Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Sandra Day O'Connor Speaks Out; Winter Weather Hits the South; What to do if Your Toyota Pedal Sticks; Extent of Toyota's Liability; John Edwards's troubles Mount; Muslim Sorority First of Its Kind

Aired January 30, 2010 - 12:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN NEWS ANCHOR: We've got a very busy one straight ahead, including as the GOP retreat in Baltimore wraps up today, still rumblings about Friday and the unprecedented televised open chat between the Democratic president and Republican Congress members. All the while, President Obama lays out his economic priorities for 2010 and topping that list, reining in the sky-high federal deficit and putting more Americans back to work. He called those two issues critical to the country's economic recovery in his weekly address, today.

The recession and how the president has chosen to tackle it proved to be fertile ground for remarkable back and forth exchange between the president and House Republicans at that GOP retreat.

No one held back during that rare Q&A session. We'll play some highlights in a minute. But first let's kind of talk a little bit about what it all means and how it might be impacting the political landscape.

Political editor Mark Preston, good to see you.

MARK PRESTON, CNN POLITICAL EDITOR: Hey, Fred, how are you?

WHITFIELD: All right. I'm pretty good. This is a pretty fascinating week, because we talk about the president sort of setting the tone and setting the record straight during the State of the Union and then again during that GOP exchange. Are we seeing a change in politics as a result?

PRESTON: Well, you know, when you talked how the president said during his weekly address today that fiscal discipline is very important to the economy, well, fiscal discipline is also very important to Congressional Democrats, Fred who were on the ballot come November.

You know, President Obama was under a lot of criticism from people with his own party for putting all the chips on health care, perhaps keeping, you know the not talking as much about the economy and talking about jobs. Congressional Democrats during the State of the Union address were happy he actually addressed that issue, became a big issue, it's something he talk about the next day in Florida. And then of course, as you say, at this GOP retreat that he addressed and we were very fortunate to see this play out, nationally. WHITFIELD: The White House lobbied very hard to make sure that was televised because at first, Republicans said, no, this is going to be a private affair behind closed doors meeting. So this was a -- really a great victory for the White House, wouldn't it? Or at least for this administration?

PRESTON: Well, you know what it is, it's traditionally the Q&A sessions are traditionally held behind closed doors. And it was an 11th hour request by the White House. I think the White House probably felt emboldened by the fact that President Obama is a very good public speaker, whether you like his policies or don't like his policies, he can really deliver and he can work a crowd, and they felt he could take the hard questions that he was going to get at the retreat and he got some hard questions.

WHITFIELD: Well, let's look and listen again to some of this toe-to-toe. For example, you know, Jason Chaffetz, he called out the president on a lot of things, and really at the root of this it was about transparency. Let's listen to what was said and then how the president responded.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP JASON CHAFFETZ (R), UTAH: There's some things that have happened that I would appreciate your perspective on, because I can look you in the eye and tell you we have not been obstructionists. The Democrats have the House and Senate and presidency. When you stood up before the American people multiple times and said you would broadcast the health care (INAUDIBLE) on C-Span, you didn't. I was disappointed and I think a lot of American were disappointed.

You said you weren't going to allow lobbyists in the senior most positions within your administration and yet you did. I applauded you when you said it and disappointed when you didn't.

You said you'd go line by line through the health care debate, or through the health care bill. And there were six of us, including Dr. Phil Rove who sent you a letter and said we would like to take you up on that offer, we'd like to come. We never heard a letter, we never got a call, were never involved in any of those discussions.

And when you said in the House of Representatives that you were going to tackle earmarks, in fact you didn't want to have any earmarks in any of your bills, I jumped up out of my seat and applauded you. But, it didn't happen. More importantly, I want to talk about moving forward, but if we could address...

Well how about...

CHAFFETZ: I would certainly appreciate it.

OBAMA: Now, that was a long list, so let me -- let me respond. Look, the truth of the matter is that if you'd look at the health care process, just over the course of the year, overwhelmingly the majority of it actually was on C-Span, because it was taking place in Congressional hearings in which you guys were participating. I mean that -- there -- how many committees were there that helped to shape this bill? Countless hearings took place.

Now, I kicked it off, by the way, with a meeting with many of you, including your key leadership. What is true, there's no doubt about it, is that once it got through the committee process and there were now a series of meetings taking place all over the capital trying to figure out how to get the thing together, that was a messy process and I take responsibility for not having structured in a way where it was all taking place in one place that could be filmed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right, so, Mark, no one expected when they heard there was going to be this kind of Q&A, when the president would be openly giving his spiel about the economy and his administration, no one really expected that there would be moments like this. So, even though it was unpredictable, unexpected, how does this, perhaps, change the tide for this White House, if at all?.

PRESTON: Well, you know, let's go back and let's look at it two ways. Let's look at politically. The fact is president really needs to help deliver for Congressional Democrats. He needs to try to put Republicans on defensive. I spoke to Democrats after that exchange yesterday, after he went up to that retreat and they said, boy, he gave it to them, he really did such a great job.

But, on the flip side is what you also have to realize is that President Obama has the bully pulpit of the White House, whenever he speaks, everybody listens. Republicans yesterday, because this really unique venue that they were in, they were able to have their say with the president as well, and it was broadcast nationally. So, we saw that Congressman right there bring up very strong criticism on some issues there, and the president had to address them, and, of course, our viewers just saw that.

So, you know, as far as how the tide is going to turn in Washington, I have to tell you that Washington is a very divided town, it's very much like the country. We are not a country that is all behind one political party. We have our Republicans, we have our Democrats, and quite frankly we have a lot of other smaller splinter parties. So, for people top say there's so much bitterness in Washington, they're absolutely right, but it's probably no more bitter than we've seen in the past.

WHITFIELD: So, you have to wonder if these public assertions and then public responses to these assertions, will it indeed change the flavor of the way in which the conversations take place between the Republicans and Democrats. For example, let's listen to what Jeb Hersarling had to say and how the president responded to him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP JEB HENSARLING (R), TEXAS: But this is what I don't understand, Mr. President. After that discussion, your administration proposed a budget that would triple the national debt over the next 10 years. Surely you don't believe 10 years from now we will still be mired in this recession, and propose new entitlement spending and move the economy -- the cost of government to almost 24.5 percent of the economy. Now, very soon, Mr. President, you're due to submit a new budget, and my question...

OBAMA: Jeb, I know there's a question in there somewhere, because you're making a bunch of assertions, half of which I disagree with and I'm having to listening to them. At some point I know you're going to let me answer.

HENSARLING: That's the question. You are soon to submit a new budget, Mr. President, will that new budget, like your old budget, triple the national debt and continue to take us down the path of increasing the cost of government to almost 25 percent of the economy? That's the question, Mr. President.

OBAMA: Jim, with all due respect, I've just got to take this last question as an example of how it's very hard to have the kind of bipartisan work that we're going to do, because the whole question was structured as a talking point for running -- running a campaign.

Now, look. Let's talk about the budget, once again, because I'll go through with you line by line. The fact of the matter is, is that when we came into office, the deficit was $1.3 trillion -- $1.3 trillion. So, when you say that suddenly I've got a monthly budget that is higher than the, or a monthly deficit that's higher than the annual deficit left by Republicans, that's factually just not true, and know it's not true.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: I wonder now if this might change the way in which debates are unfolding on Capitol Hill and the white House from this day forward as a result of something like that?

PRESTON: Well, I'll tell you what, you know what would be great, Fred, if we could take some of the Republican congressmen and in the daily briefing they could take the place of some of our reporters and just to see how that exchange would go between Robert Gibbs and some of these congressmen.

But, look, is it going to change the debate? The fact, no. You know, obviously they're not agree on a majority of the issues. Clearly the big issue right now is who's to blame for the bitterness? Democrats say it's Republicans, Republicans say it's Democrats. But this is what boils down to, Fred, very simply they are trying to go to the middle, they are both trying to appeal to these independent voters. Independent voters really went for Democrats in 2006 and in 2008.

And as one Democratic strategist said to me, yesterday, he said, look they took us for a test drive in 2006 and 2008, they've left the dealership, they didn't buy the car. We need to get them back in. So, that's what you're actually seeing play out there when you're seeing this argument. Republican voters are going to vote Republican, Democratic voters are going to vote for Democrats. They want to try to get the middle. WHITFIELD: All right, and we heard the president say during the State of the Union address, you know, underscored independents, the fastest growing segment of the voting populous, right now in which to appeal to so, there's a great competition going on right now between those two parties, at least.

All right, thanks so much. Mark Preston, appreciate that.

PRESTON: Thanks, Fred.

WHITFIELD: And of course, in case you missed the president at the Republican retreat yesterday, you can have another chance in this special SITUATION ROOM, that's later on today. See the replay at 6:00 p.m. Eastern.

Winter storm is causing all sorts of problems from the southern plains to the east coast. A state of emergency is now in place in Arkansas, Tennessee and parts of Virginia. And another hard-hit state, North Carolina, heavy snow and ice made roads and highways there very treacherous, and the snow is so heavy in North Carolina, at least in the mountains in particular, parts of interstates 26 and 40 have actually been shut down.

The storm struck first in Oklahoma and Texas. Oklahoma City is pretty much paralyzed by the ice and snow. Tens of thousands of homes and businesses are right now without power. Very miserable.

Karen Maginnis in the Severe Weather Center.

You know what? You all gave us great warning that this storm was sweeping across the U.S. in a very big way, and it delivered.

KAREN MAGINNIS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, and we have watched it just kind of march across the country. And I don't know if you saw in the video, Fred, that there was a pickup truck, this was in Durham, it was pulling a boat. I thought, that's a little optimistic.

WHITFIELD: Yeah. Maybe trying to get it to a safe place.

MAGINNIS: That must be it. But it's very curious to see that happen during a snowstorm. They saw about three inches of snow there in Raleigh-Durham area, and we're watching this sweep its way towards the mid-Atlantic region ship. Some areas could see about a foot of snowfall. Those are some the averages, eight to 12 inch along that northern edge of the storm system as it pulls further out towards the mid-Atlantic.

Now, I must admit, now, on the back side of this, we are watching it fall apart a little bit. You'll still get enough cold air that maybe tonight you'll see a few little lingering snow showers, but we're looking to the south, like right around Raleigh. They're still seeing some sleet and some icy conditions.

In Charlotte, this morning, terrible weather conditions due to the sleet and the ice, and they're blaming one fatality on the interstates thanks to the icy conditions that they did see, there. But all across the state of North Carolina, it was, an ice and snow event, and for drivers that is a very dangerous combination. At least with the snow you can see what you're running into.

All right. Let's take a look across Virginia. This is where the impact is going to be greatest in Virginia, West Virginia, eastern sections of Kentucky, Tennessee. For the most part, Tennessee, you've seen just about the worst. Temperature-wise, mostly in the teens, you're not going to warm up, but maybe three to five more degrees.

Now, we haven't talked a lot what's going on in West, but there is a storm system into the Pacific northwest and for Seattle and into Portland maybe just to the north of San Francisco, you'll see some wet weather.

Temperature wise, Phoenix, 71. Miami, close to 80 degrees for today. But you go into Sunday, Fred, they're only going to be 70 -- 70 coming up for Sunday, but I think they'll handle it very well.

WHITFIELD: Yeah, I think 70 is tolerable. You know, it's not 30, like we saw a few...

MAGINNIS: Exactly.

WHITFIELD: Was it a few weeks ago? Or more like -- more than a month ago when they got hit pretty hard, pretty good. All right, 70s. All right, thanks so much.

All right. The fight for food and survival in Haiti, now the aid groups are there, so are the architects and engineers as well, but the recovery efforts are slow and the situation remains dire. More on that, straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: From one disaster in Haiti to another, nearly three weeks after the earthquake, the scene remains desperate. Karl Penhaul is in Port-au-Prince and is going to talk to us about the reconstruction efforts.

Karl, all ready?

KARL PENHAUL, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, well there's a Haitian saying that goes something like (speaking foreign language) and that means behind the mountains there are more mountains. I think that really is an apt metaphor for Haiti right now in that first of all there's one obstacle and then after that obstacle there are just more and more and more obstacles. Essentially what Haiti is doing right now is that it's lurched from the disaster of the earthquake, itself, to another disaster and the current disaster is the disaster for daily survival. How do people achieve that?

Right now, one of the crucial needs, according to aid groups, is for tents to house homeless people. The estimates are of an immediate need of more than 100,000 tents. We haven't seen too many signs of those. There are simply not enough to go around. So far the aid groups have been lucky because the weather has stayed more or less dry. But, as soon as the rain comes, then the scene could be very different. The plight of the homeless could become much, much worse.

In terms of the food and the water that is being given out to the people who are now living on the streets that is falling far short of the daily needs of the people. We've seen some of the food lines turn ugly, people trampling and crushing one another. And you talk to them in the line and say why are you pushing so much? Why don't you just wait in orderly lines? And they'll explain to you, they're hungry, they're desperate. And many, on average, say they're only getting a food handout once every three days.

And the international aid groups know that. They say that they don't have food to give to every person every single day, but just hope that on average people get enough food to survive, and then to talk about the reconstruction phase still way, way too early. The government has talked about housing people in temporary camps outside the capital; but we haven't seen mass movement there.

And so the Haitian people are doing it themselves. They're moving from temporary shelter, which were just sheets on poles in the first 2-1/2 weeks and now they're going back into the ruins pulling out pieces of wood, pieces of tin sheeting and they're building more permanent structures, structures that you see in any of the slums on a normal day around Port-au-Prince, but they're doing it right in the center of the city. The Haitian people know that if they're really going to get by they have to look to themselves first and foremost -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Well, Karl, I wonder, you just mentioned that some of the relief workers are saying there really isn't enough food to be distributed. But is that really the case? Is the biggest problem that they simply can't get so much food that is still at the airport, simply distributed?

So, if that is true, that question within a statement that I just offered there, where is the Haitian government in terms of helping in the distribution?

PENHAUL: Well, we saw the Haitian government doing a food handout two days ago. That was one of their first handouts. It was an absolute disaster. When I say disaster, they were tossing food, bags of food, from the top of aid trucks to people, hungry people, with little more regard than if they were animals. There was no effort at security, there was nine trucks of aid, 2,000 rations aboard those trucks and no control, whatsoever.

There has to be a balance between getting this aid out quickly and also getting it out safely and, of course, we don't like to see the signs where peacekeepers use pepper spray to keep hungry people back, but, again, there has to be this balance. The international community, the Haitian government, still hasn't got that balance right -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Still need help on that kind of infrastructure of the distribution. Thanks so much, Karl Penhaul, we'll be checking with you throughout the day, here. Thanks for join us from Port-au-Prince. All right, obviously a lot of devastation in Haiti remain, and there's also, however, some hope for the future. Some people are talking about that already. Be sure to tune in to a special edition of "AC-360" tonight, with a look at how individual acts of heroism are helping to rescue a shattered nation. That's "CNN Heroes: Saving Haiti," tonight and tomorrow 8:00 p.m. Eastern.

All right, checking our top stories, today. President Obama is vowing to take action to cut the deficit saying, it's a critical component of the economic recovery. In this weekly address, the president stressed the importance of job creation. He says putting more Americans back to work is his no. 1 priority in 2010.

And former President H.W. Bush back at the White House in a rare Saturday morning get-together with President Obama. Administration officials described today's visit as nothing more than a social call, but the former president calling it a good meeting. The former president in Washington to attend tonight's Alfalfa Club dinner.

And Honda is joining the rank of automakers in a recall. Honda recalling more than 140,000 of its Fit hatchbacks. The automaker says they may have a power faulty window switch that can overheat and pose a fire hazard. The recall involves 2007 and 2008 models.

And we'll get another check of the top stories 20 minutes from now.

All right, and a Senate yells "you lie," a Supreme Court justice mumbles "not true." Forget the respect and the unspoken rules of presidential protocol. Our legal guys see a clear and troubling picture of partisanship and they're ready to tell you why.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, so much for neutrality. The president of the United States makes a pretty strong comment about a decision in the U.S. Supreme Court, and quite visibly, one of the justices reveals that he doesn't necessarily agree with that. We turn to our legal guys about how this perhaps sets the tone, or does it -- as it pertains to politics and the U.S. Supreme court. Avery Friedman is a civil rights attorney and law professor.

Good to see you.

AVERY FRIEDMAN, CIVIL RIGHTS ATTY: Hi, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And Richard Herman is a New York criminal defense attorney and law professor. Good to see you as well. That does not look like New York behind you.

RICHARD HERMAN, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTY: Not New York, Fred.

WHITFIELD: Oh, you bounce around. You and your frequent flier miles.

HERMAN: All for CNN. All for CNN. WHITFIELD: Oh, very good. Glad you're here. All right, well let's talk about what took place at State of the Union address, in fact, before we talk about it, let's look and listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA (D), UNITED STATES PRESIDENT: Last week the Supreme Court reversed a century of law that I believe will open the floodgates for special interests...

(APPLAUSE)

...including foreign corporations, to spend without limit in our elections.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Talking about Justice Sam Alito nodding his head, not once but a few times there. So, Richard, whatever happened to that, you know, biting the lip moment that usually is characteristic of Supreme Court justices?

HERMAN: It's like Rodney Dangerfield, he gets no respect. It's unbelievable. Anyway...

WHITFIELD: I think you're reading his lips, he says "that's not true."

HERMAN: Right. Yeah, you know, they go way back. It's time for them to share a beer, Fred, because as you result, when Alito was nominated, President Obama opposed his nomination. Then before President Obama was sworn in with the meet and greet with the Supreme Court, Alito decided not to show up there. So, there's a lot of friction between the two of them and actually I think Avery will agree with me. It was Justice Kennedy a swing vote on this particular decision.

In any event, the president feels strongly about it and so do the majority if all Democrats, the Republicans are obviously the other way on this issue. They're balancing first amendment rights here, but nothing to do with first amendment rights.

FRIEDMAN: Right.

HERMAN: This as a horrible decision and it's absolutely going to -- corporations are going to flood...

WHITFIELD: You're talking about the campaign, now...

HERMAN: The campaign decision is a horrible decision...

(CROSSTALK)

FRIEDMAN: Yeah, let's talk about Sam Alito, though.

WHITFIELD: OK, go Avery. FRIEDMAN: Let me tell you something, I am stunningly disheartened by what I saw. I don't think America in the history of our nation has ever seen that sort of behavior by a justice of the United States Supreme Court. Look, whatever bad blood exists, she a justice. He's not like the president, members of Congress, he is not political, not supposed to be, and that behavior is uncalled for, it is unprecedented and very troubling if you're expecting our federal courts, including the Supreme Court to be impartial. Way out of line, should have never happened.

WHITFIELD: Oh, so then this day forward now, how much might this influence, I guess, the opinion of whether it be the public or even the executive office who says you know what, we're looking for the Supreme Court to look at the letter of the law, but now it is revealing there are personal decisions that are influencing court decisions.

FRIEDMAN: Yeah, Justice Sam Alito's behavior diminishing the role of our federal judges including the Supreme Court. Very troubling. After all, if he didn't want to be there, and doesn't like the president, don't show up. Just like the other examples that Richard showed was way out of line, diminishes the institution of our judiciary.

HERMAN: And you know, Fred, he's going to be there a long time after President Obama's out of office. He's there for life.

WHITFIELD: Yeah, he's a young man.

HERMAN: He's in there for life. So, he's going to be there a long time.

WHITFIELD: OK, let's talk about the Scott Roeder case. He was convicted of first-degree murder of killing a doctor that performed abortions. Last time we talked, we talked about the possibility that there may be accomplices, the investigation wasn't quite over. But now that there is a verdict, first-degree murder, Richard, I wonder, does this mean case closed or is there still an investigation looking for an accomplice in this case?

HERMAN: I think case closed on this one, Fred. But I think the federal authorities are looking to possibly bring charges against him on a federal level. I don't know. He stood up matter of factually. He brazenly admitted that he shot this man in just cold blood, just shot him, and the jury came back, flash verdict, that mean as very fast verdict, half an hour of deliberation -- came back, first-degree murder. He's going to spend the rest of his life in prison.

WHITFIELD: All right, well real quick, you know, Avery I want to bring out another topic, because we're out of time on this segment. Sandra Day O'Connor, we're back to talking about a Supreme Court justice, this time a former Supreme Court justice. She's been very outspoken saying that you know what, I stepped away a couple years ago -- this is her quote I'm reading, "I step away a couple of years ago and there's no telling what's going to happen." She's actually talking about that same campaign finance decision that Sam Alito and President Obama were seeing very differently. How unusual is this for a former Supreme Court justice to be outen like this?

FRIEDMAN: Very unusual. Give credit to Wolf Blitzer, especially to Wolf Blitzer's producers that somehow made that happen and the candor of publicly...

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: Right, e-mailed the interview with her, you know, after she was speaking at Georgetown University.

FRIEDMAN: Right. At Georgetown.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

FRIEDMAN: At the law school. Bottom line, the fact that she spoke out, said that it is a, quote, "arms race" when it comes to money affecting candidates -- a powerful thing. Watch to see that in scholarly journals, law view articles. And even Congress will consider what Wolf Blitzer was able to get out of Justice O'Connor. Wonderful.

HERMAN: And she said judges are going to be purchased now by special interest groups. Very important.

WHITFIELD: Oh, strong language!

FRIEDMAN: Right.

HERMAN: And she -- by the way, Justice Alito filled her shoes on the bench. Yes.

WHITFIELD: Coinkydink, huh?

FRIEDMAN: Somewhat.

WHITFIELD: Not really! OK. OK, in part deux, gentlemen, we're going to be talking about a Watergate-esque kind of case. At least some people are tossing around that word in a modern-day investigation.

FRIEDMAN: In part deux, right.

WHITFIELD: In part deux.

(LAUGHTER)

WHITFIELD: Hopefully not duh, but deux!

HERMAN: (INAUDIBLE) Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Good. We'll talk to you in a little bit.

HERMAN: You need some coffee, Fred.

WHITFIELD: I know. It's too much, isn't it?

(LAUGHTER)

WHITFIELD: OK, parts of the South -- we'll talk weather now -- under a state of emergency after a big winter storm moves across the region. We'll check in with Karen Maginnis.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Yes, it is still winter in a very big way -- blinding snow, ice-coated trees, power lines, you name it, highways simply too dangerous to drive on. A treacherous winter storm has moved from the southern plains to the East Coast. And right now, a state of emergency is in place for Arkansas, Tennessee and parts of Virginia. And the storm is also causing a lot of problems in the Carolinas. In the mountains in North Carolina -- there's that boat that Karen was talking about, where's he going with that boat? -- the snow is so heavy that parts of Interstates 26 and 40 have been shut down.

All right, Karen, got another look at that. You're right. It looked like they were on the go, but...

(LAUGHTER)

WHITFIELD: I don't know. Maybe they were heading out very, very west or something. They're looking for some warmer temps.

KAREN MAGINNIS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, or waiting for the fish to thaw or something.

(LAUGHTER)

MAGINNIS: That would be me. All right. Now, we've got right on the periphery, where the snow is, where you see these green-shaded areas, that's where we've got that wintry mix. That's that combination of sleet and freezing rain, really, really messy on some of those secondary reads. Charlotte earlier this morning, also the Raleigh-Durham area, very slick roads, very dangerous driving conditions.

But where you see the red, that's where we have still those winter storm warnings in effect. It does look like Virginia may be the hardest hit. And here you can see on our radar imagery. But the back half of this storm has really kind of fallen apart. But don't let that fool you because tonight, on the back side of this, when you start to get that sweep of cold air, you still could see some of those snow showers develop and pop up once again.

It's going to be breezy. Those temperatures right now still mostly in the teens and 20s in most of these areas. But not just Virginia, also extending into Maryland, we're looking at between 4 and 8 inches of snowfall. Some of those higher elevations could see more than a foot. Asheville, North Carolina, just about a foot of snowfall. They did see a record amount of snow over the last 24 hours. Look at these readings, mostly in the teens. You'll only rise another three to five degrees. And as I said before, Fred, it looked like that man was pretty optimistic with that boat behind his pick-up truck. WHITFIELD: Although I am convinced he's probably, you know, taking it for storage somewhere.

MAGINNIS: Yes. I think that has a nice sound to it.

WHITFIELD: Yes. Sounds much more reasonable, right?

(LAUGHTER)

WHITFIELD: On the move. On the go. All right, Karen.

MAGINNIS: All right. See you.

WHITFIELD: Thank you.

MAGINNIS: Bye-bye.

WHITFIELD: All right, sex, lies and politics. A new book on John Edwards's run for president claims that he used at least a million dollars from donors to hide a pregnant mistress. Could John Edwards face an indictment? Our legal guy are considering the options.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, Toyota takes extraordinary steps. A week after Toyota began recalling vehicles, the president of the Japanese auto maker issued this apology. In it, he says, quote, "We're extremely sorry to have made customers uneasy. We plan to establish the facts and give an explanation that will take away the customer's concern as soon as possible," end quote. So far, Toyota has recalled millions of cars over concerns of the accelerator sticking.

Would you know what to do if it happened to you? Our Deb Feyerick got a lesson from an expert.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): It happens without warning.

LARRY WEBSTER, "POPULAR MECHANICS" MAGAZINE: OK, now I'm going to hit the brake while the throttle's floored. Watch.

FEYERICK (on camera): Oh, my God!

(voice-over): The technical term is "sudden unintended acceleration," but Toyota's latest problem involves a new twist. The gas pedal gets stuck even after the driver lifts their foot. Larry Webster, an editor of "Popular Mechanics" magazine, says Toyota's 2.3 million vehicle recall and the halting of production is unprecedented.

WEBSTER: Nobody knows how long it's going to take for Toyota to fix this, and I don't think Toyota know how long it's going to fix it and that's why they've stopped production.

FEYERICK (on camera): Are we talking about a major parts change?

WEBSTER: You know, they don't know yet. Recalls of cars, they run the gamut. Sometimes it's replacing a part. Sometimes it's adding a part. Or sometimes it's just sort of adjusting a part.

FEYERICK (voice-over): The recall affects eight models, including Toyota's three most popular in the U.S., the Camry, Corolla and Rav4 SUV. Toyota believes the problem may be a faulty gas pedal assembly, a claim the pedal manufacturer disputes.

WEBSTER: I don't know why that they've had to stop production because, usually, you use two suppliers, so in case you have a problem with one, the other one can take up the slack. So it's a little bit of a mystery right now what's going on.

FEYERICK: Dealers don't know how to fix the problem yet, but it if it happens to you . . .

(on camera): So you're driving, the car all of a sudden begins to accelerate. So you take your foot off the pedal and jump on the brake -- with both feet or one foot?

WEBSTER: It doesn't matter. Just press the brake as hard as you can with all your force, and then move the shift lever from drive to neutral and then turn the car off.

FEYERICK (voice-over): It's not smooth, but as we see, it definitely works.

(on camera): So as long as the driver knows how to stop the car in the event the accelerator doesn't return, you should be OK.

WEBSTER: Yes. I mean, I think we need to come up with a song or something like, Hit the brake, shift to neutral. Hit the brake, shift to neutral.

FEYERICK (on camera): The hit to Toyota's reputation cannot be underestimated. It's not even clear when Toyota will resume production. Deborah Feyerick, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And for a look at the list of the vehicles Toyota has recalled, go to CNN.com. So say you have a Toyota. You've got only one car, and now you've got to keep it parked because you're a little nervous about this whole problem. Can you end up suing Toyota for the inconvenience?

We turn to our legal guys, Avery Friedman, a civil rights attorney and law professor, and Richard Herman, a New York criminal defense attorney and law professor.

OK, Avery, you first. I'm mad. It's my car. I've got to park it, you know, and I have no other means to get around or I got to rent a car. Can I sue for the inconvenience, for the threat of something terrible happening? FRIEDMAN: No.

WHITFIELD: Oh.

FRIEDMAN: There's no case. Heard that question a million times, it seems, but there's nothing there. This is a serious matter, where people assert that they've been injured. And let me tell you something. I was actually driving down Pacific Coast Highway with the mountain and the Pacific Ocean and it got stuck. It scares the heck out of you. But the advice is, of course, slam it into neutral and then ultimately shut the car off. A frightening thing. No claim for inconvenience, though.

WHITFIELD: So that's the protection that Toyota has, Richard, that they have put it out there. And this is what you do if this happens to you, and we're looking into it to fix the problem.

HERMAN: Yes, those apologies are nice, but there's an investigation into Toyota right now, Fred. Toyota has to hold themselves out as the reasonable car manufacturer would. And if they knew about these problems for an unreasonable period of time and did not act on it, and did not make it public to try to protect the public against this defect, then they're going to be liable. They're going to be liable for the vehicles. And who knows, some creative attorneys are going to weave in other causes of action against them.

FRIEDMAN: I'm not sure about that.

HERMAN: I don't think it's -- I don't think it's so open and shut on this, Fred. If they acted unreasonably, they're going to be responsible here.

WHITFIELD: OK. Also...

FRIEDMAN: And there are congressional hearings coming up, by the way, next month.

WHITFIELD: Oh, OK. Good. And we'll be hearing much more on that. All right, open and shut not the case in New Orleans. We're talking about an alleged break-in into Senator Mary Landrieu's office in a federal building. Four people have been arrested, Avery. This is a little Watergate-esque, is it not?

FRIEDMAN: Yes. You know what? I thought about it. It's a bizarro Watergate, the opposite. Watergate involved dirty politicians being caught by journalists. This involves officials catching dirty journalists. I guess a journalist today is defined as anybody that uses their camera.

WHITFIELD: Well, that's the scary part because, you know, he says he's a conservative activist and he's kind of a self-proclaimed journalist. So let's use that term lightly.

FRIEDMAN: Yes, that's for sure.

WHITFIELD: (INAUDIBLE) FRIEDMAN: That's for sure. Look, there are three elements. Number one, entering federal property. Second term, false pretenses. Third, committing a felony. I'm not sure it's there. Maybe this guy -- certainly, O'Keefe is making it worse because puts on his Web site, Fredricka, that the U.S. attorney confirmed that he didn't wiretap or bug. All that's doing is making the defense team even -- giving them a harder task to defend this kid.

WHITFIELD: So Richard, what was this all about anyway, really?

HERMAN: Yes, well, the warrant...

WHITFIELD: Do we know?

HERMAN: The warrant says he didn't -- not necessarily wanted to bug the phones. But look, if you're going to break into a building, you're not going to break into a federal building under fall pretenses. That's going to give you prison time right there.

(LAUGHTER)

HERMAN: Whatever you're doing...

WHITFIELD: (INAUDIBLE) with the feds.

HERMAN: Yes, that -- you cannot. And those two that busted into President Obama's party, they're going to see that down the road, too. But you can't break into federal facilities under false pretenses, number one. Number two, they claim it was to commit a felony, the feds do. Let's see. I don't know what equipment they had with them. This guy obviously has an agenda. He went into ACORN and tried to...

WHITFIELD: And really, does it even matter what the intent is? I mean, if it is proven that there was, indeed, a break-in and they were responsible for that, who cares about the intent, huh?

HERMAN: Yes, well, to commit a felony brings more prison time. So they're going to after everything they can on this, Fred.

WHITFIELD: OK. And if convicted, they face a fine and up to 10 years...

FRIEDMAN: Up to 10 years in prison.

WHITFIELD: ... in prison. All right, let's talk about John Edwards, former presidential candidate. And oh, my gosh, this starts to get uglier and uglier, doesn't it, by the second, Richard. So you've got an admission of an affair, admission that, OK, I'm the father, and now there's a tell-all book. We talked a little bit about it last week, the tell-all book now saying, Hey, campaign funding may have been used to cover up this affair. How is this going to affect the grand jury case, and might it bring something else, Richard?

HERMAN: Well, they're going to continue to investigate any improprieties in his campaign financing and funding, Fred, regardless of this book. Look, this was his friend, Andrew Young -- his "friend," I use that word lightly -- who now is just...

WHITFIELD: Yes.

HERMAN: ... letting it rip on him because he's going to grab his two minutes of fame and make as much money as he can. We can't believe everything we hear from Andrew Young right now because he's trying to sell a book. But I'll tell you one thing. If he knew about the cover-up, the alleged cover-up on the campaign financing, this Andrew Young could very well...

WHITFIELD: Complicit!

HERMAN: ... be a co-conspirator.

FRIEDMAN: Right.

WHITFIELD: Right. OK, so Avery, is he finding himself, Andy Young -- finding himself in trouble, too, for revealing all of this -- as a willing participant initially. I mean, he even allegedly writes, apparently, that yes, he posed as Rielle Hunter's husband because John Edwards allegedly asked him to do so. So he was a willing participant.

FRIEDMAN: Well, he was a willing participant in that part of it. The question is, is he a willing participant in those things which violate federal law.

WHITFIELD: The money stuff.

FRIEDMAN: I mean, the bottom line is if, it's true that campaign funds were used, obviously, not only is Mr. Edwards in a big bowl of trouble, but Mr. Young is also. I think it's going to ultimately show that Mr. Edwards used his own money. I don't think anything's going to happen.

WHITFIELD: Yes. OK. That was part deux. Do we need a part trois, gentlemen?

FRIEDMAN: Well, duh because it was (INAUDIBLE) Senator deux, right?

WHITFIELD: Oh, right!

(LAUGHTER)

HERMAN: Fred, what a -- what a fall from grace for this guy, Edwards. I mean...

WHITFIELD: I know! Oh!

HERMAN: ... his wife, his kids, his family -- what about the supporters of him that just, you know, did everything they could and believed in this guy?

FRIEDMAN: Well, he's...

HERMAN: What a fraud!

FRIEDMAN: Don't forget he contributes millions to the Poverty Center at the University of North Carolina law school. That doesn't forgive what he's done...

WHITFIELD: Yes.

FRIEDMAN: ... but the fact is, he still is doing important good work.

WHITFIELD: Yes. It's sad in so many different ways. I think most people agree on that. All right, Richard, Avery, thanks so much. You all have a great weekend. I look forward to seeing you.

FRIEDMAN: Good to see you.

HERMAN: Take care.

WHITFIELD: Thanks. All right, Muslim sisterhood -- the nation's first Muslim sorority is committed to service. That story when we come right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: So like any other college sorority, this one has a Greek name, its own colors and flowers and motto. But there's one thing that makes Gamma Gamma Chi different from all the rest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(voice-over): These are the sisters of Gamma Gamma Chi, the first Islamic-based sorority in the country. The women come together to support one another and do service projects in their communities. But there is no casual socializing with men, and drinking alcohol is not allowed.

ALTHIA ALI, PRESIDENT, GAMMA GAMMA CHI: We're much like any other sorority, except the big difference for us is that we do base it on Islamic principles and beliefs in all that do in the organization.

WHITFIELD: Educational consultant Althia Ali founded Gamma Gamma Chi in 2005 to provide an alternative from traditional sororities for Muslim women in search of a sisterhood. Part the sorority's mission is provide a positive image of Muslim women and Islam in general by being visible in their communities, holding food drives, marching in peace walks and offering educational sessions about Islam.

ALI: In many cases, people don't have the opportunity to interact with Muslim women. They see us as women who have on scarves, who usually are voiceless. I think the best way for you to defy a stereotype is to show what you really are about. And by interacting with people, rather than closing yourself off, you allow people to see that you have the same values that they do.

WHITFIELD: At this cafe in Maryland, prospective members socialize with current Gamma sisters from the Washington, D.C., chapter. The sorority has 50 members so far, and five regional chapters in Virginia, Philadelphia, Chicago, North Carolina and Washington, D.C. There are Hispanic, African-American and Jewish sororities across the country. The sisters say there's a real need for sorority for Muslims.

KESHA ABDUL-MATEEN, GAMMA GAMMA CHI SORORITY: I do have friends who are in, I guess, traditional sororities. But being in an Islamic- based sorority, we are able to be Muslim and not be ashamed or have to hide the fact that we are Muslim. We continue our practices as usual. Even when we are out in the community, we stop to pray. When we have events, we stop to pray.

WHITFIELD: Membership in the sorority is open to non-Muslims, as well, and members have already started reaching out to others.

ALI: I came across a woman who told me that she was non-Muslim, but she really liked what we're doing as an organization and that our mission resonated with her. And so she wanted to know how could she become a part of this organization? Because we are trying to bring together people of like mind who have the same goals and aspirations, and this organization is a great way to help to do that.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: States of emergency -- Karen Maginnis explains where.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Nasty, dangerous, bone-chilling weather out there. Karen Maginnis in the Severe Weather Center -- Karen.

MAGINNIS: Yes, even at this hour, Fred, temperatures only in the teens, not going to warm up any more than about three or five degrees. We're watching that storm system that plowed across the panhandle of Texas into Oklahoma and brought down trees and power lines. More than 160,000 without power in Oklahoma last night.

Well, that has moved towards the mid-Atlantic. We're still looking at significant amounts, especially across Virginia. There could be more than a foot in some areas. As I mentioned, lots of temperatures still in the teens -- Richmond at 19. I saw a report out of Richmond just several hours ago. They were reporting snow that was increasing, along with some freezing mist.

Now, the back side this system really has fallen off significantly, but a lot of that snow still affecting portions of Virginia, West Virginia, into Maryland, as well as into New Jersey. But we had the icing problem, significant problem, in North Carolina. Northern sections of South Carolina, as well. And there you see right along the coast of Virginia and in North Carolina, still some icing, or some of that freezing rain and sleet.

Well, there is a storm system for the Pacific Northwest, but we're still monitoring the weather system across the mid-Atlantic -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Good stuff. Thanks so much. Good stuff in a bad stuff kind of way. You know what I mean.

(LAUGHTER)

WHITFIELD: All right, Karen. Thank you.

All right, stay with us throughout the day. At 2:00 PM Eastern, we'll be talking to the Dolans, of course. So if you have money questions, send them to my Facebook page, CNN.com/fredricka, and they will answer your questions and get you on the right financial road.

"YOUR MONEY" starts right now.