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Mid-Atlantic Misery; Urban Economy Summit; On the Offensive in Afghanistan

Aired February 10, 2010 - 09:00   ET

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

T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you Fredricka.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: All right, T.J. and Kiran, good to see you.

An ugly day if you're trying to get around in the northeast but, of course, a beautiful day if you're staying put. It is 9:00 on the East Coast, 6:00 a.m. out west. I'm Fredricka Whitfield in for Kyra Phillips, here's what we're working on this morning.

Whipping winds and heavy snow. Much of the northeast now under a blizzard warning. Live reports straight ahead.

And burning in the bible belt. Two more church fires erupt in east Texas. Add it to seven others deliberately set.

And an ambulance joyride? Police say a drunk man took the wheel while paramedics were working on a patient.

Hello, everyone. Everything on top this morning. Other things on tap. At the White House the jobless rate and President Obama will be meeting with a number of African-American leaders to talk economics.

Suzanne Malveaux will be joining us from the White House.

And our Rob Marciano, well, he is also keeping tabs on the weather picture. Look, it's very snowy there throughout the northeast. He's in New York. We'll be checking in with him.

And our Reynolds Wolf, he's in the snowy nation's capital as well. We'll be checking in with him momentarily.

All right. Let's get started right now with our blizzard warning that now blankets much of the eastern seaboard. Rob Marciano is in New York's Central Park.

Rob, it looks like a little fun there.

ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: You know, right now people are excited about it. A lot of folks in New York kind of feel like they got dissed a little bit with all of the action the past couple of weeks, going down to Philly and Washington, D.C. and Baltimore.

And now they're getting a little piece of the action but I have a feeling their childlike excitement might turn to a bit of a grimace later on today.

Gentle snow has been falling for much of the morning. Blizzard warnings, as you've mentioned, are now in effect through the rest of today. And some of the snow will be coming down heavier and blowing sideways at times.

Right now we've seen about two, three inches on the ground here in Central Park. A little less as you go on to some of the streets but the plows are up for the -- to clear the sidewalks here at Central Park and there are plows that are ready to go across the entire New York metropolitan area.

Sixteen hundred of them, as a matter of fact, 600 salt spreaders. And -- well, the city's ready to go. For every inch of snow that they get it costs about $1 million to clear that away.

The schools have been shut down. The mayor made that proclamation yesterday to the delight of millions of youngsters. It's only the third time in the last six or eight years, I believe, that they've actually done that. So a fairly rare event.

So it's a pretty sight right now. As far as traffic is concerned, here's Columbus Circle. Still a bit slushy. Yesterday temperatures were in the lower 40s. So that kept the ground a little bit warm, of course. The heat island of the island kind of keeping things warm as well.

But that will turn colder as the cold air really starts to wrap around this thing. And I know Jacqui has been talking about that with the winds gusting 30, 40, and 50 miles an hour later. That will bring down some tree limbs and certainly some power lines.

So that will be the ongoing issue, I think, as we get later on today. Right now a pretty screen in Central Park but it will get a little bit more ugly and a little bit more dangerous certainly as the day wears along.

Fredricka, back up to you.

WHITFIELD: All right, thanks so much, Rob. Appreciate that.

Let's go to the nation's capital now. That's where we find our Reynolds Wolf. He's in a very snowy Washington, D.C. where getting around is not just slow going but perhaps no-going -- Reynolds.

REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Absolutely. I mean at the airports you don't have a chance. You know roadway really is a slow go. You've got -- Washington, D.C.'s finest, they're moving right through here.

You know I say Washington, D.C. but I think there are people here at the nation's capital who are seriously considering calling this place the snow globe.

We've got Dave (INAUDIBLE). He's right behind the camera. He's going to show you and the rest of America, Fredricka, what is happening here at the nation's capital. And with Tony, as we walk along 3rd Street, it's amazing, that here we are on just a weekday morning and there's hardly any traffic to speak of.

And if you happen to look over here -- Dave, you stay put, I'm going to hop over here. On this side, looking in this direction of the mall, normally you'd see the Washington monument maybe the Smithsonian on one side of the trees. You can't see that. Then you hop over here on this side, where you should see -- where you can barely see the Grand Statue. And then over there the rotunda.

Well, I'll tell you, at this vantage point, this might as well be Nebraska, could be Kansas, could be any place. It really doesn't matter because you can't see anything and visibility is one of the key things when it comes to having a blizzard warning. Visibility. About a quarter-mile or less.

Then we have strong winds of 35 miles an hour. Trust me, we got those. Especially right over here you can see the whiteout conditions. Sea the police car trying to make his way to us.

WHITFIELD: Oh yes.

WOLF: It's hard to see. That's one of the key reasons why they don't want people out there on the roads. Certainly rough stuff when you have the gusts that really come in like this. It makes all the difference in the world. Rips right through you.

Transportation to the airport, again as we mentioned, not going to happen. Airports are open, you're not flying out. Certainly not going to fly in. (INAUDIBLE) if you go out and about you've got to be careful where you step because you do have plenty of ice.

Slow go on roads. In terms of metro, above-ground trains, not going to be operating today. There is some limited use of the ones below. And again, we're going to see more of the problems as long as we keep having this heavy snow all over the nation's capital.

All right, Fred, let's toss it back to you.

WHITFIELD: Reynolds, you're making it look -- too easy. And that is a lot of fun right there. Hopefully today will be a good excuse for people to get out in the nation's capital just to have fun, not to hit the roadways but just to make snow angels just like that.

WOLF: I know. I can't hear you, Fred. But I'll tell you, I'll show you something. This is one of the things we're happy to see. One of the big snow movers here making a tremendous difference, of course, on the streets. And we can use all the help we can possibly get.

Let's kick it back in the studio.

WHITFIELD: All right, Reynolds Wolf, thanks so much. Appreciate that. Jacqui Jeras is also keeping a close watch on this very snowy picture throughout the mid-Atlantic. And now the northeast as well.

He's having way too much fun, Jacqui.

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, I'm glad somebody's enjoying it. Because, you know, the posts that I've gotten on my Facebook page about people who are so over the snow was like, you know, this long.

Unfortunately, there is more of it to come. The worst of the conditions now moving into where Reynolds is in D.C. Won't be hitting New York City. Real bad until later today. The latest on the height of the storm, the blizzard warnings and what you can expect from snowmageddon two is coming up in just a few minutes. Fredricka?

WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks so much, Jacqui.

All right, later on this morning at the White House, despite the snow outside, President Obama is again talking about the economy and jobs. But this time, only to a very select audience.

CNN's White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux is live with more on this.

So, Suzanne, the meeting is still planned despite the snow. It is not stopping this plan. Huh?

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: It's not stopping this so far, Fred. White house officials are telling us this thing is on and there are four participants who will be meeting with the president. They're all staying at nearby hotels so if they can make their way over here in the next couple of hours, this thing will still go on as planned.

This is a very important meeting for these leaders who have gotten together in the past to bring forth to the president a plan for creating jobs, specifically for African-Americans and Hispanics.

We are talking about leaders like Dr. Dorothy Hite. She is the chairwoman of the National Council of Negro Women. Ben Jealous, he's the president of the NAACP. Mark Morial who is the head of the National Urban League. And Reverend Al Sharpton who's the president of the National Action Network.

What are they going to be talking about here? Well, let's take a look at some statistics, Fred. You're talking about overall unemployment, about 10 percent, went down, dipped to about 9.7 percent, but for African-Americans it is more than 15 percent. For Hispanics it is more than 12 percent. And for black teenagers, Fred, it's more than 45 percent.

So what they want the president to do, to consider, is use federal funds, use the money that was going to the big banks to bail those banks out in the tune of $150 billion, and use it to create jobs instead, some three million jobs, that target those in the worst areas, the ones that they call the chronically unemployed.

Those in urban areas and those who are least educated. They think if the president were to redirect those funds that that would help those who need it the most -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: And what likely is the feedback that this group is expecting to hear from the president?

MALVEAUX: Well certainly, Fred, it's going to be quite -- it's actually going to be quite predictable when you think about it. Because what the president has argued before is that all these programs and the money investing in jobs to begin with trickles down and essentially helps everyone, lift everyone up.

But what these leaders are saying is that specifically you've got to target things like summer jobs programs, training programs, things that are going to hit the community that is disproportionately affected by this recession. And that's what they want to do.

They want to use some of that money that went to the big banks because they say, hey, the money's there. But target instead of the big banks to some of these areas and these communities that need it the most.

One person put it this way. They said, "Make it place-based, not race-based." And that means in those urban areas where the undereducated, underserved are, and where those people just cannot find work. Fred?

WHITFIELD: All right, Suzanne Malveaux at the White House, thanks so much.

And next hour we're going to be drilling down on the topic of unemployment and other pocketbook issues that are hitting African- Americans, particularly, hard. We'll also look at the potential solutions. More on what Suzanne was expounding on in our next hour right here in the NEWSROOM.

All right, the first lady speaking out about health care. Michelle Obama talked to Larry King about how reforming the system is key to her new campaign against childhood obesity.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LARRY KING, CNN ANCHOR: You think they'll get a health bill?

MICHELLE OBAMA, FIRST LADY: I think we don't have a choice. When we look at these statistics, we're spending billions of dollars on preventable diseases and new health care legislation could go a long way to improving prevention, first and foremost.

Health care reform -- people have to have a pediatrician in order to get good information from their pediatricians. People have to be able to take their kids to well doctors visits, to have all this information tracked. So we have to get this done.

And I'm hopeful that Congress will come together, that the American people will recognize that doing nothing is absolutely not an option.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: The first lady launched that campaign against childhood obesity yesterday. About 1 in 3 American children is overweight.

All right, ready to attack in Afghanistan. The Taliban digging in. Troops getting last-minute pep talks as they prepare for their assault.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Welcome back. Snowmageddon two they're calling it. More snow dump on the mid-Atlantic and now further up the eastern seaboard. You looked at the pictures of the nation's capital at a very snowy situation there. It is pretty beautiful, though. Just don't try to get around.

JERAS: Yes.

WHITFIELD: Jacqui Jeras is in the Severe Weather Center. Although we saw our Reynolds Wolf show everybody how to appreciate that snow.

JERAS: You know, it can be fun. And just think of all the kids who are home from school today, you know, trying to enjoy some of those snow showers which are out there. Unfortunately, especially as we head into the afternoon, the situation is really going to become very dangerous and it's not -- you know, anything that anybody's going to be wanting to be outside in.

(WEATHER REPORT)

JERAS: We don't have any airport delays, so to speak, right now, at least not reported by the FAA.

WHITFIELD: Just wait.

JERAS: But I'm going to say -- no, I'm going to say that actually it's probably because they've canceled more than 6,000 flights already and they're trying to preempt this thing and just not get people stuck at some of these airports because they know later on this afternoon they're just not going to keep up with 35 to 45-mile- per-hour winds.

How do you keep a runway clear from snow?

WHITFIELD: Yes, it's more like diverting people's plans.

JERAS: Exactly.

(LAUGHTER)

JERAS: And from what I understand they've been actually calling some of the passengers and saying, hey, we're going to rebook your flight now.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

JERAS: Ahead of time. So that's --

WHITFIELD: OK, well, that's very considerate. I know people appreciate that. All right, thanks so much, Jacqui.

JERAS: Sure.

WHITFIELD: All right, let's talk automobiles right now. Honda now expanding their own recall. Nearly 400,000 more cars are being recalled worldwide because of airbag problems. Excessive pressure when they inflate could cause injuries.

The expanded recall now covers several models sold in 2001 and 2002. So here's a list of the models were recalled in Japan. Just take a look at that list right there. You can also find the list at CNN.com.

All right, more trouble for Toyota now. They could soon face a safety investigation over steering problems. Drivers are complaining about 2009 and 2010 corollas. The same corollas are already part of the massive accelerator recall. Complaints range from drifting cars to vibrations at high speeds.

Well, it may not rise to the level of forcing recalls, but it is just another safety issue dogging Toyota.

For more on Toyota's troubles, be sure to check out our special page on CNN.com. You can see which cars have been recalled and why. Plus tips on what to do if your car is on the list.

Kids out of control. Running from police in a stolen car? What would their mother say? They'd say, "Book 'em, Dan-o."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Checking your top stories right now.

A Tennessee mother isn't letting it go. She's pressing charges against her teenage sons for taking her car on a joyride. Her car ended up in a house.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LATISSHA BRADLEY, CAR CRASHED INTO HER HOUSE: I know their mom is going to be real upset because their mom is going to have to take responsibility for it because they are underage and they are minors.

I probably would beat them and then let them go and stay in juvenile for a while. Because it's got to be a lesson learned.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: So look closely. You can see the car slamming into the house right there. The teens and his friends were running from police. And after the crash, they actually tried to run off. Charges include car theft, reckless driving and resisting arrest.

And a successful docking this morning at the International Space Station. The shuttle Endeavour arrived with new hardware on-board to add to the station. The two-week mission includes three spacewalks. There are only four shuttle missions left after Endeavour comes home.

And Mardi Gras is taking a back seat in New Orleans this year. And that's because the Saints came marching in with a Super Bowl trophy. The victory parade was packed with fans getting a glimpse at the new champs there. The Saints tossed beads as they rode through the streets on the Mardi Gras floats.

All right, ready to attack in Afghanistan. The Taliban digging in. Troops getting last-minute pep talks as they prepare for their assault.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: As bad as the snow is here in the U.S., listen to what it did in Afghanistan. Several avalanches have buried a mountain path. So far more than 150 bodies have been recovered. About 100 people survived but with injuries. The Salang pass is where it happened. That connects Kabul with Mazar-i-Sharif to the north.

And preparing to advance, U.S. and international troops are ready to launch an offensive against the Taliban. They're going into a major militant stronghold deep in Afghanistan's poppy country.

CNN's Atia Abawi is embedded with U.S. troops at a firebase in the Helmand Province.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's beautiful.

ATIA ABAWI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At a firebase in Helmand Province, the 1st Battalion 6th Marine Regiment prepares for combat. Brigadier General Mohiyiden Ghori of Afghan army wishes his soldiers luck and says thanks to the Marines who will be fighting alongside his men.

"You've made the best life for yourself," General Mohiyiden says. "You've built the best country. Your people depend on you. You are the pride of your country, and now you've come from many miles away to help us."

Although his soldiers say they are ready to fight, they also say they don't have proper equipment.

"We don't have things like night vision," Commander (INAUDIBLE) says. "And it leaves us unprepared."

General Mohiyiden and Brigadier General Larry Nicholson are going from base to base explaining the importance of the Marjah offensive, and the importance of distinguishing civilians from the Taliban. BRIGADIER GENERAL LARRY NICHOLSON, U.S. MARINES: The population is looking for you. The enemy is not the population. OK? But we do have an enemy who's going to try to hide in that population. That's why we've got to be very careful, we've got to be very disciplined, and we got to be very accurate.

ABAWI: This isn't the first time many of these men have fought in Helmand. The Marines cleared the Taliban out of another area in 2008, but the enemy has changed.

LANCE CORPORAL CHRISTOPHER LIMA, U.S. MARINES: I think it will be a little harder. They actually know how to fight this year. Last year they kind of -- they used a lot of guerrilla tactics. They'd shoot and then run. This year I think they'll try to stay around.

ABAWI: General Nicholson agrees.

NICHOLSON: I think some of our units will go into some pretty heavy contact and I think some of our units may have less contact. We don't know. All I know is we've done everything we can to prepare and on the eve of this big operation, I think we're ready.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: That's Atia Abawi who's embedded with U.S. troops there in Afghanistan.

All right, dealing with Iran now. The U.S. issues a threat but also offers to help with Iran's nuclear ambitions.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: Live in the CNN NEWSROOM, Fredricka Whitfield.

WHITFIELD: As we've been showing you all morning, a snowstorm is once again hitting the east coast. It's even affecting Wall Street, in fact.

Stephanie Elam is in New York with details on that. In what way, Stephanie?

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fredricka, there are multiple ways. But, you know, while less people are focusing on the snow right now, there are a lot of people who are taking a look at what's going on down at the capital. Starting off with Fed chief Ben Bernanke who's scheduled to testify before a House committee today, but this was all about unwinding the Fed's $2.2 trillion emergency liquidity programs.

The hearing has been postponed, but his prepared testimony will be released at the top of the hour. Several economic reports also being delayed today. On Wall Street, expect light trading volume as folks focus more on the snow and less on stocks. Despite all that, the Dow is expected to continue to rise after yesterday's 150-point gain. Investors are hopeful that that would increase. They will be able to get a rescue plan possibly from Germany. And if you could take a look at what's going on the earnings rank, Disney's first quarter profit, good expectation. It's TV networks which included ABC and ESPN rebounded, but the company's theme parks continue to struggle, same story for their movie studios.

Also, Google launching a new social networking service called the Google Buzz. It will allow users to post photos and links to their websites. Yahoo and Microsoft, they're claiming they've been running similar services for years.

Now, if all of that and go ahead and take a look at the early numbers here, and it looks like we're down but just ever so barely. We're off 12 points, 9.86 on the board, 10,046, still above 10,000. NASDAQ off fractionally at this time as well.

Finally, one more note, Southwest Airlines has slashed its ticket prices until tomorrow. The carrier is selling one-way tickets for -- get this -- 39 bucks! But make sure you read the fine print on the -- yes, I know, 39 bucks! It sounds like yesteryear.

WHITFIELD: Yes, but you said fine print.

ELAM: Yes, because of restrictions and some cities are excluded which are probably all the cities you want to go to, Fred. They're not included.

WHITFIELD: I won't be able to partake in that $39 deal.

ELAM: No. I know you really would like to be in D.C. frolicking in the snow. I know that.

WHITFIELD: I know. My heart is there, but instead I'll just call family and friends. How you doing in that snow? I feel for you.

ELAM: Exactly. They were like to send some to you or Vancouver for delivery.

WHITFIELD: Right, exactly. Vancouver really needs it right now, don't they?

ELAM: They do.

WHITFIELD: All right. Stephanie, we appreciate that. Thanks so much. We'll check back with you.

ELAM: Sure.

WHITFIELD: A carrot and a stick for Iran. the U.S. makes a new offer on isotopes while threatening new sanctions. Both are attempts to stop Iran from enriching uranium, and President Obama says the next move is up to Iran's government.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: They have made their choice so far, although the door's still open, and what we are going to be working on over the next several weeks is developing a significant regime of sanctions that will indicate to them how isolated they are from the international community as a whole.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: CNN Foreign Affairs Correspondent Jill Dougherty is live at the State Department this morning. So Jill, this all comes at a time that couldn't be more intense.

JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN FOREIGN AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it is really true because tomorrow, Thursday, is going to be the 31st anniversary of the Iranian revolution. Remember, of course, overthrowing the Shah. The revolution led by the Ayatollah Khomeini. It's a very, very big date, and there is potential for violence, because not only the opponents of the current administration, but the supporters of the Iranian government could be on the streets. Millions of people, and it is a very tense situation. That's inside Iran, and then outside Iran, you have this showdown with the international community over Iran's nuclear program.

WHITFIELD: And you have to wonder, Jill, you know, can the U.S. along with the international community really stop Iran's nuclear program if they've made up their mind about what they want to do, what kind of influence could the U.S. and international community really have?

DOUGHERTY: Yes, it's really the question that's been bugging them for months now, and you know, you have a lot of contradictory statements coming out very quickly from the Iranian government, and U.S. officials have been chalking that up to dissension within the Iranian government. The latest wrinkle is, oddly enough, about medical isotopes for cancer patients.

Iran says, look, we need to enrich our uranium up to 20% because we need to get the fuel for those isotopes, and the United States now in a -- you could call it an attempt to call their bluff -- is saying, if you need those isotopes, we can arrange for you to get them on the open market, so you don't need to enrich your uranium, and the worry about this, Fred, is that that 20% could put them on the road to enriching the 90% which would be enough for a nuclear weapon.

WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks so much, Jill Dougherty. We appreciate that.

All right. So, we'll have much more on the uranium controversy next hour. We'll also talk about the big anniversary celebrations planned for tomorrow in Iran marking the day they stormed the U.S. embassy, but these will be different than in years past. It's been nearly a month since that powerful earthquake ravaged Haiti, and Haitian officials say more than 212,000 people have died. Bodies are being recovered every day, and no doubt, that number will rise. Now, another pressing concern -- the rainy season is set to arrive and that will add a new layer of health worries. That's a big concern for actor Sean Penn who is in Haiti helping with relief work.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SEAN PENN, ACTOR: When the rain comes, it going to be a public health disaster that could easily be on the scale of the earthquake itself. Disease is spreading already. Tuberculosis, typhoid, tetanus, malaria, it's -- the place, you know, which already had incredible hygiene problems within the neighborhoods now with the earthquake, it's -- this is a new disaster waiting to happen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Doctors say a Haitian man pulled from the rubble of a market on Monday is more responsive. Family members say Evan Munsy (ph) had been missing since the quake hit four weeks ago. Rescue crews believe Munsy (ph) may have been trapped in a room with some food or water. Munsy (ph) appeared confused right after his rescue and possibly thought he was still in the rubble.

U.N. Goodwill Ambassador, Angelina Jolie, is in Haiti. The actress spoke with U.N. staff yesterday and also visited a children's shelter. Jolie and her partner actor, Brad Pitt donated $1 million to Doctors Without Borders in Haiti following last month's quake.

And before the quake, corruption and greed ravaged Haiti. Hundreds of millions of dollars vanished. Tonight at 10:00 Eastern time, we follow the money. Anderson Cooper reporting live from Haiti for "Stealing Haiti," a special "AC 360" investigation.

Houses of worship become charred shell. Seven arsons in East Texas and now add two more church fires.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

Hello. At our top stories right now, two more churches burn in East Texas. Federal investigators are looking into the latest fires in the area. East Texas has already been hit by seven church arson fires. Some fires are believed linked together. Others are not. Several people are under investigation.

And just six weeks into 2010 and already 1,000 drug war deaths in Mexico. The country's president plans to make a major address today on social intervention in response to the violence. Experts believe broken homes, sometimes caused by drug abuse, prompt teens to turn to gang.

An early warning wake-up call for people in Northern Illinois. An earthquake hit an area about 50 miles West-Northwest of downtown Chicago. No major damage reported. From the 4.3 quake, a man startled by the shaking told reporters that this is not California. We are not supposed to get earthquakes.

So with more on this morning's quake, we're joined now on the phone by Dekalb County Sheriff Roger Scott. Sheriff, give me an idea of what it felt like, or did you feel it, early this morning?

ROGER SCOTT, DEKALB COUNTY SHERIFF (via telephone): The communication center where we're housed in our county jail felt it immediately, as well as hundreds of citizens in Dekalb County. Sycamore where our attorney seat was real closed to the -- what is determined to be the epicenter. So, they felt it and heard it quite loudly so it was quite significant.

WHITFIELD: And tell me, I guess, about the repercussions from that shaking. Were there, you know, any glass shattered or was there any damage reported in any way, shape or form?

SCOTT: No. We got hundreds of calls in to our communication center immediately afterwards, but no injuries and no damage that was reported to us, and so we were very fortunate in this one.

WHITFIELD: From the quote from that one gentleman saying this is not California, this isn't supposed to happen here. Has anything like this ever happened since you've been in the area?

SCOTT: Oh, yes. I think back about three times over the last 40 years we've had similar events, but nothing quite this big because we're so close to the epicenter this time.

WHITFIELD: And worry about what's next?

SCOTT: Yes. Everything is calm and peaceful here, and so we're hoping that it remains that way. We'll find out in a little bit, I suppose.

WHITFIELD: All right. Let's hope it does stay that way. Dekalb County Sheriff, Roger Scott, thanks so much. Appreciate your time.

SCOTT: You're welcome.

WHITFIELD: All right. On a cold hostile and unpredictable ocean, he was solid as a rock, but this morning, there is sad news about the man who showed us how to survive the deadliest catch.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: The crew of a Taiwanese fishing vessel has the U.S. coastguard to thank for plucking them from a near-certain death. The guard says they responded to a call of a boat fire some 900 miles off the coast of Hawaii yesterday. When they got there, the coastguard says they rescued the 28-person crew who had abandoned ship and were floating in a pair of life rafts. The guard says they're still assisting the fishing vessel and the crew. The cause of the fire is still being investigated.

And fish boat captain and reality TV star Phil Harris has died. The 53-year-old passed away yesterday, reportedly due to complications from a stroke he suffered late last month. For the past six seasons, Harris captained the "Cornelia Marie." On the Discovery Channel's Deadliest Catch TV show. Just last year, the salty dog spoke to our Larry King.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LARRY KING, CNN ANCHOR: Why do you like crab fishing other than the monetary rewards? CAPTAIN PHIL HARRIS, DISCOVERY CHANNEL'S "DEADLIEST CATCH": You don't think about the money. It's something that's between you and the elements and it gets in your blood.

KING: What makes a good crab fishermen?

HARRIS: Catching crab.

KING: Are there certain attributes? You need good reflexes? You need good strength?

HARRIS: You have to know what you're doing. You have to, you know, -- you got five, six, seven guys on the boat. You're telling them when they can eat, sleep, go to the bathroom. You stay up for days and days and days at a time without sleep. Our record is 5 1/2 days without.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Captain Phil Harris was 53 years old.

All right. Much of the northeast is under a blizzard warning this morning, but we wanted to show you time lapse from the weekend storm. It captures the snowfall inch by inch. Take a look there. You can see a tree bend under the weight of this snowfall and a teddy bear somewhere in there slowly disappear. A record 32.4 inches fell in the area over the past two days, and then now getting hit one more time with not just a little dusting of snow. Wow. But another blanket of snow. Jacqui Jeras is in the severe weather center.

JERAS: Wow, amazing pictures there, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

JERAS: You know watching those trees bend over like that, really telling of how --

WHITFIELD: Heavy.

JERAS: -- heavy the snow is. Yes. And then you know, this afternoon we're going to really start to see those winds kick in. We're already getting it in D.C. but say up towards Philadelphia, as well as into New York City, we're talking 35, 45-mile-per-hour sustained winds. It could see gusts beyond that.

So we're real concerned. And not just about travel but also really concerned about your safety because we could see a lot of power outages associated with this as well.

Let's go ahead and show you where the thick of it is and where the worst of the conditions are at this hour. And we've been seeing this really heavy band, super persistent across I-80 right across central parts of Pennsylvania. And then also I'd say it's probably been a good hour and a half, Alexandria, Virginia, Washington, D.C. proper and now it's pushing into Baltimore as well. And you can see the heavy snow bands. You know, we're talking maybe a half of an inch in 15 minutes? That's how quick the snow is accumulating. But take a look at some of these winds. These are sustained winds. So there you can see it, 22 miles per hour, gusts have been up there to 45 miles per hour.

So those blizzard conditions, the whiteouts are occurring. You need to stay put in Washington, D.C. if you get stuck, you're in your car, stay in your car. Don't go out today, just too dangerous to be out.

And speaking of Washington, D.C., this is round two of "Snowmageddon". And that's where we find our Reynolds Wolf who has been stuck there for about a week now.

And Reynolds, can you hear me? I don't see you. You're hiding on us. Are you there? There we go. Hey Reynolds.

REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Got you loud and clear. I am here.

JERAS: All right.

WOLF: Good to see you. I'd like to tell you and America something a little different and not just about the snow. But we're going to talk trees for just a few moments.

Now, if you look at this tree and we've got CNN photo journalist David Dreslyn (ph). Dave, I don't know if you can a shot of this but you'll notice folks at home you've got the trees, you also have some snow, a little bit of ice on there.

I'll tell you these are trees that's a 20 or even 30 feet in height with all of the snow and some of the ice is actually sticking to some of the trees from just the de-thawing and the refreezing overnight. These trees can be -- can have an additional one, even two tons sometimes of additional weight. Then when you couple that with the strong winds we've been getting today, well, the trees aren't quite as malleable, meaning able to bend as they normally would during windy conditions.

So that means the tree branches break, oftentimes they hit power lines which means additional power outages. Now, across the region we've had tens of thousands of people without power. And as the winds continue to kick up and the trees continue to rock we might see more of those widespread outages. That's one of the problems.

Let's talk about the other big problem that happens to be of course travel. Now, all your airports in the region are shut down. We're not going to see anybody out and about of course flying today. No question about that with these kinds of conditions.

And then, when it comes to the roadways, although we have seen some people like the folks behind us over here that are coming our way, the travel has been few and far between on the roadways. On the interstates, although if you can get to them, you can go on those roads, I have to tell you, if you have any issues, you get stuck, you have an accident, you might be there for a very long time, because for emergency vehicles to get to you, guess what? They've got to go through all this snow; they have to go through the ice. It's going to be a tough time for them. This guy kind of weaving a little bit; we're going to step out of the way to let him go through.

JERAS: Wow.

(AUDIO GAP)

JERAS: Reynolds, your audio is breaking up a little bit so we can't hear you anymore. Sorry about that.

But incredible pictures, like, I can't believe that people are actually out there driving in it. I also understand that the National Guard has been called out to help people in these situations. So Reynolds, we'll try and get that audio fixed. And thanks so much for that report.

And really Washington, D.C. is seeing the worst of those blizzard conditions out there right now. And it's not just D.C. those blizzard warnings extend now all the way up to New York City and across Long Island. And while D.C. is the worst of it now, midday in Philadelphia, this afternoon and this evening in New York City.

So if you're out in New York right now and you're saying, oh it's not all that bad, we've got a couple, two, three inches of snowfall, you can see there are some breaks that have been coming into this area but we'll watch for that moisture to continue to stream on in to this area.

Our iReporters have been sending us some incredible pictures. Take a look at this one from Glen Bernie (ph), Maryland. We want to thank our iReporter here. Susan Buchanan (ph) she said that, you know, they've been stuck for about a week in this area. That their neighbors, about 15 of them, had to get together and take shovels and they try to you know, get out this narrow path in their cul-de-sacs so they could have a little bit of transportation. But she said she's bored out of her mind stuck in there. She said thank goodness for the WII.

I think a lot of folks unfortunately are going to have a tough time digging out. And we were talking about how heavy that snow is Fredricka --

WHITFIELD: Yes, yes.

JERAS: -- Susan also said they broke a shovel.

WHITFIELD: Oh. I believe it.

JERAS: Yes, yes.

WHITFIELD: -- because that's been heavy, wet, dense snow. JERAS: Wow. Amazing.

WHITFIELD: All right, well they're going to have to be careful. At least they didn't hurt themselves and it was the shovel that broke, not their backs or something, right?

JERAS: Just the shovel.

WHITFIELD: All right.

JERAS: Yes.

WHITFIELD: Thanks so much, Jacqui Jeras.

All right, that brings us to today's blog question. We're asking you to fill in the blanks. There's so much snow that -- dot, dot, dot -- you fill it in. Go to CNN.com/Fredricka and post your comments. I'll read some of your comments on the air next hour.

How drunk do you have to be to steal an ambulance? Ok, maybe the bigger question is, how drunk do you have to be to steal an ambulance with a patient and the paramedics inside?

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WHITFIELD: -- or you could call it adventures in parking or some very dangerous dangling in Milwaukee, Oregon. An 83-year-old man is lucky enough to joke about this. He drove his Lexus through a concrete wall of this parking garage exterior wall on Monday. Deputies say, only one wheel of his vehicle was actually touching cement. The driver was not hurt but was quick enough to tell police he always thought the garage needed another exit.

And here's another story you don't hear every day, thank goodness. The sheriff's office in Dane County, Wisconsin, locked up a man who allegedly tried to steal an ambulance. Deputies say he jumped in and started driving around the parking lot. That must have been a real shock to the patient and the paramedics that were in the back of the vehicle.

He probably didn't know it, this suspect right here -- he probably didn't know it that he was stealing a few people along with that vehicle, allegedly. No one, thankfully, was hurt. The joy rider is looking at three charges, including operating while intoxicated.

And see if you can spot the alleged bank robber. It doesn't take an eagle eye, just follow the red dye. This video is from the Wichita Police Department. It's one of those exploding packs of dye in action. Banks will slip into the robber's haul to taint the money and then mark the thief. Well, the robbery happened last month. Police are still looking for what they believe is a woman. They're looking for her.

A couple of minutes away until we reset and reload for the top of the hour. Snow, stimulus and getting convicts back into the workforce: just a few of the stories that we're working on. WOLF: Lost IFB.

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: All right. Reynolds lost IFB but I didn't. I'm Josh Levs and I'm right here. And we have more than 400,000 jobs in this country funded by the stimulus in education and it's costing billions of dollars. So what exactly is the stimulus doing for the nation's schools? I'm going to have that at the top of the hour.

POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: And we're going to follow up on that. I'm Poppy Harlow in New York. With almost $5 million in stimulus funding going to a program that helps hard-to-employ people not only find jobs but really turn their life around. It's an inspiring story. We'll have more of it for you in the next hour.

WHITFIELD: All right. Look forward to that. Thanks so much, Poppy and Josh. And of course we'll be checking with Reynolds as well.

What role does race play in America's unemployment picture? All that along with the day's top stories next hour in the newsroom.

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