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Winter Blast; Cabinet Holdover Gates Comments; Limbaugh Rallies Conservatives; Inmates' Rights to DNA; Cheating Hearts, Empty Wallets
Aired March 02, 2009 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Smacked by a storm. A late-season snowstorm charges up the East Coast. We have live reports and updates from our severe weather center.
And critical week on Wall Street. Key economic reports and hearings in play. How will the markets react? We are watching closely. Plus, the economy also takes a toll on cheating spouses. How their wicked ways have changed.
It is Monday, March 2. Hi, everybody. I'm Heidi Collins. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.
March roars in like a lion. A massive late-season snowstorm slogs out of the south and is now plowing into the northeast. Winter storm warnings blanket the East Coast from North Carolina to New Hampshire. New York and Washington could see a foot of snow. Boston, facing the possibility of 15 inches.
The storm swirled across the south yesterday. Treacherous roads, hundreds of flights canceled and the paralysis hit the bible belt, too. Hundreds of churches forced to cancel their Sunday services.
We, of course, have crews stationed in the storm's path. Susan Candiotti is in New York and in Washington, Elaine Quijano for us this morning. Also meteorologist Reynolds Wolf is in Atlanta where some kids are celebrating a day off from school.
Let's begin, though, with Susan in New York this morning.
Wow, Susan, I certainly hope you have all your snow gear handy today.
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the snow is coming down a little harder than it has been all morning. It's picked up again. They're expecting up to 10 inches here.
And Heidi, I'm doing something that you probably could not do on most mornings here standing, well, somewhat in the middle of a New York street here. As you can see, traffic, there is a lot of traffic here. Not as much as is normally as the case but you've got taxi cabs coming. We've seen a lot of snowplows. We've seen buses going by.
New Yorkers are famous for taking these things in stride and they are again this time. Many of them heeding the advice of officials and using public transportation and staying off the roads as much as is possible. For the first time in five years, you have New York city schools closed for the day so that is very unusual. And the kids, of course, are enjoying that. But it's a much different situation out of the airports. LaGuardia, Newark and JFK all are experiencing massive delays and cancellations.
Some of the runways are closed. Some are open. But we are hearing that, for the most part, some planes, of course, are also flying because they've canceled so many. So they're not experiencing, as I've said, too many delays. Now to give you an idea of what the conditions are like in Washington, D.C., we'll turn to my colleague, Elaine Quijano -- Elaine.
ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thanks, Susan. Well, here on the National Mall where I'm standing now, we've seen accumulations of about 4 or 5 inches or so and continuing conditions of blowing and drifting snow. However, unlike just a couple of hours ago, we're now able to show you the capital dome behind me which just a couple of hours ago, was not visible, because of the heaviness of the snow that was coming down.
At the same time, the roads are still very slick. Snowplows and snow crews have been out in force, but you can imagine the morning commute is in the D.C. area has simply been treacherous, not only by car, but people trying to travel on the sidewalks as well. Struggling to keep those sidewalks clear as the snow continues to blow over them.
Now, many schools here in the D.C. area are closed or opening late because of the inclement weather. At the same time, of course, this weather is wreaking havoc on airline schedules. Many of the airports in the area reporting delays and cancellations as well.
So definitely check if you're planning to head in and out of the Washington, D.C. area. The weather itself is bad for D.C. certainly but not bad enough to shut down the federal government. Federal employees are reporting to work a couple of hours later today. They are also having unscheduled leave because of the inclement weather.
Now for a broader picture of what the weather situation looks like let's go to my colleague Reynolds Wolf in Atlanta. Reynolds?
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, Elaine, right here in Atlanta, what we're dealing right now more than anything is just some breezy conditions. Temperatures just very, very chilly, mainly some 20s and 30s in the area, but with the strong wind it feels even cooler.
A lot of people in the area without power. Some 50,000 people, in fact. There have been some reports of some ice on the roadways, some black ice, but as the sun continues to go up and these temperatures top out at 41 degrees that ice is going to be long gone even though the wind may stick around for a bit.
Hey, speaking of the wind. Speaking about some rough issues. Talk about those travelers. Take a look at what we have for you on the computer. In Philadelphia, you got a 45-minute delay for the time being. Another delay that we have for you, you're not seeing it here but it's up at Boston Logan Airport where runway lights are out.
And with that, few will try to land. They're going to be at least in a holding pattern for an hour or so. Other delays we expect later on today, all your airports in New York, Washington metros. Obviously, Elaine dealing with the snowy conditions there. So many people will be dealing with that today. Same deal in Boston when the snow continues to come down.
The question is how much snow? How much snow have we seen already? Well, if you look at these storm totals New York so far has got the highest marks over a foot at this time. You see New Jersey parts of it 8.8. Central Park 7.0 and LaGuardia, you see there over 6 inches of snow. We're expecting quite a bit more later on today.
As you can see, there it goes. Barreling its way right up the eastern seaboard bringing the snowfall to our nation's capital, zooming in right inside the Beltway. Your suburbs, like Chevy Chase, back over to Rockville, as far south as Dale City, the snow continues to come on through.
We're going to make our way back up towards New York where parts of Long Island could see up to a foot if not more. Some heavy snow bands beginning to move through and then as we head towards Boston, Well, in -- up by Boston Common near the frog pond, you're going to be seeing that snow pretty thick at times but if you look a little bit back towards the southeast near Providence, we're seeing some dry air convection move through.
So you might see even a little bit of sunshine in the next 20 to 30 minutes. Now as this storm system pulls into the Atlantic, we're going to see another storm system, this time marching ashore back into California bringing some beneficial rains to parts of the San Joaquin Valley, back to St. Luis Obispo, even north over to the Bay Area. And then when you get into the high Sierra Nevada, well, you could be dealing with some heavy snow there. That's great to build up that snow pack.
They are desperate for the rain in parts of California. And then back into the (INAUDIBLE) Valley in Oregon, in the Columbia River basin, look for scattered showers and Mt. Hood some snowfall today.
Center of the U.S. looks great. Got sunshine here in the southeast, but Heidi, I'm telling you, it is certainly a cold time out here to say the very least.
Let's send it back to you in the studio, Heidi.
COLLINS: Yes, it was definitely nicer yesterday but we had those humongous snowflakes. I swear some of them were about the size of a quarter. The baby saw the snow for the first time.
WOLF: Absolutely.
COLLINS: And so did the puppy. Very exciting at the Collins household.
(LAUGHTER)
Reynolds, thanks so much. Live for us this morning from Atlanta.
Also want to give you a shot of this. We've got a live look now at LaGuardia Airport. We heard Reynolds talking about all of the delays. They are really starting to stack up here as you might imagine. I think he said about 6 inches possibly expected right out there at the airport.
I had a couple of friends who went in last night only about four or five hours late. So we will continue to watch all of the airports for you throughout this thing today.
We are tracking that winter storm for you all morning. In fact, at the bottom right of your screen, check out the latest radar. We're going to keep that up for you in case you're interested and you have some traveling that you might be doing today so just check there for the areas and the weather alerts.
Here is the fun part of the storm like this, though. Snowball fights, right? Send your images of the storm to ireport.com and we're going to share all of your pictures throughout the morning.
President Obama today will officially name Kansas governor Kathleen Sebelius for his nominee for Health and Human Services secretary. If confirmed to the post she will face a number of challenges.
CNN's Suzanne Malveaux is at the White House now with more on that.
Good morning to you, Suzanne. Snowy there, too, yes?
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Oh, yes. First big winter storm here at the White House and, Heidi, we expect a storm, obviously, over the health care reform, but President Obama kicking off this week saying that he is determined to get that job done.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX (voice-over): President Barack Obama's next big challenge, reforming health care. To those who may get in the way his message heading into this week bring it on.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I know that the insurance industry won't like the idea that they'll have to bid competitively, to continue offering Medicare coverage. But that's how we'll help preserve and protect Medicare, and lower health care costs for American families.
I know these steps won't sit well with the special interests and lobbyists, who are invested in the old ways of doing business. And I know they're gearing up for a fight as we speak. My message to them is this -- so am I. MALVEAUX: The woman to lead the charge, Kansas governor Kathleen Sebelius. Obama offered her the job of Health and Human Services secretary on Saturday. The East Room announcement comes later today.
A fixture early on in the Obama campaign, Sebelius courted female voters, Midwesterners and moderate Republicans.
GOV. KATHLEEN SEBELIUS (D), KANSAS: Barack Obama is exactly the leader we need to get this country back on track.
MALVEAUX: The two-term Democrat governor served as insurance commissioner in her state for 8 years and oversaw the Medicaid program, successfully increasing health care aid for the poor.
But her nomination is just the kickoff of this week's focus on health care reform and the battle that's expected to ensue.
MIKE MURPHY, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: This thing is very low in spending cuts and very high on phony rhetoric.
MALVEAUX: In the comes days the president will lay out his agenda at a White House Health Care Summit. Among his goals to set aside $634 billion in a health care reserve fund over the next 10 years to move the country closer to comprehensive health care.
To require seniors making more than $170,000 a year to pay a greater portion for the prescription drugs, and modernize and computerize medical records to save money.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: And, Heidi, we are learning that that summit is going to take place here at the White House on Thursday. Obviously, the first part of all this to get the Health and Human Services secretary confirmed and that, of course, will be worked through the Senate. Heidi?
COLLINS: All right. CNN's Suzanne Malveaux for us at the White House blending in with all of the white snow there.
Thank you, Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: Thanks, Heidi.
COLLINS: Here's some more information we want to give you about Kathleen Sebelius. She was elected governor of Kansas in 2003 and reelected to the job in 2006. In 2005, "TIME" magazine named her as one of the nation's top five governors. And she is the first daughter of a governor to be elected to that position. Her father, John Gilligan, served as Ohio governor between 1971 and 1975.
Once again, the president will formally announce Kathleen Sebelius as his nominee for Health and Human Services secretary at 1:00 p.m. Eastern today. We, of course, will carry that for you live.
The ballooning bailout. One troubled company about to get billions of dollars more of your money. And that news is not playing out well with the stock market.
CNN money team coming up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: On Wall Street, stocks could face an ugly start later this hour. Much of the reason, AIG, once the world's largest insurer, has announced the largest quarterly loss in corporate history. The company lost nearly $62 billion in the fourth quarter. AIG also announced it restructured a bailout with $30 billion more now of taxpayer money.
And overnight international markets tanked. Japan's Nikkei index ended down 3.8 percent. The outlook not much better in Europe. Markets there have been off 3 percent or more in daytime trading.
We do have a lot of ground to cover, including new measures of the recession just out this morning. So we want to get the very latest now from CNN's Christine Romans in New York.
Yes, a lot to talk about here. I'll let you start where you want to.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: All right, let me start with AIG quickly...
COLLINS: OK.
ROMANS: ... because it's just mind-numbing, Heidi. Just mind numbing that loss. Really unbelievable. Almost $62 billion lost by AIG in the last quarter of last year. That's hundreds of thousands of dollars a minute. Just vanished.
And why do we care? Because it's a huge insurance company with tentacles in every kind of business you can imagine and we've already pumped $150 billion of taxpayer money and guarantees into this company.
Now the government and AIG saying that AIG could have access to another $30 billion of that bank bailout money if they need it. So putting more money into a company that has been losing just so much money. It is mind numbing.
The government went on to say, Heidi, why we can't let this fail. They say the systemic risk really to the whole global economy if AIG were allowed to fail is just too much. Given the systemic risk, AIG continues to pose and the fragility of markets today, the potential costs to the economy and the taxpayer of government inaction, would be extremely high.
And then they go on to say all of the reasons why this company is so tied up into the rest of the economy. It provides insurance to more than a hundred thousand different entities, including everything from small businesses to cities and municipalities to 401(k) plans to Fortune 500 companies. It's a major source of retirement insurance for, among other people, teachers and nonprofits. It is significant, quote/unquote, "counterparty" to all kinds of different businesses. What does that mean? That counterparty? It means is does businesses with so many other people and different kinds of companies like Lehman Brothers did. Remember when Lehman went down? So many other people got in trouble. That they're afraid of what would happen if this company were to allow to fail.
So the goal here is get it stable so it can sell off chunks of itself, chunks of its assets and try to become more manageable. But it's a very difficult situation, no doubt.
COLLINS: Yes, and then also looking at the stock market today, boy, what some of the analysts are saying, it's frightening.
ROMANS: Really, it does not look good. There's going to be, probably, a pretty significant week here of economic news and a lot of people are thinking it's going to be grim economic news.
And a new Warren Buffett, the man who is like the dean of common sense, somebody who is (INAUDIBLE) upbeat about just the stability and the flexibility of the American economy, he says the economy is in a shambles, will be for 2009 and he said probably well beyond that.
This was in his annual letter to his own shareholders. He had a very rough year, too. He made a profit, barely, but his profit down quite a bit. He says the economy is in a shambles.
And we know that people are saving more money. We have personal income and spending numbers this morning, Heidi, that were interesting for somebody like me who looks at all of these things all the time.
COLLINS: Yes.
ROMANS: The savings rate now 5 percent. We haven't seen that since, I think, 1995. People are saving 5 percent of what they can and what they get out of their paycheck. You know, 5 percent. But, at the same time, they spent a little bit more money in -- after six months of spending less, they spent a little more money for the most recent period that was measured.
So I think what that might be showing is that people are feeling a little better about saving more money and so they spent a little bit more on those holiday sales and stuff after the holidays. Just a small little -- the only thing I've seen tick up in a long, long time, personal spending.
COLLINS: Yes. Yes, well, that's not surprising. Yes.
ROMANS: Yes, it went up a little bit, but savings went up but so did spending. And I think it might be, it just might be because people are saving enough money that they're feeling a little, a little better at the beginning of the year. Just a little. We'll take what we can get.
COLLINS: Well hopefully.
ROMANS: We'll take what we can get.
COLLINS: Yes, we will. All right, Christine Romans, sure do appreciate that.
ROMANS: Sure.
COLLINS: Thank you.
Well, it's not about the administration. The war, Wall Street or even the cost of college tuition. Why thousands of young protesters are gathering in the nation's capital today.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: More than 10,000 students expected in the nation's capital calling for a power shift. Not a shift in leadership, but a shift in America's energy policy.
Marcie Smith and Tony Anderson are part of Power Shift 2009, and they are joining us now live from Washington.
Hi, guys. Good morning to you.
MARCIE SMITH, PARTICIPANT, POWER SHIFT '09: Good morning.
TONY ANDERSON, PARTICIPANT, POWER SHIFT '09: Good morning.
COLLINS: Tony, I want to begin with you. Tell me what Power Shift is.
ANDERSON: I think Power Shift is assemblage of students, about 11,000 of us with one mission. We're saying this is our future and we demand a clean-energy economy.
You see, we have to make sure that we engage communities where they are and everyone must be engaged across the spectrum and students from Appalachia, students from the south, students from California, students from Puerto Rico, we're all here with that one united message.
COLLINS: Yes. We're looking at some great pictures right now, too, of some of the other events that you've held, though. Quickly, you, in particular, and I want to talk about Marcy's project, too, but you co-founded a project called Let's Raise a Million. It sort of brought you into all of this. What is that?
ANDERSON: Absolutely. Yes, it started with the power of one light bulb. You know it was a gift. I went to a project -- I went to a summit and I was presented a compact fluorescent light bulb. A few days later I gave about 30 of them to my mother, a Mother's Day gift. Overheard a conversation, she said, "I'm going green." I was like, "All right, Mom."
And so we're trying to replicate this conversation over and over again among communities and modest means. It's a way to start the conversation about sustainability, about climate change. And I think by -- and especially in the fiscal situation we are now as a country now, we can save -- savings -- find savings in our household bills and that's how you do it, with one light bulb at a time.
COLLINS: Yes. And Marcie, you know, we were talking about 10,000 people. We won't just speaking of climate change, we won't talk about the snow in Washington, D.C. right now. So I certainly hope it doesn't impact your event too much. I know you're hoping for about 10,000 people to come today.
Your project, in particular, that's sort of brought you into all this, has to do with low income housing. Tell me about yours.
SMITH: Well, actually, I believe the project that you're referencing is something called the Kentucky Clean Energy Corps.
COLLINS: Right.
SMITH: That's an initiative that Steve Beshear's administration is working on back in Kentucky. And yes, the first initial phase of that is aiming to weatherize low and fixed income homes in rural Bourbon County and northeast Lexington.
But actually what I've been working on more specifically as a student, I've been working on a lot of climate adjustment issues from the local level, the state level, the national level, as well as at the international levels. And I think that that's one of the really, really cool features of this movement, in particular, is that this is a movement of profound and historic solidarity and reconciliation.
You know, you have in this group of 10, 11, you know, pushing 12,000, you have the daughters and the sons of the civil rights movement, of the suffrage movement, of the labor movement. You know, and all of these sort of veins of equality movements are coming together under the banner of climate justice which is really, really important and profoundly historic.
COLLINS: Well, what do you expect to accomplish today in Washington?
ANDERSON: I think what we're attempting to accomplish is that in one voice, students are saying we must advocate for these decisions. You see, we will inherit -- we will be here longer in this millennia than those before us and so we want to take charge of our destiny and step into our authority and share those thoughts with legislators.
John Lewis is my rep. And we've already had that conversation and I'm really excited about what's going to come from that conversation. So I think that's...
COLLINS: Yes.
ANDERSON: That's where we're engaging in and that's where we are.
COLLINS: Well, obviously, I'm sure that you probably heard the president's address to the joint session of Congress on Tuesday night. One of the first things he mentioned was energy in -- as a way to boost the economy.
ANDERSON: Sure. Sure.
COLLINS: Marcie, if you were president what would you do on the forefront of the energy issue, if you will? What's the first thing you'd do?
SMITH: That's a very, very big question and a very good question. I think that, you know, right now, we have a president in office who is, you know, really excited about the fact that youth are engaged. And so I think really the question is right now, you know, what -- not what would I do if I was president but what can we do now with a president who is ready, you know, to help us, who's ready to back us up?
I think that it's really important to remember that 300,000 youth pledged to make climate justice, to make clean energy a priority in their vote and that was reflected in November.
COLLINS: So real quick, I'll let you guys go, but does the president know you're there? Are you going to get a meeting with him?
ANDERSON: Oh yes, he knows we're here.
SMITH: He knows we're here.
COLLINS: Have you been yelling? Loud?
ANDERSON: And we're sure the snow won't hold him back.
SMITH: Absolutely.
COLLINS: OK. All right, you keep...
SMITH: You can't hold 12,000 people back.
COLLINS: You keep us posted if, in fact, you get a chance to talk with President Obama. That would be very cool.
All right, Tony Anderson and Marcie Smith, thanks guys. Appreciate it.
SMITH: Thank you.
ANDERSON: Thank you.
COLLINS: Well, it is pretty to look at. Tough to get around in, though. The snow is mostly stopped in the Carolinas but the problems, of course, still around in different parts of the country. We've got live reports coming up.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CINDY WILLIAMS, IREPORTER: This is snow in Columbus, Georgia. Phoenix City, Alabama. It's March 1st.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: All right, on Wall Street, the Dow ended last week at its lowest level in 12 years. And this week, it could actually get even worse. So we are waiting for the bell to ring this morning. Obviously, going to be happening any minute now. That is certainly what some of the analysts have been saying. It's going to be a really, really rough ride this week.
Just to give you those numbers from Friday in case you don't remember or want to relive it. Dow Jones closed down about 120 points on Friday. Just above that 7,000 mark.
Stephanie Elam is standing by now at New York Stock Exchange to talk a little bit more about it.
It is scary, scary times to say the very least, Stephanie, and not looking to be so great this entire week.
STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: No. We're probably going to start off the week with some roughness here again today, Heidi. We are already seeing that the numbers are starting to start off in the red today. The Dow could actually drop below the 7,000 mark. The blue chip average is now 50 percent below the record high set in October of 2007. The Dow slid 12 percent in February. Now that that month is behind us. And that marks the sixth straight monthly loss.
And over in Europe and Asia, stocks are down by as much as 4 percent today. The sell-off comes as the U.S. government said it will pump another $30 billion into insurer AIG. It's already been given $150 billion. But the company posted a nearly $62 billion quarterly loss today. That is the biggest in U.S. history.
Also, meanwhile today, HSBC saying it's cutting more 6,000 U.S. jobs as it shudder its consumer lending business here. New York's largest bank is also cutting its dividend and won't award bonuses to its top executives either. Now, with all that news, it's no wonder that the oracle of Omaha Warren Buffett says the economy will be in shambles through 2009 and probably well-beyond. That comment, as you might expect, not helping too much either.
Taking a look right now, the Dow off 109 points -- 6953. The Nasdaq off 1.5 percent. Same story for the S&P 500. So in about a half hour, we will be getting reports on construction spending and manufacturing so we'll be keeping our eyes on that as well -- Heidi.
COLLINS: All right. Very good. Appreciate that. Stephanie, thank you.
Less than three weeks left of winter, but the season isn't done with us yet. That's for sure. Parts of the Carolinas got up to 11 inches of snow, causing -- whoa -- major gridlock on Interstate 85.
From there all the way up to Maine, a winter storm warning is in effect now. The awful weather moved up the coast pounding states like New Jersey. And officials in Connecticut warning drivers there to watch out on the roadways. They could get up to 12 inches today.
A snow emergency in effect for the City of Boston. Kids get the day off from school, but everyone else has to brave the bad weather.
Steve Lacy with our affiliate WCBB is live in Boston now this morning.
So, Steve, obviously, we can see your breath there. But how bad is it so far?
STEVE LACY, WCBB CORRESPONDENT: Well, the good news, Heidi, I think the worst of this storm is hopefully behind us. But what a mess it left behind. You know in the entire month of February, we only received about 6 inches of snow. Here in the Boston area.
Safe to say we received that much just this morning. The snow really started falling around 2:30, 3:00. As you can see behind me right here on the corner of Huntington Avenue, Dartmouth Street, Copley Square, the heart of downtown, it is left quite a mess behind.
Fortunately, it does not appear like there are too many cars on the road. A lot of people have been given a late start or the day off all together. And to give you an idea of just how quickly things here in New England can change weather wise, on Friday, it reached 60 degrees here in Copley Square. And there was no snow. So certainly quite a turn around. Now we are hoping for things to change in the other direction.
I'm not sure if you're a runner, but seven weeks from today is the Boston marathon. The finish line just a few hundred yards away from where I stand. That's the latest.
Live in Copley Square in downtown Boston, Steve Lacy. Back to you.
COLLINS: I'm a fast walker, but yes, the Boston marathon -- boy, that's a huge event. Hopefully this thing will be completely cleared out by then. All right, sure do appreciate it.
Back here in the south, though, we've got slammed by the storm, too. Our Reynolds Wolf is at Olympic Park right next toward the CNN center here in downtown Atlanta.
So, Reynolds, what's going on? Has it all melted yet? Or is it still freezing, freezing cold like it was early this morning?
WOLF: You know, I mean, it's warmed up a little bit. But, I mean, the wind, it just keeps on coming through. Just the thing that really makes it unbearable.
We still have a little bit of snowfall on the ground, but, I mean, certainly not the magnitude of what we had in the nation's capital in New York or certainly in Boston. You know, it's funny. In the Atlanta area, we were talking about some 70-degree temperatures just over a week or so ago. And what a change we're dealing with this morning. Looks like things are going to get up to around 41 degrees here. The ice, the snow should be long gone.
However, that is certainly not the case for other parts of the country. Let's get to the forecast and show you what's out there. We're going to get things started with a look at what's happening at some of the airports as we get the maps into motion.
What I can tell you is we are going to be seeing some issues at all of your major airports. I can tell you that in Boston, also in New York, at a nation's capital, we're going to have some major delays there. In terms of the precipitation, heaviest precipitation that we're going to be seeing in many spots is where you have these delays.
All the scenes, some delays out in San Francisco, you're seeing right here on the map, we have a storm system that is coming in on the west coast. Of course, you're going to have some backups there. No one is going to complain too much out there. They are desperate for the rainfall. Let's move right along and show you what else we've got going on. These are the expected delays that I mention.
The New York metros, Washington metros and Boston, it's no- brainer there. One of the issues in Boston is that the runway lights are going to be out. So without those runway lights, these planes is going to have an issue trying to land. So if you happen to make it to the airport and you're waiting for your loved ones to arrive, you might be waiting a bit longer so just be patient there.
Take a look. There are some of the snowfall totals. This one had most recently up to New York over a foot of snowfall. In New York Central Park were in seven inches of snow. LaGuardia same deal. Some parts of Long Island may see up to a foot. Maybe even a little bit more in a few places. But another really big thing to key in, Heidi, is that we're not only going to see the snow on the ground, but the wind is going to cause it to pile up in many locations.
We're going to start off in the nation's capital and zoom in there very quickly and show you a bit of radar. Now, if you're tuning in from home, you're taking a look at this, the white that you see on the radar as you can imagine that would be your snowfall.
Now, the heaviest is over near Dover and back southward to (INAUDIBLE) even near Selbyville, but in Washington, D.C. you're getting a few scattered snow showers. You're going to get a little bit of a break in the action, but we're seeing a little band near Charlottesville.
Back to New York we go. Heavy know bands moving right through, right across parts of Long Island sound, and then back into, say, the east river, even up the Hudson, some heavy snowfall there and back over to west point we go. Then let's go up to Boston, and we are going to see a little bit of a break in the action, Boston.
Right now, you have one sliver of dry air that runs from Peabody, southward into Boston proper. Then as far south as providence. You're going to get a little bit of a break there. You're not done yet. You may see more development into the afternoon hours and possibly into the evening as well.
Take a look at the national perspective, Heidi. What we're talking about is that big storm system pulling down to the Atlantic. That is going to happen. But riding behind it, a reinforcing shot of very cold air, very nice conditions in the center of the U.S. but the west coast, you're seeing a beneficial rain, the snow. They have to have it in the golden state. They are going to get it. Certainly, great news for them. Washington and parts of -- let's see, Idaho and even into Oregon getting some scattered showers.
OK, Heidi, you're up to speed. Let's send it back to you in the NEWSROOM.
COLLINS: That was -- we sure are. Wow. All right, Reynolds, thank you.
And in Washington, officials have now lifted the snow emergency that was in effect. But people are still trying to deal with a brutal Monday morning commute. CNN's Elaine Quijano is trying to stay warm out there.
Hi, there, Elaine. What is the latest?
QUIJANO: Hi there, Heidi. Well, here on the National Mall where we're standing, we've got some accumulation and maybe 4 to 5 inches or so. But I have to tell you, things have really tapered off.
As Reynolds was talking about, perhaps it's that break that we are seeing now. There was a point where you couldn't even see that the capital was behind me. Now you can very much see it, I think, because the blowing and drifting snow that we had seen a couple of hours ago has definitely, for the most part, got away, at least for this particular moment.
Nevertheless, the roads themselves are a wintry mess right now. A lot of slush, a lot wet, sort of leftover snow. The snowplows have been out in force. We have seen them all morning long. We've also seen, of course, people using their snow blowers and shovels to help clear the sidewalks as well.
And I have to tell you that as the morning has worn on here, we are seeing more and more people start to venture out on to the Mall itself. We are seeing more and more traffic behind us. I can tell you that, at the same time, Heidi, what continues to be a factor at this hour is the wind.
It is a cold biting wind that is still sort of swirling some of the snow around. You can probably see behind me. And that, at point, has certainly affected visibility. But from where we were a few hours ago, definitely a bit of an improvement this morning -- Heidi.
COLLINS: All right. Well, definitely try to stay warm. It definitely looks blustery, if you will. Those are my meteorological terms at their best.
All right, Elaine Quijano. Thanks so much. Appreciate it. Live from Washington, D.C. And I just want to give you a quick look now. New York City. I don't know. I think it's beautiful. But, you know, it can, obviously, be a mess for the commute. Looks like the cars are moving pretty well along Central Park. And as you may have seen earlier, Reynolds Wolf saying about seven inches of snow expected right there in Central Park. Time to get out to the skating rink, I think. You just have to bring your shovel and maybe a shuttle, too.
And in Tennessee, people on the highways going nowhere fast. People are digging out from several inches of snow that blanketed most of the state over the weekend. They were hit with about half a foot by Sunday afternoon. An official there says she never saw snow before in the western part of the state. About 260 employees worked through the night salting and plowing those roadways.
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ROBERT J. LAMBERT, IREPORTER: Columbus, Georgia. Kids out here, March 1st, 2009, it's snowing. It was unusual.
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COLLINS: Unusual, yes. Snowball fight in Georgia in March? Few people out in Columbus enjoying the rare treat after the unexpected winter storm. IReporters, in fact, were out on the streets, braving the elements to give us a look at the wintry weather. Here is a scene in Birmingham, Alabama.
Just serene and picturesque after the snow storm blanketed most of the state. Alabama got hit first by the storm before it roared its way into Georgia. Then Mississippi wasn't spared either. Another winter wonderland. They got hit with about two inches.
So, if you have any pictures or videos you'd like to share, you can certainly do that. Just send them to ireport.com.
A search is under way in Walker County, Texas for a missing 13- year-old boy. The junior ROTC member was one of 200 people taking part in a navigational exercise yesterday. He went into Sam Houston National Forest with a map and compass, but has not returned. Organizers say the boy wasn't dressed for cold weather and had no cell phone.
Four men lost at sea off the coast of Florida. Two of them NFL players. They went on a fishing trip on Saturday and never came back. On board NFL free agent Corey Smith and Marquis Cooper of the Oakland Raiders. Searchers are looking for them over a 750 square-mile stretch of the water. Cooper's wife got worried when he didn't check in.
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REBEKAH COOPER, MISSING NFL PLAYER'S WIFE: Before he left yesterday, I asked him if he was going to be really late and he said, no, because he knew that there was, you know, some weather coming through last night. So I didn't expect, and I don't think he expected anything to go wrong.
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COLLINS: We are following this story, and so is cnn.com. Just logon to find out more information.
He worked closely with George W. Bush and now with President Obama. How this cabinet member compares the two.
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COLLINS: On this 42nd day of the Obama administration, we check the president's schedule now. He'll have his economic and intelligence briefings this morning, and then later in the day he will meet with Veterans Affairs secretary Eric Shinseki.
At 1:00 p.m., the president will announce the nomination of Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius for Health and Human Services secretary. We're going to have that for you live when it happens.
Defense Secretary on the spot. Robert Gates, the only cabinet holdover from the Bush administration was asked to compare his former boss with his current one. CNN's Barbara Starr is at the White House now with the story.
A very interesting story. What did he have to say, Barbara?
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, Heidi, you might expect Bob Gates to be the master of diplomacy. After all, he is a former CIA chief. But, yesterday, on NBC's "Meet the Press," he startled an awful lot of folks when he gave a remarkably candid answer about the difference between two presidents he has served.
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ROBERT GATES, DEFENSE SECRETARY: I think that probably President Obama is somewhat more analytical. And he makes sure he hears from everybody in the room on an issue, and if they don't speak up, he calls on them.
President Bush was interested in hearing different points of view, but didn't go out of his way to make sure everybody spoke, if they hadn't spoken up.
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STARR: And again, it's kind of interesting. You see him cautiously stepping through this, comparing two presidents which, of course, is an extraordinarily delicate matter, saying that President Bush really didn't go out of his way to push people in meetings to speak up.
So I went around here this morning and asked some senior officials in the hallway, does Mr. Gates push people to speak up in his meetings? One senior official here, who has sat in many meetings with Secretary Gates says, no, not really. So pretty interesting comparison -- Heidi.
COLLINS: And so, what does that mean? Are these meetings longer? I mean, not to simplify everything but, you know, if he wants to hear from everybody and he is really apparently inviting this type of engagement, I think that would give some people voices that maybe haven't had them in the past?
STARR: Well, you know, that was always the criticism, here at least in the Pentagon, during the Secretary Rumsfeld's tenure that he was not amenable in his meetings to having people speak up especially with a dissenting point of view.
As far as President Bush goes, it's not really the first time we've seen cabinet officers sort of dance around this criticism. You may remember that Mr. Bush's first Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill wrote a book in which he said Mr. Bush was, quote, "it was like -- was like a blind man in a room full of deaf people." I wrote the words down. I wanted to get them precise.
So there has been this criticism against President Bush in the past by some of his highest ranking officials. But, still, with Mr. Gates currently serving the current president, it's a little bit extraordinary to hear him, of all people, be so candid -- Heidi.
COLLINS: CNN's Barbara Starr at the Pentagon this morning. Barbara, thank you.
It's time to work past the setbacks and find peace between Israelis and Palestinians. That is the message from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. She is in Egypt on her first trip to the Mideast in her new position. Clinton is announcing hundreds of millions of dollars in aid for the Palestinians.
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HILLARY CLINTON, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: We will work with our Palestinian partners. President Abbas and Prime Minister Fayed to address critical humanitarian, budgetary, security and infrastructure needs. We have worked with the Palestinian authority to install safeguards that will ensure that our funding is only used where and for whom it is intended and does not end up in the wrong hands.
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COLLINS: Clinton also says the Obama administration supports the idea of a separate Palestinian state. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert could soon be in the hot seat. The country's attorney general is considered indicting him on fraud and breach of confidence charges. He's accused of receiving funds from an American businessman and using his official position to facilitate business ventures.
The allegations are from before he began his current term as prime minister. Olmert said the money was legal campaign funding. Do inmates have a basic right to DNA evidence? Now, it's up to the Supreme Court.
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COLLINS: Rush Limbaugh may not hold office, but he does hold an audience of millions. He brought down the house of the Conservative Political Action Conference -- CPAC. The conservative host was the keynote speaker on Saturday and he refused to take back his wish to see President Obama's policies fail.
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RUSH LIMBAUGH, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: What is so strange about being honest and saying I want Barack Obama to fail if his mission is to restructure and reform this country so that capitalism and individual liberty are not its foundation. Why would I want that to succeed?
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COLLINS: Next hour, CNN's Jim Acosta takes a look at just how much power Limbaugh has in the GOP.
The Supreme Court meets today to decide whether convicted criminals should have the right to DNA testing. CNN's Kate Bolduan reports.
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KATE BOLDUAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Jeff Deskovic, wrongly convicted of rape and murder at 16, walked out a free man after spending almost half his life behind bars.
JEFF DESKOVIC, EXONERATED BY DNA: It hasn't fully hit me at this point. Still waiting to wake up.
BOLDUAN: Cleared in 2006 by his DNA, Deskovic now trying to get his life back.
DESKOVIC: I am moving on with it now. I'm trying to obtain a master's degree. I write for a weekly paper. I lecture.
BOLDUAN: Deskovic was convicted in New York, which gave him access to DNA evidence. That state is one of 44 and the District of Columbia that have laws allowing for post-conviction testing.
(on-camera): But six states don't. And that's the issue now before the Supreme Court for the first time. The justices will hear a similar DNA case in Alaska effectively deciding whether inmates have a basic right to DNA evidence.
(voice-over): Deskovic and civil rights groups argue access to DNA evidence is a constitutional right saying 232 people have been exonerated in the past two decades because of testing. But many states say the decision should be left up to them. Warning a blanket ruling could open the floodgates to frivolous appeals.
DAVID ADKINS, CEO, COUNCIL OF STATE GOVERNMENT: There is absolutely no state interest to be served in incarcerating innocent people. But to simply you know, believe that there's a magic wand by which every inmate in prison who claims that they are not guilty of their crime should be afforded - it creates a cancer on the criminal justice system that would grow significantly.
BOLDUAN: Either way, the implication of the court's decision could be far reaching.
ED LAZARUS, SUPREME COURT ANALYST: I think there's a reasonably good chance the Supreme Court will say, when it comes to something as determinative as DNA evidence, the whole point of the justice system is to get the decision right.
BOLDUAN: Something Jeff Deskovic knows firsthand.
DESKOVIC: It happened to me. It could happen to them.
BOLDUAN: Kate Bolduan, CNN, Washington.
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COLLINS: Money can't buy you love. And a lack of money also makes it tougher to cheat. The unsuspected fallout of the financial crisis, even the unfaithful and the untrusting seem to be coming back.
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COLLINS: Financial struggles can put a real strain on a love life. Not just marriage, but we're talking about extramarital affairs. Private investigators say cheating hearts are being held back by empty wallets. CNN's Randi Kaye explains.
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RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This private investigator from Massachusetts has been tailing cheating spouses since he was 16 when his father first taught him the business. But today, John Dinetale says business isn't what it used to be.
JOHN DINETALE, PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR: Surveillance cases, especially domestic surveillance cases you can just see falling off the chart.
KAYE: In the last year, Dinetale has seen a 75 percent drop in infidelity cases.
DINETALE: We've seen some, what we would consider good-sized surveillances that would keep us busy for a week at a time just kind of go by the wayside. And I don't think there's any question that that was the result of people not being able to afford it.
KAYE: In a slumping economy, even hanky-panky takes a hit. A full day of surveillance work will set you back about $2,500. A full week, $15,000. So some spouses are doing their own snooping.
DINETALE: It's not unusual now that a client will call and say look, I've already done all the legwork. I've been checking his Blackberry, looking at his text messages. I've been downloading his cell phone bills.
I think I got about three or four witnesses down there.
KAYE: Dinetale still gets some surveillance work but this new recession style cheating looks different with corporate America tightening its belt, done are the fancy dinners out billed to the expense account.
Now, cheating couples cook at home.
DINETALE: It has to be the economy and people are just not spending money the way they used to.
KAYE (on-camera): John Dinetale says cheating spouses are cheating with a little less style these days. Instead of booking rooms at high end hotels like the Ritz or the Four Seasons, he says they're choosing what he calls the no-tell motels like this one.
Or in some cases they're skipping the hotel expense completely and just using the car. Not all couples are doing that. Some are just hanging out at the park. It's free.
DINETALE: We'd be scrambling around trying to pick up a good spot where we could set up for video. And this would be a typical spot.
KAYE: The economic slump has put a damper on divorce, too. The American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers says 37 percent of attorneys polled reported fewer divorces during an economic downturn. Divorce lawyer say more couples are sticking it out, not because they want to, but because they have to.
DINETALE: They're staying together because they can't afford to get their own place.
KAYE: As the saying goes in this business, it is cheaper to keep her.
Randi Kaye, Allston, Massachusetts.
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