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Blizzard Bearing Down on Northeast; Eight Americans Killed in Egypt; Whistleblower Woes; New Year's Resolution: "I Quit"; Bud Greenspan Dies at 84
Aired December 26, 2010 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HALA GORANI, CNN ANCHOR: When people dream of a white Christmas, this isn't normally what they have in mind, a blizzard hammering the Northeast as we speak. This is a camera -- we showed you these images just a few minutes ago, look at this -- Providence, Rhode Island.
States of emergency are already declared in these states: Virginia, Maryland and Massachusetts, if you're there. Also, in these cities: Philadelphia, Boston, Providence and Portland, Maine. Within the last hour, we got word that Amtrak is canceling its service tonight between New York City and Boston and, of course, this is throwing air travel into complete chaos as well.
Look at all these cancellations. American and Continental Airlines cancelled more than 500 flights combined through the Northeast Corregidor; Delta Airlines canceled another 850 flights, many from their hub in Atlanta.
And if you were planning to watch the red hot Philadelphia Eagles take on the Minnesota Vikings tonight, bad news. It's postponed, it's postponed, it's not cancelled. The NFL announced tonight's game in Philly that will take place Tuesday night. Take a look at Lincoln Financial Field and you can see why. I can't even see the field.
Lots of people scrambling to make other travel plans, the unlucky ones will be using their coats for pillows tonight in the terminals.
Senior correspondent Allan Chernoff is standing by at New York, LaGuardia Airport. How are people coping with the cancellations -- Allan?
ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Well, they are coping as well as they possibly can. Hala have a look at this, this is the checkout counter for American Airlines, right by the curb, entirely closed, covered up, which is pretty much the case for the entire airport. This blanket of snow has just shut down the airport. Theoretically it's open, but the fact is no planes are leaving. No planes are arriving. You can see why.
I mean, there's -- there's just so much snow coming down right now. The -- the mountain of snow that the plows have pushed together by the runways, it's got to be at least six, seven, maybe eight feet high; huge mountains of snow on the other side on the airport.
Now, most people did not come to the airport. Most passengers got notice that their flights would be canceled, but some came, hoping somehow to get out or to buy a ticket for another day and some people are still in there. They're going to be there overnight.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIKE MCDANIEL, STRANDED PASSENGER: This is home, for the next day anyhow.
CHERNOFF (on camera): So you're sleeping right here?
MCDANIEL: Well, what sleeping you'd get to do, yes. Yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHERNOFF: This is not the first time this has happened to Mike. He said it's happened twice before, once last year here at LaGuardia Airport. His flight isn't until 6:00 p.m. tomorrow, Hala. That is a long wait.
GORANI: And -- and will people be able to -- to make it out tomorrow? Will airlines be able to reschedule all these people who are stranded today and who weren't able to fly out today someday as planned?
CHERNOFF: Well certainly, they're not all getting out tomorrow. The airlines are hoping to get their schedule back to normal Tuesday, but even on Tuesday, if the schedules are normal, just think of all the people who have been delayed.
So they're not all going to be able to fit on to all those planes. So some people are certainly going to be delayed, two, three, maybe even more days. So this -- this storm really is having a huge impact on delaying travel plans, people getting home after the holidays.
GORANI: All right, Allan Chernoff at LaGuardia Airports, thanks very much.
Bonnie Schneider is at the weather center. You there's nothing better than being by a fire all snuggled up when it's snowing outside.
BONNIE SCHNEIDER, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Right.
(CROSSTALK)
GORANI: Right.
SCHNEIDER: -- or -- or being a kid that you know you don't have to drive in it.
GORANI: But now, I imagine for all these people trying to get home, it's kind of a nightmare.
SCHNEIDER: It really is. It's extending the Christmas holiday whether you want to or whether you don't.
Providence, Rhode Island is one place that's under a blizzard warning. Let's go live right now and we can show you a picture. Look at the wind, look, you can see the movement sideways of the snow, the heart of the blizzard hitting New England right now.
We are also getting some very interesting firsthand reports in New York City from our staffers hard at work already for tomorrow's "American Morning". They report thunder snow outside the studio. Meaning you hear the sound of thunder as if it was a summertime thunderstorm. When that happens, look for heavy bursts of snowfall, possibly one to two inches per hour.
Here's a look at the map, you can see the advisories all the way into New England, now, remember these advisories will continue straight through tomorrow particularly in the city of Boston. The blizzard will really come through more in the overnight hours. Baltimore, D.C., you're out of the advisory area, but we still could see some treacherous weather.
And notice the wraparound from the snow some of the parts of the south saw the first white Christmas in a hundred years or more; well, now it's snowing again. So we've got some light snow flurries. Accumulation is not really expected but temperatures are cold enough for icy areas so please be extra careful tomorrow morning when you're heading back to work.
Here's what's happening and it -- really with the blizzards. Notice the bright white bands. They kind of come in one after the other, there's a lobe and another one comes in and you saw Allan's report at New York City, the big, big size of the snow flakes.
The wind is intense and that's what classifies a blizzard. You have winds as strong as 35 mile per hour visibility reduced to a quarter mile or less. And the blowing and drifting snow, well, this is going on for at least three hours or more, it's officially a blizzard and that's what we're seeing now. Possibly, places like Long Island could see snow drifts as high as three feet by tomorrow because that snow will blow and move about and pile up.
Here's another look at New England and notice Cape Cod kind of getting a little bit of everything. The water surrounding the Cape, so you will see at times rain and sleet making it even more treacherous and icy areas as well.
Now, in terms of total accumulation, you can see on this map and our legend right here, ten inches or more and right here, this little heart area here, 20 inches or more. That includes parts of New Jersey. So massive, huge, a tremendous blizzard so early in the winter season.
GORANI: All right, we'll be keeping an eye on it. Thanks Bonnie Schneider.
Checking other top stories we're following, a horrific bus crash in Egypt has left eight American tourists dead. The crash happened in Aswan a popular site south of Cairo, 600 miles south of the Egyptian capital. The bus apparently smashed into a parked dump truck. A dozen injured Americans were taken to Cairo for treatment. Some are in critical conditions. Documentary filmmaker Bud Greenspan has died from complications of Parkinson's disease -- he was 84. Greenspan won an Emmy for his films about the Olympic Games and the inspirational stories of Olympic athletes. And the head of the U.S. Olympic Committee called the Greenspan's death quote, "the loss of a giant", unquote.
Also, an Arizona state lawmaker is hospitalized in stable condition after he was attacked on Christmas day. Frank Pratt went to check on his swimming pool store when he was confronted by a person already inside the building. Police say the attacker knocked Pratt unconscious and then, bound him inside -- inside his business, then stole his SUV. It's Pratt's wife who found him about four hours later. The suspect in this case is still at large.
Four Turkish engineers have been kidnapped in eastern Afghanistan. The incident took place near the Pakistan border. The engineers were building a police post. An acting governor reported the kidnapping and he says the victims were supposedly being protected by six armed Afghan guards. Officials worry the men will be taken across the border into Afghanistan.
Coming up, we'll talk to the mayor of Philadelphia about the blizzard whipping through there right now.
And we will also take you to Egypt for more on that tragic bus crash that killed eight American tourists.
Plus, if you have a job, but you still want a new one, you're not alone. Not by a long shot. We'll take a closer look at a new study that says most Americans who already have jobs will be looking for new ones in the New Year.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: Philadelphia declared a snow emergency earlier today. The football game between the Eagles and the Minnesota Vikings was also postponed until Tuesday. Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter joins us on the phone now. What is it -- so you declared a weather emergency, what does that -- what does that mean, exactly coming through on the ground, Mayor Nutter?
MAYOR MICHAEL NUTTER, PHILADELPHIA (via telephone): Well, Hala, what it really means is we require folks to not park on certain streets throughout the city. Those are our primary, our main big streets to the city. So what we say is after a certain time, today it was declared for 2:00, you just can't park on those streets, so that we can get them clear.
Those are our main streets that we want to clear out so that our equipment is not impeded by vehicles being in the way.
It does not mean that people can't drive. Obviously, we want to try to discourage as much driving out here. One, it's a challenging environment to drive in between the snow, which is still coming down, and the high winds, but also, the less traffic we have, the easier it is for us to -- to deal with the snow. I think that the NFL and the Eagles did make the right decision. It's, you know, 7:10, 7:12, the game would not have started for almost another hour and --
(CROSSTALK)
GORANI: Yes.
NUTTER: -- about ten minutes.
GORANI: We're seeing images, by the way, Mayor there of the actual -- of the actual field.
NUTTER: Yes.
GORANI: I mean, it just doesn't look like any kind of game can take place there right now.
NUTTER: Well, I mean, again, you look at the safety of the players and the fans getting to the game and afterwards. This storm is going to continue through the night. An inch to two inches per hour, that's three to six inches coming down during the game and 35-mile-an-hour winds.
Dangerous for the players, dangerous for the fans, people still have to get out of the parking lots in their cars. I mean, it's -- it's just a -- I think a big, big challenge and just not fair to the fans and to the players.
GORANI: Sure.
NUTTER: So I think the NFL and the Eagles made the right call. It's a game that can be played in another day or so and much better conditions for everyone. Obviously allows us to do more work and get the city ready for tomorrow with the rush. So it all works out.
GORANI: What about emergency services? This is happening very early in this season. I mean, are they getting -- are they -- are they feeling the pressure right now?
NUTTER: Well, our folks are, you know if we're -- we had 78 inches during the last -- last winter season, so you know and we get a lot of -- we get -- we get snow on a regular basis any way. So they are highly trained, well geared up.
We've been watching the storm for a couple of days. It was kind of going in and out. First it was not hitting us. Then it was hitting us and then it was not.
GORANI: Right.
NUTTER: Obviously it has. So I mean, we know what we're doing. We fight snow all the time and we'll -- we're -- we're on top of it. We do what we do well.
GORANI: So where are you right now, Mayor? NUTTER: Right now, I'm at the Third and Wyoming. I'm about to see some of the troops out here. We've got a couple of -- a couple of trucks, a couple of front-end loaders and just being out with the public employees, hundreds of pieces of equipment. This is a massive operation out here and hundreds of public employees.
I've just given them some encouragement. They're going to be working through the night into the morning and I just want them to know that I'm out here with them.
GORANI: All right, Mayor Michael Nutter of Philadelphia. Thanks very much for being with us on CNN this evening.
Weather emergencies declared in Philadelphia. This means you can't park in certain places, it doesn't mean you can't leave your house or drive around. Although it's not encouraged.
Now let's get more on that tragedy in Egypt. Eight Americans died when their tour bus smashed into a parked dump truck. The crash happened in Aswan, a popular tourist place, about 600 miles south of Cairo -- you see it there on the map.
Christine Theodorou is a CNN producer, she is in Egypt right now. I asked her -- first started by asking her how something like this could happen.
CHRISTINE THEODOROU, CNN PRODUCER (via telephone): Well, Hala, the exact cause of the crash is currently unknown, but it may have been attributed to excessive speed. Egypt has one of the world's highest rates of road fatalities per mile. And in recent years, there has been a marked increase in tourists killed in bus related incidents.
Now, although inner city roads are generally in good conditions, in a remote location such as this, the conditions can be hazardous. And as a result, deadly
GORANI: Ok. So eight people confirmed dead, four at least critically injured. Others injured as well. What is being done to help those who suffered injuries in this crash, Christine?
THEODOROU: The injured will receive military transportation to Cairo. Now, the U.S. embassy in Cairo has also mobilized staff to identify and assist those Americans involved. In a statement, they said they're deeply saddened by the incident.
Now, in two separate locations, both on Facebook and on their Web site, they have published a phone number for people that may have questions or concerns so that they can, themselves, reach out to U.S. Embassy staff and address those concerns.
GORANI: Yes. And these were all American citizens, correct?
THEODOROU: Yes, two of the injured were Egyptian. The bus driver and the tour guide.
GORANI: And now, do we know what tour company, what organization flew them there? I mean people who are watching this who might be worried, who might have relatives in Egypt right now, what should they do to get more information on their loved ones?
THEODOROU: They should go to facebook.com/USembassyCairo and the U.S. embassy will provide them all of the information. The phone number is right there on that front page.
GORANI: All right. And the injured are being flown to Cairo?
THEODOROU: That is true. That is correct.
GORANI: Christine Theodorou thanks very much, reporting from Egypt there.
Coming up, why did he do it? We'll hear from the pilot who posted a YouTube video. He says it reveals a lapse in airport security.
Plus, just how unhappy are American workers? So unhappy that most of them plan to look for a new job in the New Year. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: He won't reveal his name, but an airline pilot will reveal what he says are some serious flaws in airport security. He took cell phone video at San Francisco's airport, posted it on YouTube and now, he's lost his official pilot handgun and badge.
Reporter George Warren from affiliate KXTV interviewed this unnamed whistleblower.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know, I just saw the whole fallacy of the whole system.
GEORGE WARREN, REPORTER, KXTV: The airline pilot who posted his cell phone video on YouTube is ready to talk about why he did it even though he's not quite ready for us to reveal his identity.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know, I just tried to address my concerns and voice it on YouTube.
Slide ID through reader -- authorized personnel.
WARREN: In the video the pilot points out what he considers a bizarre security arrangement where flight crews must pass through a TSA check point while ground crews are able to simply swipe a card to gain access to the same aircraft.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How effective is security when everybody on board is screened and everybody on the ground isn't.
WARREN: Within days of the video appearing on YouTube, a team of four federal agents and two sheriff's deputies arrived at the pilot's driveway to confiscate his federally issued handgun and badge. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, I was surprised by the response. It was a little bit overkill. I mean I could have just dropped by badge and weapon in a FedEx box and FedExed it for 20 bucks. So they send six people over to pick up a handgun and a badge.
WARREN: The Army Reserve helicopter test pilot and commercial airline pilot says the government's response was an obvious attempt to intimidate him. In the video he shot on the driveway, he never lost his cool.
Why am I on suspension?
I really don't get intimidated. I fly helicopters, jets, we're trained to handle emergencies without panicking.
WARREN: This little video project has cost the pilot his position as a gun-toting, deputized federal flight deck officer, but he says it was worth it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Really, the only way this news story got traction is because of the government's response.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: Well, the San Francisco airport gave a lengthy response. It reads in part, "SFO meets, and in many cases, exceeds every federal security requirement as promulgated and regulated by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). As in most highly effective security systems, there is no single security system at SFO. Proper and effective security requires multiple layers of systems." And that's statement from the San Francisco International Airport.
Coming up, an NFL game is canceled and states of emergency are declared. We'll have an update on the blizzard whipping across the northeast.
Plus, talk about an unhappy workforce. We'll take a closer look at why more than 80 percent -- 80 percent -- of Americans who already have jobs saying they plan to look for new ones in the New Year.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: We hear a lot about people looking for work, but what about people who have a job but would prefer to have a different job? They're not happy where they're working. A new survey by the job placement firm Manpower finds that 84 percent of employees plan to look for a new job somewhere else in the New Year. Now, that is up in a major way from 60 percent who wanted to find a new job this time last year.
So, why are so many people working, but looking for another job. Let's bring in Stephen Viscusi. He founded the Viscusi Group, an executive recruiting firm in New York.
What's your reaction to this? I mean we're in the middle of a very long protracted economic slowdown. People should just be happy to have a job. Right? So why are they planning to look for another one?
STEPHEN VISCUSI, AUTHOR, "BULLETPROOF YOUR JOB": Well, Hala, first of all, they're happy to have a job, but they are definitely sick and tired of these bosses who are taking advantage of them and utilizing them for very little money, making them work two or three jobs. And they've just about -- they've just had it.
Listen, we're going to find out in a couple of months if the recession has ended. It's time to treat people like people again. Get people back to work.
So some of the tips that they should be doing and you can find by following me on Twitter at workplaceguru, is cloak your resume. Go online now, start looking and cloak your resume, so your boss doesn't know you're looking.
You're still lucky to have a job; 84 percent of those people who are looking are lucky to have a job, but you can't blame them for wanting to look today --
GORANI: Yes. It's interesting because you're saying essentially that in times of economic slowdown, bosses might take their employees for granted, essentially. Saying work more; just be happy you have a job. And those companies that end up doing well whether there's a slow down or not, I guess value their employees regardless of the environment. Is that correct?
VISCUSI: Well, yes that is correct. And in the last three years, there has been a legitimate slowdown. The slowdown is now changing and although unemployment continues, it will change in 2011. So it's time to start looking slowly, cautiously. Don't take your job for granted. Work as hard as you've been looking but it's time to cloak your resume and put it online and start looking.
GORANI: Is part of the reason, too, that people have taken jobs sort of beneath their qualifications, because they needed something, anything to make ends meet?
VISCUSI: I'm not so sure -- I'm not so sure that those are the unhappy people. Those are probably the people that are grateful.
The people that have had their jobs during this recession where the bosses said, look, we've had to eliminate other people. We're going to have you work two or three shifts. We're going to have you do other jobs. We can't give you a raise. There's no bonus this year. It's just disgraceful.
Retail figures have been up this year. It's the best retail we've had in a number of years. The economy is definitely getting better. There are more jobs for people out there today and it's time that the bosses just became honest with their employees.
So it's the ones -- the survivors, the lucky survivors that have their jobs. Now, let me remind people, you're lucky to have those jobs. No one's saying take them for granted. GORANI: Right. Absolutely.
Well, that said -- that said though Stephen, I have to say, once the economy picks up again, it might be employers who have taken advantage of their employees who end up without the kind of qualified workforce they need.
VISCUSI: You're absolutely right. Those bosses who have absolutely been taking advantage of these people are the ones who are going to be suffering. They're the ones that are going to be losing those people.
84 percent is a big number. That's up 20 percent from last year. That's because this year was just torture for people.
GORANI: Right.
(CROSSTALK)
VISCUSI: Their bosses have tortured them to death.
GORANI: It is a very interesting figure, I have to say.
Quickly what impact on the unemployed? I mean somebody looking for a job today.
VISCUSI: Those of you that are looking for the job, one of the secrets to getting -- you can see this on my Twitter workplaceguru -- is lowball yourself and go out there. The impact is that just people are so miserable in the jobs that they have now, go steal one of those jobs from one of those miserable people.
GORANI: Lowball?
(CROSSTALK)
VISCUSI: -- that hate their job, that hate their bosses.
GORANI: You got to price yourself sort of to sell?
VISCUSI: Below market value to get a job today. Get in the door and find those people where those unhappy jobs are and go and steal them from your friends because there are plenty of people that are unhappy out there today.
GORANI: Stephen Viscusi is also the author of "Bulletproof Your Job: Four simple strategies to come out on top at work".
VISCUSI: I have been wanting to say "Happy Holidays, Hala".
GORANI: Happy holidays to you as well and Happy New Year.
VISCUSI: Thank you.
GORANI: Up next thousands of flights across the northeast have already been canceled. So what happens when the work week's (ph) again? We'll have a check of the forecast. Plus, we'll have the latest on that bus crash in Egypt that killed eight American tourists. You see the aftermath there, we'll tell you what happened. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: Let's check now on some of our top stories.
Documentary filmmaker Bud Greenspan has died. He had Parkinson's disease. He was 84. Greenspan won an Emmy for his films about the Olympics and some inspirational stories as well of Olympic athletes. The head of the U.S. Olympic Committee called Greenspan's death "the loss of a giant."
Also, among the top stories, two Americans are in critical but stable condition after their tour bus crashed in Aswan, Egypt. Eight other Americans were killed, however. When the bus smashed into a parked dump truck. A dozen injured passengers were taken to Cairo for treatment. Aswan is a popular tourist destination 600 miles south of Cairo.
A top Pakistani official says a young woman was the suicide bomber in yesterday's attack that killed 46 people at a food distribution point. More than 100 people were injured in that blast. The Pakistani Taliban claimed reasonability, but deny the bomber was a woman. President Obama has issued a statement calling the attack "(INAUDIBLE) to the people of Pakistan and to all humanity."
It looks like the life of a student in Iran has been spared for now. Lawyers say Habibollah Latifi was supposed to be executed today, but that the sentence has been halted due to irregularities in the case. This is according to the Iran student's news agency. Latifi is a Kurd and he was to be hanged for various national security related charges brought against him by Iranian authorities.
(INAUDIBLE) role models all over the world in the United States and beyond can inspire us, but they often have their biggest impact on young people. One New Jersey college student believes mentors are so important that she started her own organization to help young girls.
CNN education contributor Steve Perry has more in tonight's "Perry's Principles."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I am a firm believer in power of mentoring.
STEVE PERRY, CNN EDUCATION CONTRIBUTOR (voice-over): They are leaders in politics and diplomacy.
OPRAH WINFREY, TV HOST: Here we are.
PERRY: Top media deal makers and big time producers. Women surrounded by positive role models. Delores Sarfo-Darko, a junior at Seton Hall University in New Jersey is inspired. DELORES SARFO-DARKO, YOUNG WOMEN CREATING CHANGE, LITTLE MISSES FORUM: Being a trail blazer means a lot to me. One of the first step is trying to come up with the idea of what you want to do and you have to be passionate about what you're doing and then also you have to be legit. You have to have a plan.
PERRY (on camera): Delores was one of my students and I knew her plan. It involved getting good grades and empowering young girls. In high school, she co-founded the mentoring group, Young Women Creating Change.
Now in college, she's done it again. She and her classmates mentor girls in what they call the Little Misses Forum.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sit with them and mingle.
PERRY (voice-over): Lisa () is the vice president at Prudential Insurance helped Delores start the program.
LISA (), VICE PRESIDENT PRUDENTIAL INSURANCE: Her passion to want to get something important off the ground just spoke to my heart. I'm involved in women's leadership groups over in the business community, so I understand the importance of women banning together to, you know, support ourselves.
PERRY: Delores' Little Misses Forum organizes one-on-one mentor sessions for the girls and holds conferences like this one in Connecticut, which brought together mentors and mentees from different groups.
(on camera): Can you tell me about the importance of the mentoring relationship?
SARFO-DARKO: What makes me want to be a mentor is the impact that my mentors have had on me. I feel like the woman I am is owed to my mother and the different mentors that I have had and I see girls struggling and I see their self-esteem being, you know, dropped down to the floor. I struggle myself, too, and I want to help someone as they've helped me.
Perry (voice-over): Steve Perry, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: Still ahead, another check of the forecast and what's happening in New York, plus with the new year coming up, we'll look back at the big stories of 2010.
We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: A beautiful pacific sunset coming to us from our affiliate KGO of the San Francisco Bay. There you have it. The sun slowly setting. It will soon disappear over the horizon. However, on the East Coast, Bonnie Schneider is here to tell us about an entirely different picture.
SCHNEIDER: Absolutely. I couldn't imagine a more different picture. You may see flashes of light in the dark sky tonight over in New York City. And it's not the sunset. It's thunder snow. We are getting a lot of reports over in Manhattan, especially from our staff at "AMERICAN MORNING." They're preparing tomorrow's show and they hear the thunder. It's kind of muffled by the sound of the snow. That's why you don't hear it as strongly as you do in a summer thunderstorm.
But when you have thunder snow, it means you are seeing a vigorous, intense snowstorm and that's what's happening right now where the snowfall rates are two inches per hour or more. And I'm sure we are getting those snow bands well in place with this blizzard. The blizzard advisories, much of it will continue straight through tomorrow. Some of will subside southward a little earlier tomorrow, but notice these warnings all the way up to Portland, Maine. Blustery, windy conditions.
We've been monitoring this with wind gust. I just saw one in Suffolk County, Long Island, in Fire Island, 53 mile per hour winds. Wow! So that's going to create huge snow drifts, possibly we'll be measuring it by the feet. In terms of the snowfall amounts, we could see 20 inches in New York City. About a foot possibly in Philadelphia or less. And then a whole lot less in Washington. It's just kind of snowing lightly there. It's not far between all these.
Here's our low pressure (INAUDIBLE) In order for a nor'easter to really get cranking, it needs cold air and moisture and a vigorous storm, of course, is what we see right now. But you can see the lines, the snow bands, how intense it is over New Jersey, for example, and then you drive further towards Washington and it dwindles down.
So a lot of the energy associated with the storm kind of hugging the coast and that's where we're going to see the strongest winds and the most intense snowfall. And I'm anticipating these snowfall rates to go up. We pretty have had records shattered like in Islip, even just three inches today shattered the records. Can you imagine, it'll probably be 20 inches by the time we're done. Another interesting phenomenon happening is the mixing that we're seeing with this system right over Cape Cod and the islands. Rain changing the sleet, changing snow, making for difficult travel. Obviously, anyone affected by this blizzard should not travel tonight or tomorrow. It's just too dangerous. Hala.
GORANI: OK. Bonnie Schneider, thanks very much.
We'll catch up with Bonnie for more of your weather forecast across the United States a bit later. For now though, let's take you to La Guardia Airport. Our senior correspondent Allan Chernoff has been there all day.
Allan, you just must be, let's be honest, you must be freezing.
CHERNOFF: I'm ducking in and out of the terminal. That's my secret, Hala. Bonnie is not joking around. Have a look at the way the snow is piling down here. Obviously, over here, it's getting shoveled, so I'm standing in only about three inches of snow, but wow on the other end of the terminal, on the other side, where the planes had been, the plows have just been bringing it over, bring it over. A good eight feet pile of snow.
I was just talking with a bunch of guys who do the deicing of the planes for American Airlines. They told me all the planes for American are gone. They're all of out of this airport, which is exactly what they wanted to accomplish. They also said well, that must be incredibly though. They were working here since 5:00 a.m., they just got off. One of the guys said to me, you know, the secret, there two trucks that go. The secret is to get there first so you're not downwind so you don't have the wind blowing into you and potentially have that deicing liquid actually hitting you.
So it's a tough day for the people who work here. Obviously, a very tough day also for the passengers who have not been able to get out of this airport. Some even stuck here and planning to sleep overnight. Hala.
GORANI: Right. Allan Chernoff, thanks very much. Live at La Guardia Airport just one of the many areas in the United States hit by this storm with hundreds and if not thousands of passengers stuck and stranded. Coming up, a look back at the big stories of 2010 from the earthquake in Haiti to the Chilean miner rescue. We will have a recap you do not want to miss.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: A political crisis has pushed one of West Africa's most important nations to the brink of civil war. Ivory Coast citizens are witnessing a faceoff between two men. Both of whom claimed to be president. The country has two presidents. The incumbent, Laurent Gbagbo, is accused of stealing last month's election by the international community. World leaders supported rival, Allasane Ouattara. This man. The turmoil has left at least 173 people dead, driven some 14,000 refugees to flee the country and even driven up the price of cocoa, one of Ivory Coast's biggest exports.
I spoke earlier with journalist Francois Xavier Menage about fears the nation could plunge back into open civil conflict.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FRANCOIS XAVIER-MENAGE, JOURNALIST: Lots of diplomats are very scared of that potential danger and when you talk to diplomats, they're saying that this situation could go on and on for weeks. But we need someone that could give a solution and there is no one at the moment who is able to do that. If you talk to Ivorian people in the streets, we talked to someone. He was actually shocked because of the danger that he was seeing in the streets. He got actually molested by lots of people. It was seven days ago. He is still in his house right now, locked and you see on the screen, all the problems he had and the shocks of the arms that were used against him. That man is saying, "I don't know what's going to save the country. I don't know what's going to save me." GORANI: OK. And one last question, it's not just regionally that this country is important, western powers, the United States, Barack Obama, Nicolas Sarkozy of France, the IMF, the EU, the AU, all of these organizations and countries are saying that they're concerned for Ivory Coast. Why are western countries so worried about what happened in that western African nation?
MENAGE: Because they know the history of this country. They probably know that it could go on fire and make huge problems for this region of Africa. But I have to give you the answer to Mr. Laurent Gbagbo, tonight, what he's saying is that America and France are putting this country into trouble. He's pointing the finger at America and France directly. This is what you can read on the newspaper this Monday morning in France.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: By the way, just a few minutes ago, the United States has reiterated that it would like the former president Laurent Gbagbo to step down and came out once again in support of Alassane Ouattara.
Other top stories of the day, a brutal winter storm is slowing travel to a crawl in the northeast. Combined cancellations for American, Continental and Delta Airlines are totaling more than 1,300 flights so far. But many airlines are waving penalties for travelers who have to reschedule. Amtrak has also canceled service in some areas, including the route between New York City and Boston.
And some news from Hollywood. Playboy founder Hugh Hefner is getting married. The 84-year-old got engaged on Christmas Eve. His fiancee is 24-year-old Crystal Harris. Apparently, she cried when she got the ring. She was December Playmate of the month a year ago. This will be Hugh Hefner's third marriage. His first wedding was more than 50 years ago.
In five days, we'll say good-bye to 2010 forever. On New Year's eve, Tom Foreman will take a look in all the best, all the worst 2010, an Anderson Cooper "360" special. But you don't have to wait, we've got an early look at the big stories you're going to remember from the year that was.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The world of big news gave us the best real reality show of the year. The nearly 2.5 month saga of the trapped Chilean miners.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I loved the story. I mean, who knew that the Chilean miners were so hot.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: America we need to learn, these guys are motivators.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The Chilean miner story was hands down, the best story of the year.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I mean, somebody compared it to the moon launch. It really was kind of like that.
FOREMAN: Their journey to and from the underworld was riveting, their story inspiring, their return to the land of the living, full of happy endings even Hollywood can't top.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was utterly shocked that everything worked out and by the way, they had a live feed by fiber optic cable from down in the mine. What the hell is that?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Was that unbelievable? Oh my gosh. I was stunned. Go Chile.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Then, they come out alive and only to be greeted by wives and mistresses.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Some of them probably wanted to go back in the ground once their wives got all (INAUDIBLE) "I'm so happy, you're alive but now I got to meet (INAUDIBLE) here? What the heck?
FOREMAN: Worst winter weather. The blizzards that had folks in the Washington, D.C., area running for cover faster than a sex scandal. 40 inches of snow, no flights, no open roads, no power for hundreds of thousands. Good times.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The snowstorm was insane.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The newspapers had a really fun time trying to name the blizzard snowpocalypse.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Snowmageddon.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sno-calypse.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I've never actually lived in a place where there is so much snow before. It was a new experience for me because I'm a southern girl.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Really? I have absolutely no memory of any snow this year whatsoever.
FOREMAN: No wonder.
He was in Haiti for the worst big story of the year. The earthquake that left nearly a quarter million people dead, a million homeless, and countless sorrows.
COOPER: Every reporter I know who was down there and every cameraman and producer who spent - had spent time in Iraq and Afghanistan, they all - I think we all agree Haiti was the worst thing any of us have ever seen.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Haiti, earthquakes, cholera, mud slides. It made the book of revelations look like "Good Night Moon."
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Haiti had so many challenges before the earthquake hit. FOREMAN: Worst domestic story. Give it to the gulf, the explosion that took 11 lives and produced the oil spill that just kept on spilling.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The gulf oil spill was quite possibly one of the most depressing events certainly of my lifetime. Watching this oil on a live feed just gush and gush and gush and nothing was working.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And it was gushing and gushing and gushing. It was shocking that we couldn't plug a hole.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The gulf oil spill was one of those reminders that decisions have consequences.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't think people who weren't there, not on the ground, really realized how it was like the keystone cops bumbling around down there on the coastline.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, clearly we should have called Chile in. We just didn't realize it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: All right. And by the way, I agree with Anderson Cooper. If you went - you've been to Iraq, you've been to Afghanistan, Haiti still was just above and beyond anything anybody had ever seen.
And you can catch Tom Foreman's special at 8:00 p.m. Eastern, New Year's eve. And then at 11:00 p.m. Eastern, join Anderson Cooper and co-host Kathy Griffin to welcome 2011, live in Times Square. Bring in the new year with CNN.
Looking ahead this week, cnn.com wants your help choosing the most intriguing person of 2010. All you have to do is go to our web site, cnn.com, and narrow down the list of 20 people to your favorite 10 from 20 to 10. Do you think, for example, the JetBlue flight attendant who quit his job by jumping out an airplane escape chute is more intriguing than the trapped Chilean miner who ran in the New York City marathon? Really? Voting ends on midnight on Tuesday, and the winner will be announced right here on CNN on Thursday, December 30th.
Coming up, the purse used to try to stop a Florida gunman has sold on EBay. We'll tell you how much the purse went for. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: This holiday shopping season has been a pleasant surprise for retailers and a boon for bargain hunters.
Senior correspondent Allan Chernoff reports shoppers this year were in a merry mood.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT (Voice-over): In the face of depressing resigns, persistently high unemployment, and trepidation about employment prospects, shoppers tossed aside their malaise and put credit cards to work this holiday season.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So many sales now, so might as well go for it.
CHERNOFF: Economists say spending was far higher than anticipated, with apparel purchases particularly strong. How did retailers get consumers to spend so freely? The gloomy news was no match for the deep discount retailers offered right from the start of the holiday season.
(on camera): It seems nearly every retailer has had a sale sign in the store since Thanksgiving. It's not so much that they're desperate to move merchandise, but they know that's the way to bring customers into the store.
MADISON RILEY, KURT SALMON ASSOCIATES: Retailers have been very quick to respond and to understand that the only way to get consumers to open their wallets, to get back into the stores, to shop, is to tell a very strong value story.
CHERNOFF (voice-over): They've been telling that story everywhere, not just in traditional ads but on line.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You've got the mail.
CHERNOFF: Via e-mails and text messages.
(on camera): Right? Sale there.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Amazon. Hollister.
CHERNOFF: All today?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
CHERNOFF: All received today?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All received today.
CHERNOFF: The messages are targeted based on a shopper's prior purchases.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Five for $25. They have a lot of sales.
CHERNOFF (voice-over): Digital messages connect, especially with younger consumers.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A lot of stores e-mailed me and gave me discounts to go into. It was worth it.
CHERNOFF: A merry holiday shopping season means retailers should have relatively lean inventories for their after Christmas sales. Meaning the bargains will last only so long.
Allan Chernoff, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE) GORANI: Every weekend, the team here at CNN NEWSROOM likes to bring you an interesting story, oddball stories in some cases.
Let's start in Ohio. When most people eat a pistachio, they throw away the shell, right? Not a woman in Dublin, Ohio. Michelle Phipps plans to preserve hers after she found inside the face she thinks resembles Jesus. Other say it looks like George Washington or maybe even Freddie Krueger. We'll let you decide. The peculiar pistachio came from a batch someone brought to work.
That is the sound, police say, of a Corvette accelerating to more than 190 miles per hour. It's also an earful of evidence for investigators. The Oklahoma Highway Patrol arrested the driver with the help of this video that they say he posted on YouTube. The highway patrol says the man is facing two counts of reckless driving.
Officers say they tracked him down because they worried the YouTube videos might encourage other people to try the same stunt. The clips are no longer posted on the web.
It didn't work so well as a weapon. But Ginger Littleton's purse has raised big money for charity. Littleton, you might remember, is the woman who tried to disarm a gunman at a Florida school board meeting earlier this month by whacking him with her purse.
It didn't work, but she and the rest of the board members survived the ordeal. Security guard Mike Jones put an end to the crisis, and now a charity he started is reaping the benefits. Littleton's purse sold this week on EBay for about - take a guess, take a guess. $13,000. All of the money is going to a charity Jones created to help kids in the Florida panhandle.
The "Fantastic Four" are going to have to come up with a new name. Marvel comics says it's killing off one of the team members, but they haven't announced which one yet. The Human Torch, Mr. Fantastic, the Invisible Woman, or the Thing. You can find out when "Fantastic Four" number 587 comes out next month.
It's been great being with you here on CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Hala Gorani at the CNN Center in Atlanta. Don Lemon is off tonight. I'll be back here at 10:00 p.m. Eastern time. You can check me out on Twitter, as well, @halagorani. A CNN special, "Big Stars, Big Giving," starts right now on CNN.
