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When the Saints Come Marching Home; Northeast Braces for Another Storm This Week; The Legal Intricacies of Ten Jailed American Missionaries
Aired February 08, 2010 - 13:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Let's take it to the next level, CNN NEWSROOM continues right now with Ali Velshi.
Thank you very much. As Tony said, I'll be with you for the next two hours today and every weekday. I'm going to take every important topic we cover and break it down for you and give you a level of detail that will help you make important decisions about your voting, your spending, your safety and your security.
And right now for many people in the country, it's about their safety. A tale of two storms on opposite coasts of this country. Blizzards in the east shutting down airports, closing schools and businesses. All nonessential federal employees in D.C. are at home today. Piles of snow in Virginia collapsed a roof in Bailey's Crossroads, and heavy rain on the West Coast triggered mudslides. Hit especially hard, La Canada Flintridge in Los Angeles County.
Now, these two storms are linked by El Nino, a weather phenomenon over the Pacific.
Let me show you some pictures of some of the weather that we've got going on today. This is -- you're still looking at California. Let's take a look at Little Rock, Arkansas.
The town is getting -- that's downtown Little Rock from KATV. It's getting pounded with snow. And that is headed toward the D.C. area, which got more snow this weekend than you can imagine: 25 inches of snow.
Northern Virginia is expecting six to eight more inches of snow on top of the 20-plus inches it got over the weekend. Let's go see what it looks like over there.
Reynolds Wolf is in Arlington, Virginia. I think he's in Old Town Arlington, Virginia. He joins us now.
Reynolds, what's the situation looking like there?
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, old is definitely the key. The situation that we have here is kind of historic to say the very least. Now, when I say historic, I'm talking about in several ways.
Certainly, some historic snowfall but sights we're seeing are historic. This is Gatsby's (ph) Tavern. This was -- it was back in 1792 where Washington and Jefferson sat around in their powdered wigs and enjoyed a couple of adult beverages. And the reason why I bring it up is there are a lot of people that live around this area, and certainly, around parts of Northern Virginia and even into Maryland, that feeling like they're living back in the 1700s.
Many of people still, tens of thousands without power. A lot of people without water, because you have a lot of broken water pipes. Certainly, some rough things.
But there are some signs of improvement. And one of the things that will be improving will be the roadways. Now, where I stand there is some black ice. But we're beginning to see just a little bit more pavement at this time. But still, you also have some clusters of snow that are packed on some of the -- on the roads.
Now, these are just some of the main thoroughfares you have in this particular area. Now, the interstate is also improving a bit. But still, if you can stay off them, the states -- I'm talking Virginia, talking Maryland, even the District, are advising you stay off the roads.
Now, we're seeing over here -- take a look. We see some cars that are through, some bigger trucks. That's certainly some great news. But again, the side streets, the big side streets where we're having all kinds of problems, that are still choked with snow, you're still choked with all kinds of ice and certainly some tree damage.
Another reason, Ali, why we chose this is particular place to be is because you can see right down the way here, plenty of the trees. A lot of these -- a lot of the streets that you have in this part of the world are tree-lined.
VELSHI: Yes.
WOLF: And at this time they're covered with that heavy snow. And that heavy snow has been causing those tree lines -- the trees to snap. They hit the power lines. The power lines, of course, knock out the power. That's why we have some of the issues.
Some of the people not expected to have their power restored until, say, well, Friday, maybe Saturday or Sunday before power is restored.
So certainly, some rough times...
VELSHI: Yes.
WOLF: ... and with the second dose of snow expected to come through, well, people kind of discouraged.
VELSHI: Yes. The second dose. Of course, you are, as you said, in Old Town Alexandria, part of Arlington County, Virginia. A beautiful, beautiful little town that you're in.
It looks great now. It's probably going to look pretty nice when that snow comes down. Let's just hope those trees don't -- don't down those power lines that you were talking about.
Reynolds, we'll check in with you. Thanks a lot for that.
WOLF: Yes.
VELSHI: Reynolds has been doing yeoman duty all -- all weekend.
Let's take it out west now and tell you what the situation is there. It's not snow, but it isn't pretty. Folks in L.A. County digging out from a river of mud that swept through over the weekend.
More than three dozen homes were mired in muck in one hard-hit area. Some streets are covered in chest-high soupy mud, which has been unleashed by torrential rain. And as you know, California has been having this -- this bad weather, but for a little interval, for a few weeks.
In all, more than 500 homes were affected in communities that were ravaged by wildfires last fall. The foliage is gone from those areas. And that's why mudslides have become more common.
The worst may not be over for California. More rain is expected tomorrow.
All right. Let's continue on with this weather situation, because a lot of people saw this weather this weekend and worried that it was going to do a lot of damage. It's not over. We heard Reynolds saying that we're going to get more snow tonight in that Virginia/D.C. Area.
But here's the problem. As it warms up a little bit, a lot of that snow is melting, and there's a danger now as it gets colder we're going to see more ice. Chad Myers is here with that story -- Chad.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: A couple of dangers, Ali. One, the icicles that will form because of the sun. The air is still below freezing. The sun melts the snow. It dangles off. Don't get underneath those big, giant things.
Also now, we have all of that ice melting on the roadways because the sun is out. Guess what's going to happen at 6 p.m.? There's not going to be any sun anymore. It's all going to refreeze, all going to have to be re-salted. Even if it was salted before, that salt has now washed away, run away into the gutters. And now we have another area that's going to refreeze. So what looks like it's really good right now will not be.
VELSHI: And it really did. I mean, we're looking at Reynolds out there, and it looks perfect.
MYERS: Yes. Looks fine.
VELSHI: But for some snow.
MYERS: How can there be 25 inches of snow anywhere from what he was showing us?
VELSHI: Yes.
MYERS: But obviously, you get away from that one road, it's there.
Little Rock, we just showed you those pictures. We might as well take you back to them again, because they are quite impressive. This whole bright band looks like a thunderstorm. That's, in fact, sleet to your south. Ice shows up very well on radar. That's why it looks like a thunderstorm, but in fact, all it will be is the snow will change over to a sleet storm for you later on.
And I'll tell you what. I know the Atlanta drivers can't drive in snow.
VELSHI: Yes.
MYERS: I'm pretty sure Little Rock doesn't have a lot of practice either. We're not just talking about areas that get to drive in 5 to 15, 20 times, like people from Green Bay going, "Get out of my way." I can just keep...
VELSHI: Right.
MYERS: "Stop going so slowly."
But the storm does head to the east. I expect probably eight more inches of snow in D.C.
VELSHI: Wow.
MYERS: That starts tomorrow night and all day Wednesday.
VELSHI: And how far -- how wide is that band? D.C. to northern Virginia.
MYERS: Gets all the way to New York City this time. I think we could get probably four to eight, depending on where you are: four up toward Westchester, eight down toward the Amboise (ph) and down into the Bronx. As we get farther to the south the more south that will be. When you get down to Richmond, again, it will be another rain event, rather than snow event. So...
VELSHI: We talked about...
MYERS: And another one on Saturday and Sunday...
VELSHI: There you go.
MYERS: ... just in case that's not enough.
VELSHI: Well, you talked -- we talked a little bit earlier about how El Nino is influencing this. Soon, the next hour we're going to come back, and you're going to take us off the radar a little bit and explain to us. A lot of years ago I remember learning about El Nino. It's the issue here. We'll talk more about that.
MYERS: It's warm water in the Pacific that just happens to get there every once in awhile.
VELSHI: All right. We'll find out about that.
MYERS: All right.
VELSHI: Hey, listen, one thing I've been telling you about is Toyota: how could it handle this whole -- this brake situation better? Maybe with an apology. Well, that's one of the things that we're actually going to be discussing. They've made one. I'll tell you about it when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: One of the things I was discussing last week is whether Toyota could do a better job in its public relations with respect to these recalls that they've had. And on Friday, we got news that they actually did say they were sorry, and now they've launched a public relations blitz to try and get that message across.
Here's what they aired on TV.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For over 50 years, providing you with safe, reliable, high-quality vehicles has been our first priority. In recent days, our company hasn't been living up to the standards that you've come to expect from us or that we expect from ourselves. That's why 172,000 Toyota and dealership employees are dedicated to making things right.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI: All right. Even I have to admit that sort of hits the spot there. Toyota has been making safe cars for a very, very long time, and they're realizing that their reputation has been hard hit.
The story continues, though there still continue to be problems with these Priuses, we still have not got official word of a recall from Toyota.
Let's bring in Poppy Harlow, CNNmoney.com's Poppy Harlow, who's in New York and has been following this story at every turn. What have we got now, Poppy?
POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: I mean, Ali, those ads so interesting. They started airing on Sunday. Saw one right as the Super Bowl ended. But all of this, both as Toyota gears up for what some media reports are saying will be yet another recall for this battered company.
Let's take a look at where we stand now. If you own a Prius, here's what you need to know.
There has not been a recall yet, but the company has admitted last week there are problems with the brakes. They're working to fix that. They say a fix is close. No recall yet.
It's the middle of the night in Japan. If we hear something, it will like will likely be on Tuesday morning, Ali. That's what a number of reports are saying. That's where it stands with the Prius. They're working on the fix.
Where does it stand with the other eight recalled models that they're dealing with, which by the way, makes up 60 percent of their inventory.
Let's take a look at some live pictures, because you've got Toyota plants up and running now. And now the biggest one in North America is located in Georgetown, Kentucky. They resumed work there this morning at 6:30 a.m. Eastern Time after a week of being offline.
What they're pumping out there are mainly Camrys that were part of the recall. They, of course, now have the fix, Ali. They have the fixed accelerator pedal. And they are pumping out those Camrys and those other seven recalled models now at plants across the country, Ali.
But we had a chance to talk to one of the employees there and ask her. Our CNN photo journalist, Rick Hall, asked her what's the situation right now; how are things going, being on the inside of Toyota? Take a listen to what she had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RENEE BROWN, TOYOTA PLANT EMPLOYEE: It's been kind of scary. Of course, we're all very concerned about the recall. We do take it very personally.
I mean, Toyota always has the perception that we build cars like our family's going to drive it. So we're very adamant about our quality.
Are we worried? Oh, definitely. It's the talk of the south when the lines are down.
But you know, we've had a chance to refocus. Even though we have great quality checks and stuff in place, I mean, now we're even -- even stronger. I mean, it's going to make us stronger as a company.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARLOW: All right. Now Ali, you heard her say the word "quality."
VELSHI: Yes.
HARLOW: That is the message that this company is sending home. It's all about quality. And the big question is now will they relate that to the consumers?
VELSHI: All right. Now, Toyota's U.S. president did something, as well, that was interesting over the weekend. Getting involved with Digg, the social networking site.
HARLOW: Yes.
VELSHI: User-generated social networking. Tell me a little bit about that.
HARLOW: Yes. I mean, if we ever questioned how important social networking is to big companies, we know now. The head of Toyota U.S. sales is using social networking, is using Digg.com to take your questions. So far 1,300-plus people have posted their questions for Toyota on the Web site.
Let's take a look at some of them. Some very interesting questions. We read through a lot of them this morning. One of the first once comes -- and this is something he'll have to answer. This person wrote in, "What did Toyota know? When did they know it? Please explain how long it took from the time you heard rumors of acceleration problems to the time you took action via recalls or stopping sales."
That's one question. They want to know a time line here.
Another person had a very different take, Ali. This is interesting. I think you'll find it interesting, as well. He wrote, "Do you believe Toyota is being unfairly maligned due to this recall and the brake problems on the hybrids? Ford had a similar brake problem on its Fusion hybrid, but no one's paying attention to those issues. Why is Toyota getting all the attention?"
Remember that last week...
VELSHI: Yes.
HARLOW: ... when Ford came out, Ali, with a press release saying, "We're looking into this, as well"? But it's not getting the headlines Toyota is. They have many more issues to deal with, of course.
VELSHI: Yes. Well, it's interesting that they're turning to social media on this.
Poppy, thanks very much.
HARLOW: Got you.
VELSHI: You, of course, and the CNNmoney team will be on top of the story and every development. It does appear that we know that there will be more developments, obviously, with this Prius situation.
All right. When we come back, listen, February 22 -- what is it now? It's the 8th. February 22, brand new credit-card rules take effect in the United States. You need to know what they are. They affect what you're going to pay, how you're going to find out about credit-card interest rate increases.
When we come back, Christine Romans is going to break this all down for you. Stay with us. You're watching CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: Christine Romans, my co-host on "YOUR $$$$$," which airs on CNN on the weekends, is joining me now to tell us about some new credit-card rules that have come into effect.
Christine also does something called "The Romans Numeral" every day. I don't want to tell everyone what it is. I want you to do that at the end, Christine, because it -- I mean, I know all about credit, and this one floored me.
But there are new rules going into effect on February 22 that are going to be important to everybody who uses a credit card.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: A whole new world, Ali, is coming in your mailbox. For the first time, you're going to get a credit- card statement that very clearly tells you how long it's going to take for you to pay off your debts.
Very clearly, on the top of it, no matter who your credit-card company is, it's going to tell you, Ali, if you were going to pay off your debts in 36 months, if it took 36 months to get risk -- to get debt free, how much money would you have to pay every month. It would also tell you if you make no additional charges using the card and you pay each month only the minimum, how long is it going to pay that off. I think a lot of people don't know the answer to that question.
VELSHI: I think most people probably aren't even close to knowing the answer to that question.
ROMANS: Or they think they will know, and they don't. It's going to show you exactly how much you paid in interest, exactly how much you paid in fees. You're going to have more information about how expensive it is to borrow money...
VELSHI: Yes.
ROMANS: ... and to carry a balance than ever before.
And remember, your effective interest rate, if you pay it off your credit card every month, is zero. So for people who are carrying a big balance, this is going to really show you...
VELSHI: Yes.
ROMANS: ... how expensive it is.
Let me show you quickly, Ali, the new rules. These are protections, really, to help you. And on balance consumer advocates say they're good for you.
Forty-five days notice before raising any interest rates and fees. No rate hikes for the first year in most cases. Get rid of overdraft fees. They're going to have to get your permission to charge you for an overdraft. Don't give them permission.
And some restrictions for people under 21. If you're under 21, you're going to have to be able to show that you have cash-flow earnings, or you're going to have to have your parents or grandparents sign for you.
Watch out, though. The people at Credit.com say they will find new ways to try to get your money.
VELSHI: Yes. And the sad part is the Federal Reserve gave them so much headway on these new rules that the credit-card companies have fleeced a lot of people between the time the rules were announced and February 22.
ROMANS: Interest rates are going up already.
VELSHI: Yes.
ROMANS: They can give you an inactivity fee. Remember, we used to tell people...
VELSHI: Yes, yes.
ROMANS: ... put your credit cards on ice? Well, now, if you do that, you're going to get at inactivity fee.
VELSHI: You get up, generally, earlier than I do in the morning. And I was a little sleepless. I got up and I checked the e-mail on your "Romans Numeral" this morning. And I've got to tell you, I lost my sleep. I could not get back to sleep after seeing this. Tell us what "The Romans Numeral" is today.
ROMANS: This is the shock. This is the shock that's coming in your mailbox next month. Forty-eight years is "The Romans Numeral," Ali. Do you want -- do you want me to give the drum roll and the answer?
VELSHI: Yes. OK. There -- wow, it's there. It's on screen. Go take it.
ROMANS: It's the time it will take you to pay off $10,000 of credit-card debt if you only make minimum payments.
VELSHI: Wow.
ROMANS: That's assuming no new charges and 18 percent annual percentage rate. So think of that. Many, many people have $10,000 in credit-card debt.
VELSHI: Yes.
ROMANS: It would take you 48 years to be debt free if you only pay the minimum payment. Bottom line: you have to pay more than the minimum payment. Try not to carry a balance. For God's sakes, pay on time. Because, you know, with these new credit-card rules to protect you...
VELSHI: Yes.
ROMANS: ... the minute you're 60 days late...
VELSHI: Yes, you're not protected.
ROMANS: ... your protection -- you're not protected.
VELSHI: Good point. You're not protected against -- and you and I have always made this point. You're not protected about -- against borrowing someone's money and being irresponsible with it or not planning to pay it, or not paying on time. These are protections for people who have followed the rules and who have been fleeced.
ROMANS: Yes. And there has been a lot of real shenanigans, we know. Just think of it. A couple years ago, Ali, we paid more as a nation in overdraft fees then we did for fresh vegetables.
VELSHI: Wow.
ROMANS: So there's a lot of money out there that these banks and credit-card lenders are looking for. A lot of the -- and they're not going to get, because these new rules have made it much more difficult for them to get what we would say -- what we would call egregious fees.
VELSHI: Yes.
ROMANS: But I think a lot of the credit-card analysts, they're kind of scratching their heads, saying there are going to be new fees invented that we can't even think up...
VELSHI: Yes.
ROMANS: ... of yet. So be careful. Pay on time.
VELSHI: All right, 48 years if you have $10,000 in debt, assuming an 18 percent interest rate, which a lot of people have. Forty-eight years if you just make the minimum payments. Incredible.
Christine, you're in Washington. We'll talk to you tomorrow.
ROMANS: Yes.
VELSHI: Great to see you as always, Christine Romans. You can watch us both on "YOUR $$$$$," Saturdays at 1 p.m. Eastern and Sundays at 3 p.m. Eastern.
OK. Let's check some top stories now.
What caused the deadly explosion at a power plant that was being built in Connecticut? State and federal officials are launching an investigation today in Middletown to find out. The blast yesterday killed at least five people and injured a dozen. Michael Jackson's personal doctor, Conrad Murray, is expected to surrender to authorities later this afternoon. Meantime, L.A. prosecutors, they plan to file charges in the singer's death last summer.
No specifics, but Murray's lawyers say he expects to be charged.
And in Washington, you -- Washington, coming to you live on TV, President Obama's health-care reform summit with Democrats and Republicans. The half-day event is set for February the 25th. The move is seen as an attempt by the president to regain control of one of his top domestic priorities. And of course, we will cover it right here on CNN.
OK. There's been an outbreak of mumps in the country. We're going to tell you about it as soon as we come back. Elizabeth Cohen is on her way to the set to tell us about this outbreak and how it could affect you.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: All right. This is something you don't hear. I'm reading in on it. You don't hear about this every day. There's a mumps outbreak. Senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen is joining me now with more on this.
What do we know about this?
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You don't hear about this much. because kids get vaccinated...
VELSHI: Right.
COHEN: ... from measles and mumps. But it appears in this particular community in New York that there was not -- there was at least a small percentage, but a sizable percentage who were not getting vaccinated.
Here's what we know. In this community in New York -- and this was a religious Jewish community -- there are now 494 confirmed cases of mumps.
VELSHI: Wow.
COHEN: Yes, that's a lot. OK, 494, and keep in mind that usually there's, like, maybe 200, 300 cases of mumps a year in the whole country.
VELSHI: Right.
COHEN: And in this one outbreak, we have nearly 500 confirmed, 38 more that are probable, and 41 that are under investigation.
And it appears to have started with a kid from Britain who came to summer camp in upstate New York.
VELSHI: OK.
COHEN: And now we've got upstate New York. We've got Brooklyn. We've got New Jersey. It's kind of spread to a lot of different places.
VELSHI: Mumps, obviously, in 2010 is not the same as it was in 1893 or something. I mean, this was something that can be controlled, or they isolate these kids, generally. What happens?
COHEN: Well, you can -- you kind of have to wait for it to run its course.
VELSHI: Right.
COHEN: And most of the time, kids are fine. I mean, I remember I had mumps.
VELSHI: Right. Right, I remember. Yes, yes.
COHEN: I'm not that old. OK, and so are you, apparently. But -- but some kids die from the mumps, and some kids get meningitis. It's rare, but because there are these complications...
VELSHI: Right.
COHEN: ... that's why they tell you vaccinate your kid.
VELSHI: Very interesting. All right. We'll continue to cover that. Thanks very much.
Elizabeth Cohen on the story of mumps in New York.
All right. We're covering the story of this weather development in the -- in the Northeast and the Atlantic states. If you were watching it, you might have had the impression that, in fact, this is over. But it's not over.
Reynolds Wolf is in -- we just talked to him. He was in Arlington County in Alexandria, Virginia, where it looks like a perfectly sunny day, where they've cleared some snow. But what he's really doing is getting ready for more snow coming tonight.
Chad Myers is following that. That storm center is now in the southeast of the country and looking pretty serious and headed back out. So there's more snow coming to those areas that were hit this weekend.
MYERS: Well, in the -- here's what happens when you don't change the Jet Stream. Let's get color here.
The Jet Stream comes in and it runs. We talked about in this. There's a river. There's a road that all the roads...
VELSHI: Yes.
MYERS: ... that all the storms come in on. One storm after another after another.
What we like to see is for it to change, just to move offshore. And all of a sudden, there's a trough. OK, it's cold, but you're not on the road any more.
VELSHI: Right.
MYERS: The road misses you.
Well, the road is still directly over the northeast, and that snow is still going to come down.
And we looked at some of Reynolds' live shots. It was like, ho- hum, looks like about that much snow.
VELSHI: Right.
MYERS: That's in the road that has been plowed and shoveled very well over the past 48 hours.
VELSHI: Right.
MYERS: Dulles got 32 inches of snow.
VELSHI: Incredible.
MYERS: Outside the beltway, but the beltway at Reagan National, 17.8; Baltimore, 24. Even some areas around Timonium, more than that.
VELSHI: Now Reynolds, in Old Town Alexandria, across -- just across the river from Reagan.
MYERS: This is a place I'd want to vacation today.
VELSHI: Yes.
MYERS: Except you can't get there from here, or if you can, you're trudging through some snow.
VELSHI: So what are we thinking: six, eight more inches around here tonight?
MYERS: I think we start tomorrow night.
VELSHI: OK, tomorrow night.
MYERS: And we end Wednesday night with another eight inches of snow on top of this that you've already shoveled.
VELSHI: And not to be too gloomy, but you said another one on the weekend?
MYERS: Yes, same road, not moving.
VELSHI: That same road. It's not...
MYERS: No. Another low coming in. It could even be snowing here in Atlanta. Are you leaving for the weekend?
VELSHI : No, I'm here this week.
MYERS: OK.
VELSHI: I'm enjoying -- I've got to tell you, I've been dodging the storms. I like it.
All right. Good to see you, Chad. We'll talk to you a little bit later.
Listen, Super Bowl. Go Saints. We're going to go down to New Orleans and see how it's -- how it's feeling to be from that city when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Who dat say they're going to beat the Saints? Who dat?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI: All right. That's Delta flight on the tarmac in Miami, Miami International Airport. The Saints are on that plane, and they're going home. The plane is ready to take off to New Orleans.
And just moments ago -- you can't see it now but just moments ago, if you were able to notice that plane, it's, you know, might be a little wet. Might be a few drops on it. That's because they were just subject to a water cannon salute by the local fire department.
That plane moving nice and slow, getting ready to take off and take those Saints back home. Not exactly a march, but a flight.
When they get there there's going to be a roaring celebration in New Orleans after the Saints won their very first Super Bowl. The French Quarter swarming now with rowdy partiers. They're toasting the champs. They're also celebrating the city itself, parts of which are still devastated from Hurricane Katrina.
Here's Ed Lavandera.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They've spent the night stumbling and staggering through the French Quarter, but they are smiling in New Orleans. This is the Bourbon Street hangover, and by all accounts, it has been a party for the ages.
(voice-over): Euphoria and pandemonium erupts in New Orleans' French Quarter. Even the city that likes to brag it perfected the art of partying has never seen a celebration like this.
This moment is a dream come true for Angie Koehlar, who grew up in New Orleans' French Quarter. And caught up in this moment, she told me, when she dies, she wants to be buried in this homemade jacket painted in honor of the Saints which she wore when they won the Super Bowl.
(on camera): Angie, what does this mean to this city?
ANGIE KOEHLAR, NEW ORLEANS RESIDENT: This is everything. This is, collectively, this is the happiest days of our lives. Through the region -- Louisiana, the Gulf Coast -- thank you, everybody, for your support. We are truly the happiest place on earth. Disney World has nothing on New Orleans.
LAVANDERA (voice-over): The magnitude of the Saints' victory is not lost on the team's most popular player, quarterback Drew Brees.
DREW BREES, SAINTS QUARTERBACK: What can I say? We played for so much more than just ourselves. We played for our city. We played for the entire Gulf Coast region. We played for all the -- the entire Who Dat nation.
LAVANDERA: More than four years after Hurricane Katrina, the theme of New Orleans coming back from the brink of death runs deep through the city.
UNIDENTIFIED FANS: Who dat? Who dat saying you going to beat them Saints? Who dat? Who dat?
LAVANDERA: Overshadowed by the Saints' Super Bowl victory was the election of a new mayor on Saturday. Mitch Landrieu won a decisive victory with more than 60 percent of the vote, becoming the city's first white mayor since his father left office 32 years ago.
MITCH LANDRIEU, MAYOR-ELECT, NEW ORLEANS: The only way to do that is for us to seek, to find, and to secure higher common ground where we come together as one people and do what is necessary to secure our future.
RAY NAGIN, OUTGOING MAYOR, NEW ORLEANS: We're going to party like it's 1999.
LAVANDERA: Just days before the Super Bowl, we caught up with outgoing mayor Ray Nagin, who could only imagine what a Super Bowl party would do to a city already celebrating a rowdy Mardi Gras season.
(on camera): Will you say a little prayer -- prayer for New Orleans?
NAGIN: Well, I think you're going to pray for us after. There's going to be a lot of people in Detox and you know, AA, what have you.
LAVANDERA (voice-over): New Orleans is back, and who knows when this party will end.
(on camera): And now that the sun has come up on a long night of celebration here in New Orleans, it still doesn't show any signs of slowing up. The Saints return home to the Crescent City later on today and then a big city-wide parade on Tuesday afternoon. And we've heard that many schools and businesses will be shutting down to celebrate this moment.
Ed Lavandera, CNN, New Orleans.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VELSHI: How can you not be thrilled about that?
OK, take a look at that. That's that Delta plan I was telling you about. There's the water cannons, the fire department spraying the Delta flight with the Saints on it as a salute to their first-ever Super Bowl victory. There you go, a little car wash for the Delta flight. Saved them a little money. Hopefully, you'll see that in your tickets. And they are on their way to New Orleans. That flight should be wheels up any moment. And as Ed said, they'll be landing in New Orleans to a very, very warm welcome. And despite the fact that you might not have been rooting for the Saints, you can't but be happy for good news in that city.
All right, last night, while you were sleeping, there was a big development in the space shuttle program. Some history was made, we're going to tell you about it when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: Let's take a look at the latest headlines.
In Afghanistan, a major battle is on the horizon in the town of Marjah, and Allied Forces want the Taliban to know about it. NATO troops are preparing to launch Operation Mushtarak, that is Dari, that's the Pastun language. It means "together." This is the biggest offensive since the war began. American soldiers, NATO troops and Afghan soldiers. They hope the advanced warning will either draw Taliban fighters out into the open or convince them to put down their weapons.
In Florida, Space Shuttle Endeavour blasted off just after 4:00 a.m. Eastern. It was the last scheduled night launch of the shuttle as the program winds down with just four more flights. Endeavour is carrying six astronauts on its last big construction mission to the International Space Station.
And Michael Jackson's personal doctor, Conrad Murray, is expected to surrender to authorities later this afternoon. Meantime, L.A. prosecutors plan to file charges in the singer's death last summer. No specifics, but Murrays lawyers do say he expects to be charged.
All right, when we come back, we are going to take a look at flights going to be canceled again. Flights cancelled again. Those were canceled over the weekend because of the snow and now, as Chad and Reynolds have been telling us, more cancellations expected in the mid-Atlantic states. We'll tell you about that as soon as we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: Ah, the deejay is back.
Check that out -- did you see that Colesville, Maryland, 40 inches of snow? Philadelphia 28 inches. And folks are cleaning up, look at that. It at least looks sunny and people are clearing out, but that is not the full story. In fact, that's far from the full story. Here, as Reynolds was saying, is what a lot of the problem is -- heavy snow, a watery heavy snow on branches affecting power lines leaving a lot of people without power from the weekend snowstorm.
And there's more on the way. The storm is now dumping snow -- this is a new storm, not the one that passed this weekend -- a new one is dumping snow on Little Rock, Arkansas, Memphis, Tennessee and heading northeast.
Up in the northeast, several flights still canceled in and out of the D.C. area. We just showed you some pictures at Regan National Airport, let's go there live. Sarah Lee is there with a handle on the situation.
Sarah, what is the situation there? It looks quieter than it would normally around this time of day at Regan National.
SARAH LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, but we definitely are seeing a lot more activity than we have for the past couple of days here. Taking a look at the terminal, you are seeing passengers. I mean, before it was just us and the cleaning crew out here.
Let's take a look at the board. You can see all those canceled indicators now have switched over to either "on time" or of course, we do have some delays because of all that backlog.
Let's take a look at the ramp area here. If we shoot out this way, you can see, we finally have aircraft here. We did not have aircraft here all morning because the plows were still going. They were working on the refreeze even from last night trying to get that all chopped up and scraped away. The sun is up now. There's a little more friction with vehicles going over the ice. So that is melting.
To give you any perspective about how significant this is to see these planes here, only about seven to ten planes they estimate rode out the storm here. This airport has 44 gates. So we are now starting to see some of these birds fly back in.
And just in case you were wondering, Ali, the first plane out of here this morning when they reopened at 10:00 was a flight to the Bahamas and I was tempted to get on board.
(LAUGHTER)
VELSHI: No kidding. That must have had a lot of eager people on it.
Look, interesting point you make, because when you look out that window and you see that tarmac and it looks completely clear because they got -- this is what happened on Friday, they got all the planes out of that area so that they could plow it and salt it. And that's why it looks so clear, I guess.
LEE: That's right. But, you know, Ali, there is a challenge here at Reagan National Airport in particular. This is a relatively small airport compared to other major city airports; only about 800 acres here. So they can't just push the snow out of the way, they actually have to haul it away in trucks. And when they got down beneath that, they found there was about five inches of ice. So they really had to get down there and start chipping away at it to be able to get all this dry pavement.
And of course, we have the other storm forecasted, so they want to get this as dry as possible so they can start pretreating that before the next storm comes in.
VELSHI: Yes, and Chad was telling us we've got another one coming -- that one that you're talking about -- tomorrow night and then more snow coming on the weekend. So this remains a challenge for transportation in the area that you're in.
LEE: That's right. And also, we've been talking with the -- with Amtrak. We've been checking out the rails because they were also significantly impacted. But today, they do assure us for the northeast corridor, which is heavily traveled here from Washington, D.C. up to New York, that they are operational today. All the Acela trains, the fast ones, you know, they are all operational. The regional trains, though, do have some have some cancellations. So of course, as always, we remind you before you head out to the airport, before you head out to the train station, call ahead.
VELSHI: All right, Sarah, thanks very much. And as Chad says, that storm is headed to roughly the same area, but might actually go further north, might actually hit you a little more if you're in New York City.
When we come back, we've been following Karl Penhaul who has been following this Haiti adoption saga, these American who went down there, they say, to adopt children. When we come back, we're going to tell you about a lot of developments that have occurred in the last couple days that you may not have known about. Karl Penhaul standing by in Port-au-Prince. We'll be back to talk to him right after this break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: All right. If you don't think you have a complete handle on this Haitian adoption saga with the American missionaries, you're not alone. This is a complicated, tricky story. Let's just run through this for a moment.
Back on January 29th, ten Americans were arrested for trying to take 33 children from Haiti to the Dominican Republic and ostensibly onward from there. The issue is that 20 of those children still have parents. February 4th, those ten Americans -- they're missionaries -- were charged by the government with kidnapping and criminal association. Their leader, the leader of this group of missionaries, Laura Silsby, says that she had help from a Haitian police officer and permission from the Dominican Republic to bring these children in.
Now today, those missionaries are going to be questioned by a judge, and this comes after their Haitian lawyer has quit among allegations that he took money. This is all very, very complicated. Let's go to Port-au-Prince where Karl Penhaul has been following the story very closely. Karl was following whether or not those Americans were going to be released or charged ultimately. It was decided they were going to be detained but Karl, this story seemed cut-and-dry last week. It's not at all now.
KARL PENHAUL, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT : Yes, certainly not cut and dried, and it does seem to get more complex by the day. What we do know though, is the Americans last week were formally charged with kidnapping children and with criminal association. And so today, back in court before an examining judge, five of the ten Americans, Laura Silsby and her nanny Carissa Cortridge (ph), two of the five in court and the other three are three of the men. The other five will appear before the examining judge again tomorrow, Ali.
VELSHI: All right. What do we know about Laura Silsby? You've spoken to this group a couple of times, a few times. What do we know about Laura Silsby, who's the leader of this group?
PENHAUL: Well, of course, we do know, and our colleague Dan Simon has been digging back into that back in Idaho, that she does have financial problems and has had a string of financial problems back in her home state.
Here in Haiti, we know she was the team leader of this group of ten Americans. She was the one who told news interviews that she had legal permission from at least the Dominican government to take 33 babies and children into the Dominican Republic to an orphanage there. She did admit to us she had no permission from the Haitian government.
We've checked all that out. The Dominican consulate has told us categorically that she had no permission whatsoever from the Dominican government, and the reason she didn't have that is because she had no reciprocal permission from the Haitian government. So, essentially, the authorities are saying that Laura Silsby knew what she was doing was illegal and that she had no paperwork to do what she was doing. But nevertheless know pushed on, regardless, knowing what she was doing was illegal, Ali.
VELSHI: And it would be very clear to most people, if you were even remotely interested in the idea of adoption, that you would know you can't sort of move people around countries without documentation.
But the plot thickens yet again. The group's Haitian lawyer, I said earlier, has quit. And there's some allegations that he had taken money. That's only half the story. It's what he allegedly did with the money. There are some rumblings, and I don't know if we know this to be true, that there may have been payoffs to get these children out of Haiti. PENHAUL: We talked with the defense lawyer, who he says is now resigned. Edwin Coch (ph). We talked to him over the weekend, and he said straight up that he asked for a $50,000 payment to represent the ten Americans. He said that he asked two family members of the Americans for part of that payment upfront, and he said in the course of three days, he received no money up front. He also said he increased his fee to $60,000 once the Americans were formerly charged because quite simply, this is a much more complex case now that could take nine months to resolve.
He was very upfront about his costs. We then heard the allegations of bribery coming from a Dominican lawyer who said he was the one who hired the Haitian lawyer in the first place. The Haitian lawyer says he was hired directly by the family members.
What we do know, though, that Haitian lawyer is no longer the legal defense for the ten Americans, and this morning, the Dominican lawyer, Jorge Puello (ph), showed up in court here in Haiti, saying that he was -- that he had now come to put together a defense team to defend the Americans. He also said that he had some documents to prove that the Dominican government had given permission for the kids to go into the Dominican Republic. That, of course though, the Dominican consulate here says that's not the case. They never gave any papers, Ali.
VELSHI: And Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said this is now a matter for the Haitian courts to decide, which is sort of a shorthand for we're not coming in to somehow rescue these Americans. What could happen to these missionaries if the Haitians decide to throw the book at them?
PENHAUL: Right, well, there had been some thought that the Clintons may be intervening, but today, the State Department says let the Haitian justice deal with this, and we'll talk to the Haitians through the normal channels.
But, if you look at -- if the Americans are convicted here, then theoretically under Haitian law, the crime of kidnapping carries a life -- can carry a maximum life sentence. That generally is for kidnapping with ransom. Simple kidnapping without ransom would generally carry a three to nine-year term here in Haiti.
But legal experts have told us that there will be a number of aggravating circumstances such as the young age of the kids - the youngest was just 2 months old -- the number of the kids, 33 in total, and also the fact that there was a possibility that some of these children may be put into adoption for economic benefit for that group. All of which that could amount to possible sentences much longer than nine years.
Then add to that the other charge of criminal association, which could carry a three- to 15- year sentence. So, if any or all of them are convicted, they could be facing a lengthy sentence behind bars and believe you me, conditions in Haitian jails are not nice.
VELSHI: No kidding. They probably weren't nice before the earthquake, and I can't imagine they've improved. Karl, thanks very much. This is a staggeringly complex story that you've got your head around, and of course, we'll stay on top of this. These ten Americans charged now in Haiti. Karl Penhaul in Port-au-Prince.
OK. One thing we are expecting to happen later this afternoon, we've been told by Dr. Conrad Murray's lawyers that it's expected to happen, Michael Jackson's doctor, Dr. Conrad Murray, is expected to be surrendering soon to authorities in Los Angeles. We'll tell you what he's thought to be surrendering about. What he thinks he's going to be charged with, when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: About two-and-a-half hours from now, we are expecting Michael Jackson's personal doctor to turn himself in. That's been around for a while, so we'll tell you when it actually happens. His lawyers say Dr. Conrad Murray will surrender at an L.A. courthouse. Prosecutors have said they plan to file charges in Michael Jackson's death today, but they haven't said who they'll charge or what they'll charge them with.
Dr. Murray -- you may recall and if you don't, we'll remind you -- was with Michael Jackson at his mansion last summer on the day the pop icon died. He says he gave him sleep aids. Now, the L.A. County coroner ruled the death was a homicide resulting from a combo of drugs, including the powerful sedative from Propofol. Propofol is a drug that was administered to Michael Jackson, who had been treated for insomnia. This is what Dr. Conrad Murray said. He had been treating him for insomnia for six weeks. He told investigators he gave Michael Jackson 50 milligrams of Propofol, the generic name for Diprivan. And he diluted it with an anesthetic, Lidocain. He gave it every night by an intravenous drip.
Now, the L.A. County coroner had ruled that the death was a homicide resulting from a combination of drugs, primarily Propofol or Diprivan, and Lorazapam (ph).
Now, let's discuss Diprivan for a while. This is that drug that is n question. It is used safely in the operating room, but not safely outside of that. Sanjay Gupta gives us a firsthand look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: (on camera): So we are here inside the operating room with Dr. Gershon. He's the chief of anesthesiology here. Propofol is a medication he uses all the time.
So is this right over here?
DR. RAPHAEL GERSHON, CHIEF OF ANESTHESIOLOGY, GRADY MEMORIAL HOSPITAL: Yes.
GUPTA: Looks like -- milk of amnesia, they call it.
GERSHON: Milk of amnesia. Vincent, you OK? We have to monitor his EKG. We have to monitor his enphyloceal 2. We have to make sure that he's breathing. We have to see its saturation. We have to make sure he's ventilating.
GUPTA: So these are all -- that's all typical stuff in the time you uses this medication.
GERSHON: Standard of care. Yes.
GUPTA: OK, so the Propofol.
GERSHON: We're going to start infusing this. You're going to get a little sleepy, Vincent.
OK, give me some good deep breaths.
GUPTA: So we'll just go and take a look at his eyes how...
GERSHON: Deep breath, Vincent. Doing great. May feel a little burning, OK?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Deep breath.
GERSHON: Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one.
GUPTA: There's the reason for his heart rate increasing?
GERSHON: Yes.
See, his eyes are closed.
GUPTA: His eyes closed. And what else are you looking for?
GERSHON: Now, we look up here. He stopped breathing. So, this is -- watching his enphyloceal 2, and he is not breathing anymore. And my wonderful (INAUDIBLE) is going to help him breathe.
GUPTA: So, take a look over here. All the breathing right now is taking place with this bag and this mask. From that medication, he wouldn't be able to breathe on his own without those things.
Well, there, you can see part of the problem. Just with that much propofol there, he stopped breathing, and he's going to need a breathing tube.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Easy.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Easy.
(CROSSTALK)
GUPTA: What -- what is so attractive about this medication?
GERSHON: Well, (INAUDIBLE) has been in the advent in the last 10 years or so, even more, 15 years. And it's just basically a quick on, quick off.
And that may answer why people may think that this is something they could do at home, because, if it gets out of hand, it goes away quickly. The problem is, it gets out of hand, and there's nobody there to resuscitate you, then nobody could bring you back.
GUPTA: So, that was pretty quick. You just made some of the medication, and you're going to...
(CROSSTALK)
GERSHON: Five, 10 minutes.
GUPTA: Five, 10 minutes, he has gone from being completely awake to being completely asleep.
GERSHON: He's not breathing. I'm breathing for him.
GUPTA: One thing that's worth pointing out, John and Carol, is that this is obviously an operating room. This is a medication that's used thousands of times in a setting like this. But it can also be used in outpatient medical settings. But Dr. Gershon will tell you, other doctors here, they have never heard it being used in the home.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
