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Interview With Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter; 'On the Case'; Snowy Storm Clobbers Northeast; Another Explosive Found In Rome
Aired December 27, 2010 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Most days we bring you our Political Ticker from Washington D.C. Well, today it comes live from Honolulu, Hawaii, and our senior White House correspondent Ed Henry is there vacationing with President Obama.
Who requested this music for you?
ED HENRY, SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: I might be doing a hula lesson later on this afternoon, so we may have that exclusively tomorrow.
LEMON: Yes, keep that to yourself. I'm not sure if many people want to see that. Maybe some ladies want to see it. Listen, what -- I gave you the chance to re-think that shirt, and here you are wearing it on the air. So, what are you thinking, man? I'm trying to help you out here.
HENRY: I thought about it. I think not only as it stylist, I think, number one, you're just jealous. And number two, I think that this will demonstrate the comparison between east and west right now. And I feel your pain. I know it's kind of cold, but you should know that the waves are pretty rough behind me right now because it's been raining gently today. The temperature plummeted to about 68, 70 degrees. So, we feel your pain.
LEMON: Yes, I'm in pain because I am wearing a turtle neck today, and you're wearing --
(LAUGHTER)
LEMON: Turtle neck gets some really hoops (ph) in the studio. So, what do you have for us on the Political Ticker? What's going on there?
HENRY: Trending right now on the political ticker also at our White House blog, CNN.com/1600 report, I got an exclusive television interview with Neil Abercrombie. He's the Hawaiian governor just sworn in a few weeks ago. He has decided to jump into this controversy about the so-called birthers who do not believe that President Obama was born here in Hawaii. Thus, they believe that he is not a U.S. citizen, despite the fact that the White House put out the Obama campaign in 2008.
No White House yet put out documentation that suggesting that, in fact, he was born here in Hawaii. There are people who still don't believe it. Now, there are some state lawmakers across the country trying to keep him off of the ballot in 2012 for his re-election battle. So, bottom line is Neil Abercrombie as a Democrat and a friend of the Obama family is saying, I don't care if the White House doesn't want me to bring more attention to this. Once and for all, I'm going to investigate what documents I can release to end this. Take a listen to this interview I had with him.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HENRY: The waive of privacy rights and take the birth certificate out.
GOV. NEIL ABERCROMBIE, (D) HAWAII: It's not up to the president. It has nothing to do with the president. This has to do with the people in Hawaii who love him. The people who loved his mom and dad. This has to do with the respect of the office of the president that they're entitled to, and it has to do with the respect that every single person's mother and father.
HENRY: So, do you vision the possibility that you could release the birth certificate without his permission, governor (ph)?
ABERCROMBIE: Obviously, I'm going to what is legally possible. I have the attorney general and the director of the Department of Health looking in what we can do to try and see what we can do in turn for an open process that will put those who want to disrespect the president and his parents in the proper light. They would just to say they have a political agenda, not worthy of any good America.
HENRY: And what do you say to some of the president's supporters who say that you might not be helping him because it just gives the birthers even more ammunition if you bring it up. How do you respond to that?
ABERCROMBIE: This is a matter of principle.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HENRY: So, White House officials are not commenting on what the governor is doing, but, as you heard him say, he basically says, this is a matter of principle. I don't really care if the White House, politically, doesn't want me to bring more attention to it, number one. And number two, he's very personal about it because Governor Abercrombie actually knew President Obama's parents who are both now deceased.
Then, he told me several times in this interview, this is not just disrespectful to the president and his office, it's disrespectful to his parents to suggest that he was born in Kenya or somewhere else and that they secretly brought him to Hawaii to sort of deceived everyone, and he wants to clear the president's parents' names if nothing else, Don.
LEMON: All right. Ed Henry in Honolulu, Hawaii with that story. Ed, thank you very much. Stay warm. HENRY:
LEMON: There you go. Ed Henry, thanks. You can get the latest political news at CNNPolitics.com and on Twitter at Political Ticker. Now, take a look at this.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON (voice-over): Flights cancelled. Airports shut down. Roads impassable. Even rail lines not working. Thousands of people are stranded, tired, cold, and hungry.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The hunger starts to build at JFK right now. It's starting to run out of food.
LEMON: And the winter blast paralyzing parts of the East Coast isn't over yet.
He was an oil giant and Russia's richest man. Now, he's in prison. Is it justice for white collar crime or political revenge for opposing (INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Emergency, 911?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, the girl is not waking up.
LEMON: And aspiring model dies in the home of beer magnate, August Busch IV. Her death is a mystery. Get another bizarre chapter in life of the heir to the Anheuser-Busch fortune.
Remember the so-called balloon boy?
UNIDENTIFIED KID: We did this for a show.
LEMON: What are the heenies (ph) up to after a year of being off the radar? It's our special series "Where Are They Now 2010."
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON (on-camera): Hello, everyone. I'm Don Lemon. A lot of news happening right now. Rapid fire, let's go, shall we.
If you were holding out hope for airports to open at 4:00 p.m. eastern, hoping it is running out right now, flights are still grounded at many airports in the northeast. New York's LaGuardia Airport is scheduled to re-open this hour. We will see. Jfk, Newark airports are set to re-open at 6:00 eastern. A total of more than 3,600 flights have been cancelled, so far. All of this snow was compounded by wind above to 80 miles per hour. We'll get more from the New York, New Jersey airports and the port authority live in just a few minutes here on CNN.
Another terrorist scare in Rome to tell you about. Police in Italy say they found an explosive package at the Greek Embassy. It is the second time in a week that embassies in Rome have received some sort of explosive in the mail. The police also investigated the reports of the suspicious packages at the Venezuela and Danish embassies, but they eventually cleared the scenes. A group of anarchists says it set up last week mail bombings at embassies in Rome. No word on who may have sent today's packages.
Next up here on CNN, listen to this. Just six hours after a woman gave birth, she dropped off her newborn at a Los Angeles fire station that happened on Christmas Eve. We're told firefighters wrapped the healthy girl in a blanket and even named her.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CAPT. SCOTT HILDEN, LOS ANGELES FIRE DEPT.: One of the firefighters, Mark, decided that while he was on the way to the hospital, he would name the baby Noel, obviously Christmas Eve. So, it was a fitting good day.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Crews took the baby to the hospital. And in case you're wondering, a parent can drop off a newborn at a fire station or hospital in California without the fear of being arrested.
Up next, that man you see right there, his name is Frank Pratt. He is a state representative in Arizona, and he is in stable condition today in a Phoenix hospital. Police say a man beat Pratt unconscious and left him tied up inside his pool supply store on Christmas Day. His wife found them hours later. The suspect is still at large. He fled the scene in Pratt's SUV.
More than three months after they were rescued, the Chileans are going to Disney world. The miners, the rescuers, and their families will stay six months -- not six months, six nights, I should say next month at the resort in Florida. Disney is picking up the tab for them. Each family will also get a $500 gift card. Nearly three dozen miners spent 69 days, remember that, trapped understood ground.
Next, concert tickets may cost less in 2011. That is according to the "Hollywood Reporter." Concert promoters say a 12 percent drop in attendance will happen -- had happened this year. Some singers were forced to cancel shows because of terrible ticket sales, including Rihanna and Christina Aguilera. So, we're told several promoters are getting ready to slash prices. Act slashing prices include ZZ Top who will offer some tickets for $10. Next.
An NFL coach gets into a fight with the player. Hours later, he loses his job. San Francisco 49ers firing Coach Mike Singletary after a couple of disappointing seasons, but take a look at what happened during yesterday's loss against the Rams. Singletary and quarterback, Troy Smith, get into a shouting match. It happened right on the sidelines, for all to see. No word on what was said there. But Smith had just thrown an interception.
And finally, we have this one for you. A 9-year-old in New Mexico gets a brand new DVD player for Christmas, but guess what she finds inside -- a Kamasutra DVD. Her parents say they bought it at K-Mart. The store is reportedly offered to reimburse the family. And listen to this, her parents say they bought the DVD player to restrict what their kids watched.
OK. It is the end of the first trading day since the holiday break. There you go. Look at the market. That's how it's trading. Take a look at the big board and to explain all of it to us right now, Alison Kosik at the New York Stock Exchange. Alison, break down those numbers we're seeing.
ALISON KOSIK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Don. Well, I didn't make it to the stock exchange today, thanks to the snow at the New York bureau, actually, and it was a really quiet day. In fact, we had the lowest volume of the year. Lots of traders also had trouble getting in to work today. Stocks were under pressure throughout the morning, but some were able to pair their losses. Take a look at the numbers, again.
The Dow fell 18 points. The Nasdaq was up slightly. We did keep our eye on shares of Visa and MasterCard, both jumped on holiday sales optimism and the likelihood that the snowed in shoppers today went ahead and pulled out the plastic to shop online today -- Don?
LEMON: And it just comes out. You just say live in New York, but you're so used to seeing you at the New York Stock Exchange, kind of like a tag line.
KOSIK: I couldn't make it.
LEMON: You couldn't make it. Listen, I'm going to ask you about the weather, the weather, of course. There's a new survey out, and it says 84 percent of employees want to quit their current jobs. 84 percent. That is according to a job placement firm that's called Manpower. So, what do you make of this? They can't probably because of the jobless numbers.
KOSIK: Well, you know what, it's getting a little better. And you know that phrase, take this job and shove it. We're going to hear it more next year. You know, it could be a good sign for the economy, actually because it means that people think there are actually new jobs out there to look for. You know, the recession forced people to stay put and their less than ideal jobs for a couple of years.
Now, think of this, though, of course, just because people are looking, doesn't mean they're actually going to find those jobs. Jobs are still scarce, and disgruntled employees still have competition from the millions of Americans without jobs. But I think that confidence is building a little bit more now that the economy is loosening up. So, that's what that study has been showing, Don.
LEMON: All right. Alison Kosik in New York. Nice turtleneck, by the way, and thank you.
KOSIK: Oh, thanks. Yours is good too.
LEMON: All right. Listen, so, why is the United States government so concerned about a Russian oil tycoon staying in prison? Why is the government so concern? That answer revealed straight ahead when we go globe trekking on CNN. And check this scene out. It's from last night. Thanks to another one of our iReporters who worked at Rockefeller Center. This was shot out of a window on the 48th floor. You can hear the winds whipping around and you can see the snow swirling in the sky over midtown Manhattan. And we'll check in with New York -- New Jersey, I should say, the port authority there in just moments. Listen to that wind at the top of the Rockefeller Center.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: All right. Wherever you are, you are lucky that you're not at JFK, at LaGuardia, at Newark or stuck in another airport trying to fly to the northeast or fly out of there as well. Thousands of travelers are stranded. Let's go to (INAUDIBLE) port authority of New York and New Jersey. He can fill us in on the situation in Newark right now. Talk to us about Newark, Mr. Coleman.
VOICE OF STEVE COLEMAN, PORT AUTHORITY OF N.Y. AND N.J.: It could be (ph) good news at all of the airports. At Newark, we expect that to open at about 6:00 tonight for departures only. The other two airports, JFK, we expect to be open at 6:00 for both arrivals and departures. We have LaGuardia opened now at 4:00. The problem with LaGuardia is that the airlines have chosen to cancel the rest of the schedules today, hopes that they can get back to somewhat normalcy at LaGuardia.
LEMON: OK, listen. Mr. Coleman, a lot of people are counting on this information. If you can repeat that slowly. There's a little bit of a breakup. I think you're maybe calling from a cell phone. You said that Newark is going to be open and that is just for departures, right?
COLEMAN: Sure. Newark will be open at about 6:00 for departures only.
LEMON: OK. JFK is going to open later?
COLEMAN: JFK will also open at 6:00 for both arrivals and departures.
LEMON: OK. And then you said, right now LaGuardia is open both ways, in and out.
COLEMAN: LaGuardia is open both ways. The problem is that the airlines that serve LaGuardia have already decided to cancel all of their flight for the rest of today with the hopes that they can get back to somewhat of a normal schedule tomorrow morning.
LEMON: Yes. And that is most all the carriers here in the United States, a lot of them. Most of them serve LaGuardia, except for the big international flights. So listen, what's happening beyond on the rail lines when you were talking about it. We just have an employee who stuck on New Jersey Transit. We have one who stuck on Amtrak, and people, you know, stuck in buses still in New York City.
COLEMAN: We don't have flight (INAUDIBLE) we do operate as a past (ph) system. The past (ph) system is still under service between Newark and Jersey City. But we're hopes that we have that back at the morning rush hour tomorrow.
LEMON: Yes, but you are in contact with all those people of pot train touch is bad, and, you know, people getting at the airports. You should have some idea of how they're operating as well, right?
COLEMAN: Well, it's (INAUDIBLE) that New Jersey Transit buses are still not operating. I know we operate the port authority bus terminal. There's no activity right now operating from the bus terminal, both long haul carriers and New Jersey Transit. So, we're hopeful that the buss will begin to run on somewhat of a normal schedule tomorrow. Obviously, with the condition of the roads here in the northeast, you know, that's going to be a problem even tomorrow.
LEMON: Hey, Steve, stand by, because a big problem for all of this, especially the airline was the wind. It's just a snow, but it's the wind. I want you to look at this. This was taken from top of Rockefeller Plaza. It was like the 48th floor from an iReporter. I want you to listen to this. This is thunder snow. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: So, again, Steve, this is 48th floor. This is from one of our iReporters whipping around. It was last night at Rockefeller Plaza. And that was the problem for many of the airlines. The wind, although, at times, is had died down significantly and that's why you have been able now to get at least some of these flights back on track.
COLEMAN: Absolutely. I think the wind is a big factor last night. I think It's a big factor during the day today. We've had significant snowstorms in the past. We got several last year. But we did not have the level of wind that we had in this particular storm. We had 1,000 people out there at the airport plowing, salting, standing as quickly as they can get a runway or a taxi way open when we come in, you know, fill up that taxi way and runway in with snow.
LEMON: Hey, Steve, I've got to run. Comparatively to other seasons, how does this rank?
COLEMAN: I think given the wind that we had and the level of snow, it's probably one of the worst storms that we had in this area in many years.
LEMON: All right. Steve Coleman, spokesman for the port authority of New York and New Jersey. Appreciate you calling in.
I got to show you something else, and this is just in -- listen, I'm going to read it right off of the wire here. Look at this calf. It is stuck on a frozen lake there. This is Watonga, Oklahoma. This is shot by our affiliate, Sky News Nine, a pilot there, Mason Don (ph). Look how they get this cap off. They bring in a helicopter, and a helicopter basically pushes from the wind of the blades, propeller. It pushes this calf to safety again. Watonga, Oklahoma, KWTV, our affiliate there, calf stuck on ice. A rancher near Watonga called News 9 for help after his calf became stuck in the middle of an iced over lake. And that was the news helicopter that was helping out. They used the wind from the blades. It's enough to get the struggling calf back to shore. This is the second time, though, that this Mason who works for Sky 9 news has helped to save an animal stuck on ice. A few years ago, he received a national recognition when he used the helicopter to push a deer back to solid ground. Great video there. Good news for the calf. Good for you, Mason. Hope you get another award for that.
OK. So, you are starting to plan your vacations for 2011. I have a list of the places where you'll get the most for your money -- the most for your money. Interesting places, that's next.
Plus, should lawmakers be allowed to use iPads and Blackberries on the House floor or are they one big distraction? Well, there may soon be a rule over this. Our Brianna Keilar has our Political Pop for us. There she is. Can't wait to talk to you, Brianna, but we're going to have to do it after a break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: It's time right now for a bit of Political Pop and joining me now from Washington, D.C., a snowy Washington, D.C., some areas at least, Brianna Keilar.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: A little bit.
LEMON: This first item isn't just news to you at all. It's not just news because Republicans on the hill want to change the rule to allow electronic devices on the floor of the House. Tell me about that.
KEILAR: Yes, that's right. You know, they kind of do. I chuckle a little bit when I see this. But this is a story that first came to our attention. It was in "PC Magazine," and members of Congress, officially, Don, have not been allowed to use cell phones, Blackberries, laptops, what you on the floor of the House. As I said, I kind of laugh at this because we know that this happen. You can look in the gallery.
You see members checking their Blackberry sometimes. They're pretty discreet about it. But they've gone up to the mic in the past and you'll kind of hear that feedback from the Blackberry that's in their pocket. Some of them have even live tweet during State of the Union, but this is official now. It's OK. The rule basically saying if it's within reason, Don.
LEMON: OK. So, I understand, though, that the key to the rule changes adding just a few words. So, what do the rules state before now, Brianna?
KEILAR: The rules said that a person may not smoke or use a wireless telephone or personal computer on the floor of the House. So, what Republicans are doing is they're adding a line that says, "if it impairs decorum". So, that's the change. And a Republican spokesman told me via e-mail that this definition of disrupting decorum is expected to change over time, but for now, you know, if a lawmaker wants to read an amendment on their iPad, well, that's going to OK.
So, this mean that we're going to be hearing the Lady Gaga ring tone going off in the chamber? No. Are they going to be gabbing on their phones? No. I don't think we're going to see anyone facebooking, hopefully not playing, you know, Farmville on the House floor, but this is going to be a little bit of a change.
LEMON: You hear it even, sometimes, when we take live events, you know the -- you can tell when someone has their Blackberry on. You hear that --
KEILAR: Totally.
LEMON: So, they do it already. This one was very surprising to me. Let's end on a positive note here, Brianna. Despite Americans' anger with Congress, specifically, I understand political figures dominate this year's list of most admired men and women. How that happen?
KEILAR: Yes, I don't know. This surprised me a little bit too. This is a Gallup Survey of the most admired political, cultural and religious figures. And let's do the ladies first, though, shall we? Secretary of State Hillary Clinton top of the list for the ninth year in a row for women. Sarah Palin, second behind her for the second year in a row.
And then for the gentleman, you actually have President Obama despite that very rough midterm election. He's still topping the list for men for the third year in a row. Number two, former President George W. Bush. Number three, former President Bill Clinton. And, as you pointed out, Don, all of these presidents edging out people like Nelson Mandela, the pope, and the Dalai Lama. So, yes, they're sort of esteemed and they have some pretty good competition there you have to say.
LEMON: Oh, good. My family asked about you. How was your Christmas?
KEILAR: It was good. How is mama?
LEMON: Mama is good.
KEILAR: Mama Lemon.
LEMON: She's watching now. She says I like BK -- that's my nickname, BK Keilar (ph).
KEILAR: Of course.
(LAUGHTER)
LEMON: All right. Brianna, thank you. I'll see you tomorrow, OK?
KEILAR: Bye, Don.
LEMON: All right. Bye.
Listen, there are disturbing new details in the alleged plot to attack one of the nine terror suspects appearing in court. And we now know what they allegedly were targeting. That is up next.
But first, here's what we have for you. If you're already thinking about where you want to get away in 2011, this list is one for you. Lonely Planet has released its list of the ten best value destinations for the New Year. At number ten, number ten, Guatemala. Number nine is Japan. Number eight, Burma. There you go. Number seven is Vietnam. Here's number six for you. It's Bulgaria.
I want you to stick around because after the break, I'll reveal the top five best value destinations for 2011.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: All right. So, nothing makes you dream of vacation like stuck in the snow, in the cold, and winter. And so, you don't have to spend a lot of money, though, to travel in 2011. That's what we're hearing now. Here's top five list from Lonely Planet of the best value destinations for the New Year.
First off, we gave you a little bit of a preview of that one. That's number five. That's Albania. Just a 45-minute ride from Greece. Number four is Argentina. And you can get there from the U.S. with no jet lag. Number three, Nicaragua, with pacific coastline made famous by the "Survivor" show. Remember that one? And then, number two, Las Vegas. The car rentals are cheap to get to other places like the Grand Canyon. And coming in at number one, there you go, believe it or not, it's Washington, D.C. Three museums, great public transportation, make it a steal for the whole family.
That's probably I would want to go once it warmed up a little bit. OK. Someone who would know a lot about this place is the next person we're going to talk to. (INAUDIBLE) tracking with Hala Gorani. She joins us from CNN international. So, let's start with the tourist bus crash, though, in Egypt. Very serious story there.
HALA GORANI, CNNI ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: Very serious story. And you know, it happened several times this year in Egypt. Roads there are notoriously dangerous. In this case, eight American tourists were killed, 21 were injured. Look at these pictures, Don. The whole side of the bus was sheared off. We understand from officials there that the rammed into a parked truck. They're looking into causes, but as I said before, there have been fatalities on these roads in Egypt involving tourists. And there are some sources saying that excessive speed might have been an issue in this particular case.
LEMON: That was horrific. Let's move on. We heard about the suspects in this terror plot, and we found out they're alleged targets now. What are we learning today?
GORANI: This is what the prosecutor is saying, but UK court rules are very strict just to what we can and cannot report. The prosecutor is saying that they believe that the men planned the attacks on the London Stock Exchange and the U.S. Embassy in London bail was denied for these nine men arrested last week. They were charged with terrorism-related defenses, but importantly, the source that CNN spoke to is also saying that the suspects were more aspirational. You know, Don, there's a big difference when you arrest individuals between al Qaeda, say, inspired and linked. And in this particular case, the source seems to indicate that they were more aspirational than ready --
LEMON: What do you mean the big difference?
GORANI: The big difference is whether you are operational or somehow inspired, because online, you had access to some material or a young disenfranchised man from a certain community might find some of the materials he finds on a website inspiring in some way.
LEMON: How do investigators feel now about where they found this in the process? Do they think they thwarted something that was going to happen immediately or was this a plot that was unfolding that's going to take place over time?
GORANI: No. That's exactly it. They're saying that this was in the very, very early stages. But, of course, we still have not reached the stage of the trial yet, and the men are held in detention until their next hearing on January --
LEMON: So, we'll be watching that in CNN International and here on domestic as well. Former oil tycoon convicted of corruption. Who are we talking about?
GORANI: We're talking about Mikhail Khodorkovsky. Now, this was years ago one of the oligarchs, one of the, if not the richest man in Russia, an oil tycoon. Opponents are calling this latest trial a charade. He was found guilty of embezzlement. He's already in jail, another charges. Hillary Clinton, the U.S. Secretary of State also critical of the process. This according to critics is a test for Russia's desire and willingness to reform because he is a critic of the Kremlin. So, in this case, people are seeing this through a political prism as well.
And it's a question of whether or not it this is a trial that was conduct in the fair way or as critics say, no, this was, in fact, political.
LEMON: That's what I -- that's what I was going to ask you. What is the mood there when it comes to how this guy is being prosecuted, how he will be treated unto the law and in the court systems?
GORANI: Well, you had, for instance, outside the courthouse, hundreds of people protesting. You have people who consider that democratic reforms in Russia have not gone nearly far enough. That Vladimir Putin and the prime minister, Dmitry Medvedev are -- rather, the President Dmitry Medvedev, have not gone far enough and are going back on promises of democratic reform and this trial is an illustration of that.
LEMON: It was interesting because a lot of this is brought to light before this particular gentleman's case during the World Cup, right? And other heads of state were critical of what happened in Russia, the corruption and all of that, saying that it should not be held in Moscow. So, that is where the corruption part came to light during that process.
GORANI: And that's just one of the many charges leveled against the government, promises of reforming politically but also combating corruption. So, you see on many levels in Russia, many people who wanted to see more done on the political and on the economic level. They're disappointed.
And in this case, this is a nice illustration of what critics say is a broken promise in terms of political reform. But then, of course, if you speak to official there on the ground in Russia, they're saying this man is guilty of having embezzled money from his company, Yukos, which he headed at the time. He was one of the richest men in the country.
LEMON: I was going to say, Hala, on the other side, it makes it easy to say, hey, listen, I'm being set up by the government. You always said that excuse --
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: -- right?
GORANI: You have both sides there in this particular story.
LEMON: Both sides.
Hala Gorani from CNN International, good to see you here more.
GORANI: Good to see you.
LEMON: Good talking to you on television last night. Great job. Great job, thank you.
GORANI: Thanks.
LEMON: OK. So, I want you to check this out. One thing our iReporters know here at CNN, they love that -- they know that we love videos and time lapse video. So, take a look at this -- it is from snowfall in Belmar, New Jersey. I kind of play it out a little bit here.
Mike Black shot this video from Sunday morning to Monday morning. And thanks, Mike, for keeping that clock cleared off so you can see how long it took for this to accumulate. It's great video. I love looking at it.
We're going to get more live reports from the Northeast in a moment where people are trying to carve their way out of this mess. There are some cool video, too. And there's also one cute one of the dog, Hala, that we're going to show you trying to get out of the snow there.
Thanks, Mike, for that.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Welcome back, everyone.
Snow, wind, and a mysterious death with ties to a famous family. It's now time to play "Reporter Roulette" and we begin with Allan Chernoff at LaGuardia -- Allan.
ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Don, the airport is finally open. Does that mean planes are taking off and landing? Not yet, no. It's going to be quite a while before we see much of that. The airline is still very much backed up. We do have some passengers here trying to book tickets, trying to buy new tickets.
But overall, we are still at a standstill and the same is true for the other airports in the New York area -- Don.
LEMON: All right. Allan Chernoff, thank you very much.
Newark opened at 6:00 just for departures and then JFK will open later at 6:00 p.m. But LaGuardia open. Major carriers are still going to have cancelled. So they're going to have to wait.
Next up in our "Reporter Roulette" is Rob Marciano. He is Stamford, Connecticut, where the snow piled high enough to keep city employees at home.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Don, conditions are finally starting to improve here in southwest Connecticut. It's still blustery, still blowing. But sun try to peek out of the clouds and the snow is just kind of let down to just some flurries here. But well over a foot of snow here across southwest Connecticut as a blizzard of 2010 begins to make its way off towards the north and east.
Here in downtown Stamford, they did a pretty good job of clearing the roads. I mean, at one point, when it's snowing one, two, three inches an hour, you just can't keep up. But since the snow has stopped, they have at least have in some spots been able to get down to bare pavement.
But it's still very, very slick for cars. So, there hasn't been a lot of that here. There's certainly been some public transportation. But even buses got stuck at the bus stop earlier today.
I'll tell you what, the sidewalks are no picnic. Most folks have been walking on the streets because the sidewalks, not all of them, at least are clear. So, it's more of a treacherous go here to be walking down the sidewalks than it is on the streets.
Obviously, public protection is out here. We've seen some fire trucks. We've seen some folks trying to help other people. That's what they do in this kind of situation. There are some power outages because of the wind. That's been the other issue.
It's -- this storm, Don, thankfully, it's moving out. But it's certainly going to go down on the history books.
Back to you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: All right. Rob Marciano, thank you very much.
Next on "Reporter Roulette," Casey Wian with this story out of St. Louis. A mysterious death at the Busch family mansion.
Casey, what do you know about it?
CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Don, it's more than a week since Adrian Martin was found dead in the mansion of August Busch IV. And today, police released the 911 call connected to the case. That call was made by an employee at the Busch home.
Let's listen.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
OPERATOR: Emergency 911.
JUNG: Yes, we need an ambulance.
OPERATOR: OK. Is that a residence or business?
JUNG: Residence.
OPERATOR: OK. What's the problem?
JUNG: She's -- this girl just not waking up. We can't get her to --
OPERATOR: Is she -- is she breathing?
JUNG: We don't know. It's dark back there. I'm going to get a light ad try and see.
OPERATOR: OK. All right. I'll get 'em going right away.
JUNG: OK.
OPERATOR: All right. Thanks. Bye-bye.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
WIAN: Now, the medical examiner's office is conducting an investigation. But they say that won't be complete until toxicology tests are back in and that could be four to six weeks from now, Don.
LEMON: He was a bit older than her. What was the nature of their relationship, dating?
WIAN: Well, they have been dating for a year. And according to her obituary, August Busch was, quote, "the love of her life." And even her ex-husband, who is a doctor, spoke very highly of August Busch IV -- Don.
LEMON: All right. Casey Wian, thank you very much.
And that's "Reporter Roulette" for today.
Coming up here on CNN: A foot of snow in Philadelphia, that's enough to postpone an NFL game. The mayor of Philly joins me next to tell us how his city is bouncing back from this huge blizzard.
Also coming up: Do your buddies at work like to go in on a lottery ticket? Then you're going to want to stick around for this because Sunny Hostin is on the case and this one pits co-worker against co- worker in a multimillion dollar prize.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: We've been reporting mostly a lot really about the New York area today. But let's not forget about northern Virginia, Washington, D.C., Maryland, and also Pennsylvania. They all got hammered.
And the mayor of Philadelphia declared a snow emergency last night when it really started to pile up.
On the phone with me right now, Mayor Michael Nutter of Philadelphia.
Mayor, thanks for taking the time out.
MAYOR MICHAEL NUTTER, PHILADELPHIA (via telephone): Thank you, Don.
LEMON: What shape -- what shape is the city in now?
NUTTER: The city is in great shape. You mentioned the snow emergency -- actually we anticipated that earlier in the day, pretty much before anything was going on. All that means in Philly, at least, is -- that there are parking restrictions on our major streets. It doesn't stop anybody from driving their car or going anywhere or anything like that.
So, I know there's been a little bit confusion out there about that. But it's not -- it's nothing more than some parking restrictions.
But our crews have been out since yesterday. They've done a fantastic job. The city is up and running. The government was open and operating today.
Citizens have been great, digging themselves out and clearing paths on their sidewalks and not throwing the snow back out on the street.
So, we've had tremendous cooperation. City workers are doing a fantastic job. The city is up and running.
We know how to handle snow.
LEMON: Yes.
NUTTER: And we fight it with the best of them.
LEMON: You do. I was going to say, you're a lot like Chicago. You know -- if you want to continue to be the mayor, then you need to plow the streets. And I have done many of a live shot at the salt and sand places there in Philadelphia.
NUTTER: That's all people want, is a clear street.
LEMON: Absolutely. So, listen, explain to the larger audience here, to our viewers, a code blue weather emergency in Philadelphia. What does that mean?
NUTTER: Code blue is related to our homeless population, people who may, unfortunately, be sleeping out on the streets. It gives us a little bit more authority and a heightened sensitivity about encouraging those folks really strongly encouraging those folks to come in and take some shelter.
You know, the temperatures were dropping. Winds were up in the 35, 40-mile-an-hour range. It is very, very dangerous for anyone to be out sleeping on the streets. So, we -- the cold blue was actually on before the snow. It's really related to temperature more than anything else.
LEMON: Tell us about the airport right now, because we got information on Newark and JFK and LaGuardia, both -- all of -- all of those airports are trying to open. But many are having problems because their carriers actually cancelled the flights.
NUTTER: Yes.
LEMON: What about Philadelphia International Airport?
NUTTER: Philly International, actually, I believe, never closed. We did have a couple of runways that we were having some challenges with. But we were taking traffic both departures and arrivals. Yesterday, we were actually one of the alternative airports for a lot of the traffic out of New York City.
And, so, we've been open pretty much through the storm. But certainly, we were open today and trying to get airlines back up and running. But the airport itself is in good shape and is functioning.
LEMON: OK, Mayor, you seem to be in pretty good spirits. I don't want to hit you while you're down. You seem to be up. So --
NUTTER: I'm very up.
LEMON: Were you part of the decision --
NUTTER: Bring it on. Bring it on. What do you got?
LEMON: Come on, Mayor, were you part of the decision to put off the Eagles-Vikings game. And are you --
NUTTER: No.
LEMON: -- are you catching heat for it? NUTTER: No. No. No. No. I run the city of Philadelphia. The NFL is the National Football League. That's their sole decision. I had nothing to do with it and heard about it from the Eagles and the news media. Mayors don't make those decisions.
LEMON: Well, I remember -- I remember when Ed Rendell was there. When Ed Rendell was governor, he had some choice words about the people who cancelled the game. He called them wussies. What's your reaction?
NUTTER: Yes. The governor is a tremendous fan, often with colorful, expressive language. We love Governor Rendell. He's doing a great job as the governor. But here's the real bottom line.
You've got a storm coming in with an inch to two inches right at game time. That's three to six inches during a three-hour game, with 35- to-40-mile-an-hour winds. Terrible conditions for the players, worse for the fans, and for people who have to get home later that night. The parking lot is clogged with snow, and roads in challenging conditions.
The NFL made the decision. The NFL consulted with the Eagles. They made the right decision.
We're going to play that game on Tuesday night. We're going to beat the Vikings anyway. And so I don't know what all the controversy is, but folks need to find something else to argue about.
LEMON: You said it was a fait acompli because you're going to beat the Vikings anyway, so you may as well -- you know, you just prolonged it a little bit. Right?
NUTTER: Whatever. Whatever. I mean, the Eagles are rocking and rolling. And I think they made the right decision in terms of the players and the fans.
You know, look, Sunday night, Tuesday night, whatever night, we're showing up to play, we're showing up to win.
LEMON: All right.
Mayor Michael Nutter, you're a good sport. And listen, the best to everyone there in Philadelphia. OK? Take care.
NUTTER: OK. Thanks a lot.
LEMON: All right.
Hey, we have some incredible video of an ebb explosion in the sky to show you. This launch catastrophe sets one nation's space program back.
And what's a blizzard without a cute home video of small dogs getting lost in the drift? That's a little dog. Look at that.
"You Gotta See This!" next. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: If you're working outside on cold days like today, space heaters are a lifesaver, right? Well, not always. "You Gotta See This!"
Baltimore Ravens safety Ed Reed was on fire in Sunday night's game against Cleveland. Literally.
Look at him. Apparently, he was sitting too close to a space heater on the sidelines when his jacket caught fire.
Evidently, Reed's game was pretty hot, too. He recorded two interceptions in the 20-10 victory over the Browns -- 20-10 over the Browns.
OK. There's a reason -- a lot of reasons not to own a small dog, right? And if you live in a blizzard-prone part of the country, here's one of them.
This little Jack Russell got lost in the snow outside his owner's back door. Now, wait for it. Wait for it.
There he is, little doggy. It looks like he's part of Groundhog Day. He's a cutie. Maybe he's auditioning for the winter version of "Caddy Shack." Look at him.
OK. Let's say the dog day afternoons are best spent in the summertime. Dog puns there.
OK. And check out this dramatic explosion. Luckily, no one was on board when this rocket launched from southern India Saturday night.
Something went wrong shortly after the takeoff. Wow. It was carrying communication equipment.
So who could forget the day we dropped everything and waited for "Balloon Boy" to land? Remember that? We were stuck in front of the television wondering if that kid was inside of that aluminum-looking balloon. Wait until you hear what the Heene family is up to now -- next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): October 15, 2009.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Look, we don't know what to do.
BALDWIN: If you were awake --
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: NORAD says it's just monitoring the situation.
BALDWIN: -- and near a television set -- KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Maybe the boy may have fallen out of that craft.
BALDWIN: -- you probably stopped whatever you were doing --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- figure out what the altitude of this child or this balloon is.
BALDWIN: -- and just watched anxiously.
PHILLIPS: Do you know for sure that a 6-year-old boy is inside that balloon?
BALDWIN: Authorities had a good reason to believe that an out-of- control Mylar balloon had a passenger on board -- a little boy.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The son is the one that came in and told him that his brother had climbed in the basket when he took off and watched it go up.
BALDWIN: For the two hours, covering three Colorado counties, that balloon spun and lifted, rose and fell through the air. News networks around the world carried this image live. The phrase "Balloon Boy" was born.
PHILLIPS: All right. It's come down. And we've all been holding our breath.
BALDWIN: By now, you know how that flight ended. Balloon, yes. Boy, no. The subject of worldwide anxiety, 6-year-old Falcon Heene, was never in danger. He was hiding in the attic of his family home the whole time.
Falcon's parents were accused of staging an emergency to get a little attention, maybe drum up a little reality show interest. No, they said, no hoax. But then this happened during a live interview on that night's "LARRY KING LIVE."
FALCON HEENE, "BALLOON BOY": You guys said that we did this for a show.
RICHARD HEENE, FATHER: Yes.
MAYUMI HEENE, MOTHER: No.
BALDWIN: It was a hoax, and it unraveled.
Fast forward. Prosecutors charged that the Heenes wasted public money and manpower for this publicity stunt, and the judge approves a plea deal.
R. HEENE: I'm very, very sorry.
BALDWIN: Falcon's father, Richard Heene, and his mom, Mayumi Heene, both get jail sentences, community service, a hefty fine, years of probation, and they're not allowed to make any money from the story for at least four years.
In August, the family moves from Colorado to Florida to get a fresh start, settling outside of Tampa.
R. HEENE: Hi. I'm inventor Richard Heene.
BALDWIN: But it appears Richard Heene is an eye on the money kind of guy.
R. HEENE: The patent-pending Bear Scratch.
BALDWIN: He is pitching again -- not phony, terrifying stories about kids in balloons, but got (ph) to have it products he invented.
R. HEENE: Bear Scratch is fun for the whole family.
BALDWIN: And young Falcon Heene, now 7 years old. He and his brother still being homeschooled by their parents and helping dad move (INAUDIBLE) product.
R. HEENE: Now, that's a Bear Scratch! That is a Bear Scratch!
Yeah!
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: There's a holiday mystery in St. Louis to tell you about.
Sonny Hostin is "On the Case" and on the phone with us today because of the snowstorm that has slammed the Northeast. She can't really get out to get to a studio.
So, Sunny, let's start with the body of the young woman found in the home of a well-known American family, the Busch Mansion. This is near St. Louis, Missouri.
So why might it take so long to call 911? It was 42 minutes after Adrienne Martin's body was found.
SUNNY HOSTIN, "IN SESSION," TRUTV: Yes, it did take a long time, but people typically panic in situations like this, Don. They just don't know how to assess properly a life-or-death situation. They typically don't want to involve the authority if they don't have to. And that is probably why it took so long.
LEMON: OK. So, listen, this is a well-known powerful family. Are they being given special consideration because of a case like this?
HOSTIN: Well, I hope not. I like to think that that isn't true.
I think that police and prosecutors do their jobs regardless. But, you know, the initial days of investigation are especially crucial, and that is why I think they're being so tight-lipped about this particular investigation. They just don't really know what happened yet.
LEMON: All right. Because he is sort of known as the bad boy of the Busch family, people shouldn't assume automatically that there was foul play here.
HOSTIN: That's right. I mean, people are innocent until proven guilty, as you know, Don, in our system of justice. And so people shouldn't jump to conclusions.
Again, this case is being investigated and the investigation is really in its infancy at this point. We're waiting for a toxicology report. That typically takes about four to six weeks. And we're talking ant a 27-year-old that is dead with no apparent trauma or injury or illness. And so, again, people should not jump to conclusions an let the authorities do their job.
LEMON: And let the law take its course here.
OK. So, listen, the next question is, talk about people who are warning anybody who pools money with friends or with co-workers to buy lottery tickets. Maybe there should be a warning here.
Eight people are going to court over a lottery ticket. Of course, it's not just any lottery ticket. This is one that's worth $16 million. One of the members of the lottery pool is suing the rest, Sunny.
What happened?
HOSTIN: That's right. And eight employees who routinely pool money together to play the lottery, pooled their money together in this instance.
But one of the members was not at work to contribute her dollar to the pool and she typically did, and that, unfortunately, is when this group hit the jackpot, as you just mentioned, Don. It was a $16 million jackpot. Seven of them are saying she is not entitled to her share of that pot.
LEMON: Hey, listen, I've got just 10 seconds before we get to "THE SITUATION ROOM" here. Is there a lesson here?
HOSTIN: There is a lesson. In a workplace lottery pool, it's really important to have a clear understanding and a contract detailing what will happen if there is a winning ticket. You've got to do that.
LEMON: Yes. And it's very interesting, Sunny Hostin, because the woman -- this is what I'm reading -- who is suing is actually one of the people who started this pool.
HOSTIN: That's right. Unfortunately.
LEMON: And now she's been left out because she's --
HOSTIN: Let's hope they really worked this out amongst themselves.
LEMON: All right.
Sunny Hostin from our sister network, truTV, "In Session" there.
Thank you very much. We really appreciate it.
OK. That's it for me. Thanks for joining us. Stay warm everyone.
I'm going to turn it over to my friend in "THE SITUATION ROOM" right now, Suzanne Malveaux.
Take it away, Suzanne.
