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Snowstorm Socks Northeast; Kicking the Habit; Stranded in Atlanta; Holiday Spending Boom; Tracking the Big Storm; On the Night Shift; Remembering Teena Marie; Hot Off The Political Ticker; Dave Chappelle's Next Move; Lighting Up The Cuban Sky

Aired December 27, 2010 - 12:00   ET

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

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Live from Studio 7, I'm Tony Harris. The big stories for Monday, December the 27th.

The FAA now says it is uncertain when New York's three major airports will reopen. A blizzard is dumping as much as 20 inches of snow in the New York metro area. Travelers trying to get home from their Christmas holiday got stuck instead.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

THOMAS BOSCO, GENERAL MANAGER, LAGUARDIA AIRPORT: Overnight, we had about 250 passenger that were stranded here at the airport. We did our best to accommodate them with cots, pillows, blankets, food and water. So the Hotel LaGuardia is up and running.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: An Arizona state lawmaker recovering today from a severe beating. Frank Pratt when to check on his small business Christmas Day and interrupted an intruder. His wife found him more than four hours later tied up, beaten and bloodied. Friends are stunned.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RUSS BANTA, PRATT'S NEIGHBOR: Extremely shocking. I couldn't believe it when I first heard it. It was just devastating news. Frank's been a good friend and good neighbor all this time, and I just can't believe something like that could happen to him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Boy, boy, boy. What sad news here. Fans shocked by the death of R&B singer Teena Marie. The Rick James' protege, one of Motown's first White artists. The label kept her picture off her firsts LP, fearing an R&B audience wouldn't buy it. Lady T. reportedly died from a seizure. She was 54 years old.

HARRIS: Let's get to Chad Myers now in our severe weather center.

(WEATHER REPORT)

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: We have one of our producers smack dab in the middle of it in Fairfield, Connecticut, with pictures. Katy Byron is there.

Katy, tell me what you're seeing right now, because this is probably not getting better for a little well.

Hi, Chad.

KATY BYRON, CNN PRODUCER: Well, we've got about 16 inches on the ground in Weston, Connecticut, in Fairfield County. People around here are no stranger to snow, though.

My dad and I are going to go out and start shoveling out the cars this afternoon, and it's pretty cold. But the snow has stopped, finally. But the wind gusts are just astronomical. I mean, all night, through the night, you could hear it just banging against the windows, and we did lose power around 10:30 p.m., and for most of the night.

MYERS: Now, what was that like, inside the house without power and without heat? What did the house get down to?

BYRON: Well, my parents have lived here all their lives, so my dad is very prepared. We have a generator in our basement.

MYERS: Good for you.

BYRON: So we know what we're doing here, how to handle this.

MYERS: Obviously, it is vented to the outside.

And when people use generators, Tony, you can't use them in the garage, because we hear about devastating stories about this all the time. People hook up a temporary generator, put it in their garage, think it's OK, and then they die of carbon monoxide poisoning. You absolutely can't do that, you must be smarter that. So, obviously, Katy's dad is taking care of that.

Was the wind just howling through the house? Could you just hear it? We had wind gusts reported around 65 miles per hour near you.

BYRON: Oh, definitely. And we knew this was coming.

I mean, my younger brother went into Manhattan last night so that he wouldn't get stuck in the storm for the commute this morning. So we were well prepared.

My mom and I went out, went grocery shopping yesterday, and the lines were just out the door for people doing the same thing as us, stocking up on shovels and salt and food, just because, I mean, you have the forecast, but you never know how bad it's going to be until it's actually here.

MYERS: Clearly, you're a lot closer. Tell me, what commute?

BYRON: Right. We're -- well, my brother commutes every day pretty much to Manhattan from Connecticut, using the metro north railroad system, which actually is suspended right now. So we're all wondering -- I hope he's going to be able to come home tonight.

MYERS: Yes. Great night in Grand Central, isn't it? Isn't that nice? It's a lovely granite marble floor they have there to sleep on.

Katy, hey, take care of yourself. And please, again, with that generator, and people around you, when you do lose power, you need to be very, very careful. So take care of yourself up there.

BYRON: Thanks very much.

MYERS: Tony, it is going to be one cold night if you lose power in any of these areas, because now wind-chill factors, not only temperatures like in the teens tonight, with winds at 40 to 50 miles per hour, that won't take long to blow all of that cold air right through the house. Temperatures in your house could go down to 30 rather quickly.

HARRIS: And I'm think being Katy and her dad out there shoveling. Be careful, by the way.

MYERS: Yes. Oh, it's heart attack snow. You know we talk about that, too.

HARRIS: Yes, we do. And I'm thinking, with the wind speeds that she's talking about, it's blowing and drifting, right?

MYERS: It is. It's still a ground blizzard in some spots, although for blizzard, you need to have heavy snow and low visibility with the wind. But a ground blizzard means that even though the snow might have stopped, that the shovel that you just put into the ground got covered right back up again with snow that blew across it.

Snow will be tapering off in all of Massachusetts and New England in the next few hours, but it will be going back up. Snow will be coming in hard in the Atlantic, Canada. Those were live pictures there for Central Park.

HARRIS: That was Central Park?

MYERS: That was Central Park. So you can see some blowing across, but not the "I can't see in front of me" kind of pictures

HARRIS: Not the stuff we're used to in Buffalo and Cleveland and some of those areas where you get that blowing and the drifting.

MYERS: Hey, you know, people down in the makeup room, "When I grew up in New York, that's what it was like."

HARRIS: Yes.

MYERS: So it seems like, all of a sudden, 30 years ago we had this kind of weather, but we had a big lull, and now this big weather seems to be back.

HARRIS: It's back.

MYERS: Yes.

HARRIS: Oh, yes, with a force.

All right, Chad. Appreciate it. See you a little later. Thank you, sir.

MYERS: OK.

HARRIS: You know, a lot of people spent the night in airports, no flights going in or out of places like New York. And they're still not flying. You just heard that from Chad.

CNN Senior Correspondent Allan Chernoff is at LaGuardia Airport.

And Allan, how is the mood there?

ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN SR. CORRESPONDENT: Oh, the mood is actually just fine. Now, the people who had to stay overnight, most of them in very good moods, because they figure, look, what else can we do? You know?

And the weather right now actually has cleared up. Chad should know. It's nice and sunny outside, a little bit of wind, but not all that bad.

Now, we've been telling you about their nightmare scenarios of staying overnight. I mean, even though they're in a pretty good mood about it, but nonetheless, boy, what a hassle.

Well, consider this -- what about the folks who actually drove through the night to get to the airport, thinking that their flights were still on? We have one of those gentlemen with us, Roger Moscoso.

Roger left Westchester County at what time in the morning?

ROGER MOSCOSO, STRANDED TRAVELER: 3:30 in the morning.

CHERNOFF: How long did it take? Normally, that's probably, what, a 45-minute drive?

MOSCOSO: It was a 45-minute drive, two hours and a half.

CHERNOFF: Two-and-a-half hours. You get to the airport crack of dawn, and what do you hear?

MOSCOSO: The counter says the flight is canceled.

CHERNOFF: Now, you had checked ahead, right? You checked online, you called the airline.

MOSCOSO: I checked online, called the airline many times, even before I left, and everything was OK. Come here and they say the flight is canceled.

CHERNOFF: 9:45 down to Miami?

MOSCOSO: Well, first in Atlanta and then Miami, Florida. CHERNOFF: OK. What do we do now? Here we are at the airport.

By the way, I actually found Roger sitting on one of the cots that the people who had stayed overnight were using.

You're ready to crash here, huh?

MOSCOSO: Yes. Well, it's kind of handy. I'm going to stay until 4:00, which is the official hour. Then I'm going to head for a hotel maybe.

CHERNOFF: OK. But you don't have any word on when you may get out of here?

MOSCOSO: No. And I'm going to have to pay for that. You know that, right?

CHERNOFF: I can guarantee you the airline is not paying for a hotel for you.

Tony, ,a lot of people were surprised to hear about that. We did report earlier that some folks actually came last night hoping that the airlines would put them up. They ended up on the cots here at the airport.

HARRIS: Yes, no such luck.

All right, Allan. Appreciate it. Thank you, sir.

We are told President Obama has kicked the habit. If you're quitting smoking and it is your New Year's resolution, you're in luck. Our Senior Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen joins me with what you should know if you plan to follow the president's example.

But first, though, our "Random Moment" in 90 seconds.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Got to tell you, the wheel will always be one of mankind's greatest achievements, right? The wheel. It is also our "Random Moment of the Day."

You're about to witness the definition of ingenuity.

Can we drop the fonts and everything so the folks can see it? Oh, shoot.

OK. So, the moral of this story -- OK, that's a better look at it.

See? Can you see?

Look at that. So the moral of the story, keep an ax in your trunk in case of a flat. A tree limb may not be around, but it helps make things go, like this "Random Moment of the Day."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) HARRIS: So, the White house says President Obama has done it. Certainly, you can, too, and you should. We are talking about kicking the cigarette habit.

Senior Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen joining us from Miami.

Elizabeth, good to see you again.

How long has it been since the president quit, do we know?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SR. MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: According to his spokesman, Robert Gibbs, he has not had a cigarette in about nine months. This is pretty incredible for a guy who has been smoking since the late '70s. He's tried repeatedly to quit.

Let's hear what Mr. Gibbs had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERT GIBBS, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: I can report that it's been probably about nine months since he last smoked a cigarette. He has done enormously well in quitting. It was a commitment that I think he made to himself at the end of health care, and with his two daughters in mind.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COHEN: Now, Robert Gibbs says that he has known the president for eight years, and this is the longest he has seen him go without a cigarette. And as for how he's done it, Gibbs says Nicorette gum and sheer will power -- Tony.

HARRIS: Wow. OK.

So you mentioned that the president's been a smoker since the late '70s and has just been able to quit over the course of the last nine months.

What are we to learn from that, Elizabeth?

COHEN: Right. I mean, it's really pretty incredible when you think about it. All right?

This is a smart guy. It goes without saying, right? Columbia, Harvard Law School, he knows that smoking is bad. He knows that it puts him at a higher chance of having lung cancer or heart disease and terrible things. So that's number one.

Number two, he has two daughters to think about. And number three, he's the president of the United States. He and his wife run around the country talking about, you know, health care and the need to be healthy, and here he is smoking.

That is not a great role model. He knows that, and still it has been incredibly difficult for him to quit. Now, as for why it's been so difficult, I'm actually going to let a doctor explain that. We have a quote that Dr. Michael Fiore, who's in charge of the smoking program at the University of Wisconsin -- he says, "If a man this accomplished is still struggling with this addiction, it speaks volumes regarding how powerful this addiction truly is."

The best way to say this, Tony, is this is a drug addiction that the president is trying to quit. And even someone as smart as him, with all the reasons to quit, this is how hard it is.

HARRIS: A drug addiction. So is it really safe to say that he has quit? Is there a chance he could slip back and start smoking again?

COHEN: That is a possibility. But we asked an expert at the National Cancer Institute who knows a lot about smoking cessation. And he said, look, once you get over that three-month point, you're really over the hump. But statistically speaking, the chances he's going to relapse are pretty small.

Is it possible? It is possible.

HARRIS: OK. So, let's see, the numbers tell us 46 million Americans smoke, just like the president -- used to, the president used to. What's the best advice on how to quit?

COHEN: OK. Here's a couple of tips for how to quit smoking, and I really hope that these help people just as, hopefully, they've helped the president.

First of all, set a target quit date. Say, "On this day I'm going to quit smoking."

In the meantime, get rid of all your cigarettes. You shouldn't have any in your car, in your house, in your purse, nothing.

Tell your friends and family that you're quitting so that they can support you. You need someone who you can call at 2:00 in the morning when you want a cigarette so that they can be there to say no.

And also, talk to your doctor about anti-smoking medication, whether it's Nicorette gum or some other kind of device. Not everyone needs them, but a lot do. Apparently, the president being one of them.

HARRIS: Yes, absolutely.

All right. Great information, as always. Elizabeth, good to see you. Thank you.

COHEN: Thanks.

HARRIS: This just in to CNN. We've been following the FAA's Web site just to get some kind of indication when some of the airports, particularly in the New York area, might reopen. And we've just come across an update on the FAA Web site that JFK International Airport will reopen at 6:00 p.m. -- 6:00 p.m. All right. So some good news if you're traveling out of that international airport, JFK in New York. And the other two New York airports, we're still not clear. No update yet on when they might reopen, but we'll keep checking.

We're back in a moment. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Let's go "Cross Country" right now and check stories our affiliates are covering today.

In Scituate, Massachusetts, the blizzard pushing 15-to-20-foot waves into the coastal town, causing some serious flooding. As many as 40 people are forced out of their homes today. To make matters worse, two houses caught fire. Firefighters had to use boats to rescue people.

A San Diego County deputy saves a family of five from a Christmas morning house fire. Deputy Mike Cruz smelled smoke while patrolling a neighborhood and followed it to the source. He pounded on the door to wake everyone up and get them out in time.

In Riverton, Utah, an unforgettable Christmas visit from the stork. That's because one baby's initials spell out "ELF." Who thinks of this stuff? Is this legit? Nurses delivered baby Eva Lori Farmer (ph) to her parents in a Christmas stocking.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: If you are trying to get out of the Northeast today, forget about it. Hundreds of flights have been cancelled, stranding thousands of passengers all over the country. New York's three main airports are still closed, although we did get an update just moments ago that JFK International Airport will open at 6:00 p.m. tonight.

Snow plow crews have been out clearing major streets, but a lot of roads are still pretty slick. Police from D.C. to Maine are urging folks to simply stay home, but our Rob Marciano is home in Stamford, Connecticut.

Rob, can I tell you something? You provided so much entertainment in that last hit last hour, we actually thought of re-racking that and running that, but of course we have got to extract our pound of flesh from you. So take it away, doctor.

ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes. Good, I'm glad you're not doing that. But I'll try to be as entertaining as possible.

There's getting to be a little more traffic here, so that makes this cross street live shot a little bit more difficult. So I'll climb up here.

These are the steps of City Hall which are -- look at this. This is just gorgeous. Huh? I wouldn't mind cutting some tracks through that. HARRIS: There you go.

MARCIANO: But these are steps that hopefully will be cleared tomorrow. But the city workers, at least that work in City Hall, are furloughed today because it's just -- you know, it's been dangerous to get out and about.

Plows have been out, the buses have been working, although we've seen a number of accidents with those. And the rail lines, at least the commuter rail lines, have been shut down. They hope to get those up and running later on this afternoon, and certainly tomorrow, to get folks who live out here, a lot of them which work in New York City, out of here.

But the conditions are obviously improving as far as the snow has stopped, the sun has actually kind of come out a little bit. The winds have shifted just a little bit. But walking not only up those stairs, but down the sidewalk, has become -- it's quite an ordeal. So unless you get a shop owner that's been doing his due diligence and getting out and clearing some of these sidewalks, throwing down some salt, it's just tough to get around. And people have been walking up and down the streets because of that.

The buses, as I mentioned, have been working. And this hasn't been a bad spot either. But if you go in here, you may actually miss the bus. But at least, Tony, it gets you out of the elements here.

HARRIS: There you go.

MARCIANO: And considering how long it may be before you and I get to work again together, I may just take a load off and wait on you.

(LAUGHTER)

HARRIS: You are unbelievable! You are a real keeper.

All right, Rob. And give my best to your family. Happy holidays, doctor. Good stuff.

The weather has thousands of travelers stuck at airports, including Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.

Erica Byfield from affiliate WSB talked to some of them.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ERICA BYFIELD, REPORTER, WSB: There's nothing like spending a holiday weekend stranded at the airport. Just ask Patty Spencer (ph) --

PATTY SPENCER (ph), TRAVELER: I'm not planning on getting home anytime soon.

BYFIELD: -- or Bill Sabin (ph).

BILL SABIN (ph), TRAVELER: If we have to spend another day in here, you know, it's like a nightmare that will never end. BYFIELD: He and his family flew in from Africa. The plan was to change planes here on the 25th, before moving on to Washington, D.C., for their son's wedding on Monday. But since the dress and the bride are also here, it looked iffy. That was until Sabin's (ph) wife showed up with the news they've waited nearly 36 hours to hear.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We got our boarding tickets for this evening's flight to Washington.

BYFIELD: In Spanish, the bride-to-be told me she's thrilled to be able to leave.

While it worked out for them, it won't for many others. The wicked weather forced airlines to cancel almost all flights to the northeast on Sunday. Delta alone canceled 850 flights. AirTran, 94.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All the flights are cancelled.

BYFIELD: Some people tell me the worst part about the waiting game is finding somewhere to sit because the stress level is running high.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's not very comfortable.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: People's nerves are on edge.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They're on edge.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Absolutely.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: So what do you do if you're stuck in the middle of all of this mess? Kiran Chetry spoke to an expert from Travelocity.com on CNN's "AMERICAN MORNING."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GENEVIEVE SHAW BROWN, SR. EDITOR, TRAVELOCITY: If you're already at the airport, I can't lie to you. It's going to be a really difficult situation. You want to make yourself as comfortable as possible.

You want to see if you can talk to someone live at the airport. If there aren't that many employees around to talk to, you want to make sure you get on the phone, call your carrier, call the 1-800 number, see what they can do for you about getting you rescheduled on the quickest flight home.

KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Right. Do you have priority? Meaning that if you are already stuck at an airport, let's say you missed your connection, or whatever, you have no place to go, do they try to place you first, as opposed to the people who are at home, or no, they don't do that?

BROWN: OK. They won't place you ahead of people who are ticketed to fly out, say, today or tomorrow.

CHETRY: Right.

BROWN: Those people will go out as usual on their flights, if their flights do in fact leave. So the people who are stranded will be put on any available seats over the next few days. But as you said, 2,000 flights cancelled yesterday, that translates into tens of thousands of people now competing for very few available seats.

This is the time to be as flexible as possible. If you're supposed to go to New York, but you find a seat open on a flight to Philadelphia, start making your way home. It's better to move in the right direction than to be stuck in one place.

CHETRY: Oh, it is, because in some cases, the tough part is that you think, OK I'll just grab the Amtrak then at that point --

BROWN: Right.

CHETRY: -- or I'll try to take a local bus, but they're not running either right now.

BROWN: They're not running either. But they will be. They will be running.

Rest assured, everyone, you will get home. This will end and you will get home eventually. Be as patient as you can, and try to move in the right direction whenever you can.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: And checking top stories for you now.

Italian police say they found explosives today in a package at the Greek Embassy in Rome. They're investigating suspicious packages found at the Venezuelan and Danish Embassies. This comes just days after package bombs detonated at the Swiss and Chilean Embassies in the Italian capital. An anarchist group claimed responsibility.

No bail for nine men arrested in the U.K. last week on terror charges. A judge has ordered the men remain in custody until a hearing on January 14th. Three other suspects have been released.

They've been to, let's see, Universal Studios, to the CNN Heroes program. Now the Chilean miners who spent more than two months trapped underground are going to Disney World. They will serve as grand marshals at a parade next month.

So what kind of Christmas was it for retailers? We will take look at the view from Wall Street. That is next, when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Pictures, information, insight, you won't find anywhere else. CNN NEWSROOM with Tony Harris, anything can happen.

OK, take a look at these live pictures that we've got going on for you now. All right, let me get to the one in the upper left-hand corner first and Roger, maybe we'll take that full because I can at least -- that's Central Park, it will overrule me. I love that that's a beautiful shot of Central Park, that's New York.

And on the ground now in Central Park, good call, Roger. What else do you have for me? You've got one more, don't you? There's another, that's the view from the window at the Time Warner Center there in New York. Good stuff. It really is.

If you don't have to travel in it, it's really good, if you have to travel in it, it's a bit of a nightmare. If you don't have to go out the advice is stay put and make the most of it, grab the shovel, clean off the walkway, the sidewalks and maybe build a snowman. It's the season. Happy holidays to you.

Let's get you to the big board of the New York Stock Exchange right now. Three hours into the trading day, and we are still in negative territory. Looks like we're off of session lows though, we're down 24 points in the Nasdaq, the tech heavy Nasdaq as we like to say is down 8 points.

We'll continue to follow these numbers throughout the day. How about retail stores? Well, they're rolling out the sales were told, bargains and discounts, simply too hard for consumers to resist. Our Allan Chernoff reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In the face of depressing headlines, persistently high unemployment and trepidation about employment prospects, shoppers tossed aside their malaise and put credit cards to work this holiday season.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There are 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 discounts retailers offer, 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 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 online.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You've got mail.

CHERNOFF: Via e-mails and text messages.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Amazon, Hollister.

CHERNOFF (on camera): All today.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

CHERNOFF: All received today?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All received today.

CHERNOFF (voice-over): And the messages are targeted, based on the shopper's prior purchases.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Five for $25, they have a lot of sales.

CHERNOFF: Digital messages connect especially with younger consumers.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A lot of stores e-mail me, gave me discounts to go into so 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)

HARRIS: A blizzard buries much of the northeast, we will check the big store's progress with our meteorologists, our star meteorologist Chad Myers. We're back in a moment here in the CNN NEWSROOM. Cool pics.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: When there is so much snow on the ground and you can't go anywhere, what do you do really? Here's what you do, you build a snowman of course. I-Reporter Joan Ferrer in Norfolk, Virginia, says they don't normally see this much snow.

And check this out, I-Reporter Carla Ann Lowery and her family with one better. They created a snow couple, chilling on the beach. After all, they live oceanfront in Virginia Beach, and here is young Shawna Crumbly topping off a snowman masterpiece in Collegedale, Tennessee. It is the Crumbly's first White Christmas in the south.

The first White Christmas in the south where a lot of folks in Atlanta as well, Chad. It was kind of cool actually.

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, since like the 1800s for some people. Really who was keeping track back then.

HARRIS: Yes.

MYERS: Do you remember a band called the "Talking Heads"?

HARRIS: I do. "Burning Down The House" big song. MYERS: Yes, my favorite was "I'm on a Road to Nowhere."

HARRIS: There you go, perfect.

MYERS: I won't sing it, but all of these planes, one, two, three, four, five, six, seven -- eight now, going to Newark. Well, that's probably not going to happen because all those airports are closed.

JFK, Laguardia, Newark, so these are planes taken off from distant places like Honolulu and London and all that, hoping by the time they get over Newark Air Space that it will be open, they'll probably be diverted somewhere else.

But look at these, JFK, LaGuardia, and Newark, we're just not getting these open because of the snow is not getting -- finally though this last 30 minutes ago, Tony, they canceled the blizzard warnings for New York and for Boston. Snow now is not coming down hard enough to qualify for a blizzard.

That doesn't mean that you're not going to see wind gusts like we're seeing here that may not blow the snow around. Look at this, now this is just on down east Maine there, 54, 53 miles per hour, and off the Cape, a gust I saw just happen there somewhere around 48 miles per hour.

And you can bet that that kind of snow, that kind of wind will blow around for a while, even when you get it all shoveled off your driveway, it may not be going away any time soon because it may literally come back. The snow moving away, that's good news.

And what I'd like you to do if you could is go to CNN.com CNN.com/ireport and drop us something here. Go to assignments and then go to winter weather near you and you can drop this down. If you'd like to see them go to most viewed or you can go to also to the ones that say "on CNN."

Click the ones on CNN those are the ones we've called the people and we have verified they are of age and we have verified that these are real pictures that this is not 1954 and so on and so forth.

So there is the blizzard of 2010, no music, Chris Oliver 84 shot video takes up a couple seconds, go on ireport.com and look at the misery. If you're in sunny San Diego, you can look at what's going on in Newark.

HARRIS: I feel so bad for my friends in the east. It's 63 degrees and if you're in Buffalo.

MYERS: If you're from Buffalo living in San Antonio, you feel bad, take a look.

HARRIS: All right. Chad, appreciate it. Thank you.

Working all night to get fresh produce out by day that's part of our "Favorites in Focus," CNN's look at story behind the headlines. Photojournalist Deborah Brunswick gives us a revealing look at one man's commitment and sacrifice.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MICHAEL FINNAN, CABIN ATTENDANT, ROOSEVELT ISLAND TRAM: As I said the city never sleeps. There's always action. My name is Michael Finnan, cabin attendant for the Roosevelt Island Tramway. It's the public transportation between Manhattan and Roosevelt Island, which is an island in the middle of the east river.

Please hold on while the cabin is docking. My shift is from 10:00 at night to 6:00 in the morning. The skyline of Manhattan is always overpowering, but I think mostly at night when all the buildings are lit up and reflected on the east river.

Tonight is pretty calm. Another night it could be foggy, quiet and mysterious. I prefer the night shift. I'm used to it now. My whole life is geared around it. Let's go, please, we're late.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sorry.

FINNAN: OK. Closing my doors. Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. If you are standing, please hold on while the cabin is in motion. Thank you. It is a different lifestyle in reverse. Eating patterns are all off. Our sleeping patterns are all off.

The best thing about the job is it leaves my days free, especially, in the warm weather you get out and walk around. The downside is you lose contact with a lot of friends and family.

Working nights is sort of pleasant to have the sun coming up. Some people say I have one of the nicest jobs and I tend to agree with them.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: "Favorites in Focus" brings you the stories behind the headlines. Don't miss this compelling hour of television hosted by Tom Foreman, 2:00 p.m. Eastern New Year's day.

It's the quality storytelling from the award winning CNN photojournalist team that you are so aware of and they are so known for. We are back in a moment. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: The music world lost a big name over the weekend. Entertainment correspondent Kareen Wynter joining us from Los Angeles. Kareen, boy, how is the music industry reacting to the loss of great Teena Marie?

KAREEN WYNTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, Tony, she was definitely an icon. So as you can imagine so many people from fans to stars alike, they're saddened, they're surprised by this news.

R&B singer Teena Marie, she passed away Sunday in her California home. She was actually born Mary Kristine Brockard in Santa Monica, California. The 54-year-old artist, she famously paired with the late bonk legend Rick James you know him, Tony and she was also - she was nominated for multiple Grammy Awards according to her official web site.

Her hits included "Lovergirl" "Ooh Lala" and "I'm a Sucker for your Love." Now the cause of her death, Tony, still are not sure, but her publicist tells CNN that she suffered from a grand malseizure about a month ago so that may have been a warning sign.

Teena Marie, she had so many fans in the music world from Didi to Common to Mary Jay, just a few of them. They've all reacted to this very, very sad news via Twitter. You can hear one of her hits right there driving in to work today. I've heard so many radio stations playing her song in her honor. So we'll definitely miss her.

HARRIS: She was absolutely terrific, "Square Biz," if you want to see all-out energy and Teena Marie, boy, "Square Biz."

WYNTER: She really brought it.

HARRIS: And "Portuguese Love" is another one that comes to mind.

And Kareen, let's change gears a bit here and let's talk about some good news and you knew it would probably happen again, Hugh Hefner announcing his engagement to another "Playboy" playmate, correct?

WYNTER: Yes, and I don't know how Heff's next marriage will go, but you can bet the very public "Playboy" founder keep us updated on everything. I was surprised about this, Tony. The 84-year-old, he broke the news of his engagement via Twitter, there's his little darling and I can just say who knew Heff had a Twitter account. That blew me away.

HARRIS: Yes. Me, too.

WYNTER: But anyway, he announced that he and "Playboy" playmate Crystal Harris are engaged. She said she burst into tears when he proposed on Christmas Eve, but in a good way. He added that this was his happiest Christmas in years.

Now as the original "Playboy" this new marriage fits into Heff's image. The 24-year-old bride-to-be has appeared in his magazine several times, of course she has and as for his track record Hefner has publicly talked about how he doesn't believe in monogamy, which may explain why his previous two marriages both ended in divorce after around a decade, but we won't go there.

As for critics, Tony, I have to say, you know what? Go Heff. It doesn't matter you're 84 or whatever, you're never too old to find love, my little theory. Not that I'm an expert at it.

HARRIS: He's 84 and she is 24. Fill in the time line, if you would, please. All right, Kareen. It's great to see you. Thank you.

WYNTER: Doing the numbers. Bye, Tony. HARRIS: My gosh. If you want information breaking on the entertainment world that Kareen got it for you, watch "Showbiz Tonight" tonight at 5:00 and 11:00 on HLN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: America's view of the new health care reform law. National political correspondent Jessica Yellin, part of "The Best Political Team on Television," live from Washington.

Jess, good to see you. What do you have for us?

JESSICA YELLIN, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Tony.

Well, a new poll from CNN shows that when it comes to health care reform, guess what, Americans want all the gain but none of the pain. At least that's what the polling suggests. So, look at this.

The so-called mandate, the provision that would require that all Americans get health insurance, only 38 percent of Americans support that, but 60 percent oppose it. But check this out. Flip those numbers. When you ask people, do you want -- do you like the provision preventing insurance companies from dropping coverage for seriously ill people, 61 percent favor, 39 percent oppose. And then again, the provision preventing insurance companies from denying coverage for people with preexisting conditions, 64 percent of people favor that. A lot of approval for those protections, but not for the mandate.

HARRIS: Yes.

YELLIN: The problem with that, Tony, is, many of the experts say it's that mandate requiring even healthy people to get insurance coverage that allows for those other provisions to exist so that insurance companies can afford to cover the ill. Hard to see how you have one without the other. That's going to be a challenge as people take on this law -- as policymakers take on this law going forward.

Another story and another big challenge when Congress comes back into session next week, you know, the GOP has said that they want to slash $100 billion in spending. John Boehner is going to do it, he says, but he doesn't want to cut Social Security, Medicare or defense. Those are the big ticket items. So that means that money is going to have to come from other programs that most voters really -- that many voters really like, at least. Things that come to you in the form of benefits -- education, health and human services, and they're going to have to find ways in some of those soft programs to find the cuts. That's going to be a huge political challenge in the new Congress.

HARRIS: Yes.

YELLIN: So those are two hard news stories.

HARRIS: Well, I've got one more question for you if I can sneak in here for just a second, Jess.

YELLIN: Yes. HARRIS: It's also that time where there are lots of year-end polls, right?

YELLIN: Of course.

HARRIS: And my understand is you've got one on popular men?

YELLIN: Yes. We have one of the most -- who is the American that people most admire. The man and the woman. The most admired man, President Obama. The most admired woman, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Together again.

HARRIS: Yes.

YELLIN: It's pretty remarkable that they remain hugely popular. No matter what your politics are, people seem to admire their accomplishments, Tony.

HARRIS: You're absolutely right about that. Jess, good to see you and happy holidays to you.

YELLIN: See you. You too.

HARRIS: Appreciate it.

Your next political update coming in one hour. For the latest political news, just go to cnnpolitics.com.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: So all week we are taking a look at the top 20 most intriguing people of the year. Comedian Dave Chappelle turned down $50 million saying he was misunderstood by TV execs. Entertainment correspondent Kareen Wynter looks at what he's up to now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KAREEN WYNTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Dave Chappelle was a comedy prodigy, earning standup success in his early teens.

DAVE CHAPPELLE, ACTOR, "ROBIN HOOD: MEN IN TIGHTS": Man, white men can't jump.

WYNTER: Movie offers rolled in, like "Robin Hood: Men In Tights," all before he hit 20.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How old are you?

CHAPPELLE (on camera): Nineteen.

WYNTER: 2003 brought the debut of his Comedy Central series and super stardom. On his strength of sketch humor that often touched on race, Chappelle's show became a mega hit. Comedy Central offered him $50 million to do more seasons. Then came the showbiz stunner. Chappelle walked away and traveled to South Africa to reflect on his life and career. He would tell CNN's Anderson Cooper he felt misunderstood by network executives and put off by show business

CHAPPELLE: And you look around Hollywood and these aren't bad people but it's so vicious.

WYNTER: He never cashed that $50 million check.

Since abandoning his show, Chappelle has mostly laid low, living on a farm in Ohio with his family. He was spotted at a 2008 Obama campaign event. And he's made surprise appearances, like this one in Portland, Oregon, in 2009. He's also given impromptu performances at the Laugh Factory in L.A. His friend, club owner Jamie Masada, predicts we haven't heard the last of Dave Chappelle

JAMIE MASADA, FOUNDER, THE LAUGH FACTORY: He's working on new material. All new material. And that's amazing. I know he's coming back. He keeps telling me, "I'm coming back."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: So, who do you think should make the list of CNN's top 10 most intriguing people of the year? Just go to cnn.com to vote. You have until midnight tomorrow. The big reveal for the top 10 will be Thursday.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: An explosive Christmas tradition lighting up the skies over Cuba. CNN's Patrick Oppmann gives us a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Christmas in this small Cuban town starts with a bang. Lots of them. Local fireworks specialists called artieros (ph) light the fuses. Crowds take in the show, and take cover. These pyrotechnics will go on for another 12 hours.

This is Ramedios. Usually a sleepy place, until Christmas Eve. That's when Las Parrandas start up. The street festivals began over 200 years ago to lure Ramedios citizens to the town's midnight mass. But the town priest says Las Parrandas now dwarf the services.

"We're afraid that rockets will fly into the church and kill someone," he says, "so we have canceled mass."

The homemade fireworks dazzle, when they fly up.

OPPMANN (on camera): Las Parrandas are much more than just a celebration. They are also a competition between two rival neighborhoods, San Salvador and El Carmen. And to the neighborhood with the best fireworks goes the bragging rights.

OPPMANN (voice-over): But claiming victory isn't easy.

"That's bull," yells this El Carmen supporter when a San Salvador man boasts that their pyrotechnics are the best. Battle lines aren't always so clear. Yoli is a San Salvador neighborhood die-hard. Her daughter, Claudia, is for El Carmen.

YOLI CORCHO, REMEDIOS RESIDENT (through translator): We discuss, argue and fight about it.

OPPMANN: A winner is never declared since townspeople say no one from here could possibly be considered an impartial judge. It's a tense time for families with a foot in each camp.

JORGE ALVAREZ, REMEDIOS RESIDENT (through translator): There was a married couple. He was for San Salvador. She rooted for El Carmen. During Las Parrandas they had to sleep in different rooms.

OPPMANN: But Las Parrandas also reunite this town. Andres Carrillo travels from New Jersey to come home.

ANDRES CARRILLO, RETURNED TO TOWN FOR FESTIVAL: Tomorrow, at the end of the day, it's like it never happened. But, you know, we keep the memory and we want to come back again and again and again.

OPPMANN: Preparations for next year's festival begin at sunrise.

Patrick Oppmann, CNN, Remedios.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: It is go time.