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Stranded Travelers Frustrated; New Yorkers Angered by City Response; Update on Maine Ski Lift Accident; Couple Places Billboard Ad to Adopt Child; Former President Carter Releases Rehabilitated Sea Turtle; Dog Rescued After Head Gets Stuck in Wall; Library of Congress Picks 25 Films to be Preserved as History; Elian Gonzalez, Where Are They Now?; Man Charged for Reading Wife's E-Mail; Oil Exec: $5 Gallon/Gas in 2012; Bolivia Increases Gas Prices 73 percent
Aired December 29, 2010 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR, "AMERICAN MORNING": CNN NEWSROOM with Alina Cho starts right now.
Alina, poor Joe had to walk from Penn Station.
ALINA CHO, CNN ANCHOR: Oh no.
CHETRY: Because there was no cab in sight so.
CHO: That's 25 blocks.
JOE JOHNS, CNN GUEST ANCHOR, "AMERICAN MORNING": Yes.
CHO: All right.
JOHNS: Yes, it is.
CHO: You better get in the car on the way back and get some rest, Joe. Nice to see you, Joe and Kiran. Good morning to you. 9:00 a.m. on the East Coast, 6:00 a.m. in the West.
Good morning, everybody. I'm Alina Cho in for Kyra Phillips this week. Here are some of the stories that have us talking this morning.
Anger is building in New York City where residents are outraged over impassable roads. They're asking three days after the storm, where are the snowplows? You'll hear from the mayor and his critics.
Also, airline rage. Las Vegas police say this 68-year-old man struck a teenage passenger on a flight because the boy wouldn't turn off his iPhone before takeoff. The man was charged with battery and said he did it to protect the passengers.
And Disneyland may be more crowded than the airports these days. In fact the California theme park had to turn away customers yesterday for the second day in a row. Disney officials say overcrowding, well, it's not that unusual during the holidays.
But first, the Christmas blizzard of 2010. The wind has stopped howling but stranded passengers certainly have not. And who can blame them? Nearly 10,000 flights have been canceled since Saturday. Believe it or not, more than 1300 were canceled just yesterday. Long after the storm ended.
There's a look from the airports there and there's been plenty of misery. Passengers aboard several international flights were stuck on the tarmac at JFK Airport in New York again. In fact, one Korean Air flight from Seoul sat nearly nine and a half hours waiting for a gate. Three other international flights from Germany, Mexico and France spent six and a half hours on the tarmac.
We want to get the latest now from CNN national correspondent Susan Candiotti. She is live at JFK Airport with more.
So good morning, Susan. What is going on?
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, apparently, the same thing that happened yesterday, Alina. Not a fun night for any passengers aboard those flights that you mentioned that were stuck for six, seven, eight, nine hours aboard those aircraft because there was no gate for them to pull up to.
What's the problem? Apparently the same problem that they had yesterday. And that is this. That according to the Port Authority, which manages the airport in its entirety, to make sure that the runways are clear, that kind of thing, they're saying it's up to the individual airlines to make sure before they leave their point of origin that there is a gate available for them when they land.
And apparently they said we've been telling the airlines this since yesterday. We keep telling them but in the words of the Port Authority spokesman, quote, "Apparently it didn't help."
Well, that definitely seems to be the case so the question becomes, well, why once the planes are coming in to the certain -- to the gates, why aren't they being forced to move out?
Well, the same spokesman tells us, again, it's up to the airlines to tell them to leave and it gets very complicated here because he said it's also up to the individual terminal managers to do so.
Here at JFK, each terminal, domestic and international, is run privately. And so there's a lot of finger pointing all the way around here to tell people to get on the ball and get things moving. And clearly the spokesman acknowledges that more meetings are required. A master meeting so to speak of everyone involved here that you can possibly think of. Probably an alphabet soup -- group of people to talk about correcting a problem because obviously it still exists.
Now, Alina, there is one bright spot. We spent sometime in the terminal a little while ago and we're finding that now some of the airlines that are coming in, the passengers we've been speaking with said that once they landed there was virtually no delay. They are coming in. They're getting their bags, they're coming to the terminal and moving on. But this problem clearly at least in the overnight hours does not appear to be solved any time soon. Certainly not since last night. Not since all day yesterday -- Alina. CHO: Well, it boggles the mind, Susan. It's not like New York City hasn't seen a storm of this magnitude before. So I don't know what has changed but certainly it's going to take more than a meeting. It's going to take some real changes.
Susan Candiotti live for us at JFK Airport. Susan, thank you.
Now you may remember that a Passenger Bill of Rights went on the books back in April. The rule punishing airlines with fines for keeping passengers on planes on the tarmac for more than three hours. Those safeguards, however, do not apply to those international flights stuck at JFK.
Last night on "ANDERSON COOPER 360" we heard from an advocate for passenger rights.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We know that no laws were broken here but were promises broken in your opinion?
KATE HANNI, EXEC. DIR., FLYERSRIGHTS.ORG: Promises were broken. I was on a tarmac delay task force for a year and the Port Authority and all the airports in the U.S. promised that they would never allow the kinds of situations that happened to JetBlue four years ago happen again. And here we are again.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
CHO: Passenger rights advocates say a little planning can protect you. Among the tips, cancel your plans if really bad weather is approaching and pack necessities in your carry-on bag like food and water in case you get stuck on the tarmac.
Well, it's not just air travelers that are in limbo. Many New Yorkers say they're snow bound by the weekend storm after what they call a dismal response from the city. Days later, they're asking, where are the snowplows and why can't I get around? The anger is building.
CNN's Mary Snow joins us now from the streets of New York.
So, Mary, just how mad are New Yorkers about this?
MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Alina, they're furious. And as you know, New Yorkers don't shy away from showing their anger. What's also adding to their fury is when they see scenes like this on the street that we're standing on right now in Manhattan that is paved. And the roads are getting back to normal. Because outside of Manhattan, it's a very different scene.
City council members have also been very critical saying that the response has been unacceptable and the mayor is on the defense.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SNOW (voice-over): In the boroughs outside Manhattan, streets are still blanketed with snow. Leaving New Yorkers like Lance Owen of Brooklyn on edge.
LANCE OWEN, BROOKLYN RESIDENT: Years, years and years and years I have lived here and never have I seen it like this.
SNOW: Emergency crews like this fire truck in Manhattan faced challenging conditions. Hundreds of buses were still stuck and stranded by Tuesday morning and there was this videotape of cars damaged by a plow.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh my god.
SNOW: The Department of Sanitation says the incident is now under investigation. City Councilwoman Lettia James, a Democrat of Brooklyn and chairwoman of the sanitation committee, has scheduled a hearing into what happened. She gives the city's response a failing grade starting with Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
LETTIA JAMES, NYC COUNCILWOMAN: New Yorkers are angry. New Yorkers are angry that there's a disconnect between those in the outer boroughs and the mayor of the city of New York and his administration. And to me, it's just another reflection of a mayor who's basically out of touch.
SNOW: Asked about the response from angry New Yorkers, the mayor said he's angry, too, adding the city is doing the best it can.
MAYOR MICHAEL BLOOMBERG, NEW YORK: We won't get to everybody every time. We will make mistakes. But we have to continue plugging ahead. Yelling and -- about it and complaining doesn't help.
SNOW: But Bloomberg wasn't the only politician under fire. In neighboring New Jersey, Governor Chris Christie, a rising star in the Republican Party, gained attention for the fact that he's on vacation while a state was hit with the blizzard, and his lieutenant governor was vacationing, as well. Leaving the state in the hands of the state Senate president.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They're both been gone. I mean, shouldn't they be taking care of the state?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's hard for me to talk bad about the governor because he's one of the greatest governors we ever had but I'm sure he's been in communication and the state's getting cleaned up.
SNOW: The governor's office answered criticism saying the response to the storm has been the same as it would be in other circumstances. Adding, "We are a northeastern state and we get plenty of snow, including heavy hits like this and we'll get through this just as we always have."
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SNOW: And Alina, elsewhere in New Jersey, headlines of a different kind for another politician, and that's the mayor of Newark, New Jersey, Cory Booker. He has been responding to messages on his twitter account from people who are asking for plows. And he's also taken a shovel and he's been out in the streets of Newark and reportedly at one point even delivered diapers to a snowbound family.
CHO: Yes, he did. Yes, he did. Good for him, good for him. Working through the night with those shovels. That's hard work, I hear.
All right. Mary Snow on the streets of New York City. Mary, thank you so much.
Different kind of weather problem out west. More rain --
ANNOUNCER: CNN, your severe weather headquarters.
CHO: As I said, more rain heading to southern California. Still saturated from last week's heavy storms there. Even before the new system came in, a beachside bluff gave way in Encinitas. Look at that. The collapse threatened a retaining wall but city engineers say homes are safe.
As many as 600 volunteers came to the community of Highlands to help residents clean up after last week's flood. Residents were clearly grateful for the help.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We feel very fortunate to have, like, all these volunteers just help out, like, without even getting paid. Just trying to do something good for their community.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
CHO: Well, it is not over yet. More wet weather expected for the west coast.
Let's get to Jacqui Jeras in the CNN Weather Center.
Is that true, Jacqui? Say it isn't so.
JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes. It's not looking good out west, unfortunately. And you know pictures like we just saw and pictures like this one, unfortunately, are going to become all too common in the next couple of days because the ground is so saturated. Add more rain on top of that and the mountainsides and some of the hillsides are very unstable.
(WEATHER REPORT)
CHO: Yes, big problems. Good for the skiers, though, if you're in that part of the country.
JERAS: Oh, yes.
CHO: Meanwhile, President Obama, as you know, is vacationing in Hawaii. What's the forecast there?
JERAS: I know. How nice is that, right? Our Ed Henry has the primo assignment these days.
CHO: Yes, yes. Every year.
JERAS: Yes. Temperatures in the mid-70s to around 80 degrees but --
CHO: Wouldn't that be nice?
JERAS: Wouldn't it?
CHO: Yes.
JERAS: Eighty degrees.
CHO: And you know what? If there's a little bit of rain in the forecast, it's a good thing that President Obama got his round of golf in because he did escape world pressures at least for a while. He took time for a relaxing round of golf. There he is in the cart there.
This was yesterday as he continues that holiday Hawaiian vacation. But even on the links, President Obama seems to need that motorcade to get from place to place, of course. Not a bad chip. He played golf with friends and probably wished he spent a little less time in the bunkers.
Yes, reporting on the president is clearly a full time job. Just ask CNN's Ed Henry. Wait a minute. There's a --
JERAS: Barefoot. Barefoot.
(LAUGHTER)
CHO: Apparently, the Obama foursome didn't invite our intrepid correspondent to play golf so he --
(LAUGHTER)
JERAS: Had to do something else with his time.
CHO: Yes.
JERAS: Apparently.
CHO: Something else with his time. You know, he's like a two-minute walk from the beach. You know that. And you know he gets this assignment every year.
JERAS: He does.
CHO: He claims it's tough work. I'm not so sure about that.
JERAS: He has so many Hawaiian shirts now he doesn't know what to do with them already.
CHO: He has a whole closet full of --
(LAUGHTER)
JERAS: But it's going to rain today. I mean a really decent shot --
(CROSSTALK)
CHO: I mean, don't go golfing. Go bowling today, maybe. The president did that a couple of days ago.
All right, Jacqui. Thank you so much. We'll check back with you later.
Well, while the president golfed in Hawaii, former President Jimmy Carter found a rewarding past time during his holiday vacation. It involved saving a sea turtle. We'll have details just ahead.
And Hollywood classics, the Library of Congress is out with its annual list of movies to preserve for all time. Some of the 25 on the list may surprise you.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHO: Time now to travel across the country. First stop, Clarkston, Michigan, where a couple is hoping that a billboard will help them adopt a child. Take a look, there. Wendy and Josh Rougeau say they've already been approved for adoption, but it could take years. That is often the case. So, they're taking their message directly to perspective birth mothers, hoping for a baby of their own. We wish them the best of luck.
Next stop, the Florida Keys where former president Jimmy Carter took time from his holiday vacation to help out an endangered animal. Carter assisted in the release of a rehabilitated loggerhead sea hurtle named Danger into the Atlantic Ocean. Danger was being treated at the local turtle hospital.
And finally, in Riverside County, California, Rebel the German Shepherd put his nose where he shouldn't have. And guess what? Got stuck. Take a look at that picture. Well, it took lots of gentle nudging from animal services to free Rebel from that concrete wall there. No word on what prompted the 8-month-old to try to squeeze through. We'll get back to you on that.
From Hollywood blockbusters to little-known documentaries, the Library of Congress is out with its list of movies they want to preserve as a part of history.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP - "The Empire Strikes Back")
LUKE SKYWALKER: He told me you killed him.
DARTH VADER: No. I am your father.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHO: "Luke, I am your father." Who could forget that moment? "The Empire Strikes Back," one of the 25 films selected. You may be surprised to hear some of the others. Joining us to talk about it this morning, Stephanie Zacharek. She's the chief film critic for movieline.com.
Stephanie, good morning. Thanks so much for joining us. You know, there were some 2100 entries this year. Of course, every filmmaker wants to have their movie be a little part of history, if you will. So, what's the criteria for picking these 25 films?
STEPHANIE ZACHAREK, CHIEF FILM CRITIC, MOVIELINE.COM: Well, the films are chosen by the Librarian of Congress, whose name is James Billington, and he's actually advised by the National Film Preservation Board, and that's a group of -- it's filmmakers, it's movie industry people, actors, there's scholars, there are film critics, and also, the public can nominate choices that they would be interested in seeing included in the registry, as well.
So, he has a lot of people to advise him. He doesn't have to look at all these movies himself and cull through them. But, he has people --
CHO: But they really have to have some sort of artistic or historical significance, right?
ZACHAREK: Artistic, social, historical significance. But also, the thing that's interesting about them is, they're not necessarily the greatest movies in terms of all being "Citizen Kane" caliber.
CHO: Right, and Stephanie, let's get at that.
ZACHAREK: But they really --
CHO: Let's get to that, because I was surprised to read that "Airplane" was on the list. We've got "Saturday Night Fever," "The Exorcist." What do you think makes these movies stand out?
ZACHAREK: Well, I think these movies are really like a snapshot of our movie-going -- our movie-going character as a country. So, that's why you have these comedies, things that people would go to see on a Saturday night. Those have to be included, as well.
CHO: That's right. Were there any movies on that list that surprised you?
(MUSIC - "You Should Be Dancing")
CHO: Ah, you've got to love that "Saturday Night Fever" music, by the way.
ZACHAREK: I do.
CHO: Takes you back, doesn't it?
ZACHAREK: I do love that one. It does.
CHO: So, tell me, what -- any surprises on the list?
ZACHAREK: Well, you know, my personal favorite is "McCabe and Mrs. Miller," which is a Robert Altman film from 1971. It's a kind of a dreamy western, one of the rare westerns that's set in a snowy landscape. And so incredibly beautiful to look at. It really is a work of art, as well as a piece of entertainment. So, that's something that should definitely be preserved. It's a really, really beautiful film.
CHO: Are there any recent movies that you can think of, maybe in the past year or so that are sure bets to get on the list, maybe "Avatar"?
ZACHAREK: Maybe "Avatar." Maybe "The Social Network," to quote a very recent example. Possibly.
CHO: Yes. That would be great. Stephanie Zacharek, chief film critic for movieline.com. Thank you so much for coming in and talking to us about this. It's been a lot of fun.
ZACHAREK: Thank you.
CHO: Well, the name Elian Gonzalez sparks so many emotions. More than a decade later, whatever happened to the little boy who was caught in that massive custody fight between the United States and Cuba? Find out next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHO: Welcome back. The drama surrounding his life played out on international television for weeks. Two family factions, two countries, fought over Elian Gonzalez's future, right up to a final showdown. So whatever happened to the little boy? Shasta Darlington has an update from Havana.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TEXT: WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
SHASTA DARLINGTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): You probably remember the face. Elian Gonzalez, the Cuban rafter boy at the heart of a politically-charged custody battle. Elian was just five when a smuggler's boat headed to the United States flipped over in the Florida Straits in November, 1999. His mother drowned.
Elian was found clinging to an inner tube and handed over to relatives in South Florida. But his father back in Cuba demanded Elian be repatriated. America watched as a nasty tug of war played out in the media and ended with raid on his relatives' home in Miami.
Ten years after Elian returned to Cuba, he says he feels no anger toward the family that tried to keep him in Florida.
ELIAN GONZALES, BOY IN CUSTODY DISPUTE (through translator): "Even though they didn't help me in every possible way," he says, "they didn't help me move forward, they're still my own family. I don't have anger for them."
DARLINGTON (voice-over): Now 17, Elian doesn't make many public appearances. But this summer, he joined President Raul Castro on the anniversary of his homecoming.
GONZALES (through translator): "Thanks to a large part of the American public and to our public, today, I'm with my father, and I feel happy here," he says.
DARLINGTON (voice-over): No longer a little boy, he attends a Cuban military academy. Two years ago, he joined the elite Union of Communist Youth. We recently went to the modest house in Cardenas, where Elian once lived. His grandmother answered the door.
MARIA QUINTANA, ELIAN GONZALEZ'S GRANDMOTHER (through translator): "Now he's a man," she said. "A little man. He's studying, he's integrated. He has a normal life, the way he wants."
DARLINGTON (voice-over): She said he gets top grades and has a steady girlfriend. But Elian and his father have moved to a secluded house that visitors can't easily reach. Shasta Darlington, CNN, Havana.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHO: A fun-filled day on the ski slopes turned into a terrifying ordeal on the ski lift. The wind blows, a cable slips, and number of skiers fall 30 terrifying feet to the ground. We'll have the latest from a CNN colleague who saw it all happen.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(STOCK MARKET REPORT)
CHO: And here's some of the story that is have us talking this morning.
It's going to take a lot of time to break the logjam of stranded travelers after the blizzard that battered the northeast. Major airlines canceled nearly 10,000 flights since Saturday stranding passengers. Worst hit, JFK Airport in New York, where some international flights sat on the tarmac up to 11 hours before passengers could finally get to the gate.
In Miami, police arrested a man when some small explosions went off inside a bag as handlers unloaded it. The bomb squad was actually called it. It turns out that primer caps for bullets ignited, slightly injuring a handler. Police have charged the man with transporting hazardous materials.
And one of the lead actresses in the Broadway musical "Spider-man" has quit according to the "New York Times." Natalie Mendoza is still recovering from a concussion she suffered during the show's first preview performance. She's one of four actors injured, mostly during aerial stunts since the show began previews. She's working on an exit agreement from the $65 million production, which has had several accidents.
In New York, the blizzard is over but a new storm is brewing. Residents are furious that streets are still clogged and entire neighborhoods are snow bound. They say they've seen worst storms but have never witnessed a more dismal response from the city.
Chris Knowles is live for us in Brooklyn, New York, where the complaints just seem to be getting louder.
And so, Chris, good morning to you, first of all. But, it does seem like Manhattan has cleared out a lot but in the outer boroughs, like Brooklyn, that's where the real problems are, right?
CHRIS KNOWLES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. We certainly have a big problem here in Park Slope, Alina. You know, the situation here, we're walking on a path now that was not cut out by city workers. This is something that residents did just so they could get out of their homes and apartments. Twenty-four inches of snow fell and now it's just packed in all along here in Park Slope, Brooklyn.
Now, just a few minutes ago, we got to get some pictures of the first plows that have been in this area since the storm hit some 48 hours ago. And they ended up pushing snow on cars that the folks here had dug out and now they're once again plowed in with several feet of snow.
We're back here live now with a gentleman named Henry.
Henry, how are you doing this morning? He's gotten his Toyota van out it looks like. How have you been making out?
HENRY CORNER, BROOKLYN RESIDENT: I'm digging out a little on the side but apparently I can't make it out. I got to get to work. I'm waiting over here for sanitation truck to come so I could get to work and hopefully. And I got to get to work. Three days. I got to get to work.
KNOWLES: Now, you've done a tremendous job getting this car out. You know what's going to happen when that plow comes down the street.
CORNER: I'm going to have to dig again and have a major workout again and then hopefully make I it to work.
KNOWLES: Now, what are you going to do? You talked about actually renting cars?
CORNER: I was going to rent a car walking down the block. But apparently I saw that the plow, he said he was coming around the corner and I'm still waiting. So I might just go rent a car again.
KNOWLES: The mayor has told people here to be patient and go see a Broadway show. You been to see "Mary Poppins" or anything like that?
CORNER: Broadway show? I got bills to pay. I got kids to feed and a lot of bills. And I have to get to work. I have to get to work.
KNOWLES: Henry, hang in there, man. I wish you a lot of luck. I know it's been several days. Take care of yourself.
You know, the city is going to hold some hearings on January 10th to figure out what went wrong. This is New York City. We've seen snow before, and a lot of it. This time, they've left it here and it doesn't seem to be going anywhere, Alina.
CHO: I don't understand it. I mean, the city is normally -- Mayor Bloomberg has normally been so wonderful in the response to storms. I mean, the streets are cleared out like nobody's business. But this time around, it's just mind boggling. We've got sanitation workers working around the clock. I don't know what's going on.
Anyway, Chris Knowles, we thank you for --
KNOWLES: Something happened at the beginning --
CHO: Go ahead.
KNOWLES: I'm sorry. I was just going to say, something must have happened at the beginning of this storm that delayed the trucks. That seems to be the key to this storm.
CHO: Got it. All right. Chris Knowles unlocking the mystery.
Thank you for joining us from Brooklyn.
And we have new details on a terrifying ski lift accident in Maine. It happened yesterday. Broke here right on our air on CNN. Investigators now want the know why a cable slipped from it pulley at the popular Sugarloaf Ski Resort.
Some people fell, you know, as many as nine people fell, actually, 30 terrifying feet to the ground and they were injured. Another 200 skiers were left dangling in the strong winds. Among those trapped on the crippled lift is up on own CNN colleague Robb Atkinson.
He's back on the mountain this morning. He joins us now.
Robb, in fact, I know that you went up to the mountain and spoke to the resort spokesman about potentially what may have caused all of this, right?
What did he did tell you?
ROBB ATKINSON, CNN NEWSOURCE: Yes, Alina. I got off the phone with Ethan Austin (ph), and the preliminary findings by the main board of Elevator and Tramway Safety indicate that wind was the cause of the cable derailment that stranded as many as 220 people, including myself, and injured up to nine people, including three kids.
The official report will be released later today and, you know, Ethan just wanted to really express how saddened the resort is. Everybody's taken this to heart here. It really is -- everybody considers the guests who come to the mountain part of the family. So something like this is just devastating.
CHO: Well, I know you have a cabin there and you've been going up there for years. You're spending the week this week, and you plan to go back up on the slopes today. So, good for you.
Having said that, you're right. Anybody who skis certainly can only imagine what that must feel like. So take me back to that moment that you were on that lift. You had gotten on. You did one run and you just had to get one more run in and that's when you got stuck with your wife.
What did you see? What did you feel?
ATKINSON: Well, when we got on the lift, it was a series of starts and stops. The lift kept stopping and it was really breezy. I have to say, it was eight degrees and the wind gusting as much as 30 to 50 miles an hour.
We got about three quarters of the way up and all of a sudden we stopped and it started to move a little bit again and then there was a jerk, a bump, and then screams. I looked out of the corner of my eye and saw five cars crash to the ground. And it was scary because I was on the tower right before the accident happened. Everybody after the tower was either dangling like a yo-yo, or on the ground.
And so we were bracing ourselves for what was next. My wife and I were starting to make backup plans, saying, OK, if this thing goes down, what do you do? Do you throw your poles? Do you throw your skis? You know, what's the best way to protect yourself?
When you're up, 40, 50 feet, there's really no good answer, I don't think.
CHO: Tell me how did you get off the lift, Robb?
ATKINSON: Well, they used -- if you've ever mountain climbed before or rock climbed, you know, series of ropes and pulleys they use to get you up there, you know, when you're climbing a rock wall. It's a same kind of system.
They actually tied a -- they had a rope and they tied it to a stick with a weight and threw the stick 50 feet up in the air and over the cable. And once the rope had gone over the cable, they kind of brought up to us a little swing with a harness that we put over our shoulders, and then we had to slide out on to the swing 50 feet above the air, and they lowered us down.
And, I got to tell you, it was amazing. They were unbelievable here at Sugarloaf. It's obvious that they've planned for this, that they've trained for this, and they had us down in about an hour and a half. It was a long time, but it could have been much worse.
CHO: I mean, that's incredible. But for the person dangling from the rope, what a beautiful photo that is.
You know, I'm just wondering, have you spoken to some other people on the slopes there? Are they jittery today? How are your kids? How do they feel about all of this?
ATKINSON: Yes. My kids are in ski school right now.
CHO: Well, I guess they don't care.
ATKINSON: You know, when I got down to them, they were just asking for lunch. They didn't even care about our accident.
CHO: Exactly.
ATKINSON: But, you know, the mountain is full. There's 22 inches of fresh powder up here. The lifts are full. The mountain is bustling. It's business as usual.
And, you know, the folks here at Sugarloaf, you know, to their credit, they're addressing people's concerns going in at guest services. If you have a question, they're happy to answer it. But for the most part, it's business as usual and people are just enjoying the slopes. Although I don't think that lift is opened for quite some time until they figure this out.
CHO: Well, I would guess that would be the case. I know they're investigating what happened officially.
So Robb Atkinson, I thank you so much. Good luck on the slopes today. Let's hope you don't have a repeat of yesterday. I certainly don't think that's going to happen but best of luck to you.
ATKINSON: If I do, I'll send you a picture, Alina.
CHO: Yes, please do. Please do. Call in.
All right. Robb Atkinson joining us from Sugarloaf Mountain in Maine, where there was a terrifying ski lift accident yesterday.
Meanwhile, coming up, a man snoops on the cheating wife. But, there's a twist. She may have cheated but he could go to jail. I'm going to tell you what happened, just ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHO: Well, here's a story that got our attention today.
A husband suspicious that his wife is cheating hacked into her e-mail account. She was the cheater but now he faces a series of felony counts and up to five years in jail and you won't believe who the wife was cheating with.
Kim Bore of Michigan affiliate WDIV has details.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KIM BORE, REPORTER, WDIV MICHIGAN (voice-over): 33-year-old Leon Walker of Rochester Hills logs on to his wife's e-mail account. He didn't see anything wrong with it. He'd done it before.
LEON WALKER, CHARGED WITH UNLAWFUL COMPUTER ACCESS: What don't you share in a marriage? You know she'd asked me to read her e-mails before. She gave me the passwords before, she didn't hide it.
BORE: Only this time he's in the process of divorce. Walker, a computer technician with Oakland County, says his wife's e-mails revealed her affair with her second husband, a man who has been arrested for allegedly beating her in the past. Worried for his daughter's safety, Walker turns the e-mails over to his wife's first husband with whom she also shares a child.
WALKER: Now, he took action with the courts to have his son protected and I took action with the courts to have my daughter protected.
BORE: And his wife Clara called police; the Oakland County prosecutor's office eventually charging Walker with a five-year felony.
WALKER: I feel the actions they've taken against me are wrong on so many levels.
BORE: He hired an attorney.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I find it so hard to believe that our legislature would enact a law and say, you know what? If husbands and wives are reading each other's e-mail, that's a priority for us. I mean, we've got to stop that.
BORE: But we're told the Oakland County prosecutor stands behind her decision to charge. Walker too maintains that he was only protecting his child.
WALKER: Do I think it was wrong? I mean, it's -- it's a burning house, do you kick the door open or you let it burn? You know, I did what I felt was absolutely necessary.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHO: Now, this husband/wife e-mail hacking story certainly got us talking this morning.
Earlier on CNN's "American Morning" our Kiran Chetry talked to criminal defense attorney, Paul Callan and psychologist Jeff Gardere about the merits of the case.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: So this is a Michigan prosecutor that's using this statute as we said before that really has not been applied to domestic cases in the past. What do you think?
PAUL CALLAN, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Wow. This is a highly unusual use of a criminal statute. You know all 50 states have laws that prohibit computer hacking and usually when they prosecute these cases, it's some technological guy who's broken into a big company's computer system and damaged it or stolen something.
(CROSSTALK)
CHETRY: Right. But are you hacking if you know the password.
CALLAN: Well, that's the question and the prosecutor here has said that this husband who was looking at his wife's e-mail by using her password without her permission has violated this criminal statute. He could go to prison for five years if he's convicted by a jury on the case.
CHETRY: All right, morally speaking he claims that the reason he wanted to do this is because she had a son with her first husband, the second husband is the one that she was apparently cheating with --
JEFF GARDERE, PSYCHOLOGIST: Yes.
CHETRY: -- and the third husband is the one that did the hacking. He wanted to warn the first husband that she was cheating with the second husband because their child, he felt, was at risk.
GARDERE: What came first, the chicken or the egg here? Was it that he suspected that she was cheating or was it that he suspected that something may have been going on and the child was perhaps at risk?
Bottom line here and I think you and I may disagree on this, I really do not believe morally, ethically, spiritually, relationship-wise that you should be reading the e-mails of your spouse even if you think that they may be cheating.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: So what are your thoughts on this story? Should it be illegal to read your spouse's e-mail? Should that man go to jail? Tell us what you think at CNN.com/Kyra. I'll read some of your responses later on in the show.
Alaska Senator Murkowski could be sworn in for a second term as early as next week, ending a long and bitterly contested battle. A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit challenging her write-in election win last month.
State officials are scheduled to certify the election this morning. Her opponent meanwhile, Joe Miller, finished second in the voting and brought the lawsuit. He says he's now considering his next step.
Embattled Congressman Rangel is now seeking donations to help pay for his ongoing and possibly future legal bills. The House censured Rangel earlier this month for violating ethics rules. He also faces a new complaint of violating election laws. A statement from Rangel says a House panel authorized the funding raising for his trust.
A senior executive from a major oil company is now predicting we could be paying $5 for a gallon of gas as early as 2012.
CNN's newest primetime program "Parker-Spitzer" focused on this potential motorist nightmare last night. John Hofmeister, former Shell president and author of "Why We Hate the Oil Companies" was the guest.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN HOFMEISTER, CITIZENS FOR AFFORDABLE ENERGY: We have done nothing in the 111th Congress to improve the supply side of hydrocarbons that we need every day in the economy. We use 20 million barrels of oil every day, Eliot, that's 10,000 gallons a second. In 2008, when we had the last oil price spike $147 for crude we had all of this "drill baby drill" rhetoric going around the country. We did nothing. We have had an anti-hydrocarbon administration that has proven by their actions that they would rather work on wind and solar and bio fuels. That's where the federal money is going, and just let the oil industry, the coal industry let them drift.
ELIOT SPITZER, CNN CO-HOST, "PARKER SPITZER": Yes.
HOFFMEISTER: Or hold them back which is what they're doing now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHO: And you can catch "Parker-Spitzer" tonight and every week night 8:00 p.m. Eastern on CNN.
Speaking of high gas prices, protests erupt in Bolivia after fuel prices skyrocket.
That's what it looked like. Gas prices shot up almost 75 percent in Bolivia. We'll tell you why next in your "Morning Passport".
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHO: In "Morning Passport" this morning, we begin in South America, where angry protesters are taking to the streets in Bolivia. That happened after gas prices jumped 73 percent and diesel prices shot up more than 80 percent. Protesters furious after freezing prices for six years and subsidizing the cost, the government abruptly changed course, changed its policy, to save money.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): We're indignant. How is this possible? The money we make is not going to be enough to get our daily bread.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): I wish I could go to the market with one of the government ministers so they could see how much we can buy with the money we make.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHO: Now to the UK where Prince William and Kate Middleton say they don't want to be waited on hand and foot. How about that? The royal couple who will get married in April reportedly says when they do get married they will have no maids, no butlers and no servants at least during their first three years of marriage. We'll see how that works out.
By contrast, William's father Prince Charles has a staff of 150 people.
Next stop, Italy: Wisconsin singers performed for Pope Benedict in Vatican City today. Members of the Badger State Girls' Choir are on their first international concert tour and what a debut. They sang this morning during the Pontiff's Wednesday audience. The girls who are all middle and high school students have another performance during mass at Saint Peter's Basilica.
And we're following lots of developments in the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM. Let's check in first with Susan Candiotti at New York's JFK Airport.
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Alina. Snow and slush aren't the only things that are messy out here at JFK. For the second day in a row, hundreds and hundreds of passengers spent up to nine hours because -- on the tarmac because their planes couldn't find any space at the gate. I'll have a live report coming up.
POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: More on the aftermath of that snowmageddon blizzard we had here along the East Coast just wreaking havoc on city streets and sidewalks but also on city budgets. We'll also take a look at damage the snowstorm did to city budgets and we'll also take a look at your budget and your savings heading into 2011. That's in the next hour.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Elizabeth Cohen in Miami and I'm going to tell you about a new study that tells you that the length of a man's fingers may have something to do with whether or not he'll get cancer. I know it sounds odd. I'll explain at the top of the hour.
CHO: It most certainly does, Elizabeth. We can't wait.
Thank you, guys.
It was a single Olympic hockey game 30 years ago, but it captivated the entire world. Who could forget the miracle on ice game? A group of 20-somethings on the U.S. hockey team pulled off the impossible, an amazing upset over the Russians.
At 10:00 we will relive the excitement and all the emotion. We'll talk to the captain of the U.S. team, the man who scored the winning goal to see what he's doing now.
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