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Some Areas in Maryland Suspend Plowing; Blizzard Dumps More Snow on D.C.; Arabic Flash Card Questions

Aired February 10, 2010 - 12:01   ET

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

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: OK. Time for your top-of-the-hour reset.

I'm Tony Harris in the CNN NEWSROOM.

It is noon on the East Coast, where a blizzard is bearing down hard on the I-95 corridor from D.C. to New York.

It is 12:00 in Washington, where Republicans set conditions on a health care summit with the president.

And it is 9:00 in Seattle, where an American teenager is reaching out to girls in Rwanda to help him get an education.

Let's do this -- let's get started.

You know, we just learned moments ago, Montgomery County, Maryland, has suspended snowplowing because of the dangerous weather conditions.

On the phone with me right now is Isaiah Leggett. He is the county executive.

Isaiah, boy, first of all, good to talk to you. This is a really big move. I mean, when the conditions are too tough for snowplows, they're pretty tough here.

So, if you would, describe the conditions you're responding to.

ISIAH LEGGETT, COUNTY EXECUTIVE, MONTGOMERY COUNTY, MARYLAND: Well, just this past weekend, we had approximately 30 inches of snow in Montgomery County. With a second wave that has hit us, it will probably average another 15 inches, but that new 15 inches, hit by blizzard-like conditions, high winds and very much conditions that are very difficult for our crews to operate in.

We had to suspend operations until the winds die down. That would allow our crews to get back out.

We have approximately 900 pieces of equipment to attack this snow, with all the resources that we've gotten from the state and the governor and the National Guard, but we certainly cannot get out there under these conditions. It's just not conducive for our people to operate. HARRIS: So, boy, how concerned are you, given what you've just talked about here, and kind of the timeline of the weekend storm and where we are right now? How concerned are you about people in your county who may already be without power going through, what, another day or two or maybe three here, when conditions are so difficult, the teams who would otherwise be there to help them may not be able to respond because of the blizzard conditions?

LEGGETT: I understand. I'm very much concerned about that.

This is why we have the National Guard and support from the governors and others to, in fact, respond to any emergency situations. We have Humvees, we have the emergency equipment out.

And so, we will make that available for any situation where we find people -- the elderly, or people needing medical assistance. And so, that's an exception for us. But we will make that trip, despite the conditions that we see out on the streets.

HARRIS: Got you.

All right. Montgomery County executive Isaiah Leggett on line with us.

Very quickly, let's quickly get to the governor of Maryland, Martin O'Malley, who is speaking now.

GOV. MARTIN O'MALLEY (D), MARYLAND: We have changed our signs to emphasize that we are under blizzard conditions and everyone should stay off the roads. And this will be the situation for the next several hours.

Wanted to update you on a few things.

The road conditions, I think, speak for themselves. It's a blizzard. You can go online, for those of you watching from home, and you can see that this snow's covering all the lanes.

We are doing our very best to keep a single lane passable on the major highways. And we are leaving to the discretion of the individual trucks whether or not they need to pull over, given the variable conditions throughout the state, if they need to pull over for safety purposes and discontinue plowing for a time.

We have about 29,541 households without power right now. We were able to get that down to approximately 6,000 or 7,000 thanks to the utility company work and the work of our county government.

That number will climb. We were up as high as 160,000 at the height of the first punch that we received from Mother Nature. And we suspect that the power outages will climb in excess of that given the nature of the high winds that we're experiencing, the drifting snow, and what that will also mean for tree limbs and the power outages.

A number of you were asking about salt supply and difficulties in distributing salt. There are two separate issues. We do not have a problem with salt supply. There are several vessels that have come in to the port of Baltimore over the last 48 hours. There are more vessels scheduled to bring salt in, in the days ahead.

The difficulty that we have had is with the distribution of that salt once it arrives at the port. And for that reason, we were on a conference call with county executives earlier today, and continue to be in contact with their staffs in order to redeploy some of the trucks that were doing plowing in order to have them more engaged in the delivery of salt in those forward domes that will serve our county partners, as well as the state highway assets that are out there.

What else can we mention here?

So far, knock on wood, we have not had any fatalities on our highways, which is pretty remarkable when you consider the conditions that our state police have been working under, along with highway crews, for the last several days. We would like to keep it that way, but we need the public's help in order to stay off the highways.

Stay inside, especially for the next several hours. We're experiencing blizzard conditions in every single county, in every part of Maryland. And we are seeing this sort of swirling double buzz saw of low-pressure systems at each end of the Chesapeake Bay, dumping a lot of moisture in with this cold weather, in with the snow, and in with the high winds. So, we cannot emphasize enough, stay at home for the duration of the snow.

The other aspect of this that we are watching is the mounting numbers of roof collapses. We had a roof collapse in Baltimore County. Fortunately, no loss of life, but we did lose several expensive pieces of apparatus, including one brand-spanking new fire truck that hadn't even been put into service.

So, we've had a number of poultry houses on the eastern shore that are obviously not built to sustain this sort of weight on top of them. There are a number of flat roofs throughout our state that have never, ever, in their structural life, experienced the sort of weight that they are going to have to bear up under for the next several days as this snow continues to fall and as we thaw out.

We also encourage people to -- with regard to shoveling snow, you often hear us emphasize that everybody's responsible for their own sidewalk, but they're also responsible for their own heart. This is extremely strenuous exercise. If you -- you should not engage in shoveling out your snow if you are having challenges.

We're having a little bit of problem with our live people coming in on mute here.

Also, snowblower injuries. There's a lot of people that have been out there operating snowblowers, and you need to keep your hands out of the snowblowers.

HARRIS: Maryland's governor, Martin O'Malley, detailing the state of play in Maryland right now, with blizzard conditions pounding every county in the state.

Boy, it is a mess and it is just getting worse. Another blizzard slamming the Mid-Atlantic. It is so bad in Baltimore, you could get arrested if you don't stay off the streets.

Allan Chernoff is live in Central Park in New York, and Reynolds Wolf is watching the snow pile up.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Here we go. Heads up.

HARRIS: Wow -- pile up in the nation's capital.

And Reynolds, let me start with you.

The situation, look, has gone from bad to ominous to the Mid- Atlantic states. The high winds this time around feel like a real game-changer.

REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Absolutely. "Game-changer" is the way to put it, Tony.

Right now, winds in this area are in excess -- well, at least gusts are in excess of 39 miles per hour. To our friends across America that are tuning in, ladies and gentlemen, that is the equivalent of a tropical-storm-force wind that is coming in here, picking up the snow.

Photojournalist Chris Turner is behind the camera.

Chris, if you can pan out across the Mall, I'd like to show people across from coast to coast what we're seeing here. Almost a haunting kind of view of the Mall at this time.

You know, the other day when we had some heavy snow, it was almost a festive-style atmosphere. It's not festive today. It is a harrowing day out here, to say the very least. The snow, very deep.

Since we've been out here this morning, I'd say we've easily had about eight inches of snowfall in some spots, maybe around six in others. Not including the snow it's already stacked on top of. We've had, again, two blizzards -- two blizzards -- it's hard to believe in less than a week.

Now, in terms of travel, you've heard some of the officials in Maryland, and, of course, in Virginia, and of course here in the District talking about, if you don't have to get out on the roads, by all means, don't do so. And you can imagine, with these rough conditions here, you're not going to be traveling in any of the major airports. They're all open, but, still, flights are not coming in and out.

I'm going to step over this massive snow that's been stacked up and moved off this road. This is 3rd Street we're standing on here in Washington, D.C., along the Mall.

And roads, again, very rough. This is one of the better roads. I can tell you that much. But there are some streets back deeper in the city that are just treacherous, described as treacherous.

Now, we're going to give you a view of what's been happening a little bit up the coast, of course, In New York. And we've got Allan Chernoff. He's got the latest near Central Park.

Allan, how are you?

ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN SR. CORRESPONDENT: Reynolds, you know, I'm just fine. And if you were here, you'd look up and say, where's the snow?

It is right now barely snowing at all. We've got a wonderful winter wonderland here in Central Park, just about three inches on the ground. And as you've been pointing out, the wet stuff, so it's great for snowballs.

But in terms of the actual impact of the storm, not that much just yet. But this is really probably the lull before we really get hit, because they are talking about 10 to 16 inches from this storm, and winds up to 40, 45 miles an hour.

Right now, it's easygoing. As you see, the shovels, they're just sitting here. And, my goodness, we're serious about shoveling here in New York City.

I mean, this is one of the biggest, heaviest shovels I've ever seen, but they've got them out here in Central Park. They've even plowed the walkways already. They'll have a lot more work coming up, because that storm is going to be getting very serious.

The airports, yes, they're open. Don't expect to fly anywhere, because just about all the flights have been canceled.

School is out. Great for the kids here.

And you know what? Work-wise, well, plenty of time are still at work, and especially in New York City. The mayor says everything is still open in terms of the city offices.

The roads, have a look. Right now, no problems. But I'm not advising that anybody get into their car.

The only reason to be outside is to get your essentials. And if you want to take the kids out and enjoy the snow right now, just fine. And some people are doing right that.

HARRIS: There you go.

CHERNOFF: Let's see, like -- we've got a few little snowmen under way.

Tony, a little few construction projects here in Central Park. So they're having fun now. It's perfect to be out right now.

Later on, back inside. That's the place to be -- Tony.

HARRIS: I hope there are no stimulus dollars attached to the building of that snowman.

Allan Chernoff for us in New York.

Appreciate it. Couldn't help it.

All right. So, Allan, appreciate it. Thank you.

Reynolds Wolf in D.C., thank you.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HARRIS: We'll get to a break. When we come back, we'll talk to D.C.'s police commissioner, Kathy Lanier, in just a moment.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

HARRIS: The metro D.C. area getting hit hard by the snow. And joining me on the phone right now is the D.C. police chief, Cathy Lanier.

And Chief Lanier, appreciate your time. Thank you.

What is your best advice right now to D.C. residents?

CATHY LANIER, D.C. POLICE CHIEF: Well, the best advice right here now is -- I mean, this is kind of an unprecedented storm here, and I'm sitting out on a street in an SUV right now, and visibility is really zero. There's very, very high winds, ,very heavy snow blowing.

You know, if you're even in an SUV, it's difficult to get around. And there's pedestrians walking in the street, and you really just can't see them until you're right up on them. So, it's extremely dangerous conditions out here right now.

HARRIS: How concerned are you that people are going to take some unnecessary risks, and just because -- and maybe they're trying to get some additional supplies. Not being ill in their intentions, but just doing the wrong thing at this moment in time when, boy, you really need folks to sort of stay hunkered down?

LANIER: They're doing pretty well. We don't see the numbers of people out there that we did just a few days ago when we had the first wave of this big storm.

And what we're asking people is, if they have to get out, if they absolutely have to get out, if they can just wait until the snow stops, there is an end to this storm coming. And once the snow stops, at least the visibility will improve. My big concern is that the number of emergency vehicles and plows and everything else on the road, people walking are really putting themselves at risk.

HARRIS: Are you going to be able to get to people who might be in some kind of difficult situation right now -- out of power, some kind of health emergency? Are you going to be able to get to folks?

LANIER: You know, emergency services have been doing very well. Fire trucks are getting through and ambulances are getting through to calls for service without any problems.

We have SUVs and the National Guard supporting us with Humvees, so we've been able to answer calls for service extremely well. And fortunately, the calls are very low. But I tell you, it's pretty treacherous out here.

HARRIS: So, describe it for us. You mentioned it just a moment ago, but take a moment and describe what you're driving through now.

LANIER: Well, I can tell you, Washington, D.C., is a beautiful city. Very beautiful in the snow. But you really can't see.

Just a while ago, I parked just, really, outside of the Capitol. You know, just a couple dozen yards from the Capitol, and you could not see the Capitol dome through the snow. It's just blinding, whiteout, snowy conditions.

The roads, even though they've been plowed continuously, the snow's coming at a rate that it's just piling up so fast. And unfortunately, from the previous snow a couple of days ago, we've got a thick layer of ice underneath of the snow. So stopping, even in an SUV, is very, very difficult.

HARRIS: Are you going to have to bring on additional help, or are you staffed to where you think you need to be to handle this?

LANIER: Police officers are amazing and resourceful people. We had over 700 people show up for work today, so they're finding ways to hunker down in the city, get to work, and get to work on time. And God bless them, because we need them.

HARRIS: Chief, appreciate it. Thanks for your time.

LANIER: All right.

HARRIS: And the best of luck through all of this.

Let's do this -- let's check our top stories, other top stories that we're following for you right now.

Things are getting back to normal in Chicago after an early morning wakeup call. A magnitude 3.8 earthquake rattled buildings just before dawn this morning. No injuries or major damage reported.

Astronauts from Endeavour are getting to work after hooking up with the International Space Station just after midnight Eastern Time. Over the next two weeks, the crews will take three spacewalks. They will also unload a brand new room for the space lab.

We will get another check of our top stories for you in 20 minutes. I think we can work that out for you.

We are going to check in with our security desk in a moment for the story of a college student who got into trouble with airport security because he was carrying a set of study flash cards.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: A college student handcuffed, jailed, and questioned for hours, all because he was traveling with Arabic flash cards and a U.S. foreign policy book. That claim is at the center of a lawsuit today.

CNN's Jeanne Meserve is at the Security Desk for us in Washington.

And Jeanne, if you would, walk us through the details of this case.

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Sure, Tony.

The suit was filed on the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of Nicholas George, who's a 22-year-old college student. The suit alleges that he was detained and interrogated unconstitutionally last August when he was flying out of the Philadelphia airport. According to the suit, what raised the interest of security officials were some flash cards he was carrying in his pocket that had Arabic on one side, English on the other.

Here's how Nicholas George describes them.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NICHOLAS GEORGE, PLAINTIFF: They asked me why I had those words. I told them, honestly, because I'd been trying to read Arabic news media, especially Al-Jazeera. And these are words that come up when you read the news about the Middle East.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MESERVE: And those words were words like "bomb" and "explosion." He said those only accounted for a small proportion of the cards that he had with him, however.

According to the lawsuit, he was detained for almost five hours. The suit says that he underwent abusive interrogation by a TSA supervisor. He was then put in handcuffs for two hours by the Philadelphia police.

And then he underwent more interrogation by two FBI agents who asked him questions about his religion and his political beliefs. And when it was all over, it was discovered that he poses no threat.

Now, the irony here is that this young man tells us that he was studying Arabic and has been for three years in hopes of entering the U.S. Foreign Service and assisting his country.

Tony, back to you.

HARRIS: Jeanne, any reaction from the TSA to these allegations?

MESERVE: Well, the suit was filed against the TSA, the FBI and the Philadelphia police. We've reached out to all of them for reaction, but the suit was only filed about an hour ago. They have not had any chance to get back to us with any reaction. But let me tell you, there were a few other things that, in reading the case, you might think would have raised their curiosity.

HARRIS: Yes.

MESERVE: One was the fact that he had a student I.D. from a Jordanian university. He studied abroad. Secondly, he had a passport that indicated he had gone to some other countries besides Jordan, including Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan, things that might have increased their interest.

HARRIS: Absolutely.

MESERVE: But he says, hey, I didn't pose a threat, I didn't have anything on me that posed a threat. A couple of minutes of questioning should have cleared this up, but it didn't.

HARRIS: It didn't. OK.

Our homeland security correspondent, Jeanne Meserve, for us.

Jeanne, thank you.

MESERVE: You bet.

HARRIS: African-American leaders are talking jobs and the economy with President Obama today.

Our White House correspondent, Suzanne Malveaux, joining us live.

And Suzanne, tell us about the meeting and who was in the room.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: OK, Tony.

Well, obviously they are braver this weather. And the reason they are still holding this meeting at this hour is because there's some that have come from out of town, and they took a lot of work just to get here, so they didn't cancel the meeting.

There are four leaders essentially who are reaching out to the president about jobs for the African-American community. Dr. Dorothy Height, she is the chair at the National Council of Negro Women. She is 97 years old and she gets around by wheelchair, so she is not attending this meeting, she was not able to make it in the snow. But those that are here, Ben Jealous, he's the head of the NAACP. Also, Marc Morial of the National Urban League, as well as Reverend Al Sharpton, all three of them meeting with the president.

The bottom line here, Tony, is they're saying, look, you've got that jobless number, unemployment just under 10 percent for the general population, but when you look at African-Americans, it's close to 16 percent. When you look at Hispanics, 12 percent.

So, they want this president to use part of that money that was supposed to go to bailing out the banks in the tune of $150 billion to create jobs targeted specifically for minority communities, those folks who are doing very poorly. They want to create at least three million jobs, Tony. So that's why they're here today.

HARRIS: Yes. Let's pivot a bit to the talk recently about bipartisanship.

How is that working out, Suzanne?

MALVEAUX: Well, you know, a lot of people talk about bipartisanship here in Washington. We saw the president yesterday, for the first time, inviting the Republicans, the Democrats in these monthly meetings he said that he was going to have, that he promised at the State of the Union. But what was interesting, Tony, was what happened afterwards, the tone, not just coming from Republicans, but also from this White House. It shows that bipartisanship has quite a ways to go.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Keeping in mind what's best for the American people --

MALVEAUX (voice-over): On the one hand, the White House boasts they're all about bipartisanship.

OBAMA: A seriousness of purpose that transcends petty politics.

MALVEAUX: On the other hand, the president's spokesman panned Republican Sarah Palin, mocking her apparent crib notes with scribbles of his own.

ROBERT GIBBS, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: I wrote a few things down.

CROWD: Oh!

GIBBS: I wrote -- I wrote -- I wrote -- I wrote "eggs, milk, and bread." But I crossed out "bread," just so I can make pancakes for Ethan if it snows. And then I wrote down "hope and change," just in case I forget.

MALVEAUX: Palin dissed the president this past weekend.

SARAH PALIN: Now, a year later, I got to ask those supporters of all that, how's that hope-y, change-y stuff working out for you?

MALVEAUX: Gibbs evened the score. So much for changing the tone in Washington.

OBAMA: Hello, hello, hello.

MALVEAUX: The jab came just minutes after President Obama made a surprise appearance in the briefing room to tout his own bipartisan creds.

OBAMA: A little while ago, I had a meeting with the Democratic and Republican congressional leaders. And it went very well. In fact, I understand that McConnell and Reid are out doing snow angels on the South Lawn together.

MALVEAUX: While the Democratic leader, Harry Reid, did not make an appearance after the meeting, his Republican counterpart did, to insist any truly bipartisan health care summit hosted by the president could not include the Democrats' failed health care bill.

SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R), MINORITY LEADER: What we need to do is start over and go step by step on a truly bipartisan basis and try to reach an agreement.

MALVEAUX: But could an agreement be hashed out at a summit in two weeks, on live TV?

OBAMA: You know, my hope is that this doesn't end up being political theater, as I think some of you have phrased it. I want a substantive discussion.

MALVEAUX: There appears to be a bipartisan hope for substance. Then again, we don't know what's written on the other hand.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX: So, Tony, you see in Washington, you've got this kind of "talk to the hand" moments that seem to be going on here. And clearly there's more work to be done. But I did have a chance to talk with Senator McConnell after that meeting and he said they did find some common ground, despite the political jokes, the jockeying back and forth. Some common ground on trade deals, as well as job creation. So maybe there is some progress being made, but, you know, bipartisanship has got a long way to go.

HARRIS: Oh, boy, that was entertaining. That really was. Look, I hope you're getting some hazard pay today, otherwise get out of the mess, Suzanne Malveaux.

MALVEAUX: We're doing OK here. We're not on the streets. We're all right.

HARRIS: You're OK?

MALVEAUX: Yes, we're doing OK.

HARRIS: I love the hat. All right, Suzanne Malveaux at the White House for us.

MALVEAUX: It's very pretty out here.

HARRIS: Yes. Yes. Well, it's snowing. It's a blizzard. Be careful, all right.

MALVEAUX: OK.

HARRIS: More on the storm coming up. We're going to get an update from an official at Dulles International Airport.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) HARRIS: You know, we just learned in the past 15 minutes that Dulles International Airport has closed. And joining me on the phone right now -- and we appreciate Tara taking her time -- is Tara Hamilton with Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority.

Tara, appreciate your time. First of all, talk about the factors coming together here leading you to make this decision.

TARA HAMILTON, METRO WASHINGTON AIRPORTS AUTHORITY (via telephone): Hello. Well, actually, both the -- all the airports in Washington, because of the severe weather conditions, are not operating today. There are no flights at Dulles or at Reagan National throughout the day. And the conditions are blizzard-like conditions, as you've probably been reporting.

HARRIS: Yes.

HAMILTON: Visibility is just about zero. And while the winds continue to blow this -- at this severe, you know, way and we have the visibility so reduced, we are -- we're doing our best. We're continuing to work, as we can at both airports, literally hauling away snow, and we'll continue to do that tonight, into tomorrow, with the hopes of reopening tomorrow.

HARRIS: Well, Tara, let me bring in our meteorologist, Chad Myers, in on this conversation as well.

And, Chad, take it away.

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, Tony, what I've been seeing, and I'm just concurring that there have been very few, if any flights anyway. And so just calling it closed is just an act of officiality. Here's the last plane out. It was a cutter (ph) airplane going from Dulles all the way over on to the other side of the world over there. But nothing in and out of Reagan. Nothing in and out of Dulles. And only one plane still into LaGuardia at this point. And so the whole Northeast corridor is shutting down, and has been shut down for quite some time.

Tony, I don't even know where to go with this.

HARRIS: Right.

MYERS: I guess the next question is, how soon can it possibly open?

HARRIS: What do you think, Tara?

HAMILTON: Well, I wish I knew that. I wish I had the weather knowledge to tell you when this blizzard will be over.

HARRIS: Yes.

HAMILTON: But we'll keep on it. We're going to work all night, as we have been. This is day six for our crews.

HARRIS: Right.

HAMILTON: And we'll keep on it.

MYERS: Where do you put the snow?

HARRIS: That was my question, Chad.

HAMILTON: We -- wherever we can find a space on our property. We've been -- we've had 60 dump trucks over at Reagan National probably for the last four days, I think now, hauling snow. Out at Dulles, the same thing. We have snowblowers and we have snowmelters out at Dulles. But we are just hauling snow and getting it as far away from our operating airfield as possible.

MYERS: Are there people sleeping in the terminal? You know those terrible pictures we always have to show?

HAMILTON: Yes. I tell you, the airlines did an excellent job the first storm, and certainly for this second one, getting the word out, canceling their flights. We do not have people in great numbers, if any, and we have no aircraft at our airports, which is a wise move on the part of the airlines.

MYERS: Don't you hate those pictures, Tony, where people are sleeping on the floor with one pillow, you know, and they're --

HARRIS: Yes.

MYERS: So I'm glad there's nobody there (INAUDIBLE).

HARRIS: Well, Tara, appreciate it. And, boy, you've got good spirits about you and that's good. And everybody needs to take a cue from you on that one, because this is going to be tough and these are going to be difficult days.

HAMILTON: Well, thank you. And I just want to say that, you know, our -- no one wants more than our crews, our snow crews, to get through this storm and get things up and operating. They're as anxious as the customers and the airlines are to get things moving again.

HARRIS: Tara Hamilton with Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority. Tara, appreciate it. Thank you.

So what happens to all those stimulus-funded jobs after the stimulus funding runs out? Couldn't think of a more clever segue to get to you here. We'll talk to Josh Levs about all of this in just a moment.

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Clever enough.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Let's get you caught up on our top stories now.

Snowed in from Washington to New York. Blizzard warnings are out. The snow, piling up. Hundreds of planes are grounded in Baltimore. You can't even get on city streets. The mayor has banned all but emergency vehicles.

New concerns today for Toyota. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports it has received more than 80 complaints about steering problems in 2009 and 2010 Corollas. The company's already busy fixing problems with gas pedals and breaks in other models.

And another Japanese automaker expands a recall. This time it is Honda and airbags. It affects 2001 and 2002 models like the Accord, Civic, Odyssey, CRV and Acura CL. Honda says the driver's side air bag can inflate with too much pressure. More than 950,000 Hondas are now under recall.

Let's get you to our website, cnnmoney.com, if you want the latest financial news and analysis. Our team there does, I say it every day at this time, a terrific job.

To the New York Stock Exchange now for a look at the big board. Better than three hours into the trading now. We're right there along what Stephanie Elam calls the flat line. We're down three. The Nasdaq, oh, Joe, what did I do with the number? The Nasdaq is, what, mixed, flat as well? Down three. All right, we're following these numbers throughout the day for you right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

$862 billion to get the economy moving again. The CNN stimulus project is following the money for you and answering your questions along the way. Our Josh Levs is at the stimulus desk for us.

And, Josh, what are viewers asking of us?

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We got a lot of questions right after you and I were on the air yesterday.

HARRIS: Oh, good.

LEVS: And we're going to start off tackling one of them. I want to start off setting the scene because I want everyone to see what I showed you from cnn.com/stimulus. It's on this computer behind me. Let's show everyone this.

It's a map that's interactive. And whichever state you click on or just roll your mouse over, it shows you how many stimulus dollars have gone to that state.

Well, right after we did this, Tony, we got a questions from a lot of people, including Mike Smith. I pulled him up as an example. Here's his question. "How much in stimulus funding did each state get per capita?"

Well, we went looking and there is a list I can show you on this next screen here. There's a website called billshrink.com and they looked at some maps, looked at some figures from "The Wall Street Journal" and here's what they showed. If you're going to look at per capita spending, and this was as of November, late November, they say Utah, Alaska and Mississippi got the highest per person in the states in terms of that kind of spending. Lowest, Florida, West Virginia, and Nevada.

But, I've got to tell you something. Two things about this. First of all, the figures keep changing. That was from November. We have new figures. But also, this is where it's really interesting here. In a way, looking at how much you get per person in the state isn't necessarily the most realistic way to look at it. For example, take a look at this nuclear project that we've been showing you. This happens to be -- it's the Hanford site. It's in the state of Washington. And it's cost $2 billion to clean that up. And, Tony, it's the biggest nuclear waste site in the entire western hemisphere.

So, yes, $2 billion, therefore, is going technically to the state of Washington for that project. But are you therefore going to say, well, then other people out there should get the same per capita? In the end, the only way to understand what's happening to this massive sum of money, this $862 billion, is to look, Tony, at each project and decide for yourself if you think that project is worth it or not.

HARRIS: Yes, one persons what did I hear, one person's pork is another person's stimulus project.

LEVS: Similar here.

HARRIS: Yes. And we're also getting questions about how long these stimulus jobs will last, aren't we?

LEVS: Yes, we are. And I find this one really interesting, too. Let's show you one example. I got this from a tweet yesterday. And this is the kind of thing that a lot of people are asking us here. Who's this one?

This came to us from Sal Torres. "What is going to happen to the jobs that were created or saved after the stimulus money is gone?" What I really like about this is it opens up the opportunity for us to talk about what the word "job" even means in this case, Tony, right?

A job, when it's reported as being funded by the stimulus, could be two days on a construction site or it could be permanent, full-time forever. So even grouping everything under the term jobs isn't necessarily one kind of thing.

And it is interesting to look at what comes ahead, because we know, for example, with cops, right, that the Justice Department has this program, they're funding a lot of police all over the country. In cities they have to pay for three years and then the city has to pay for the fourth year.

HARRIS: That's right.

LEVS: So in those cases, the states are saying, what are we going to do? It's a good example of the fact that there is some pressure after this funding runs off for some places to try to keep it going if the job can even keep going at all.

HARRIS: Well, I can tell you, the city is going to will out a way to pay for the cops, I can tell you that one.

LEVS: And they can hope the economy will turn around.

HARRIS: Exactly.

LEVS: And if you want to get your questions in, let's show everyone how to do that. It's up at the blog, cnn.com/josh. Also Facebook and Twitter, JoshLevsCNN. And, of course, the most important website in America, cnn.com/tony is a very easy way for you to ask us anything you want.

HARRIS: You crazy man. All right, Josh, appreciate it. Thank you.

LEVS: You're welcome.

HARRIS: Let's see the pictures of D.C. here. Look at all of this. The blowing, the drifting. The snow, a real mess. Blizzard conditions in D.C. and Maryland. We're going to keep an eye on the situation for you. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: You know, it is tough enough to find a job these days. And for people with a troubled past, it's even harder. But help is out there for those who are willing to strive. CNNMoney.com's Poppy Harlow shows us.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM (voice-over): On East 123rd Street in Harlem, there is hope.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What was the first (INAUDIBLE)?

CLASS: Experience.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Second?

CLASS: Skills.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Third?

DEREK WINDSOR, STRIVE GRADUATE: And so it's never too late. You all are in the right place. You're in a good school. A good staff. Take advantage of it, man. Take advantage of it.

HARLOW: Derek Windsor took advantage of it and turned his life around. He's one of more than 140,000 people that have benefited from STRIVE, an organization dedicated to helping hard to employ people find careers, despite a troubled past.

ROB CARMONA, PRESIDENT & CO-FOUNDER, STRIVE: I always tell people that we get brilliant right after we get arrested.

HARLOW: Rob Carmona would know. His wake-up call came after years of drugs and run-ins with the law. After almost being thrown in jail, Carmona founded STRIVE on the principle that it's not enough just to learn skills, you have to learn how to act if you want to find a job and keep it. So all STRIVE students go through a month long course focused solely on their behavior.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That you're motivated because it didn't happen by accident.

SHAWN ATKINSON, STRIVE STUDENT: I come from a bad neighborhood, but that don't make me a bad person.

THEODORA REESE, STRIVE STUDENT: When I was 17, I was stupid. I stole a pack of cigarettes. I put myself in this situation, you know?

JASON PATTERSON, STRIVE STUDENT: regardless of my background that there's still hope for me.

HARLOW: That hope is key. Derek Windsor had it when he was in jail and he's beaten the odds since he was released last year.

WINDSOR: It feels good. It honestly does feel good, you know? I made it or I'm making it. I'm on my way. And nothing's going to stop me now.

HARLOW: Today he's making steady money weatherizing homes and supporting his family thanks to STRIVE.

WINDSOR: They taught me attitude.

HARLOW (on camera): Attitude?

WINDSOR: They taught me attitude. And if you don't have the right attitude, you're not going to succeed.

CARMONA: We'll tell people, think about the times when you got in trouble. What was going on in your life? And they'll say, almost to the man and woman, my life was in disarray when that happened. So work provides that kind of order.

HARLOW (voice-over): And having that work also decreases the ultimate cost to society.

MARIO MUSOUNO, NEW YORK STATE DEPT. OF LABOR: If you have folks who are chronically unemployed, we are going to be supporting them one way or the other in this society.

HARLOW (on camera): What's your family think right now?

WINDSOR: Proud of me. Yes, I'd say proud, you know? Proud. If she was standing -- if my mother was standing here, she would probably have a tear in her eye.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Poppy Harlow joining us from New York. Boy, I'm just thinking about the people who are losing their job in this economy who are good at what they're doing through no fault of their own.

HARLOW: Right.

HARRIS: What's the outlook for the next class of STRIVE graduates, given how weak the job market is, Poppy?

HARLOW: Yes, it's pretty bright, Tony. You're looking at them right here. They graduated just a few days ago here in New York.

HARRIS: Oh, nice.

HARLOW: But STRIVE the program got $4.7 million in stimulus funding just in the past few weeks. So that's good news for the program. It's part of the stimulus program's "Pathway Out of Poverty." And what's interesting, Tony, is it's earmarked for green job training. And that's the focus here at STRIVE, is train people for jobs that are out there, not necessarily skills that aren't needed in this economy. So that's why they're focusing on weatherizing homes, et cetera. So the outlook, I think, is pretty bright for these next STRIVE graduates.

And this program is just so impressive. It's been around for 25 years. And, Tony, they've put about 40,000 people to work as a result. The key there, as they said, it's not just skills to do a job, it's having the right attitude.

HARRIS: Right.

HARLOW: And for everyone else who's not in the STRIVE program, a lot on get a job, keep a job, tips, trying to help you out here on CNNMoney. Always the focus, Tony.

HARRIS: Poppy, appreciate it. Thank you. Good stuff.

HARLOW: You got it.

HARRIS: We're going to take a quick break. When we some back, we will talk to Washington, D.C.'s mayor, Adrian Fenty.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MYERS: And I'm Chad Myers. And although planes are in the sky, obviously still 5,000 planes at this hour in the skies somewhere across America, American Airlines has now cancelled officially 530 flights due to the snow across parts of the East. One of the last flights to leave LaGuardia. A couple of flights still leaving JFK. But other than that, they're batting down the hatches and no more flights to come. We'll keep you updated as conditions warrant.

HARRIS: Yes, sounds like a smart move.

MYERS: Yes, absolutely. I don't want to be on that plane anyway. HARRIS: Come on, give me a break here.

MYERS: Really.

HARRIS: All right, Chad, thank you.

MYERS: Sure.

HARRIS: Let's get you to Washington, D.C.'s mayor, Adrian Fenty. He's on the line with us.

And, Mr. Mayor, good to talk to you.

MAYOR ADRIAN FENTY, WASHINGTON D.C.: Sure.

HARRIS: If you would, the situation for your city seems to have turned from really, really bad to ominous. If you would, take a moment and describe what sounds like the worsening conditions for your city.

FENTY: Yes, I mean, it's been a pretty consistent drubbing of snow since December. But the last 10 days have brought us a 26- incher. We're looking at a 10 to 15-incher and a couple of six inches in between. This is for a city that average about 15 inches of snow. So we've got all hands on deck and people are making the best of it, but it's definitely the worst snow that Washington, D.C., has ever seen.

HARRIS: Have you blown through, or are you close to blowing through, your snow budget for the year?

FENTY: Oh, yes, blown through it completely. I mean, we average about $6.2 million in spending, which is what we have. I'm sure -- I'm sure we'll at least double that.

HARRIS: So, what do you do at this point? You know, the cardinal rule for mayors is, you better get the snow off the streets and you better get the trash picked up. So, what do you do?

FENTY: Well, we've been doing well. I mean just get out early, put the plows down. Get the plows working, to the extent that they break down on the streets, which has even happened on a couple of occasions. But we've got a -- we've got a great team. I tell you what, there's an amazing thing about snow removal, the guys who are out there running those plows, they understand that if they don't get it done, the city won't get back to running. And so they're so motivated and energized. So I just spent a lot of time thanking them, bringing them doughnuts and coffee and

HARRIS: Yes.

FENTY: And making sure they've got the resources they need.

HARRIS: One more quick one, Mr. Mayor. What's your best advice to the residents of your city right now? FENTY: Well, we want to tell them that we're coming. But for right now, if you guys are panning in on us all day, you see, it's a blizzard. So stay off the streets for right now. Let the plows come through for the next 24, 48 hours and we'll get you back to work as soon as possible.

HARRIS: Yes. Mr. Mayor, appreciate your time.

FENTY: Thanks so much.

HARRIS: D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty.

And moving away from the great white north, we're going to get a quick check from the front lines of the battle against icy roads in the South. It is a costly fight.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Tell you, state budgets are already in shambles and repeat snowstorms are adding dollars to the deficit. One example, the Tennessee Department of Transportation says it's almost $2 million over budget because of this winter's heavy duty snowfall. But even the biggest budgets aren't a match for nature if road crews can't reach the job site.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DELVIN HESTER, ROBERTSON CO., TENN HIGHWAY SUPT.: I either leave it up to the employees to use their own, you know, decide whether they think they can make it or not. A lot of times they'll come back, you know, and say we're scared to go off of it. We're going to end up in the ditch or something.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: You know, bigger means costlier. New York City says cleanup generally means $1 million for each inch of snowfall.