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The Northeast Digs Out from Snowmageddon; Iran Celebrates Revolution; AIG Overhauls Bonus System

Aired February 11, 2010 - 10:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Another look at our top stories right now, dueling demonstrations in Iran today. Pro-government crowds gather to remember the anniversary of the Islamic revolution. While that was going on, opposition protesters were also gathering but they were kept away from Freedom Square and sometimes beaten back by police. We'll have much more on Iran in a few minutes from now.

A Haitian judge could rule today on the fate of 10 Americans charged with child kidnapping. The Americans are accused of kidnapping 33 children. They say they were just trying to take the young earthquake survivors to a better life in the Dominican Republic. An attorney for one of the defendants says he hopes all 10 will be released.

And they are remembering an important moment in South Africa's history today. It was 20 years ago that Nelson Mandela walked out of prison a free man. He spent 27 years in custody. We'll take you live to South Africa later on this hour for more on the anniversary.

All right, let's talk that big snow. While the snow is tapering off, the problems simply adding up right now. Roads are treacherous and power lines are still down and Snowmageddon stretches into yet another day, but it's not just the winds that are blustery.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I worked outside for 50 years.

QUESTION: You like this?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, I love it. We walked three miles to school. We used to go barefooted. I came to Mar's to get a ham and they were going to open at 9:00 but they come out at 9:00 and said, no, they're not going to open.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Well hopefully he's not barefoot today, and he's got his boots on. We are open for business here at CNN. Our crews are covering all the angles. CNN meteorologist Jacqui Jeras has the big picture in our Weather Center. Kate Bolduan is in Washington, which is still reeling from back-to-back blizzards and Rob Marciano is in New York's Battery Park. So let's go to New York first, which is digging out from nearly a foot of fresh snow, Rob. ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Fredricka. Well, the sun out now. The winds are blowing quite briskly. Wind chills down into the teens. And while the sun is trying to melt some of this stuff, it's having a hard time because it's actually colder today than it was yesterday, so some of this stuff is beginning to freeze up. It's definitely makes for a slick go. On some of the main roads, they have salted them enough to where the sun plus the black asphalt is doing OK as far as keeping it pretty wet.

The sanitation department has been coming out and they have been digging out these fire hydrants. You've got to keep them clear just in case so that's one of the many chores that has to be done today. During the storm yesterday, we got to talk to a lot of people. Some took off work and some were out doing their daily routine. For this couple from Virginia, that included running.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARCIANO: You guys getting ready to go for a job in Central Park?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're from Virginia, we love the snow.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is nothing compared to when we left.

MARCIANO: So you guys are tough cookies.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's right.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Go for a little jog in the park.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We ran in the blizzard at home and now we thought oh, no big deal, we'll come out and run Central Park.

MARCIANO: At what total snow accumulation does it have to be for you to stop running?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There isn't one.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, we run all year long.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We were what, 20 inches last Sunday we ran in. So we run in about anything.

MARCIANO: Embracing the snow.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's right. We love it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You've got to love it.

MARCIANO: All right, enjoy your run.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you very much. Have a great day.

(END VIDEO CLIP) MARCIANO: And people say people from New York are crazy. Come on, people from Virginia, they go blizzard hopping. Can you believe that, Fredricka?

WHITFIELD: I like it.

MARCIANO: Well, they're going to have a good workout. Yeah, good attitudes for sure. Trying to get away from the blizzard in Virginia and they got one here in New York. So a lot of people will be working today for sure.

WHITFIELD: I want to know what kind of running shoes they wear to have that kind of tread with that slippery stuff and stay upright. I'm impressed.

MARCIANO: It's very impressive for sure. Anyway, things are looking a little bit up today but still a long road ahead as far as getting everyone completely unburied. Commuter buses are working all right and Wall Street just like yesterday is operating business as usual. Kids are back in school today, though. They're not happy about that.

WHITFIELD: No, of course they aren't but they had a little fun over the last couple of days. Rob Marciano, thanks so much in New York. On to Washington and Kate Bolduan is in Bethesda. Very snowy, boy, that's a lot of snow behind you there. Very snowy Bethesda, Maryland. What's going on?

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi there. Yeah, it's absolutely a lot of snow. And look at these snow drifts, some of the snow that we're talking about. This is what the plows are pushing up to the side of the road. And you can see right here, Maryland is starting to dig out, Fredricka.

Look at this, after record snow in the area, this road is clear but that is definitely not the same story in different places across this state, especially in some of the neighborhoods. And they also say they're having some big challenges of where to put all this snow in some of the urban areas. Almost two feet of snow fell in parts of this area, especially moving up more towards the Baltimore area. And because of all this as they start to dig out and the plows are out working today, the governor of Maryland, Martin O'Malley, had a stern warning for residents last night. Listen here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. MARTIN O'MALLEY (D), MARYLAND: So stop already with the pave my street -- or rather scrape my street down to the pavement. That cannot happen for the next 72 hours and we ask that you be the great citizens, great Marylanders and great Americans that you are and bear with us through this emergency.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: So now they are starting the big dig out and we can probably -- photojournalist Tony, we can probably turn around. You can see people are starting to get out. Probably a little bit of cabin fever and they really have to get about their business. We're right here outside a Giant food store. And this was actually opened during the storm. The manager here said they were very thankful that this place was open when customers were coming in and I'm actually blocking a delivery truck right now so I'm going to get out of the way.

People are out, you see the sun is shining. No, no, no, I'm not blocking that. But you know what, they've got a lot of challenges facing them. I spoke with the state highway administration a few minutes ago. After this past weekend storm, they were already between $33 and $35 million for cleaning up after this weekend storm. Clearly now it's busting the budget after this storm and what they're going to have to pick up.

What are the challenges? Well, they're doing a great job on some of these big roads, but in western Maryland, state highway administration told me that they're dealing with six to eight-foot snow drifts, that the plows truly cannot really get into and they're having to kind of barrel into to try to break it down so those are some of the challenges they haven't had to deal with in probably in years and decades really. So some of the challenges. We are seeing some smiling faces as people see some sunshine above.

But businesses today, we've been talking to some as they're starting to open. Some of them say they just can't open again today because their employees can't get in, but people are trying to and they're starting that slow process of digging out.

WHITFIELD: Well I know it's encouraging too for the stores that do remain open that the delivery trucks are operating, because I know a lot of those stores were stripped bare.

BOLDUAN: Telling the media to get out of the way, we're coming in.

WHITFIELD: All right, share the road. All right, Kate Bolduan, thanks so much, appreciate that in Bethesda, Maryland.

Let's check in with our Jacqui Jeras in the Weather Center. So I don't know, there are a lot of folks in the Washington area who are a little nervous that more snow just might be on the way just as they're clearing things out. So clarify it for us. Is it going to happen?

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, they have got some time actually. We're probably going to look at next week for our latest storm that's going to be moving into that area, so it looks like we'll stay dry through the weekend. The biggest issue today that you're dealing with are the blustery conditions. You could even see Kate's hat there that was kind of blowing in the wind a little bit. Kind of blustery, get some gloves on, by the way, girl.

The next storm right here across parts of the south. And this is going to be a big mess. We have an update that Dallas now has been upgraded to a winter storm warning, so some of these snowfall rates have been coming down very heavy in DFW. In fact we've seen reports between about 2.5 to 3.5 inches of snow now so we're going to update those totals and we're expecting to see probably somewhere between three and six inches overall. Winter storm warnings extended now through Shreveport over towards Jackson, Mississippi. And as the storm moves into here today and into tonight, in the Deep South by tomorrow. Travelers beware, that will be a mess across the South. Of course we're still cleaning up across parts of the Northeast. The airports are back open, Fredricka, but look at that. Six-hour delays in Philadelphia, six hours.

WHITFIELD: Yeah, forget it. Six hours, just delaying it until the next day or so.

JERAS: That's a whole lot of CNN or reading a whole lot of books.

WHITFIELD: All right, Jacqui, appreciate that.

All right, there is outrage in Seattle over the beating of a teen caught on videotape. Some of you may find it pretty disturbing as well. Four people were arrested after this attack you're about to see. The suspects followed the 15-year-old victim out of a department store to a train platform and you see it unfold right there. Police had kicked out the young people out of the store after an initial disturbance, but the worst part may be that private security guards in the tunnel that you see right there who were actually onlookers watching the whole thing, there in the bright vests there. Turns out that they were just following orders, meaning the guards are told by their bosses to observe and report only, but not to actually intervene in violent confrontations.

One guard seems to try to stop it but not physically. The head of metro transportation now says that policy will change. And that brings us to today's blog question. If you were one of those security guards, would you have tried to break up that fight even though it may have meant losing your job? Go to CNN.com/Fredricka and post your thoughts. I'll read some of those thoughts later on in this hour.

Taking to the streets in Iran now. Protesters try to join the revolution celebration, but they're not only not invited, they are beaten away by police.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, we thought you might want to know what some of the most popular items on our CNN.com news pulse Web page might be. Just take a look right here. The number one item here, opinion, time for Obama to go gangsta on GOP. What does that mean exactly? Well, if you recall, civil rights activist Fannie Lou Hamer made this famous phrase, I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired.

Well now there's a lot of encouragement coming from a lot of folks who says Barack Obama needs to simply go up on Capitol Hill and start to be a little bit more of a bully as it pertains to trying to get things done, fighting the resistance on Capitol Hill. I don't know if this means incorporating by partisanship or just simply means as the title says it's time for Obama to go gangsta on the GOP trying to get things done. So this is updated every 15 minutes. You can go to our Web site, CNN.com, newspulse.CNN.com. The page is updated, you want to check it out, see what's popular, what's interesting and weigh in if you'd like.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Crowded streets in Iran today for celebrations and protests. This is amateur video of one of those protests. Opposition demonstrators chanted "Death to Russia." Iranian security forces used force to keep protesters away from Freedom Square in Tehran. The son of one opposition leader tells CNN that paramilitary forces attacked his father's car twice. Freedom Square is where pro-government supporters gathered to celebrate the 31st anniversary of the Islamic revolution. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad addressed the crowd, touting success with the country's efforts to enrich uranium.

So we are watching all the angles of this developing story in Iran. Our Reza Sayah is in Islamabad, Pakistan, with more on that attack on the opposition leader's vehicle. And our Ivan Watson is at the Iran desk monitoring protest video coming into us from social media sites.

But let's start with you, Reza. What more can you tell us about this attack on its just the vehicle of this opposition leader, correct?

REZA SAYAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, but based on our sources and based on his son, we spoke to his son from Tehran, he did tell us that Mehdi Karroubi, a major opposition figure was attacked. He had told his supporters that he's going to make an appearance near Freedom Square where the president was making his speech. When he arrived on scene, according to his son, he was attacked and charged by plain clothes security officials who sprayed him with tear gas. Here is what Mehdi Karroubi's son had to tell us in a phone call from Tehran.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MOHAMMAD-TAGHI KARROUBI, SON OF OPPOSITION LEADER: Yes. Unfortunately we are completely disappointed at the behavior of the state today. At the same time we are hoping the situation will be changed and the people who are in power try to change their behavior and understand the people's demands and let the peoples present what they want.

SAYAH: Mr. Karroubi, do you think the opposition movement is weakening?

KARROUBI: Never. In my belief the opposition movement is more strong than before.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAYAH: That was opposition figure Mehdi Karroubi's son speaking to CNN in a phone call in Tehran today. It was a lot of suspension leading into the events, the anniversary of the 1979 Islamic revolution. It had all the makings of an explosive situation because here you had two sides who do not like one another who have been knocking heads for nearly eight months, ever since the disputed elections on June 12th. And there was a lot of buzz that perhaps the opposition movement would be able to disrupt the speech by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

But based on what we saw and based on our sources, the president did deliver his speech uninterrupted and another one of those typical Ahmadinejad speeches where he praised the Islamic revolution of 1979, the values of the Islamic republic and also railed against the West and what he called Western imperialism and western capitalism. He also talked about Iran's controversial nuclear program. He announced that indeed Iran is a nuclear power.

Fredricka, of course Washington is very concerned about Iran eventually being able to build a nuclear bomb. Defiantly President Ahmadinejad said if we are to build a bomb, we will publicly announce it because we're not afraid. Fredricka?

WHITFIELD: Reza Sayah joining us from Islamabad. Thanks so much.

So the only pictures of opposition rallies in Iran are actually coming from social media sites and that's because CNN did apply for a visa to cover the anniversary events, but that request was denied by Iran's government. CNN's Ivan Watson is on the Iran desk here in Atlanta monitoring the situation. What can you tell us, Ivan?

IVAN WATSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, Iranian state TV had wall-to-wall coverage of this carefully choreographed state demonstration, the hundreds of thousands of people attending Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's speech. This is what state TV had to say about the opposition demonstrators today. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A few hundred supporters of Iran's defeated presidential candidates have rallied in the capital Tehran. Supporters of Mirusein Moussadi (ph) and Mehdi Karroubi gathered in a western Tehran district. Police had stepped up security in the area to prevent possible disturbances. Defeated presidential candidate Mehdi Karroubi was seen among the protesters.

WATSON: Now let's take a look here. We've been gathering video being smuggled out via Internet. Andrea is going to show this video that we saw showing some of the methods the security forces appear to be using to keep the demonstrators away from that state-sanctioned ceremony in Freedom Square. You see a helmeted security officer punching and putting this man whose shirt appears to have been stripped off into a chokehold, pinning his arm back as well.

Now, we do know from our contacts on the ground that people did try to attend this demonstration. Opposition leaders who are former prime ministers, former presidents, former parliament speakers who were blocked from attending. And you heard from my colleague Reza Sayah saying that one man got tear gassed, a former parliament speaker. His son was arrested. That's Mehdi Karroubi, his son. We've also gotten a report coming out that the wife of another opposition leader who was actually a former prime minister, she was beaten with clubs today while trying to get to that central square.

We have seen videos as well of small groups of demonstrators trying to gather, covering their faces often to avoid being identified, doing things like attacking posters of the supreme leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khomeini, a poster that also has an image of the founder of the Islamic Republic some 31 years ago, Ayatollah Khomeini.

These are big taboos being broken, but the security forces with overwhelming force, have succeeded in mostly dispersing these demonstrators and they have also been arresting thousands of opposition members over the course of past months. Just a sign of how hard it is to say you don't agree with this government.

WHITFIELD: All right, many volatile moments there. Ivan Watson, thanks so much from the Iran desk.

AIG, the company that you might say gave big bonuses a bad name. Well things might be changing on that front. The company might reward those who actually do a really good job.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Remember all that outrage over the huge bonuses paid to AIG employees, even as the company was getting billions of dollars in taxpayer bailout money? Well, AIG now says it's changing its ways. CNNMoney.com's Poppy Harlow is in New York with an explainer on this, Poppy.

POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: Hi there, Fred.

We've heard so much about this pay for performance, AIG putting its money literally on that phrase saying going forward, we are going to pay out our employees due to performance. This is a company that has gotten $180 billion in support from U.S. taxpayers, rescuing the company amidst the financial crisis.

But here's the sticker, they still have a legal obligation to pay out hundreds of millions of dollars in retention bonuses. Once that is over, they say no more of that. What we're going to do is base our pay for our employees on a one to four scale in terms of their performance. That seems to make sense, but it wasn't the way it was previously.

What this is going to do is this is going to reduce the number of big bonuses being paid out by AIG. Take that number down. And this has been an ongoing fight between the Obama administration and pay czar Kenneth Feinberg and the company's newly appointed CEO Robert Benmosche. He almost quit over the whole fight saying how can we attract top talent if we don't have top pay? But they are, AIG, coming to the forefront, now, Fred, and saying we're going to change the way that we pay our employees, Fred. WHITFIELD: All right, so the Obama administration has talked tough on executive pay, but is the president actually changing his tune?

HARLOW: It's a good question. Really interesting developments I want to tell you about. In an interview this week, Bloomberg sat down with the president and they talked about compensation. The full interview is going to appear in "Businessweek" on newsstands tomorrow, but the president talked about the pay that that man, you see, Jamie Dimon, and also Lloyd Blankfein, the CEOs of JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs respectively.

The millions in compensation that they got, and I want to read to you a statement from what the president said on that. He said, "I know both these guys. They're very savvy businessmen. I like, most of the American people, don't begrudge people success or wealth. That's part of the free market system."

Now that, Fred, out of the whole enter interview is what Bloomberg ran as the headline. They put an excerpt up online yesterday. Well, the White House was upset by it. They said that's not really a clear statement on how the president feels on compensation. Here's what the White House wrote on their blog today.

It says, "A recent headline inaccurately made it sound like the president brushed off the impact of bonuses and applauded the role of bankers. This naturally comes as a surprise to many people who share his outrage at the behavior that continues on Wall Street and is not an accurate portrayal of where the president stands or what he said during that interview."

So a battle going on now between what Bloomberg thinks the president said and what the White House is saying he said. And the White House just clarifying all of this, says the president doesn't begrudge wealth but he is shocked at outsized bonuses and still thinks the culture needs to change on Wall Street. So very interesting developments on the compensation front.

Fred, we want people to weigh in on CNN Money and Twitter. Let us know what you think about what the president has said in this interview.

WHITFIELD: I have a feeling you will hear an earful.

HARLOW: A lot.

WHITFIELD: Poppy Harlow, thank you, appreciate that.

I want to share something with you. Just moments ago, NASA launches the Atlas V rocket from Cape Canavarel. You're looking at the taped pictures. It is carrying a probe scientists say will study the sun in greater detail than ever before. We're talking about the solar dynamics observatory that lifted off along with that Atlas V. It look off about 10:23, just about four minutes ago. Pretty nice pictures there at Cape Canavarel, Florida.

And our Josh Levs is at the intersection of stimulus and snow. The two are actually connected?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: The blizzard that blanketed the east coast could be bearing down on another market -- the economy. And the timing just couldn't be worse. After all, the unemployment rate is already at 9.7 percent.

Alison Kosik is at the New York Stock Exchange with details on this.

So how is this big dig affecting the market?

ALISON KOSIK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fredricka, the estimate is that we could see an extra 90,000 job losses just this month because of the snowstorms that we've been having. And that's from the Deutsche Bank economists.

It's because people who work in construction and transportation and other industries, you know, they weren't working. And this economist says it could even be double that number. I'm talking about 180,000 job losses.

And that's because we've had these back-to-back storms where these people were out of work. And this is kind of disheartening, especially if you're an investor because, you know, we've been going in the right direction.

Last month, you know, you compare that to 20,000 job losses in January. The 180,000 number just kind of boggles the mind. And you see just what kind of impact the snowstorms are having on jobs.

I mean, you know, you can chalk this up to just bad timing. The government's employment survey started last week right in the middle of these massive storms, so the weather is definitely going to be a factor. And the weather could wind up skewing the February jobs report.

Monthly numbers are going to be released the first week of March. The impact, though, is likely to be temporary because people go back to work shortly after the storm goes away and everybody cleans up.

And, you know, if you look on the bright side of this, Fredricka, some sectors are actually benefiting from the snow. Think about it, grocery stores, people stocked up on food and batteries. Home stores love snowstorms. I'm talking about snow blowers and shovel sales. You couldn't keep that stuff on the shelves.

Hotels, leisure travelers, they get stuck, they go book a hotel.

WHITFIELD: Yes, that's true.

KOSIK: I'm not even including the commuters. Many CNN workers had to stay in hotels last night just to be sure they can get in in the morning. Fredricka?

WHITFIELD: Right. So it's been a bust for some but a boon for others.

KOSIK: Exactly.

WHITFIELD: And that's just the way it goes sometimes. All right, thanks so much.

KOSIK: Sure.

WHITFIELD: Appreciate that.

All right, well, how about some of that stimulus money? Surely it could help melt away some of that snow and put people into work perhaps in the process as we were saying. More of the people that we just mentioned.

Josh Levs is on the stimulus desk.

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes.

WHITFIELD: You've got more good news as it pertains to work and snow and how they're related?

LEVS: A little bit, you know. Because of all this weather we decided to look into that. What does the stimulus say about all this? And there are some examples. In fact some snow plows, that kind of thing. I know we have some pictures from Washington.

We were just piecing through all sorts of different projects. I'll remind everyone, $862 billion in the giant stimulus that passed last year. About $160 billion went to projects, grants. And we started looking through.

And Fred, there are some places that got money for all sorts of transportation needs, including, in some cases, work on roads, working with snow plows, deicing machines, so we are seeing some of that money go there in some localities.

There's also something that's really interesting which is weatherization. And there's actually a lot of money for weatherization. And this is a process that helps people weatherize their homes. I mean basically you can get contractors to come in. And we got the number for you on the screen there.

Look at that. $5 billion in the stimulus to help weatherize homes. And this is something that anyone out there can apply for. Now every single state in the entire country got some money. This can help keep people warm in the winter. They put in better insulation, those kinds of things.

We've also reported at CNN Money that less than a tenth of that has actually been spent. Only $441 million has been spent.

I want you everyone to see more information on this and how you can apply for some of that money. So I posted it at my Facebook page at Facebook.com/JoshLevsCNN. We also got stuff going for you at the blog there at CNN.com/Josh. And at Twitter, JoshlevsCNN. Links for you on how you can apply for some of that weatherization money if it applies to you.

And finally, Fred.

WHITFIELD: Yes?

LEVS: I get to give you a big number right now.

WHITFIELD: OK. I'll take it.

LEVS: How much money the stimulus desk has looked at so far, check that out. We have checked out a whopping $16.3 billion in the stimulus. That's about a tenth of what's been spent on grants. We've pieced through it. Told you about projects. And you can get a lot more information on CNN.com/stimulus -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: Thank you. We have learned a lot, Josh. Appreciate that.

LEVS: Yes. You got it, thanks.

WHITFIELD: Well, it has been a medical mystery that has stumped scientists for thousands of years. What causes stuttering. Now new research may bring us closer to an answer.

The "New England Journal of Medicine" reveals that three genetic mutations in the brains of people who stutter, the cells are in the part of the brain that control speech, suggesting genes could actually play a bigger role in this disorder.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TAMMY FLORES, NATIONAL STUTTERING ASSOCIATION: It's just great news for people who stutter to know that it's a gene.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Our chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, says a cure is probably still a long way off, but researchers could be closer to diagnosis and treatment.

A savage beating caught on tape. But what may be worse than that actual attack is the lack of security or the lack of response. Why didn't the guards who were there jump in to stop it?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Twenty years later, the message lives on.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NELSON MANDELA, FORMER SOUTH AFRICAN PRESIDENT: The greatest thing for a politician is whether the ideas to which you have committed your life are still alive.

(END VIDEO CLIP) WHITFIELD: Nelson Mandela talking about his decades in prison. It was 20 years ago today that he walked away a free man and started a new revolution in South Africa. We'll take you there live later this hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Checking our top stories right now.

Dueling demonstrations in Iran today. Pro-government crowds gather to remember the anniversary of the Islamic Revolution. While that was going on, opposition protesters were also gathering, but they were kept away from Freedom Square and sometimes beaten back by police.

In Chesapeake, Virginia, authorities think they know who robbed the same bank three times in less than a year. The man in the mask caught on the security camera, authorities say that's a sergeant with the Chesapeake Sheriff's Office. A man with 12 years of service under his belt. He has been arrested, fired and faces a long list of charges.

And here's an update on a story that shook up a lot of people. A Brazilian judge says a 7-year-old girl can go ahead and be samba queen in this year's Carnivale celebrations. There had been outrage from children's protective groups since the role is usually given to scantily-clad models but the judge says the performance doesn't have to be erotic.

What a difference a day makes. This is what it looked like yesterday in the Bronx where more than a foot of snow fell. Parts of Pennsylvania got more than double that amount and Washington and the Virginia suburbs just a bit less.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's beautiful. Are you kidding me? This is great. The city is all closed down. It's just great weather from New England. So it feels like a little touch of home.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: What do you think, Will? Have you ever seen this much snow before?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, I did.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Yes, you did? Where? Did you see more snow than this before?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: OK. So Washington may have gotten just a little less than the Virginia area, but that was on top of the 30 inches that they already had.

Jacqui Jeras in the weather center.

(LAUGHTER)

JERAS: Good times. I'm glad to hear some people were enjoying it.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

JERAS: Because --

WHITFIELD: A lot of people were.

JERAS: Yes. I'm getting the word, the opposite from a whole lot of people sick of that snow and sick of trying to dig out. We had a number of records, not just for the day, for the 24-hour period but we had some for the month of February. We had some for the season as a whole.

So some of you are seeing more snow than you've ever seen in a calendar year. At least that's since we've been keeping records. These are storm totals so these are two-day totals for everybody. 22.5 for Baltimore, Maryland. You had nearly 16 in Philly. Reagan National 10.5, 10 in Central Park, and 9.7 in Atlantic City.

And travel is going to continue to be a huge problem on the roadways and the airways. The airports are open. Everybody is open. But lots of problems. Of course flights still cancelled today. Three and a half hour delays in Philly, 45 minutes for you in Teterboro, JFK 25 minutes.

And Houston has some delays, two minutes. Two-minute delays which surprises me it's only two minutes, by the way, because we've got quite a bit of rain down in the Houston area.

(WEATHER REPORT)

WHITFIELD: It's not heading to the northeast.

JERAS: It's not heading to the northeast.

WHITFIELD: OK, well, they can be very happy then.

(LAUGHTER)

WHITFIELD: While everybody else will be, you know, just staying inside. Staying off the roads.

JERAS: Yes.

WHITFIELD: Without all those snow plows and salt trucks.

All right, thank you, Jacqui.

JERAS: Sure.

WHITFIELD: A teen's beating was caught on tape but could it have been prevented? Here's the video. You can see the 15-year-old, you're about to see the victim actually attacked. And you can also see private security guards that are in these kind of green neon vests just looking on.

But they never physically stepped in to stop the attack. It turns out that they were just following orders. The guards are told to observe and report only, not to actually intervene in violent confrontations.

One guard there actually seems to try to say something to stop it but not physically. The guards did call for help, however.

But that brings us to today's blog question. If you were one of those security guards, would you have tried to break up the fight even if it meant losing your job?

"Well, these security guards should be fired, says Frank. "Anybody with half a brain and some humane feelings would have intervened."

"And that job is not worth having. You can't call yourself a security guard if you don't actually protect people under our watch." That from Jay.

"And if I knew I would get fired, I simply wouldn't do it. Call me a coward all you want, but if I had a family that needed taking care of, I would just do what I was told." That from Jeffrey.

So remember, we want to hear from you. Just go to CNN.com/Fredricka to share your comments.

Laid off? Looking for work? Three job hunters make their case in our 30-second pitch.

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WHITFIELD: All right, time now for our "30-Second Pitch," connecting job hunters with potential employers. We have three people ready to make their pitches, and they were all laid off last February.

Doreen Clark joins us from Minneapolis. She has extensive experience in communications and public relations. Omar Gutierrez is in Chicago. He hopes to put his eight years of architecture experience to use and land a job. And we have Christina Schlachter in Boulder, Colorado. She is looking to take on a role as vice president or partner in organizational effectiveness.

Thanks to all of you for joining us.

Doreen, I'm going to begin with you and ask you each a question before we get to your 30-second pitches.

So, Doreen, you worked in PR and Marketing. This is one of the industry's hardest hit. Are you flexible in going in a different direction right now? DOREEN CLARK, DOREENCLARK@HOTMAIL.COM: I think flexibility is the key right now. Obviously, I am trained in public relations, I'm trained in communications, but I'm absolutely willing to think outside of the box and go where the opportunities are.

WHITFIELD: OK. And, Omar, you're an architect. Lots of experience. You keep getting interviews but not getting pitched. What do you suppose is happening out there?

OMAR GUTIERREZ, JOB4OMAR@GMAIL.COM: Well, there's simply not enough jobs. Even the amount of jobs that I'm able to even find on the Web sites or even through networking is very limited out there.

WHITFIELD: It must be very frustrating.

GUTIERREZ: Yes, it has been.

WHITFIELD: OK. And Christina, you're getting more interviews in the last few months. Is this making you feel a little bit more optimistic about the economy?

CHRISTINA SCHLACHTER, DRCHRISTINAS@GMAIL.COM: I think that there are definitely signs that the economy is turning around, and employers are looking to invest in the future versus just think about short-term survival. So that's very encouraging.

WHITFIELD: OK. All right, Doreen, let's begin our 30-second pitch with you.

Your expertise in PR and marketing, but how would you make your pitch in 30 seconds for us.

CLARK: OK. My name Doreen Clark. I have an MBA in marketing, and I'm a Communications and Public Relations professional. I can create strategic communication initiatives for your organization. I can increase visibility through press releases, events, consistent messaging and targeted media relationships, while building talking points to lead teams through crisis communication initiatives. I will relocate to any state or work virtually. Contact me at Doreenclark@hotmail.com to discuss how I can be a part of your 2010 strategy.

WHITFIELD: All right. Omar Gutierrez, your turn. Your pitch in 30 seconds.

GUTIERREZ: All right. My name is Omar Gutierrez. You'll find my integrity, ingenuity and resourcefulness. My passionate commitments come through in the fields of architecture, graphic design, project management, education and fund-raising. I am a bilingual, bicultural individual looking for a position in the non- profit or architecture fields in which to maximize the use of my diverse skill set.

Looking for someone who strives for excellence and to make a difference in the world, look no further. I'm available via job4omar@gmail.com. WHITFIELD: Excellent. Christina, your turn now.

SCHLACHTER: Thanks. Hi, my name is Christina Schlachter, and I have 15 years of experience in leadership development and organizational improvement. I have a PhD in organizational development and I'm a lean six sigma black belt. My passion is around bringing executives together to communicate and work more effectively. If you're interested in taking your organization to the next level, please contact me at DrChristinas@gmail.com.

WHITFIELD: All right. All of you have taken the "30 Second Pitch" to the next level. Very impressive.

You know, as you all hear that the president is still making job creations a top priority, give me an idea, Doreen, how encouraging that is for you. If you think that will make a direct impact in your search.

CLARK: I think that job creation is absolutely imperative right now. But for -- I can speak for myself. I've been unemployed now for one year, and it may be a case of too little, too late. And I think we really need to up our ante and take it to the next level. And I know I'm willing to do that.

WHITFIELD: And, Omar, how do you suppose the promise from the White House to try to encourage more job creations to inject the emphasis in creating jobs, saving jobs might help you in the field of architecture?

GUTIERREZ: Well, I feel that it's already helping me. I've seen the flow of credit starting to thaw out a little bit and more jobs are starting to be available. So it's the right decision at the right time. Actually, I believe it should have come a little sooner, but it's definitely very welcome.

WHITFIELD: And Christina?

GUTIERREZ: I'm very optimistic.

SCHLACHTER: Well, actually one of the things I did in my job search was send the Obama White House a proposal on how to better measure the effectiveness of their programs, so perhaps I can revisit that and see if the job creations are actually making an impact on the economy.

WHITFIELD: Well, fantastic. Given that so many people were snowed in over the last few days and today, too, hopefully, they're watching because they have a job lined up for you.

Christina Schlachter, Omar Gutierrez, Doreen Clark, thanks to all three of you and all the best.

CLARK: Thank you for having me.

GUTIERREZ: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: And if you want to make your pitch, send your resume and a letter to 30secondpitch@cnn.com.

All right. Celebrations now in South Africa, remembering the day freedom reigned, 20 years after Nelson Mandela once again walked in the sunlight as a free man.

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WHITFIELD: They are marking an important anniversary in South Africa today. It was 20 years ago that Nelson Mandela walked away a free man, released from prison after 27 years.

CNN's Nkepile Mabuse joins us live from Cape Town, South Africa, right now.

What's taking place?

NKEPILE MABUSE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fredricka, I'm sure you can hear the loud music in the background, celebrations have already begun here at the parliament of South Africa in Cape Town where majority of President Jacob Zuma's speech will be dedicated to commemorating that all-important day 20 years ago when Nelson Mandela walked out of prison as free man after 27 years in prison.

Earlier, Fredricka, thousands of people gathered at Victor Verster. That's where he spent his last days of incarceration, and people were just commemorating and celebrating it. Victor Verster has now in South Africa been declared a national heritage site. So huge celebrations here in South Africa here in parliament, and earlier at the prison -- Fredricka?

WHITFIELD: And what about Nelson Mandela? Where is he? How is he?

MABUSE: Well, we're expecting former President Nelson Mandela to attend the parliamentary session here. Today, of course, the President Zuma will be addressing the nation, but a lot of eyes are going to be focused on this international icon, the man that South Africans will always look upon as their father and as their leader.

South Africans don't get to see much of president, of former President Mandela because he's 91 years old and he's retired from public life. He's very frail and very old. So they see him very, very rarely so they definitely going to be relishing the moment of seeing him here in parliament and him being recognized by the whole nation -- Fredricka?

WHITFIELD: And I know, Nkepile, oftentimes, especially because of the former president's physical state, a lot of his grandchildren have taken to the microphones. They have done a lot of interviews about how he's doing, and how they try to carry on the legacy.

Anything new from them on how they want to carry on the legacy and the teachings of Nelson Mandela?

MABUSE: You know, South Africans at the moment are very much disillusioned about the future of this country because many people here believe that no leader has been able to fill those big shoes of Nelson Mandela. So today the aim is different as they will be trying to remind South Africans that this is the man who belongs to them, he is their Mandela, and that they can overcome any problems that are facing the country.

But you know, there is a lot of doubt and a lot of skepticism in the air here, because over the past 16 years, you know, the poor have just gotten poorer here in South Africa. People just do not see their lives being improved on the scale that they thought would be happening after freedom and after democracy -- Fredricka?

WHITFIELD: And last question, lots of music going on right now. Can you give me an idea of just how many people have turned out for today's ceremony?

MABUSE: Well, as I said earlier on, there was a public event where every single South Africans was invited. And there were thousands of people. But here there will be parliamentarians in parliaments and also dignitaries. Earlier, we saw Nobel Laureate Desmond Tutu, and all those prominent leaders in South Africa will be here. And this will be close to keep the public. There's many NPs and basically VIPs and leaders in the country -- Fredricka?

WHITFIELD: Nkepile Mabuse, thanks so much from Cape Town, South Africa.

I'm Fredricka Whitfield here in the NEWSROOM.