Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
Maine Ski Resort Accident; Blizzard's Aftermath; President Obama Speaks Out on Michael Vick; Some Airline Passengers Stranded in JFK Due to Weather; Five Teenagers Die Tragically In Motel In Florida; Jon Stewart Compared To Edward R. Murrow; Amazon Sets Up Unwanted Gift Exchange; New Diet Similar To Atkins
Aired December 28, 2010 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm Don Lemon. Thanks for joining us.
We have been covering that accident at a ski resort in Maine today. Now I want you to look at these pictures. We just got them in from a CNN employee who was on the ski lift when it jolted to a stop with more than 200 people on board. Six people had to be transferred to the hospital with their injuries.
And joining me now on the phone to update us on this is Ethan Austin. He is from Sugarloaf Resort.
Ethan, are you there?
ETHAN AUSTIN, SUGARLOAF RESORT: Yes, I am.
LEMON: OK.
Ethan, so, tell us, what happened? What is the status of this rescue operation now?
AUSTIN: Well, the rescue operation has been completed.
They finished -- our ski patrol finished evacuating the lift at around noon today. And what happened was, at about 10:30 a.m. this morning, one of our chairlifts derailed from one tower, and as a result of that, a number of chairs fell, and at least three of those chairs directly impacted the ground.
At that point, the lift was shut off and our ski patrol immediately responded, treated anybody who was injured, and went about getting everybody off of that lift.
LEMON: OK. So, Ethan, listen, what's -- do we know what the cause of this is? Do you know what caused this to derail?
AUSTIN: At this point, we don't know what the cause was.
There's certainly going to be some investigating into that. And, you know, we will -- we will obviously need to find out what the cause was before we reopen that lift. LEMON: OK, because, earlier, people were speculating about the wind may have caused this problem, may have had something to do with it.
Now, we are learning, CNN is learning from a source that there is someone who was working, that the lift was being repaired, and when the repair person did something, that's when all of this happened?
AUSTIN: You know, on any ski lift, there's sort of continuous repairs that have to go on. And we have a full-time full staff here.
LEMON: Was the lift being -- was the lift being worked on at the time of this accident?
AUSTIN: Not -- I don't know that for sure, no.
The winds today were -- were gusty, and they did have some of our lifts on wind hold, but the Spillway lift was not one of those at that time.
LEMON: OK. And I just want to -- again, the source is saying there was a mechanic working on the infected -- affected tower when it disengaged, the lift was stopped, and had been for the past couple minutes -- the past -- past couple of minutes. This is during the time.
But, according to the source, the person that we had there, they said that this was being worked on by a mechanic, and that's when the accident occurred. You don't know anything about that?
AUSTIN: Well, again, I -- I don't know if there was a mechanic working on that specific site when the accident occurred, no. But it wouldn't be uncommon for a mechanic to be out making adjustments on a lift at any given time.
LEMON: Listen, ski lift accidents and malfunctions, I should say, happen all the time just because of the type of technology it is, the wind, the weather and all of that. How unusual is it for this type of malfunction with Sugarloaf?
AUSTIN: It's extremely unusual. This is the first time it has ever happened. And Sugarloaf has been in operation for 60 years. And we have never had a derailment of this nature before.
LEMON: Yes, I didn't hear the first part of your answer. Can you say it again?
AUSTIN: It's -- it's extremely unusual. Sugarloaf has been in operation for 60 years and we have never had a derailment of this nature before.
LEMON: What are you doing for your guests and the people who are affected?
AUSTIN: Well, we're responding to anybody who has any questions or any complaints. And the mountain is -- is still open. Our lifts are running as scheduled, except for that one.
LEMON: All right, Ethan Austin with Sugarloaf, thank you very much. We appreciate it. We will check back on this story.
Meantime, we are reporting on the weather situation that happened, really just clamored -- just clobbered the Northeast, Big Apple, big problems today, problems in New York City. Two days after the blizzard, the city streets are clogged with snow.
Look at that. The cars are snowed under. Plows can't enter, so the streets remain blocked. And guess what? The city's garbage is going uncollected.
But have you heard what's occurring out at JFK? You -- you heard earlier in NEWSROOM with Deb Feyerick covering, and hundreds of passengers spent a cold night on the tarmac, stuck on incoming planes. One plane didn't let off until the last hour.
And I want you to hear from one of the people who was stranded overnight on a flight from overseas. He tells the whole story. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MATTHEW BISHOP, BRITISH AIRWAYS PASSENGER: We landed on time at about 10:20 in the evening. And, initially, the pilot said, well, we're going to just be going slowly in our taxi to the gate because the conditions are so bad.
And, then after awhile, he said, well, we're stuck in a queue behind about six other planes, including one from Cathay Pacific that obviously had come in from Hong Kong.
And then, after awhile, we didn't get any messages and ended up hearing nothing, really, until about 5:30 in the morning. So, that was nearly -- nearly six-and-a-half-hours.
Various crew members had various theories. And one of the most likely theories was that the immigration staff had gone home, and -- and, therefore, they couldn't allow -- allow planeloads of foreigners to come into the immigration hold.
And when we eventually got to the gate at 6:00 a.m., we had to wait another half-an-hour before immigration would allow us off the plane, because they hadn't got any staff, basically.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: All right, so just this morning, we got a statement from a customs official who denied that there were any problems. He said JFK is staffed 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. And he denied the reports that customs officials were sent home overnight.
Now, that official was to join us right now. Half-an-hour ago, though, he canceled. And I want you to hear from a second flight, right, that was stuck, the Air Mexico flight from Mexico City. It arrived overnight at 1:15. Listen to this man.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CRISTOBAL ALEX, STRANDED PASSENGER: It was terrible.
Basically, what happened was, we were running out of food and water, and the pilot came on to say he was going to be -- he had been arguing with the folks at the airport to at least let the police come on board to deliver us some food and water. And I guess he lost that fight. Nobody came on.
And we moved up to a gate and spent another couple of hours at the gate, thinking we were going to come off and never did. And, apparently, what happened was the customs folks went home at 1:00 a.m., and so everybody coming international kind of had to sit out there in the snow for -- you know, all night.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Imagine the many, many people who had very similar problems.
We want to tell you that we're going to continue to dig on this story. And, again, we had a customs official booked to come on the show just a short time ago, and he canceled. He told us earlier, though, that customs is not to blame.
So, let's switch now. We want to go now to LaGuardia, backlog all over there. There we go.
Allan Chernoff there again for another day.
Allan, how are things going right now?
ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Don, we are picking up here at LaGuardia.
Earlier in the morning, it was a snail's pace. There were very few planes on the ground. But, with each hour, we have been increasing over here. Now, we have also been talking about that gate issue at LaGuardia, over here, not nearly as severe, but, nonetheless, there are some delays for planes getting into gates.
We have with us the general manager of LaGuardia Airport, Thomas Bosco.
Mr. Bosco, you can tell us, what is this issue? So our viewers can understand, why would it be tough for a plane to come into a gate, particularly after a storm like this?
THOMAS BOSCO, GENERAL MANAGER, LAGUARDIA AIRPORT: Well, our Port Authority crews have been working all day, all night, since Sunday morning to ensure the safety of the airfield and of the traveling public.
Snow operations continue. Even though we have two runways open, the airfield is fully operational. But we continue to move snow, to melt it on the aeronautical area or to truck it off the aeronautical area and dump it. We still have problems with these -- with the Himalayas of snow mountains that you see in between the concourses.
CHERNOFF: Indeed, there are.
(CROSSTALK)
CHERNOFF: I mean, they are literally mountains. And your guys are doing an absolutely incredible job shoveling it all away. In some cases, those Himalayas are literally right in front of some gates, right? So you have fewer gates than normal?
BOSCO: That's true.
So, what we do is, we coordinate with the airlines. We see when they are bringing in airplanes, which gates they're going to, and we try to coordinate snow removal operations, so we don't block the particular gate that they want to use.
CHERNOFF: Another issue here, the airlines themselves, since they lease the gates, they are responsible for cleaning up right in front of their front door, in front of their gates?
BOSCO: In this terminal, Allan, that's true.
But the Port Authority has a responsibility for clearing snow in the common area or what we call the alleyway or taxi lane between the terminals.
CHERNOFF: So, last issue here, will people be seeing fewer and fewer delays? Are we going to be getting better and better service as the day goes on?
BOSCO: Well, we certainly hope so. And we expect that.
But the traveling public should understand that cancellations are numerous, delays are numerous. So, please, if you are going to travel or if you are picking somebody up from the airport, call ahead to your airline, find out about the status of your particular flight before you come to the airport.
CHERNOFF: Thank you, Tom.
And, Don, in most cases, that is the case.
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: Allan, before you let Mr. Bosco go, I want you to --
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: I don't -- yes. Can you hear me, Allan? I know there's a delay there.
I want to bring in Chad Myers. Chad Myers has a very good question that he wants to Mr. Bosco.
Go ahead, Chad.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes.
If you can relay this, Allan, why are there no flights from the Western half of the United States on the way to or from LaGuardia? It seems there are no long-haul flights at all over the U.S. Everything from the Mississippi eastward is coming in or going out. Does he know?
CHERNOFF: Interesting question.
Chad Myers is asking, why are there no flights right now coming in from the Western United States into LaGuardia?
BOSCO: Well, I wasn't aware of that, to tell you the truth. But I find that highly suspect that there are no arrivals coming in from the West.
LEMON: OK.
BOSCO: There could be a weather system I'm not aware of, but --
CHERNOFF: Chad --
BOSCO: You maybe know something I don't.
(CROSSTALK)
MYERS: I'm looking at Flight Explorer right now. And I can show you where the planes are. The farthest west plane that took off was from Dallas. There have been no departures at all from the Western part of the United States on the way to LaGuardia for quite some hours.
I was just wondering whether they didn't want to bring bigger planes in to LaGuardia and they were only using the smaller -- the commuter planes, or not. That was just a question. Maybe this will clear up in the -- in the coming --
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: And, Chad, I think that's probably a good question for Allan Chernoff to ask Mr. Bosco to find out. And we should get that information on that.
So, Allan Chernoff, that is your assignment there, to find out exactly what Chad Myers is talking about, to get some clarification on that. And we will come back to you once we figure it out.
So, thank you, Chad.
Thank you, Mr. Bosco.
And, thank you, Allan Chernoff.
We are going to will move on and talk about a chilling scene in Florida: five young men found dead inside a motel room. They were apparently celebrating a birthday, and police say they may have unintentionally caused their own deaths. That is straight ahead here on CNN.
And have you ever looked at someone else's e-mail, maybe a girlfriend, boyfriend, a spouse, a friend? Well, be careful. One guy is in big trouble for allegedly snooping on his wife. Is it a felony? That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: All right, let's catch you up on some quick stories right now.
An incident at the Miami Airport just a short time ago to tell you about. Police responded to reports of a suspicious bag, clearing away employees and passengers while they investigated a small explosion in a piece of luggage.
Our Miami affiliate WSVN is reporting this, that an aerosol can may have popped as the luggage was being unloaded from an American Airlines flight from Boston.
OK, next story. This is the second straight day of airstrikes against suspected militant targets in Pakistan's tribal region. Today, at least 10 suspected militants were killed near the Afghan border. Pakistani officials tell CNN that an unmanned aircraft fired missiles into what's described as a militant hideout. And another unmanned aircraft blew up a vehicle believed to be carrying militants. The U.S. military does not officially say whether the armed drones are American or otherwise.
A Michigan man could go to jail for reading his wife's e-mail. That is the headline. Of course, the story is way more complicated than that. A charge of felony hijacking comes out of the man and his wife's divorce proceedings.
It seems Leon Walker found his wife's private e-mail password, and that's how he learned she was not being faithful -- hence, the divorce. Well, afterwards, state prosecutors charged him with a crime typically used against identity thieves. He could go to jail for -- get this -- five years. We are definitely watching this one.
All right, let me ask you this. Is the U.S. a bunch of wussies? Are we a bunch of wussies? That's what the governor of Pennsylvania thinks. That's what he says. And his comments are sparking a huge debate. We are going to have that for you next.
Plus, when somebody brings up Michael Vick, it seems to always push a whole lot of buttons. Well, now the president is weighing in. That's right. The president is weighing in on Michael Vick. And it is forcing the White House to clarify a controversial comment.
Jamal Anderson -- there he is -- joins me.
JAMAL ANDERSON, FORMER NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE PLAYER: Mr. Don Lemon, how are you?
LEMON: We will see you after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: All right. Gather around the television. We are going to talk about Michael Vick and wussies all in the same segment.
(LAUGHTER)
LEMON: They kind of don't have anything to do with each other, maybe.
The National Football League is getting ready for its first Tuesday game since 1946. The Minnesota Vikings take on the Eagles in Philadelphia tonight in a game that was rescheduled because of the weekend snowstorm.
Here's what Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter -- he agrees with the decision to reschedule the game. But Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell calls it a joke, among other things.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "PARKER SPITZER")
GOV. ED RENDELL (D), PENNSYLVANIA: My endearing memories were of Pat Summerall kicking a 50-yard field goal when I was 12 years old through the snow and driving winds to beat the Cleveland Browns and send it into the playoffs.
That's what makes football special. And, as far as we fans go, it should have been our own decision whether we wanted to risk going down to the stadium.
KATHLEEN PARKER, CO-HOST, "PARKER SPITZER": Well, you've toned everything down considerably. You -- I think you've said that we've turned into a bunch of wussies?
RENDELL: Oh, we have.
(LAUGHTER)
PARKER: I couldn't agree more.
(LAUGHTER)
RENDELL: I mean, this is the wussification of America.
(LAUGHTER)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
MICHAEL NUTTER (D), MAYOR OF PHILADELPHIA: 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. The NFL made the decision. The NFL consulted with the Eagles. They made the right decision. We are going to play that game on Tuesday night. We are 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.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: All right.
So, Jamal Anderson had an eight-year career with the Atlanta Falcons.
Don't tell me that you're one of the wussies that he's talking about.
ANDERSON: Don!
LEMON: Did the NFL -- I'm going to ask you, and then we're going to -- I have a feeling we're going to fight about this one. Did they make the right call?
ANDERSON: I do think that the NFL made the right call.
OK, listen, I get it -- '67 was the Ice Bowl, and '02 famously had the tuck rule happen with Tom Brady and the Raiders. Different situations with both of those football games. You had a huge storm coming to the Northeast, the East Coast, airports shut down, everything. It's about the safety of the fan coming to and from the game, if --
(CROSSTALK)
ANDERSON: -- get to the game.
LEMON: Didn't the fan decide to buy that ticket?
ANDERSON: They did.
LEMON: Didn't the fan decide to buy the airplane ticket, to get in the car?
ANDERSON: Don, we have -- we have certain advantages nowadays that we did not have in the '60s.
LEMON: Oh, there were no airplanes in the '60s? There were no cars in the '60s?
ANDERSON: We don't -- we didn't have meteorologists like Chad. Come on.
(LAUGHTER)
ANDERSON: I mean, we know more things now. We know what's going on.
LEMON: Listen --
ANDERSON: We know the danger --
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: Listen, I have family in from Louisiana, right?
ANDERSON: Right.
LEMON: They would love to have gone to the game last night, by the way, which we won, right? They would have loved to go to the game, but they said, you know what? We would rather sit around on the couch in front of the television in a warm place and watch this game.
ANDERSON: Right.
LEMON: That was our choice, Jamal.
ANDERSON: I -- I -- here's the thing that I get. Sure, sure, games -- football games have been played in every condition. And, you know, there are people in Chicago and Minnesota who are like, we just played --
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: That's what makes it good football.
ANDERSON: I agree.
LEMON: That's what sets records. That's what gives you the good pictures.
ANDERSON: You're talking to a running back.
(CROSSTALK)
ANDERSON: I agree. Don, adverse weather is great for me. Eight years in the league, I would have -- we would have had to run the ball all day long. I would have loved to be in that situation in that game. But you have to consider, if one person gets hurt coming to or from an NFL game, one person --
LEMON: Oh, come on, Jamal, that is not -- that --
ANDERSON: I know, but you've got to --
LEMON: That's bunk. You know, let me tell you why. Because people tailgate in the parking lot.
(CROSSTALK)
ANDERSON: They tailgate in the parking lot.
LEMON: A lot of them drink before they get to the game.
ANDERSON: I would go so far as to --
LEMON: In everyday, normal -- hang on. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to yell at you like that.
(LAUGHTER)
LEMON: In everyday, normal conditions --
ANDERSON: Right.
LEMON: -- people can get in a car wreck on the way to a game.
ANDERSON: I agree. I agree.
LEMON: People can get hit by a car. People can break their leg. People can trip over --
ANDERSON: But you're not talking about a storm on this level.
LEMON: All right. OK.
ANDERSON: Like, I get it. There's -- on the purest level, Don, I get it. And, again, I don't -- I think Philadelphia stadium would have probably been full on Sunday.
LEMON: All right.
ANDERSON: They didn't care.
LEMON: All right, we agree to disagree. And that is, like, you're a big guy. I was, I can't believe I just told him that --
(CROSSTALK)
ANDERSON: That's OK. You're across the desk. It's on camera. I didn't want to -- you know, there's a lot -- a lot of witnesses.
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: Let's talk about the Eagles --
ANDERSON: Yes.
LEMON: -- in the news for their talented, but controversial quarterback. What is it, 18 months, he completed a sentence for running a dog ring? I just want to make sure I get it right. Michael Vick has led the Eagles to 10-4, to a 10-4 record, and first place in the NFC East.
ANDERSON: Right. LEMON: OK.
So, let me read this. And then we're going to do it. In an interview with "Sports Illustrated," Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie said his decision to hire Vick came up recently during a phone conversation with President Barack Obama, right?
Lurie says the president was -- quote -- "happy that we did something on such a national stage that showed our faith in giving someone a second chance after such a major downfall" -- unquote.
So, the White House quickly issued a clarification on the president's thoughts. Let me read them. It says -- quote -- "He, of course, condemns the crimes," meaning the president, "that Michael Vick was convicted of, but, as he's said previously, he does think that individuals who have paid for their crimes should have an opportunity to contribute to society again" -- unquote.
ANDERSON: Powerful. I mean, obviously, any time the president calls an organization or the owner of a team to talk about a player who is creating this much hype --
LEMON: But do the fans agree with the president?
ANDERSON: I do think the fans agree.
Don, the proof is in the pudding. We're talking about -- you just said it. You just laid it out: 18 months in federal prison, convicted of heinous crimes. Up until days before the Pro Bowl balloting closed, the popular fan vote, Michael Vick was leading.
LEMON: So, why are people still hating on Michael Vick, then? Michael Vick went to jail.
ANDERSON: Right.
LEMON: He served his time.
ANDERSON: Right.
LEMON: He said he's sorry.
ANDERSON: Right.
LEMON: He says he wants a dog now. So this is America. We -- everyone is redeemed. We have had presidents who are redeemed.
ANDERSON: Right. Right.
LEMON: We have all kinds of people who are redeemed. Isn't this what we're supposed to be about, you serve your time, move on?
ANDERSON: And I think that is happening with Michael. There are some people who will never forgive Michael for what he did, for what he was part of, in fact, what he was convicted of. There are people who will never forgive Mike. OK? That's just the bottom line. I kind of got tired of arguing with them, because what happens is, my position always has been, the -- what he's done on the football field, how he's played, how he's improved, what he's meant to the Philadelphia Eagles, you know?
LEMON: So, you're saying he deserves a second chance?
ANDERSON: There's no question about it.
LEMON: OK.
(CROSSTALK)
ANDERSON: And he's proved it.
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: I say that to people all the time. It's not that I agree with what Michael Vick did.
ANDERSON: Exactly.
LEMON: He's -- what he did was reprehensible.
ANDERSON: Right.
LEMON: Right?
But this is about redemption.
ANDERSON: It is.
LEMON: And even -- even people who are convicted of killing people move on.
ANDERSON: They do.
LEMON: Even murderers move on.
ANDERSON: They do. Yes.
LEMON: All kinds of people move on. Doesn't mean it was right.
ANDERSON: Right.
LEMON: But that's what the legal system is supposed to be about.
ANDERSON: And what he's done with his second opportunity, Don, the guy went into prison early, by the way. And what he's done with his second opportunity is play exceptional, OK? That was a huge game last week against the Giants.
LEMON: Am I right, producers? I think -- I think I'm right. PETA -- we were talking about this -- even PETA says that he sort of deserves a second chance.
Is that -- is that right, Angie? Yes. Yes. They -- they --
ANDERSON: Right. And, you know, then the --
LEMON: Talking about the Obama statement --
ANDERSON: Well, then, the Humane Society, a couple weeks ago, he does an event with Wayne Pacelle. He's talking to kids still -- excuse me -- Pacelle -- he's talking to kids still about what it means to be involved in dogfighting, how awful it is. He's still doing these things on a Tuesday.
Continue to do these things, Michael because this is the process now.
LEMON: OK.
ANDERSON: This is the process. And the commissioner has been very proud of him as well.
LEMON: We're going to do a segment. I'm not -- I'm not on the weekend until the 1st of the year. But I would love to do something about sports --
ANDERSON: Oh, look at you, vacation station.
LEMON: -- about redemption for sports figures, because I would like to do the same topic on LeBron, because a lot of people are still, still hating on LeBron.
ANDERSON: Oh, yes. Oh, yes.
LEMON: And, in some instances, he's not making it easy for himself.
ANDERSON: Very true.
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: Thank you.
ANDERSON: Always a pleasure, Don.
LEMON: Thank you, sir.
ANDERSON: Good man.
LEMON: Don't hurt me, now.
ANDERSON: Don't worry. I'm on CNN.
(LAUGHTER)
LEMON: Jamal Anderson, we appreciate it.
ANDERSON: Oh, we will get the Saints next time, though.
LEMON: Oh. Who dat?
OK. A couple of media critics are comparing Jon Stewart to Edward R. Murrow. Is this fair? Doesn't he call himself a comedian? It's a big talker. And I will ask the tough questions. That's ahead.
And do you remember the flash crash? It happened back in May, when stocks plunged hundreds of points in a matter of minutes. I remember it. I was right here, anchoring. This was unbelievable. Up next, we will show you how it unfolded in the NEWSROOM. Stay right there.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: All right, we're following some developing news, this just in to CNN NEWSROOM. We have been telling you about that Cathay Pacific flight that was stuck for 12 hours.
Christina Edgar joins us now on the phone.
Christina, your ordeal started actually on the 26th. You sat on a plane there for four hours, and then you were on this Cathay Pacific flight. What happened?
CHRISTINA EDGAR, CATHAY PACIFIC PASSENGER: Well, yes, it started on Sunday night, on the 26th.
And we -- we boarded the plane a little bit later than our original boarding time, but they had us on the tarmac there in Vancouver for four hours. And then they got word, I guess, from here in New York saying that the airport wasn't -- wasn't able to receive us. So they sent us all home.
So, they sent us all home in cabs. And whoever lived in Vancouver obviously went to their homes and whoever didn't live in Vancouver went to a hotel. They told us to come back the next day, so on the 27th, for a 4:00 flight. But I guess there was some mixed signals there and some poor communication.
And half of the plane, I guess about 50 passengers, ended up getting the information that the flight was to leave at midnight. So, when everyone else came back to that flight at the 4:00 departure time, the plane was not full, but it had all our baggage on there. So --
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: And, Christina, where are you now?
EDGAR: Right now, we're at JFK.
LEMON: You're at JFK. Are you still there? Are you -- you're not still on the plane? Are you still on the plane?
EDGAR: No, we're not on the plane anymore.
LEMON: You're not on the plane? Because -- EDGAR: We got off about an hour ago.
LEMON: Yes, because there was a just-in a short while ago saying that people got -- had gotten off the plane. I'm not sure if everyone had gotten off --
EDGAR: Yes.
LEMON: -- and if it took some time for -- so, you're at JFK.
EDGAR: Yes.
LEMON: What are they -- what are they telling you now? And describe to us what's around you, how many people, what -- what -- what -- how people are acting, if there are lines.
EDGAR: Yes.
So what happened was I guess there wasn't enough Cathay Pacific staff to I guess take the baggage off the plane and, I don't know, be at the gate or anything like that. So we haven't actually seen a single Cathay Pacific person here yet. So we have to go to the United desk and they sent us kind of on a wild goose chase to try and track down our luggage. The luggage of course, is still on the plane. So it doesn't look like we're getting that any time soon.
So that's what we're chasing at the moment, making sure they have our information to get our bags sent to us.
LEMON: You are getting the runaround.
EDGAR: Yes, definitely. The cabs aren't taking us to the right terminals. The buses aren't taking us to the right terminals. They're telling us the air-trains are not running. We stood outside for a half hour with no information and finally, we just paid a cabbie extra money to take us to the right terminal to try and get our bags.
LEMON: Listen, we always report these stories and I'm sure you watch them on the news, you see people who are stuck because of snowstorms and what have you. This one seems particularly, particularly bad. So Christina, what do you say to people who are watching you around the country?
EDGAR: You know, it's just, it's unfortunate, obviously, that we ran into this, and of course we expected it. We knew there was bad weather patterns here. It was just, really, this whole situation was just a poor judgment call. If they had told us on the 26th we couldn't fly into JFK, I think we would have made that call and said let's stay home a couple more days and rebook the flight.
But they didn't do that. They kept trying to get us to go and they just kept us on the plane with no choice. So, you know, it was really unfortunate that we ran into this situation here and that JFK wasn't staffed properly by the airlines.
And it was a really frustrating situation. It was very emotional. There was a lot of people on the plane crying. There were people obviously getting frustrated. They had no food for us. It was a really tough situation.
LEMON: Is this your final destination?
EDGAR: Yes, it is.
LEMON: Well, good. I hope you get your luggage back. Sorry about your ordeal. And listen, if there are any updates, get back in touch with us.
EDGAR: Absolutely, will do. Thanks.
LEMON: That was Christina Edgar stuck on that flight for 12 hours, if not more.
OK, on to other news now. You could soon pay five bucks, $5, for a gallon of gas. So says one former oil executive. And it could mean big changes to how we Americans live. That is ahead.
Plus tragedy at a motel in Florida, five young men found dead inside a hotel room, inside a motel room. And police believe they know how it happened. A report from the ground, next.
But first, as the year winds down, CNN reporters are looking back at how some of the biggest stories unfolded live, including the infamous flash crash. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: I'm Stephanie Elam and I'm sitting in one of the control rooms in CNN New York. One of the biggest memories for me happened to be the flash crash that happened on May 6th of this year. That's when the Dow plunged nearly 1,000 points within just a matter of minutes.
I came back here because I was in a break between a couple of hits and I happened to look up and I saw that the Dow was down over 700 points. When I saw that, I just immediately got up and headed for the studio because I knew they would be looking for me any minute.
I should mention, as I was hustling back here, I was eight-and-a- half months pregnant, about to give birth to my daughter, little did I know. But I got back as quickly as I could, sat down, plugged in, and immediately, CNN International was in my ear. I reported to them on what was going on, what we were finding out, talked to CNN, talked to HLN, and that went on until the closing bell rang.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: It's awful to have to report this story at a time of year when family means so much. It is a horrible story to tell you about now. It's a needless tragedy and what looks like a case of what not to do that cost the lives of five teenagers in Florida. This is Hialeah, not far from downtown Miami. And paramedics are removing the bodies of five young men, ages 16 to 19, from a motel room. Their official cause of death isn't released yet, but police only needed to look around, put two and two together, and they are pretty sure of what happened here. Watch this report now from our affiliate WFOR in Hialeah, this is Gio Benitez.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GIO BENITEZ, WFOR-TV CORRESPONDENT: With the Christmas tree still decorated in the living room, two mothers try to understand what killed their sons and three others.
IMMARCYLA NAZON, VICTIM'S MOTHER: I love him. He knew that.
BENITEZ: Police say five boys were celebrating a birthday at Hotel Presidente in Hialeah when toxic fumes from a running car seeped into the hotel room.
BENITEZ (on camera): Today you don't think the car is to blame?
NAZON: No. I don't think so. I don't think. I don't think. I don't think so.
BENITEZ (voice-over): Police say the car was left running in a garage under the hotel room, and the room door was slightly open. Police blame carbon monoxide poisoning for the deaths.
This is an older photo of one of the boys, Juchen Martial, who turned 19 on Sunday. The others were Evan Charles, 19, Jean Pierre Ferdinand, 16, Jonas Antenor, 18, and Peterson Nazon, 17. The mothers of Jonas and Peterson appeared strong when we met.
NAZON: I think that god gave me power. I think my son gave me power, too.
BENITEZ: But even the strong find it hard to cope with news like this. Peterson's mother brought us into her son's bedroom and that's where her son's death hit her hard.
(CRYING)
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BENITEZ (on camera): Police have ruled out foul play and they say no drugs or alcohol were ever found in that hotel room. This just appears to be a tragic accident.
Reporting from Hialeah, Florida, I'm Gio Benitez. Don, back to you.
LEMON: Gio, thank you very much.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She'd come running in there and she said get up, get up, you have to get up, there's a fire in the house.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: So somebody fire bombed grandma's house. Yes, somebody threw a Molotov cocktail through the window of a house while a 102- year-old woman was inside. Now a manhunt is under way. That's ahead.
Plus, is Jon Stewart the modern day Edward R. Murrow? That's what some media critics are suggesting. Coming up next, we will break this open and have an honest discussion with Brian Stelter of "The New York Times." Stay right there.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: OK, so you know how we talk about gravitas? It's kind of hard to define but you know it when you see it. OK, this is gravitas.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
EDWARD R. MURROW: Tonight we presented a report on Senator Joseph R. McCarthy. We labeled it as controversial.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: OK, so this is broadcaster Edward R. Murrow taking on Senator Joseph McCarthy all the way back in 1954. You see that man, that's gravitas.
What I'm going to show you now, not gravitas.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JON STEWART, HOST, "THE DAILY SHOW": I wish this weren't our future. I wish I was wrong. But I'm not wrong.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: So it's funny but this is comedian Jon Stewart that's taking on Glenn Beck. It's not gravitas and I think Jon Stewart would even admit that. Two very different figures, Jon Stewart, Edward R. Murrow.
So why did "The New York Times" write a piece that suggests that comedian Jon Stewart is this generation's Edward R. Murrow? A lot of folks are asking that very question, and here to answer it for us is Brian Stelter, co-author of the piece that ran in "The Times" Sunday, and I read it. So Brian, what's the common denominator here?
BRIAN STELTER, "NEW YORK TIMES": Jon Stewart did something remarkable a couple weeks ago. He came on the air with four first responders from the September 11th terrorist attacks and they talked about this bill that had not gotten through Congress, the result of a Republican filibuster, this bill that would give them more funding for their medical problems.
Jon Stewart sat around the table. He stopped making jokes for awhile. He had a serious conversation with these guys and they say they're indebted to him because after Jon Stewart talked about it, it got on to cable news, it got on to network news, and the bill finally got passed.
LEMON: So Brian, let's take a look at that and then we will talk more about it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEWART: Gentlemen, you're all 9/11 first responders. You were down there from the moment of the attacks, for the most part. Now you see the Senate is filibustering the bill. What's going through your mind as you're watching this process go down?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're disgusted. We're disappointed. And unfortunately, we're hurt.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: OK, so listen, that was December 16th. Jon Stewart is on vacation right now. He declined to comment at all on the passage of the bill. He also ordered his staff not to comment or even offer any details on how the show was put together.
So, listen, I watched that and thought it was very powerful and it's great that he did that. That was one story, one project. Edward R. Murrow had a decades-long career, went to warzones and on and on and on and reported over many decades. How a comparison to Jon Stewart, who many people have respect for, a smart guy, funny guy, but to Edward R. Murrow, really?
STELTER: The people we quote in the story making this comparison in a way are criticizing the mainstream news media for falling down on stories like this one.
Jon Stewart's point on "The Daily Show" is that the network news, and by the way, this is not cable news in this case. What Jon Stewart was talking about was network newscasts that had ignored this bill for two-and-a-half months. He was making fun of them at the same time he was making fun of Republicans for not getting it passed.
So I think what's special about Jon Stewart is he plays this role of comedian every day. But once in awhile he comes out on the edge, acts as a media critic, and then goes a step further and becomes an advocate. I think when he becomes an advocate his voice becomes quite loud because he doesn't do it very often.
LEMON: You call it, what used to be called advocacy journalism. Jon Stewart is more advocacy satire. I will get to something, but I think Brian Williams at NBC had a very smart and pithy comment here. He didn't talk about his network's coverage here, but Brian Williams says "Jon gets to decide the rules governing his own activism and the causes he supports," Mr. William said, "and how often he does it. And his audience gets to decide if they like the serious Jon as much as they do the satirical Jon." Jon Stewart can always say something and do things and say I'm a comedian, it's comedy. That's always a fall-back. Journalists can't do that, can't do that.
STELTER: That's true. But they can use some of Jon's techniques in news. We started to see that on your network and others, using those mish-mashes of clips that Jon Stewart does. Cable news has been effective in doing that.
LEMON: That's not necessarily Jon Stewart. That's not necessarily Jon Stewart. Again, props to Jon Stewart but before "The Daily Show," they were doing that long before Jon Stewart was doing that. And even things like "The Soup" was doing that years ago and even late night talk shows. Johnny Carson was doing -- did that.
STELTER: I think -- I agree with you. I know that's true. But I think what's special about Stewart is that he has this role as both media critic and then once in awhile, advocate. When he breaks out in that way, as he did in D.C. at that rally, he can have impact because so many people want some trusted men and women on television who will call it like they see it.
And I think the appreciation of Jon Stewart is in part a reflection of the fact they don't think others can do that. There are times when cable and network news comes through. Anderson Cooper on your network during Katrina, Shep Smith on FOX News during Katrina, are two great examples of that Ed Murrow or Cronkite tradition, where they just cut through --
LEMON: I'm glad you brought that up. I was going to say that, doing that and also during the oil spill, same thing. Anderson did some very good work. Other people, Brian Williams on NBC news did very good work during Katrina. All those things were not talked about. They were forgotten in this article. There are people who are doing advocacy.
STELTER: We sat around thinking who got a bill passed. That was our question. What Stewart did was get the ball rolling. He didn't take it all the way, but he got the ball rolling to get this bill through Congress. There are a few other examples of very specific activism like that. I would argue that Rachel Maddow on the issue of "don't ask, don't tell" has been influential on MSNBC.
LEMON: And Rachel did a good job on the oil spill as well. She did a very good job on the oil spill. This was also a spoof on "The Daily Show" a couple months back. We're going to have to leave it there. Brian Seltzer, at any rate, that's a good reflection on the news business and time for us to take maybe a look inside and figure out how we can do it better. Brian Stelter of the "New York Times," thank you, sir.
STELTER: Thank you.
LEMON: Question for you, audience, did you get a gift you didn't want for the holidays? Well, there may soon be a way to exchange the gifts before you even get them. Wait until you hear about Amazon, what Amazon wants to do. And Alison Kosik is standing by at the New York Stock Exchange today. That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Welcome back, everyone. There are a lot of things trending and they all affect your wallet. So I want to bring in Alison Kosik. She's live in New York. Alison, let's start with gas prices. Could we be paying $5 a gallon soon?
ALISON KOSIK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We could, at least that's what one oil industry executive says, Don. A former CEO of Shell Oil says that he thinks that $5 a gallon of gas is possible -- get ready for this -- in about two years. He was quoted as saying "blackouts, brownouts, gas line, and rationing, that's the projection based on the current inability to make decisions." That was his reference to the U.S. politicians.
But, you know, $5 a gallon put in perspective, it's really a work place scenario. The national average topped out at $3 for the first time since 2008. So we are inching up. And oil prices have been steadily rising as cold winter weather is driving up demand for heating oil and as the world economy improves, Don.
But it couldn't be so beyond conception it could reach $5 a gallon. Remember, we had $4 a gallon for gas back in 2008. So not so far off of the mark. It could be reality.
LEMON: Also, too, give us some perspective. You have to take into account and all of that, what will $5 be worth then in a year or so compared to now?
KOSIK: Yes.
LEMON: They said they really haven't gone up that much if you factor in inflation.
Let's move on, though. Let's say you don't like what you got for Christmas. Santa Claus, whoever it is. You didn't like that.
KOSIK: That happens to all of us.
LEMON: What's the usual exchange program that Amazon just created?
KOSIK: So here's what Amazon came up with. It received a patent for what it called an "unwanted gift exchange." And here's how it would work. You go online, and you can decide to exchange a gift before it's even shipped. It wouldn't even make it under the tree.
You can even automatically exchange anything sent from the specific person. Think of it this way -- it's kind of like, you know, an interception in a football game. It's like intercepting a gift being given to you.
Amazon filed for the patent in 2006. They got it in November. But as this point on there's no timeline on when Amazon's new system it dreamed up here would go live. It may never happen. But some people think it takes out the element of surprise. You're grabbing a gift and knowing what you're giving, it takes the fun element of surprise of gift giving if you ask me.
LEMON: Don't ask me. You should ask me. People call me the Grinch. I think you should give gifts all year round and appreciate people in the holidays.
KOSIK: I think that's a great idea.
LEMON: I'll get off my high horse, though, because I like presents, I have to say. Thank you, Alison.
KOSIK: We all do.
LEMON: All right.
KOSIK: My pleasure.
LEMON: Should boys and girls be separated in school? It could soon become reality at one school in New York. The reasons are coming up here on CNN.
And there's a new diet out here that's getting the royal treatment. I tell you which high-profile guest is apparently trying it before William and Kate's wedding -- up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: OK, just in time for your new year's diet, because I know a lot of you are going to do that. Jenny Craig has made some changes in the weight loss plan. Participants in a new program called "Metabolic Max" will get light weight arm bands that track physical activity and calories burned. That's supposed to keep people honest about how much exercise they actually get.
The move comes one month after weight watchers made some changes of its own. It fine tuned points system to consume differences, not just calories. But choosing a diet is never easy, of course. And just to make things more complicated, there appears to be a new diet war between the long-established Atkin's diet and the upstart called the Dukan diet.
CNN Senior Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen joins us from Miami. Is the Dukan diet or the "duck-en" diet?
DR. ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: We can't reach them. We can't confirm the pronunciation. But it seems like most people are called it the "due-kan" diet.
LEMON: So what's going on here?
COHEN: It's really interesting. It is the spirit of the late Dr. Robert Atkins, the founder of the Atkins diet, versus Carol Middleton, the mother of the future queen of England. She's been talking about the Dukan diet and how it's done her so much good and how it's helped her lose weight. And you can see she's looking pretty trim.
And the Atkins people are none too happy. They said the Dukan diet is trying to copy the Atkins diet but isn't as good as the Atkins diet. In fact the Atkins people sent out a press release with some pretty harsh words. They said that the Dukan diet has "nutritional recommendations that simply don't make sense or are guaranteed to fail." That's pretty strong language -- "guaranteed to fail." Don?
LEMON: Well, I don't understand. So why can't -- there's only so much you can eat and probably different patterns in which you can eat. Before the Atkins diet, there was the Stillman Water diet, which was basically low or no carbohydrates. Do they own the patent to low- carb diets?
COHEN: They seem to think that this is their diet and other people are sort of taking it from them. And I agree with you. I think each diet is just a slight reincarnation of the next diet.
But let's talk a little bit about what the Dukan diet is because I think people are familiar with Atkins. It's a high-protein diet, also has four phases like Atkins. And the first phase is you only eat high-protein foods, second phase, you add vegetables every other day. The third phase you reintroduce what they call pleasurable foods. I guess that means carbohydrates and desserts and what not.
And then phase four, you eat what you want with some restrictions. And their motto is "Eat as much as you like and forget about cutting calories." The Atkins people say "eat as much as you like," that is a recipe for failure. They said that just can't work and they say Atkins is much more structured.
LEMON: OK. So now we know. All right, Elizabeth. Thank you. We appreciate Elizabeth Cohen, our senior medical correspondent. And she is in Miami.
Other news now, the feds say a guy tried to smuggle cocaine at the airport using Easter eggs? Wait until you hear where he was coming from, straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
