouth, Massachusetts, South of Boston where a woman was struck and killed by a snowplow in the parking lot of a condominium complex. She was pronounced dead at the scene. So even parking lost are not safe right now.

COOPER: All right. Brian Todd, I appreciate it. Try to get warm.

Now, the mess in nearly every big airport east of the Mississippi because when bad weather hits one area, flights elsewhere, often get delayed or canceled out, right, even internationally, there've been nearly 4,000 cancellations today alone, 4,000 including New York's LaGuardia Airport where Jason Carroll joins us.

Now, I think about all these people watching us at the airport right now waiting for a flight and I just felt bad for them. What's the latest on cancellations?

JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, I mean, the cancellations just keep coming. And in fact, Anderson, we were hanging out with the mother and daughter from Toronto and they said, "Hey, our flights going to make it." They took off there and then just came back about 30 minutes ago and said, "No, our flights have been canceled as well."

And that's what we're seeing. Actually, LaGuardia is not the worst city out of all the major cities for cancellations. That distinction goes to Chicago. We've been updating the numbers about each passing hour. The numbers have actually gone up in the past hour.

Right now, Chicago at 535 cancellations, LaGuardia where we are 451, Boston were 334, Newark at 312 and JFK at 166 cancellations at last count. The carriers doing what they can with this terrible weather situation going to the internet, going to Twitter to apologize for this situation.

American Airlines apologizing on Twitter for the service disruption, also U.S. Airways and JetBlue. But what a lot of passengers want to see are really not apologies, although that helps, what they want is -- for like this mother and daughter coming from Toronto. They now have to go find a hotel.

If you don't have money for the hotel, what are you going to do? Well, in some cases, airports like LaGuardia might become a hotel for those people who can't afford one and have to wait until tomorrow to fly out.

COOPER: There still a lot of airlines that are not giving vouchers to people for hotels because it's weather-related.

CARROLL: Exactly, because it's weather-related. Not all the airlines are doing and -- I mean, they're making some special exceptions for certain passengers. But all of the passengers that we spoken to, no exceptions for them. They are trying to find a way to find the money to get hotels so they don't have to spend the night out here.

COOPER: All right. Really brutal.

Jason Carroll, I appreciate the update. Thank you.

Coming up next, new numbers on the measles and answers to your questions. Dr. Sanjay Gupta and Irwin Redlener join us to answer your questions. You can post your questions on the 360 Facebook page or tweet us using #vaccinecues.

Also, an eye-opening, an illustration of just how easily one person can infect a plane load of people with the measles?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: New evidence tonight. The measles outbreak, which has been linked to Disneyland in Southern California, remains a serious threat to public health. And according to Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, 102 people developed the disease in January in 14 states. Now, if this were a virus, it was declared eliminated in this country 15 years ago.

Today, New Jersey's Governor Chris Christie had to clarify remarks he made on whether parents should have the option or refusing vaccinations for their kids.

A spokesman late today said that when it comes to the measles vaccine, there should be no question. President Obama said the same thing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, U.S. PRESIDENT: Measles is preventable. I understand that there are families that in some cases are concerned about the effect of vaccinations. The science is, you know, pretty indisputable. We've looked at this again and again.

There is every reason to get vaccinated -- there aren't reasons to not get vaccinated.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you telling parents they should get their kids vaccinated?

OBAMA: You should get your kids vaccinated.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Well, Kentucky Senator and possible presidential candidate Rand Paul also weighed in making some controversial statement and which we'll play for you shortly.

You'll hear as well from a dad whose kids are paying the price of other parents not doing what the president and medical science says is so vital.

But first, Senior Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen joins us.

Now, should the CDC, they expect this outbreak to spread, yes?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Certainly, they do, Anderson. And I mean measles is so incredibly contagious. So when you have 102 cases and it's been growing, it will probably continue to grow.

You know, this is the kind of disease where if I had measles and I was in a room and walked out and someone else walked in who wasn't vaccinated, even an hour to later, even an hour to actually I left the room, they could get measles.

COOPER: Even if you haven't sneezed, even if you haven't coughed?

COHEN: Right. Just by talking, you know, we all sort of spray a little bit when we talk. So, sneezes and coughs were probably going to be the best way to spread it but even without them you can spread it.

COOPER: And in terms of the risk for people who actually catch it. I mean, we all think about a rash.

COHEN: Right, but it's so much more than. I mean, it can get to be a very, very high fever. And Anderson, you know, I know some people say, "Oh my mother had measles, she was fine and my grandfather had it," and that's true. Most people are fine when they get measles, thank goodness, but in this country before we had vaccinations, 400 to 500 people died every year and another 4,000 got encephalitis or brain swelling. I mean, those are certainly not numbers you want to play with.

COOPER: Yeah. Elizabeth, I appreciate the update.

I want to dig deeper now into what Elizabeth mentioned about spreading the virus. Unlike Ebola, which requires direct contact with contaminated bodily fluids, measles travels almost like the wind.

Tom Foreman shows us in the kind of setting that hundreds of thousands of Americans find themselves in every single day.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We all know that if you're on something like a plane or a bus or a train and somebody near you were to sneeze and they had measles, you have real a chance of being exposed to the measles virus.

But, a study from MIT last year found it's actually much worse than that. If I were seated on a plane like this and somebody way in the back sneezed, the truth is that virus now could travel in sort of invisible crowds of micro-droplets all the way up to where I am seated here.

And what's more? Despite the fact that planes have a lot of systems to fill through the air, if the virus stays in the air, it could be viable for two hours. If it lands in the backs of armrest or in chairs, the same thing and that's a real problem because if you are not safe against his disease you have a 90 percent chance of getting it just by being in the same place because it is a highly infectious disease.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: All right. That kind of freak me out.

We've already seen evidence of the risk of a -- at a pediatric clinic in Phoenix area. That's where three-old Maggie Jacks and they have been exposed to the virus. And she can't get vaccinated because she has leukemia and baby brother's too young to get vaccinated.

Well, tonight, they're both in the middle of three weeks of quarantine. I spoke with her dad who was also a doctor, Tim Jacks, earlier this evening.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Dr. Jacks, first of all, how is your family doing? Are either of your kids showing symptoms of measles?

DR. TIM JACKS, CHILDREN EXPOSED IN MEASLES OUTBREAK: You know, at this point, they seem to be doing OK. They seem to be doing OK.

It's a little bit hard to say right now just because of the dynamics of our situation. Any little cold, runny nose, anything could be the start of actual measles infection. But thus far, we haven't seen anything that has persistent to where we're concerned.

COOPER: Can you explain at this point just why it's so important to you, to your family that kids get vaccinated against from measles because obviously, this is a very personal issue for you.

JACKS: Absolutely. Absolutely. Yeah. So, you know, as far as getting kids vaccinated, you know, number one, as a pediatrician, I want to promote good health. I do want to try to keep my patients and their families as healthy as possible and by vaccinating that's one of the biggest ways we can do that.

Indirectly, you're also helping protect other children out there, other people out there that would otherwise be susceptible to measles. And those are my children in this case. COOPER: And that's the thing. I mean, you know, you talked about for looking signs in your kids, it's so contagious and you don't necessarily see any major signs, you know, you could have a sniffle or runny nose or something and still be contagious.

JACKS: Exactly. Exactly. And that's what makes it so difficult. One, to identify and then two, to stop the spread.

COOPER: Does it surprise you that there are still people out there who believe this vaccine can hurt their kids? I mean, even though there's no scientific evidence of that, you know, the one study that claim that has been now, you know, revoked and debunked.

JACKS: Yeah. It doesn't surprise me just because the information is out there. And that's kind of the way the internet works. It doesn't matter how much good information there is, how many good studies, how many, you know, physicians are, you know, promoting good health to their patients, the information is out there and someone that wants to find it, will find it very easily.

COOPER: You know, I mean the people who do not believe they should vaccinate their children, they're not evil people, they're clearly are worried about their children but to them what would you say? Because -- I mean, obviously, one has to protect one's own child but at the same time, you know, we live in a society, we live in a community and we have to be good citizens and what somebody choosing not -- somebody choosing not to vaccinated their child does have an impact on other children.

JACKS: Right. And that's exactly the issue. Yes, every one of my parents is doing, you know, their best job to take care of their children. And, you know, my job is to come along side them and help them make the best decisions and help educate them so they can make those good decisions. But part of that education process is realizing, you know, it's not just about their children. There are other children out there that either are too young to vaccinate or in the case of my daughter, has a weaken immune system because of medical illness.

COOPER: In a report on Friday, Elizabeth Cohen talked to another doctor and I want to play for you what he said because I think -- I got a lot of response from viewers about it who are upset by what he said. I was frankly surprised by what he said. I want to play that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COHEN: Could you live with yourself if your child got another child sick? I mean really sick? Had complications, even death? Could you live with yourself if that happened?

DR. JACK WOLFSON, VACCINE REFUSER: I could live with myself very easily. It's a very unfortunate thing that people die but unfortunately, people die, and I'm not going to put my child at risk to save another child.

(END VIDEO CLIP) COOPER: When you heard that, I'm wondering what goes through your mind?

JACKS: Different thoughts go through my mind. You know, the medical side of me is -- understands that that is certainly not a mainstream opinion. There are very few physicians out there that would agree with that statement.

Over the last couple of days since that aired, you know, I've had numerous contacts of friends of mine, physicians that I worked with, that I know of that are expressing a lot of outrage to the things that were said.

And so I can definitely wholeheartedly say that, you know, the medical community, the medical literature does not support the statements he makes. You know, the one comment I might have to hit him or the question I might have for him is, you know, "If you were in my situation and your two children who are -- you're doing your best to protect, if they were suddenly exposed with measles, you know, what would your thoughts to be at that point? Would you still be at the same mindset where, you know, it's not about everyone else? It's just about your kids. Would you still take them out in public or would there be a shift in mindsets?"

COOPER: Well, Dr. Jacks, I appreciate you taking the time to talk to us and I wish the best for your family.

JACKS: Yeah. Thank you. Thank you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Up next, you've been posting your questions on the measles outbreak. Dr. Sanjay Gupta and Irwin Redlener join us with some answers head.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: A moment ago, you heard what President Obama had to say to parents about getting their kids vaccinated for the measles. He said -- well, his word, he said do it. Chris Christie shaded his own words very slightly and was forced to backtrack.

Kentucky Senator and possibly GOP presidential candidate Rand Paul on the other hand, he gave a verbal nod to those who believe that despite overwhelming evidence to contrary that vaccine has lead to autism.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RAND PAUL, (R) KENTUCKY: I've heard of many tragic cases of walking, talking, normal children, who wound up with profound mental disorders after vaccines. I'm not arguing vaccines are a bad idea. I think they're a good thing. But I think the parents should have some input. The state doesn't own your children, parents own the children and it is an issue of freedom.

(END VIDEO CLIP) COOPER: Something to talk about with Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta and Dr. Irwin Redlener, Professor of Pediatrics at Columbia University and President of the Children's Health Fund.

So, Sanjay, they were getting a lot of questions from Facebook but I'm just curious, Sanjay, your reaction to what Senator Paul said there. I mean he said, you know, he's heard all these cases.

SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: I don't know where he's getting that information, what he's citing. You know, one of the attitudes in medicine is that correlation doesn't equal causation. So he said, I was just listening to his specific words, he said he knows of cases where children wound up having these profound mental problems after vaccines. But it doesn't mean that the vaccines, anyway, had anything to do with them.

If you look at the data, it just doesn't bear that out so, you know, he's a doctor. He's a -- I'm sure looked at some of the stuff but what he said there is not supported by science.

COOPER: And, Dr. Redlener, I saw you shaking your head when he was saying that.

IRWIN REDLENER, PRESIDENT, CHILDREN'S HEALTH FUND: Well, it's kind of amazing to me that a physician, Senator or not, is able to put out this kind of information which is really dangerous. It's just simply not true.

As Sanjay was saying, the evidence is absolutely clear that there's no relationship between getting a measles shot and getting autism for a physician and the position of power in the U.S. Senate that Senator Paul said is really just off the wall.

COOPER: But, you know, Sanjay, a lot of people say, "Well, look, medical science doesn't have all the answers. We thought, you know, one thing 10 years ago and now suddenly, you know, I don't know low fat food was what everyone is supposed to eat 20 years ago and now you're not supposed to eat low fat food anymore." It doesn't have the same -- the benefits people thought.

So there's people who say, "Well, look, medical science doesn't know everything. There's a lot of about autism we don't know." To that, you say what?

GUPTA: We don't know for sure what causes autism. We don't know what causes autism for sure but we know that vaccines don't that's what I'm saying. And what you're trading off here by not getting people vaccinated as you pointed out, you know, for many days now, Anderson, is not only the potential health of your child but other children around you.

I mean vaccines are -- they're very effective. We've shown this data. I mean measles was all bit eliminated in this country 14 years ago. We're talking about measles but the same could be said for mumps, the same could be said for diphtheria. We don't about smallpox anymore. We don't talk about polio anymore, that's all because of vaccines. And we also know in terms of just the safety part of it, you know, I want to show you a quick graphic here, you know, there's obviously potential risk with anything that they've put into their bodies. But if you look at the adverse reactions from these MMR, these measles, mumps, rubella vaccine it's less than one out of a million having some sort of serious reaction to it. Take a simple aspirin, 12 events for 10,000 people having a hemorrhage in their brain.

So yes, things have risks but the risks with vaccines are so much smaller than, you know, what would be very common everyday things.

COOPER: That's interesting. OK, a lot of questions we got on Twitter and Facebook, Dr. Redlener, Facebook question, this one from Steve Stone (ph).

He asked, I thought these vaccinations were mandatory. I know that when I've sent my kids to school, I was required to present proof of vaccination, what changed and why?

REDLENER: Well, they are in most places mandatory but the reality is you can get an exclusion and the severity with which people reinforce or don't reinforce the ability to get exclusions or states of enforcement vary.

So, on one state, it might be easy to get an exclusion, other states not so easy. So we have a lot of variation in how children are treated in terms of whether they are required to have the vaccines or not.

COOPER: Sanjay, another question. This is one is from Beverly Murphy (ph).

She wrote, there are kids who got measles from this outbreak who are vaccinated but they are between the 12-month vaccination and the five- year vaccination. What can parents do to protect kids in this age bracket?

GUPTA: Well, a couple of things, you know, most people will get the first shot in the first to MMR vaccine around one year of age, around 12 months of age. And then, typically, the second child's given right before kids start school so four to five years of age. There's no magic to that and you could give the second shot within a month or two after the first shot.

The first shot alone gives about 95 percent protection in most children adding in the second shot improves it to about 99 percent. So it's not 100 percent and that's why you see some kids who did receive the vaccine especially if they haven't got the second shot yet still getting the infection.

COOPER: Dr. Redlener, another question. This is from Roman Vonacci (ph) asked about quarantines.

He said, how about quarantine for those who do not vaccinate? What about that? Could this outbreak get that bad where people who've been exposed and aren't vaccinated would have to be quarantined? REDLENER: Well, no, I don't think, Anderson, it's going to get to the stage of needing quarantine for anybody really around measles. But I do think we have a very important public health principle here, which is that your decision not to vaccine your child actually affects my child...

COOPER: Right.

REDLENER: ... it affects the community. So we are going to try to really have to sell this message hard that the data shows as Sanjay said and everyone is saying that there is no relationship between the vaccine and autism and we really for the good of your child and all the rest of the children in your community we really do need to enforce that vaccine rule.

COOPER: You know, Sanjay and Elizabeth Cohen's story -- actually, it was Tom Foreman who was writing on a simulated plane and showed how somebody sneezing in the back of the plane who has measles, it could spread to the front of the plane. I got to say, looking at that graphic completely freak me out because I'm on planes all the time.

Is it really that contagious? I mean, someone sneezing at the back of a plane can get somebody measles at the front of the plane?

GUPTA: It's very contagious. It could be that contagious. You know, they say that if you're not vaccinated, 90 percent of people who come in contact with someone who has measles are going to get the infection. Compare then and contrast that with Ebola, we talked a lot of that over the few months, that was not very contagious and, you know, it was much harder to spread that. You had to have direct bodily contact. Measles is different. It can live in the air. It can leave on surfaces. People can catch it much more easily.

By the way, worth pointing out, Anderson, as we reported on Ebola, people hoped, prayed and wished that there was an Ebola vaccine. You heard it over and over again...

COOPER: Right.

GUPTA: ... they hoped, wished and prayed. With measles, we have one and so those prayers in some ways have been answered for people as long as they use the vaccine.

COOPER: All right, here's another question, Sanjay. This is one from Twitter. He asked, how can vaccinated adult be sure they're protected? I've read they're not all developed immunity.

GUPTA: Right, so if you have it, you should -- if you have the vaccines as I described earlier around one year of age and then again a few years later, you should have good protection.

If you're not sure, you can get a blood test which actually can test the antibodies, which are the cells that fight a potential infection. You can find out if your antibody response is high enough. But for most people who have normal immune systems that did receive the vaccines, they should be protected. If you're not sure, you can get that blood test.

COOPER: But can an adult get a vaccine?

GUPTA: Adult can still get the vaccine, yes. You can still get the vaccine. What the vaccine is basically doing is introducing just a little bit of the measles virus into the system and allowing the immune system to sort of see it, respond to it and learn how to fight it. So you can get that even later on in life.

COOPER: All right Dr. Redlener, Bobby Noise (ph) also wants to know, are the people with measles as a child is still OK?

REDLENER: Yeah, they should be fine. They should've developed the immunity and, again, if there's a question, again, like Sanjay said, it's very easy to get another measles vaccine. There's no harm associated with it, you just go ahead and do it if you're worried about it.

COOPER: All right, it's good advice. Dr. Redlener, always good to have you on. Sanjay Gupta, thanks very much.

GUPTA: Thank you.

COOPER: Just ahead, President Obama speaks out about what's being done to try to help the American aid worker. A woman is being held by ISIS. That is next.

Also, breaking news on the condition of Whitney Houston's daughter Bobbi Kristina who's in a medicinally induced coma after being found unresponsive in a bathtub.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: The fate of three hostages being held by ISIS is touching three nations tonight as world leaders condemn the latest beheading.

A video released over the weekend shows the apparent killing of Japanese Journalist Kenji Goto at the hands of ISIS.

Meanwhile, Jordan is still trying to secure the release of a pilot who's being held captive and President Obama has spoke in an interview with NBC's Savannah Guthrie who asked him what's being done to help an American woman, an aid worker, who also is being held by ISIS after being captured in Syria.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: We are deploying all the assets that we can, working with all the coalition allies that we can to identify their locations. We are in very close contact with the family trying to keep them updated. You know, obviously, this is something that is heartbreaking for families and our obligation is to make sure that we can do anything we can to try to make sure that any American citizen is rescued from this situation.

(END VIDEO CLIP) COOPER: Let's watch a cover on this story. CNN Chief National Security Correspondent Jim Sciutto joins me now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: So, Jim, the American hostage, what do we know about her at this point?

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: That she's a female aid worker held by ISIS that's been held there for a number of months but her family, administration officials, even members of the media have made something of a collective judgment that the less that is said about her publicly the better her chances are being released.

COOPER: And the Jordanian pilot who still believed to be held by ISIS, where do things stand now? I mean Jordan was asking, obviously, for proof of life.

SCIUTTO: We're stuck in really harrowing limbo here because there has be no news, good or bad, for a number of days now since that final deadline was set by ISIS last week and that includes any sort of good news as you mentioned, any proof of life that the hostage is still alive or really of which there has been none for some time since he's been captured really. And that has raised a lot of questions about what is actually happening and in fact was there really ever a real negotiation going on for his release.

COOPER: Was it known if he was captured alive?

SCIUTTO: It was known because there pictures when he was just out. You may even remember them after he was taken, after his plane went down and you see ISIS members there as in these here posing with him.

COOPER: And Japan's Prime Minister, I understand he vowed to revenge for the killing of Kenji Goto.

SCIUTTO: He did and, you know, this is part of an ongoing change really in the way Japan handles international relations. Certainly, this a traumatic event but it goes back to even last year when Japan changed its constitution to allow for military deployments abroad something that had been prohibited since the war.

You've seen that in its standing up to China on territorial issues in the region unless if it's something that is not without a threat. If you look at the latest ISIS video, there was a very direct threat to more pain for Japan and I'm quoting here we have in the words of the ISIS Jihadi John, who is now familiar saying, "We have an entire army thirsty for your blood."

So now, Japan, as we already saw with the beheading video but very much in this war as well.

COOPER: All right, Jim, I appreciate the update. Thanks.

SCIUTTO: Thank you.

COOPER: Let's go to the latest now. The stories are following Amara Walker is back at 360 Bullet. Amara?

AMARA WALKER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Anderson. An Al Jazeera journalist Peter Greste had said he is relieved to be freed from prison in Egypt and he's calling for the release of his colleagues. The Australian and two fellow Al Jazeera journalists were convicted of supporting the Muslim brotherhood. All three have maintained their innocence.

Rap innovator Suge Knight has been charged with murder and other counts in a fatal hit-and-run in a California parking lot. He's being held without bail and is expected to be arraigned on Tuesday.

And a witness, the nut means war that the trail of the daughter of the chairman of Korean Air. Reuters reports that a chief steward for the airline said Heather Cho treated the flight crew like feudal slaves. Cho is charged of violating aviation safety law over a bag improperly served macadamia nuts.

Anderson?

COOPER: All right, Amara. Thanks very much.

More breaking news tonight, a source tells CNN's Sunny Hostin that Brown -- Brown that the -- the 21-year-old daughter of the late Whitney Houston, Bobbi Kristina Brown, has opened her eye a few times but doctors have told the family not to read too much into that. Nearly three years the day after Whitney Houston was found dead in a hotel bathtub in California. Bobbi Kristina Brown was found unresponsive in a bathtub full of water in her Georgia home on Saturday. She remains in a medically-induced coma right now, fighting for her own life.

Victor Blackwell is at the hospital in Roswell, Georgia. He joins us now live. Do we know much about her condition at this point?

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Anderson, sources tells CNN that she is use -- breathing with the use of a ventilator inside the intensive care unit at this hospital. They also say that today, she suffered several seizures along with opening and closing her eyes. There was a consideration of reducing the sedatives in her brain, you know, that medically-induced coma. However, they decided not to do that and leave her in the coma for now.

COOPER: In terms of what the police have said. I mean they have shared some basic details on the situation. Is there any indications whether their folks on this being an accident or something intentional? Have they said?

BLACKWELL: Well, they have not said much other than, you know, the obvious similarities to Whitney Houston's death in 2012. That would seem to be impart in the result of drug use. However, they have said that there were no drugs or no alcohol found inside the home. Their calling this a medical incident, but I will say, Anderson, that looking back over 2012 reality show "The Houston's: On Our Own". Bobbie Kristina Brown mentioned that in 2012 she suffered a similar medical emergency. She said that her husband Nick Gordon found her and she was not breathing, her heart had stopped. And she says that she suffered a seizure or something, although, there was no -- no more information about that event.

COOPER: And in terms of Bobby Brown, her father. He's put out a statement, yes?

BLACKWELL: He has put out a statement asking for privacy and asking for people to allow his family to gather around this young woman. There's also a new statement from the Houston family in which they thank everyone for their prayers and well wishes. We do know that Bobby Brown was flown here from L.A. here to the Atlanta area on Tyler Perry's Jet to bring him to be with his daughter. That, coming from a source very close to the family, Anderson.

COOPER: And she was found -- I mean she was found in a bathtub, there was water in the bathtub, correct?

BLACKWELL: Yes, and what we're told she was face down in a tub full of water and her husband and her friend found her. What we do not know is if they came home to find her or if they were in the home throughout the night and the next morning and then found her in the bathtub. If police know that, they've not yet made that public.

COOPER: It's just horrible. Victor Blackwell, well, I appreciate the update. Thank you very much.

Coming up, it was the moment that won the Super Bowl for the New England Patriots, an interception by a rookie player whose unlikely road to the big game is just as amazing as the moment itself. Malcolm Butler's story, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Well, I'm humbled sometimes daily by many things, very few of them to do with the television business itself. Once a year, though, is part of that business I'm humbled by this, just how many people watch the Super Bowl? It's enormous.

Last night, that number was 114 million Americans, about a third of the country, pushes a new record. And if you were one of them, one play probably sticks out in your mind. The game winning interception by a rookie named Malcolm Butler. You don't even have to be a football fan to be wowed by Butler's back story. Not too terribly long ago, he was working at fast food restaurant.

Gary Tuchman has the story of Butler's amazing journey to the Super Bowl.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: In the shotgun, there's the snap, it's held high, quick throw. It's intercepted in the goal line. It's intercepted by Malcolm Butler. GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: One of the most clutch interceptions in NFL history. Dramatic, not only, because it gave New England a Super Bowl victory, but because to the man who made the interception, Malcolm Butler, an undrafted rookie cornerback who nobody but the most devoted football fan knew anything about, who just a few years back was working in a fast food restaurant.

MALCOLM BUTLER, NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS CORNERBACK: I just had a vision that I was going to make a big play and it came true and I'm just blessed. I can't explain it right now. I'm just.

TUCHMAN: Butler played football in Alabama. No, not that Alabama, this one.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Here's Malcolm Butler, he's got one for 100 already tonight...

TUCHMAN: Tiny Division II West Alabama. He started his college football career at Hines Community College in Mississippi. But was dismissed from the team and was out of football. Done. So he got a job for a short-time working behind the counter at Popeye's Chicken with dreams. But not sure of what his future had in store. And then was invited back to the community college before heading to West Alabama. Nobody showed any interest in Butler during the NFL draft. But the Patriots took a chance and invited him for a tryout where he made the team. The Super Bowl itself played out for Butler much like his career's ups and down.

Just before his incredible play, Butler was trying to make another one. He was defending Seahawk wide receiver Jermaine Kearse. The ball never hit the ground and Kearse ended up with an amazing catch. Things look grim for Butler and the Patriots.

BUTLER: I tried my best on that play and somehow he stands still and ends up grabbing it. And I was out for a play and I went to the sideline, I'm thinking it was all over it.

TUCHMAN: But it wasn't. The big play by the player who nobody wanted in the NFL draft was about to take place.

BUTLER: I'd tell you like this. I could've came from a rich family or who had everything in the world, if I still would've made -- if I would've made that play, traveling the journey that I took, I still feel the same way today because that was -- that just don't happen to all us, I mean. It's just a blessing.

TUCHMAN: Many Super Bowl viewers had never heard of Malcolm Butler, but now he won't be forgotten.

Gary Tuchman, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: That is an awesome story. A great night for Malcolm Butler. As for the Super Bowl, half time show, just a few observations. Missy Elliot was a musical equivalent of that interception. She, in my opinion, saved the show. I did not want to really to state. I loved her. I thought Katy Perry great, a great singer. I didn't quite get the whole dancing cartoon stuff behind her. I guess I wasn't the only one wondering at that point, at the half-time show. I made me jump the shark.

Jeanne Moos reports.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Talk about the worse call at the Super Bowl. No, not that one. We mean whoever called for the dancing sharks.

As they gyrated alongside Katy Perry singing "Teenage Dream", they flailed their fins to fame, the shark screen left was a killer.

Noted once for its blog, "Left shark failed out of choreography school." On Twitter, they were compared to the hologram shark from "Back to the Future'. Next thing you know, the dancing sharks found themselves in "Finding Nemo" peaking over the cast of "Shark Tank" inserted into "Jaws: The Movie".

So who are the mystery sharks causing such a splash with their flapping fins?

Two of Katy Perry's regular dancers came out of their shark suits on social media. Bryan Gaw, the left shark, said "Yep, the rumors are true." And look at the abs on the dancer who is the right shark, Scott Myrick tweeted, "I've never been more proud to be part of something in my life." Check out his moves minus the shark skin.

Scott told Reddit that visibility in the suit was terrible. "I ran into a palm tree but the camera missed it." He said he only had a minute and a half to change into a shark costume from his previous get-up as a horse just for the night as Katy sang "Dark Horse".

Scott also danced a part of Katy Perry's "Kitty Purry" on tour but nothing compares to the fishbowl that is the Super Bowl. Soon, one shark was dancing in a flip book.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Was it my imagination or were the sharks doing the "Macarena"?

MOOS: It's a feeding frenzy as everyone flips out over floundering fish.

Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Can you imagine the pressure being on that stage at the half- time show?

Just ahead, serious stuff, more on tonight's breaking weather news, the winter storm just battering the Midwest and Northeast for the past 24 hours. We have a live report from Massachusetts next. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: More now on the breaking news, the winter storm slamming the Midwest and Northeast. Death toll has risen to at least 10. Let's get the latest now on the storm hitting the Northeast. A snowmergency has been declared in Boston. The latest number we're getting show 15.9 inches of snow. The city's got more than 50 inches just in to January 1st, which is more than they usually get in a year.

Our Brian Todd has been out and about in Massachusetts. He joins us again tonight from Andover.

What are the conditions like right now on the road?

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Anderson, the snow has tapered off, it's almost completely stopped but the danger and the hazardous conditions on the roads have not tapered off. We're on route I-93 going south toward Boston from the Andover area, we'll switch from my camera to our dashboard camera on this vehicle and show you what the roads were like.

You can see some blacktop on the surface of I-93 but that's the first we've seen of that in several hours. It's been white, almost day with whiteout conditions and very poor visibility. Now, we've got the visibility back but here's the problem, these temperatures on the roads are really dropping below, freezing very fast, it can get to below zero later on tonight.

Right now, the temperature on the road is about 15 degrees. And that brings about a condition that we've heard the first time, this phrase today called "flash freezing". This is just, you know, when the roads get so treacherous so quickly, when the temperatures just drop below freezing and they freeze up and because the plows have not had a chance to really get ahead of the storm today, now they'll start to of course but up until now they've just been kind of working against the tide of the snowfall, now they're going to get out but they have to now guard against this flash freezing, they have to salt the roads very quickly.

Also, there's some flooding in the southern part of the state in southeastern Massachusetts along the coastline. So those areas are in even more danger of what they call this flash freezing effect.

Anderson?

COOPER: I'm getting tired just looking at that road, Brian. I understand the Patriots' victory parade has even been canceled for tomorrow.

TODD: That's right. They were going to have it tomorrow and early afternoon they've postponed that now until Wednesday. That seems to be a pretty safe bet. I mean the road cruise here are very effective and they can get a lot of these roads cleared off.

But as you can see in front of us and as you could see early tonight on some of those side roads, right now the conditions are really difficult. There's no place to pull over. And that's the case everywhere. The death toll now is at 10 -- at least 10 people killed and one of them in this area. We were on the scene of that earlier. This women who was struck by a snowplow in a parking lot...

COOPER: Wow.

TODD: ... in a condominium complex. So even the parking lots are not safe.

Anderson?

COOPER: All right. Danger's out there. Brian Todd, thanks very much.

That does it for us. Thanks for watching. CNN Tonight starts now.