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Rare October Snowstorm; Tips in Dealing Awkward Financial Situation; A Rare Cure for a Rare Disease; NATO Troops Killed in Kabul; Rare October Snowstorm; Lohans' Legal Woes; Sleepless Nights and Heart Attacks
Aired October 29, 2011 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: A suicide bomber killed 13 members of the NATO Security Force in Afghanistan today, five of them military, eight civilians. NATO isn't revealing the nationalities of those killed.
This reaction from U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan Ryan Crocker. He says, "It's a shock. It makes you mad. It makes me angry. We are not going to let these guys win."
And snow blowers are in big demand today in the northeast. A rare wintry storm is dumping a mix of sleet and snow just this weekend before Halloween. Some parts of the region could see more than a foot of the white stuff. That's actually especially troubling because the trees are not ready at all for this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MITCH GROSS, CONNECTICUT LIGHT & POWER: The trees, still plenty of leaves on them. You have forecasters saying heavy, wet snow, high winds. Those are the perfect ingredients for potentially a large problem with the electric grid.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: We'll have in-depth coverage of the storm with meteorologist Chad Myers and Jacqui Jeras in just a few moments.
The Florida Highway Patrol arrested a driver accused of going 120 miles per hour. That driver, a Miami police officer. The highway patrol says the Miami officer was on his way to a second job when he was pulled over and that he was arrested at gunpoint after ignoring multiple warnings to stop.
And Wikileaks founder Julian Assange could learn next week whether he will be extradited to Sweden. Assange denied the accusations. He said they are an attempt to smear him because of his work as head of Wikileaks which has published confidential U.S. diplomatic public cables.
And this is the top story that (INAUDIBLE) to follow. A deadly suicide bombing in Afghanistan's capital city of Kabul. Thirteen members of the NATO security force are dead. Military and civilian. The Pentagon earlier told us all the fatalities were American. WE have now heard from the Canadian military that at least one of their troops was killed as well. CNN's Nick Payton Walsh is in Kabul.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): A suicide bomber driving a vehicle laden with explosives ran into a NATO convoy in central Kabul and detonating this device and hitting an armored bus Rino (ph). Now ISAF have finally clarified exactly the casualties in this. There are eight ISAF civilian personnel and five military. Their nationalities, not clear. A U.S. official saying earlier on they were all 13 of them Americans. But it now transpired one of them, according to the Canadian military, was a Canadian soldier.
So really this is a fluid situation, perhaps testament to the sheer scale of the blast here, an enormous amount of explosive required to penetrate the armor of these huge Rino (ph) buses used to ferry NATO personnel between hostile areas. This actually one of a number of instances during the day. Another blast, a suicide bomber, age 25, we understand from Afghan officials there, detonating a device hidden under her burqa outside the headquarters of the Afghan intelligence service in the province of Kunar. And another instant this morning in the south near Kandahar in an area called (INAUDIBLE), in which a man who was wearing an Afghan army uniform turned his weapon on two ISAF personnel, killing them. An Afghan commander in the area telling us both the ISAF dead were Australian, something ISAF won't confirm at this stage.
But really this escalating violence and the terrible toll of the attack in this center of Kabul here making many concern we will be seeing escalating violence in the weeks ahead, vital weeks for the political process here, important conferences abroad and here as NATO and the Afghan government try to prepare a narrative for peace for the partial withdrawal of American troops, for the handover of much of the Afghan territory to Afghan security forces and hopefully to find some kind of way of putting the insurgency further on their back foot.
Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, Kabul.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: And elsewhere overseas, the water is waist-deep in much of Bangkok today. The outer suburbs are under water as is much of the country. More than 370 people have died in the most severe flooding to hit Thailand in more than half a century.
And a small plane crash near Vancouver's International Airport Thursday and a woman on board was so - was sure that she was about to die. So much so that she actually grabbed her phone and then wrote to her children.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CAROLYN CROSS, PLANE CRASH SURVIVOR (ON THE PHONE): I was struck with the instant knowledge that we were going to die. So I grabbed my cell phone and I wrote letters to my two children. I got to the door, I reached out and four amazing people dragged me out.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: One of the plane's pilots died. The eight others on board were hurt.
And Gary Giordano will spend another month in jail. He's the Maryland man being held in Aruba, the only suspect in the disappearance of fellow American, Robin Gardner (ph) over the summer. Giordano appeared yesterday before a judge who ordered him held for at least 30 more days.
All right. Now back to the rare Halloween weekend snowstorm hitting the northeast. We have storm team coverage with meteorologist Jacqui Jeras in the CNN weather center and Chad Myers in a very snowy York, Pennsylvania. Let's begin with you, Chad, in the snow where it is piling up.
CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: It is. I'm getting all these tweets from my followers. You can't do live shots without a ruler. So I had my producer go out and get one. And we'll do the obligatory ruler in the snow. It's five to six inches right there (INAUDIBLE) that's it. But the big story is not what's on the ground but what's on the trees. We just noticed a couple of trees over here now sagging on the power lines or maybe telephone lines or cable lines, whatever.
But the trees are getting heavy because the snow is so heavy. This is the perfect snow to make a snowman. I'm not kidding. That snowball like what we used to throw in cars. That's completely illegal. We just talked to one of the street crews and down this street about two miles, it is shut down as trees are completely down in the street. This is U.S. Highway 30. The street is shut down because trees are on the power lines. Power lines are on the roads and now the road crews are turning everybody away saying, "You just can't get here."
In fact, my producer called the state police not that long ago and "What it's like?" and he said "The entire county is a mess. Literally that's all." And then hung up on him because he was literally so busy.
WHITFIELD: No time for that.
MYERS: The power lines are coming down everywhere.
WHITFIELD: Goodness.
MYERS: Yes. This is going to be terrible for so many people.
WHITFIELD: (INAUDIBLE) for so many people, Jacqui.
JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, we are (INAUDIBLE) hundreds of thousands of people are without power and not just there in Pennsylvania but into parts of upstate New York, Connecticut and Maryland as well. So this is going to be an on-going problem as the storm is really intensifying. In fact, we're getting close to the peak of this storm for many of these areas. The snow is coming down extremely heavy, as much as two inches per hour. And those winds are intensifying along with it. You can see on that satellite that little doughnut whole. Almost look like a snow cane with this thing. Sustained winds around 20 miles per hour. We're going to get gusts potentially near 50, 60 miles an hour as we head towards the coast, maybe 40 as he had a little bit further into the interior. But the best thing I can tell you that this is a very fast-moving storm. This thing is going to be out of here, just really affecting northern New England by tomorrow morning. And then by late tomorrow, everybody's done. But it's going to take us a while to clean up from it.
Snowfall totals so far, Springtown, Pennsylvania, 8.5. Woodland, Maryland around seven as well as Markleysburg, Stamford, Connecticut two inches. Central Park, 1.3. It doesn't sound like a lot but that's a record for you. We've never had a single day in October with that much snow. So how rare is it? Well, the average snow for New York City doesn't happen until December 18th. We've only seen a Nor'easter like this for New York state three times in October before. The last time was in 1952. Boston, for example, you only had four snowfalls in October. In Philadelphia you've only two inches. So far we can get four before all is said and done. So it certainly is a significant storm. It's not, you know, out of the question. We've seen it before. But rather rare. And not a lot of fun when you got so many leaves still on the trees and people wanting to trick-or-treat in a couple of days.
WHITFIELD: Yes, it's odd, people wanted to just enjoy the color of the leaves. And now -
JERAS: I know. Say bye-bye to that.
(INAUDIBLE)
WHITFIELD: Right. All right. Thanks so much, Jacqui.
JERAS: Sure.
WHITFIELD: We have an interesting couple of legal cases coming up. Lindsay Lohan and her dad are no strangers to legal troubles these days. Both made the headlines is week.
And John Edwards' campaign money case is a big step closer to trial. We're breaking down what has been on the legal docket lately. Our Richard Herman is joining us here in Atlanta in the "Newsroom" right after this.
And are you talking and turning at night?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: All right. Members of Congress - don't laugh, Richard Herman with me now. We were cracking up here. OK. Members of Congress, this isn't the funny part. They're actually getting a reality check. Living off food stamps for a week. The average per- week allowance, $31.50. And we'll be following one congresswoman as she tries to make do in New York City, of all places.
All right. But first, our Richard Herman he is here in the house with us. We got at least two more legal cases to delve into.
RICHARD HERMAN, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Two more.
WHITFIELD: We're trying to get the most bang out of the buck with you here.
HERMAN: I'm here. Use me up.
WHITFIELD:. OK. We're talking about Lindsay Lohan isn't the only one who is facing some legal problems lately. But her dad has had his brush with the law this week. What's happening? This is sad.
HERMAN: Is there any wonder why she's a mental case?
WHITFIELD: Don't say that.
HERMAN: Look at her father. This guy is - he goes on - he holds press conferences to say his daughter has a drug problem, and this guy goes ahead, gets charged with domestic battery against his girlfriend, goes to court, the judge says, "If you even dream about her, you're violating my order, I'll release you now." That day, he calls her up, starts harassing her. The police come to get him, he hears the police at his door, and he jumps off the balcony and tries to flee and run away.
WHITFIELD: Did he get hurt?
HERMAN: They think he broke his foot.
WHITFIELD: No way?
HERMAN: Yes, they took him to the hospital. Now he's in prison in Tampa.
WHITFIELD: So there was a restraining order in place. She made the phone call - the ex-fiancee or ex-girlfriend made the phone call, and said "Look, I've got a restraining order. He's still in the picture, somebody help me?"
HERMAN: Yes.
WHITFIELD: And that was the beginning?
HERMAN: The police had her call him back because he called her. It's ridiculous. The guy is off the wall. It's unbelievable.
WHITFIELD: And in this case, off the balcony or window or something.
HERMAN: With a broken foot.
WHITFIELD: Meantime, his daughter, she's had her in and out. But she's got a new contract or new job or something that's come about in the same week that the community service reporting for - not reporting for, violation of probation, all that kind of crashing down at once.
HERMAN: Yes, well, then we hear she's going to pose for "Playboy." So I don't know what's happening. They said it's a $1 million deal. It may not be a $1 million. She can't get in the news unless she's getting arrested or violating probation or something.
WHITFIELD: Yes.
HERMAN: This is the longest driving while intoxicated case I've ever heard of.
WHITFIELD: I really have to feel sorry for them all.
HERMAN: Why do you feel sorry for them? It's pathetic. They're privileged people and (INAUDIBLE)
WHITFIELD: -- public view. It's bad.
HERMAN: It is bad.
WHITFIELD: Something else that's pretty much in the public view is the he John Edwards case. And the latest emotions - the accusation being that he misused campaign funds to conceal his relationship with his mistress. He made a motion for this entire case to be thrown out. The judge said, "No, we're going to proceed."
HERMAN: His poor wife died of cancer. When you hear his name, do you not get a chill going through you? We've had enough of Johnny Edwards. Nobody wants to see him anymore.
WHITFIELD: This case hasn't gone to trial yet.
HERMAN: Hasn't gone to trial.
WHITFIELD: There are many motions to be made which is very typical in any legal case.
HERMAN: They made motions to dismiss.
WHITFIELD: This is a high-profile case.
HERMAN: Then they made motions to dismiss because they're saying, "Listen, how could he funnel campaign funds if not one of those checks was deposited in his campaign account?" And it's the first time in history that charges like this have been brought. So he's saying, "Look, you can't do it."
WHITFIELD: So that was his argument and why did the judge then say, "No, we've got to proceed?"
HERMAN: Because the judge is smart. He says, "Look, this guy is a lawyer, so he could have directed people who were going to pay for his campaign to not pay the campaign but instead funnel monies to his mistress and other people who are providing protection."
WHITFIELD: So what's the next step on that case?
HERMAN: He's going to trial. He's going to go to trial. We're going to get his hair done every day. He's made arrangements at the salon. The hair will be perfect for trial. And he's going. And he might testify in this case. He just might be brazen enough to get up there and testify.
WHITFIELD: Yes. Well, he's an attorney and he is a man who's masterful at his words. It might be rather impressive for the courtroom to hear his side of the story.
HERMAN: Or he might sink himself. You know.
WHITFIELD: Yes.
HERMAN: Who knows?
WHITFIELD: All right. We weren't worrying about our hair earlier, since you brought it up, were we?
HERMAN: No.
WHITFIELD: We had a little fun with the Halloween spirit. It's become a tradition. We've done this about four years now. You, me and Avery. And there, we revealed ourselves. We had a little -
HERMAN: How hot was it under there with that hood?
WHITFIELD: It was hot. I was sweating. And we only had it -I only had it on for a matter of moments, minutes. And there's our Occupy Wall Street -
HERMAN: I've already given my hair back to Nancy so she'll have it for this Monday to the set.
WHITFIELD: Oh my gosh. It's a good thing you and Nancy Grace are good friends.
HERMAN: She's my buddy.
WHITFIELD: Well, that hair had to be hot.
HERMAN: It was hot. It was hot.
WHITFIELD: Oh, we had a hot time this Halloween weekend.
HERMAN: Yes and I love seeing you, Fred. I love you and everybody in Atlanta. Ten years all these names, I can finally put faces to them.
WHITFIELD: I can't believe it.
HERMAN: So wonderful Everyone's treated me so incredible here.
WHITFIELD: You're wonderful.
HERMAN: I had a great time. And I'm coming back.
WHITFIELD: Yes. And hopefully we can get both you and Avery here together.
HERMAN: That would be great.
WHITFIELD: And we can play our peaches and herb reunited.
HERMAN: Oh, yes, absolutely.
WHITFIELD: All right. Fantastic, Richard.
HERMAN: Wonderful.
WHITFIELD: So good to have you. Thanks so much.
HERMAN: Thanks, Fred.
WHITFIELD: All right. Well perhaps you're not getting enough sleep - do you? You're a new dad? Are you getting enough sleep these days?
HERMAN: Just now we're starting to get sleep.
WHITFIELD: Really. OK.
HERMAN: Until about 5:00 in the morning, which is great.
WHITFIELD: That is wonderful. There are some real health ramification if you're not getting enough sleep, insomnia can lead to some serious heart problems. Our Dr. Bill Lloyd will be with us.
But first, a new survey using numbers from the CDC ranking the most sleep-deprived cities. What do you think would be? New York on the list?
HERMAN: Probably New York. But we're not taking the (INAUDIBLE) propofol to go to sleep, so we're OK.
WHITFIELD: Oh my goodness. We're talking about number five is New York. It's not number one, the city that never sleeps. And number four is New Orleans, still slowly recovering from Hurricane Katrina. Three is Oklahoma City, hit hard by the recession. Number two is Birmingham, Alabama, recently ranked one of the last healthy cities in America. Can you guess what the most sleep-deprived city in America is?
HERMAN: Atlanta.
WHITFIELD: The answer after this. It's not Atlanta. We sleep pretty good here.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: All right. So that was the question. Do you live in a sleep-deprived city? And if you don't can you guess what is the number one most sleep deprived city. Here's the map of where the sleepless Americans are.
Detroit by the way, you may not have guessed that one but we're talking about a city that's incredibly stressed out. 14 percent unemployment rate. And it's ranking among the top 20 cities for foreclosures, many reasons in which not to get a good night's rest.
So it's not uncommon to get a sleepless night from time to time but sleepless nights can lead to heart attacks. That's the subject of our weekly look at how to get and stay healthy. Dr. Bill Lloyd our healthy living expert joining us now from Sacramento. Something tells me you get a lot of sleep. You're always so rested and perky. So Dr. Bill, what's the difference between an occasional sleepless night and insomnia?
DR. BILL LLOYD, HEALTHY LIVING EXPERT: Well, Fred, al of us lose sleep every once in a while. It might be because of a big job interview you have the next day or maybe you're sitting for a deposition in front of Richard. Who knows?
But people who have insomnia have a perpetual sleep problem. It could be one of three things. You can't fall asleep, you can't stay asleep, you wake up multiple times during the night or you wake up in the morning and you don't feel rested. And it happens more than once a week. If that's the problem, you've got insomnia.
WHITFIELD: Oh, my goodness. So how can a lack of sleep then lead to something dangerous like a heart attack or heart disease?
LLOYD: Well, this information is coming to us from a first of its kind study. This involved over 50,000 volunteers in Europe. And doctors followed these patients for 11 years. In addition all the usual health milestones, they asked them, "Hey, tell us about your sleep, do you sleep all night, do you have to get up during the night, et cetera?" And then they correlated that information with the health of these individuals. Of that large group, 2,400 developed a heart attack over that 11-year period. When they crunched the numbers, Fredricka, they found out in upwards of 45 percent increased risk of heart attack in the people who claimed they had trouble with sleep.
WHITFIELD: Oh, my goodness, so what causes insomnia? Can it be as simple as you know, "I'm just stressed out," like so many people in Detroit, they turned out to be the most sleep-deprived city?
LLOYD: Yes, I tell my patients insomnia falls into one of three different categories. It could be a medical problem, something like heart failure that will keep you up during the night. It could be your medications that are keeping you up the night as well. It could be other problems like you said, anxiety or pain. Patients with chronic pain have a terrible time getting a full night's sleep. But most of the time, Fredricka, it's due to poor sleep hygiene, poor habits like eating too much before bedtime and exercising to much before bedtime and bringing that laptop into the bed with you.
WHITFIELD: Oh, my goodness. OK. So define full night's sleep for me? Are we talking about eight hours?
LLOYD: Now, to find that number, we might as well be debating about the flat tax. Because it's different for each person, of course. And there's a lot of myths about how much sleep you need. Young people need a lot of sleep because they're growing. But older people need a lot of sleep as well. I'll tell you this. If you find yourself drowsy during the day, daytime sleepiness, it means you're not getting enough. So before you run out and go buy sleeping pills over the counter, treat yourself to some good sleep habits and get yourself to bed earlier than you normally would and get up - here's the secret, get up the same time every day.
WHITFIELD: Oh really. Oh boy. That's a tough thing to do. All right. We're going to try, try real hard. I kind of think for me, I need eight, nine, maybe 10 for a good full night's sleep.
LLOYD: I'll grab it whenever I can.
WHITFIELD: I know. Get those cat naps in all the time. All right. Thanks so much, Dr. Bill Lloyd. Appreciate that.
LLOYD: Happy Halloween. We'll talk again soon.
WHITFIELD: Oh, yes. Happy Halloween.
LLOYD: All right. Antonio Banderas - well, he's back on the big screen this weekend. And at least his voice is in the new 3-D version of "Puss In Boots." Find out what the movie critic Matt Atchity says about the new animated flick.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Could you live on food stamps? Millions of Americans do. Coming up, a dramatic challenge to Congress.
But first, CNN reporters, anchors and producers cover stories around the world. And that means we also get great tips on some of the best restaurants, hotels and travel spots. In this week's "Travel Insider," we're off to San Francisco.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): I'm Dan Simon in San Francisco. One of my favorite places in the city is here, downtown at the historic Ferry Building.
I love coming out here on a nice day and checking out the views. For more than 100 years, this place has been used to ferry people to different communities across the San Francisco Bay. But now the ferry building is used for all kinds of different things.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thirty three.
SIMON (voice-over): Inside the major theme is food, high-end gourmet food, from fruits and vegetables to caviar to olive oil to cheeses. It's really a foodie's paradise in here.
(on camera): But I think I like it outside even better. A few days a week, they have a farmers market and this is the freshest stuff you can possibly imagine. If you would like to grab a sandwich, sit down at one of the picnic tables and have lunch. So that is the Ferry Building, restaurants, shops, good people watching. I think it's one of the best places San Francisco has to offer.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: A suicide bomber killed 13 members of the NATO security force in Afghanistan today. Five of them military, eight of them civilians. NATO isn't revealing the nationalities of those killed victims. This reaction from U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan, Ryan Crocker. He says, "It's a shock. It makes you mad. It makes me angry. We are not going to let these guys win."
Tennessee police are again cracking down on Occupy Wall Street protesters. Demonstrators who defied a curfew in Nashville were arrested overnight. Many were camping near the state capitol. Despite the arrests, a judge refused to jail the protesters saying he could find no legal authorization for the curfew.
And across the northeast, people are grabbing jackets, gloves and hats today. A rare Halloween weekend snowstorm is bearing down on parts of the mid-Atlantic and New England areas. Thousands of power outages are already being reported in Pennsylvania and New Jersey alone. Snow-laden tree branches are coming down and breaking power lines. This is a live look at snow coming down in the nation's capital, New York City and beyond.
You see the capitol building sort of at the lower left and the White House in the upper right. And you're also seeing a little bit of Connecticut as well. Snow everywhere. Well, Pennsylvania being hit hard. They are already there are power outages.
Lets me find our Chad Myers, he's is in York, Pennsylvania. You've seen these big tree limbs full of leaves. They're bending and in many cases breaking and snapping and coming down, right?
CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: They are, absolutely. Entire trees are coming down. In fact, I was on the turnpike coming here from Harrisburg, down to 83 and then this way, and there were trees completely across the roadway. People were driving around them. This was four hours ago. This is back-breaking snow almost heart attack snow. It took me literally about five minutes to put down a huge snowman down the hill. So, I think it's the action. This snow could be record snowman ireport snow here, if you want to put an ireport down for us make sure you give us a yardstick. Or at least have your child stand next to it.
This is a little bit dangerous as so to the people without power. Temperatures down to the upper 20s. Winds blowing 30 to 40 miles per hour. There's also something possible tonight especially in upstate New York, Connecticut and maybe even northern Pennsylvania where the mountains aren't so high. Something called snow rollers. If you wake up tomorrow and see big rolls that almost look like giant white ho- hoes in your yard, it's that the snow begins to turn and roll on itself and almost makes its own snowman.
WHITFIELD: I don't think I've ever seen that before. MYERS: I've seen them a couple of times. You can look on Wikipedia or go to Google. You can see them and then sometimes there are two, three feet long, and you know 16, 18 inches across. And look outside and says, rooted it to my lawn.
(LAUGHTER)
WHITFIELD: Snow ho-hoes. That's funny stuff. Alright, thanks so much. I know it's a big nuisance to a lot of people, this snow is. Thanks for braving the storm for us there, Chad.
MYERS: Sure.
WHITFIELD: Alright, with Congress focused on cutting the deficit and cutting spending, religious groups are challenging lawmakers to live on what food stamp recipients live on for a week. It's a bid to prevent cuts to a program that serves 45 million people.
Here's CNN's Athena Jones.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Years ago as a young single mother, California Congresswoman Barbara Lee lived on food stamps.
REP. BARBARA LEE (D), CALIFORNIA: I thank my country for giving me that helping hand when I need it, a bridge over troubled water.
JONES: Now she's taking part in a week-long food stamp challenge organized by religious groups nationwide.
LEE: What I'm trying to do is develop a balanced meal or a balanced three meals for today for $4.50.
JONES: The challenge is meant to highlight the importance of continued funding for the government's food stamp program, also known as S.N.A.P., even as lawmakers try to rein in the deficit. Lee is one of a dozen Democrats in congressman taking part in the challenge.
More than 45 million people received food stamps from the government in July, near record high. The average recipient gets about $133 a month or $4.50 a day. That means buying this tin of spam and this can of vegetables would put them over their budget for the day.
It makes it hard to shop as Washington, D.C. Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton discovered on a trip to the grocery store with one of her constituents.
DELEGATE ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON, (D), DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: What I'm really learning is it's impossible to buy nutritious food on $31.50 a week.
JONES: And advocates say the program works well but that benefits should be raised by 20 percent to better meet families' nutritional needs. JIM WELL, PRESIDENT, FOOD RESEARCH & ACTION CENTER: It's not a good enough program for people's health and productivity and children's learning in school because the benefits are just too small.
JONES: Program critics like Alabama Republican Jeff Sessions believe the amount the government spends on food assistance has skyrocketed in part due to fraud. He thinks benefits should be cut.
SEN. JEFF SESSIONS (R), ALABAMA: Eleven million more Americans are on food stamps now than when the president took office. It's time to look under the hood of this program.
JONES: The USDA estimates fraud accounts for more than one cent of every food stamp dollar. And advocates say the increased demand is a as a result of the sluggish economy. Lawmakers like Lee hope this effort raises awareness about what being in need feels like.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Have a good day.
LEE: Thanks very much. I wish everyone could walk in the shoes that I have walked in before and that so many people are walking in today.
JONES: Athena Jones, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: An awkward questions coming up like, nice car, how much did that cost? And very personal questions, too. We all get them. And if you're not sure how exactly to answer them, we'll have some answers for you. Stick around.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Alright, we've been talking about some weird, wacky weather this Halloween weekend. Snow in the northeast and mid- Atlantic states. And the expectation is there could be upwards of a foot of snow in some places. Already in Pennsylvania, they're experiencing some power outages because some of those branches that are filled with those beautiful fall leaves are now covered with snow.
Our Jacqui Jeras is going to be joining us momentarily to give us an idea of whether you're going to be hit in the northeastern community or mid-Atlantic community that you're in. Rotational breaks, she'll be right along with it right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Awkward moments are bound to happen, like someone asking you, how much did you pay for that or someone at the restaurant table not paying their fair share. So let's talk about how to handle some of these awkward moments. Personal financial expert Alexa Von Tobel, founder and CEO of learnVest.com joining us. Alexa, good to see you.
ALEXA VON TOBEL, FOUNDER, CEO, LEARNVEST.COM: Nice to see you, too.
WHITFIELD: So, everyone knows what these awkward situations are like. But not everyone knows how to handle them. So, you know here's the first one scenario. What should you say if you're asked, how much do you make or beautiful house, how much did it cost?
TOBEL: Sure. So, we've all gotten that question before and it is an awkward one. But there are two routes you can go. If it's someone you're not talking to money about her entering that question, simply deflect, make light of it and say something like, not nearly enough or you know I paid way too much in this economy.
But if it's someone you're comfortable sharing the topic with, and really digging in to it. You know friends are starting to talk to each other about money these days. And you can learn a thing or two. And we do talk about everything from our jobs to our diet. So, if you are comfortable, go ahead and share and talk to your friend.
WHITFIELD: OK. Here's another scenario. A friend does some work for you and even gives you a discount but in the end, you don't like how the job turned out. What do you do?
TOBEL: So, we've all had this happen. Mixing family and friends in business can be a wonderful thing but it comes with a unique set of challenges. Here's a way to think about it.
Think about it just as business. If you're the business owner, make sure you're not doing a deal that you wouldn't be comfortable with for your business. You can give a discount because it is a friend or family member. But ultimately make sure it's good for your business.
As the individual or the customer, make sure that you're spending your hard-earned dollars in a way that you're going to be really happy so ultimately if you're not going to be comfortable talking to that, you know, the friend or family member to complain about something, maybe you shouldn't work with them. So, that's how to think about it. Just as a business transaction.
WHITFIELD: Wow. And you don't necessarily say, well, they did give me a discount, they're a friend or family member. I'm not going to complain about it?
TOBEL: Yes, those things build up. You want to make sure you think about it as business. And if you do have things you want to complain about, do it but do it nicely. You don't have to do it in a mean or rude way.
WHITFIELD: OK. And this happens too many times over at the restaurant table. Your friend forgets you know his or her credit card or perhaps you're out shopping together, forgets the credit card, can't pay for it, ask you to spot them. What do you do? You simply say, yes, and hope that you have to remind them they have to pay you back or just let it go?
TOBEL: Sure. So, I mean God, this happens to all of us all the time. And at learnvest, we like to call it death by you know 1,000 microloans. And I think the things that really awkward about that is it's such a small amount of money. So $10 here, $20 there. That's what makes it so uncomfortable because it builds up. And I think here's the way to go about it. If you've reminded your friend nicely two times and they haven't paid you back, let it go. But going forward be thoughtful that you don't want to pull your wallet out for that friend and come up with simple excuses like I need my cash for a dinner I'm going to later tonight. But fundamentally, the guilt will really be on you going forward if you keep loaning to that friend that doesn't pay you back.
WHITFIELD: That's terribly off. OK. Here's another very awkward situation and everyone has been through this. You're at a big group dinner or maybe just you know a few friends. The bill comes, you know what you ordered, you know how much it would cost, you throw your money in but somebody didn't put enough down. So you know there's a deficit on the table. What do you do? What do you say? How confrontational should you be?
TOBEL: I mean this happens to me, I think, you know every few weeks when I go out to dinner with big groups. So, here's the way that we think about this. When you decide and agree to go to a large group dinner, you're implicitly agreeing to split the bill evenly and that's how you should go about it.
So, you need to be thoughtful as the person attending the dinner. You know, are you going to a pricey restaurant that's going to put you out of your comfort zone or are going with a group of friends that tends to overspend? Be thoughtful about that.
Though there are exceptions to that rule, if you're going out with your best friends and you're not a drinker, I think it's pretty easy for you to say, hey guys, you know maybe you guys can leave the tip. Or if you're at a really big dinner and someone orders an extremely pricey bottle of wine, I think it's going to be obviously that that person at that table needs to pitch in more.
And lastly, as the hostess, you really need to think through your guest budget when you're planning the dinner and be mindful of it because we're not in a great economic you know condition here and people aren't feeling great. So, you want to be really cognizant of avoiding those awkward situations.
WHITFIELD: Alright, Alexa Von Tobel thanks so much. Holiday seasons are upon us. Folks are getting together more. Lots of awkward moments like these will arise. You've helped us through it. Thanks so much.
TOBEL: My pleasure.
WHITFIELD: Of course, if you want more tips on what to do with these awkward situations, you want to go to Alexa's Web site, learnvest.com.
Alright, time to check some of the other stories making headlines today. A Miami police officer was arrested. A gunpoint, for leading a state trooper on a seven-minute chase that reached speeds of 120 miles per hour. Check out the dash cam video there. An incident report says 35-year-old Fausto Lopez ignored repeated warnings to stop. He reportedly told the trooper he was running late to his off- duty job.
In Los Angeles, closing arguments in the Conrad Murray trial could happen early next week. Yesterday an anesthesiologist testified for the defense saying he believes Michael Jackson self-injected the fatal dose of propofol.
And D.C. area school kids are about to get a big Halloween treat at the White House. We are not talking the snow. The president and first lady are hosting a big old bash there in a twist from Mrs. Obama's usually healthy eating crusade. The kids will be getting to munch on White House M&Ms and sweet dough butter cookies. Yum-yum.
(LAUGHTER)
WHITFIELD: Alright, now back to that rare Halloween weekend --
JAQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Come on, the snow's a treat, Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: Yes, that's a treat. So, you complain me about the trees being handed up The White House, you wanted more. M&Ms Not enough, huh?
JERAS: You know anything chocolate was for me.
(LAUGHTER)
JERAS: It's all I'm saying.
WHITFIELD: Me too, right? The kids are so bad, they start picking the chocolates.
JERAS: I know.
WHITFIELD: And you know what, the White House always so pretty in snowfall, even if it is Halloween weekend.
JERAS: I know. It's a little early. You hate to put the -- some people decorate for Halloween.
WHITFIELD: You know. And this family decorates this White House at Halloween. Traditionally they have. But you can't see them right now because of the snow.
JERAS: Oh, well.
WHITFIELD: We'll check back with you, right?
JERAS: Really?
WHITFIELD: Are we going to check with you later?
JERAS: No?
WHITFIELD: OK. Go ahead, talk. I've got people in my ear.
(LAUGHTER)
JERAS: This is a big storm though that we do need to take seriously. It's a little fun. It's over the weekend. And you know lot of people don't have to get to work or don't have to go places. But if you do, it's dangerous. This is first snowfall of the season. That's really heavy for a whole lot of people, affecting millions of people and grounding a lot of flights. And we're really peaking into the height of the intensity of this storm for the mid Atlantic States as the snow is coming down heavy and the winds are increasing.
In fact, you get up to the coast, and we could be talking about some gusts pushing 50 miles per hour or so. And when you're looking at sustained winds, you know the average wind speed around 20 miles per hour, that's really rough, especially if you're talking some snows.
Now, all the major cities have seen snow or at least a mix now with the exception of Boston. You guys are eventually going to change over. But your snowfall totals will be a little lesser there. And we're really focusing in Fredricka, on the i-95 corridor, the magic mark between the heavy snow and the rainfall. So, you get west of there, especially up into the elevations. That's where we're expecting to see the 6 to 12 inches of snow, place like Keepsie (ph) towards Springfield, Massachusetts, maybe 5 to 10.
The big cities, just a couple of inches, we've already have 1.3 in New York City. That's a record for you. You've never seen that much day in one day in the month of October and it's still coming down. And if we get any of that thunder snow, and we see some of it, you can get two inches in an hour very easily. So, that could skew the numbers a little bit and keep that in mind.
We also have quite a bit of coastal flooding as strong winds really intensify around this low bringing moisture from the Atlantic ocean, bringing it up and over and interacting with that cold air. And this is just an extremely intense storm.
Now, it's going to move quickly to the north and east. And that's the good news. And look at this, by tomorrow, say, 7:00 a.m.; you're done with it all down here in the megalopolis. Boston winded out maybe by about 10:00 tomorrow morning. And New England by the end of the day, the whole thing's out of there.
Now, we were talking about a little bit of fun, Fredricka. I just want to show you real quick the ireports that are starting to come in. We love them. Please send us more. This is Janell Durado (ph) from Carlstadt, New Jersey. Look at that creative head on that snowman. I don't think you call it a snowman like a monster snowman or something like that but people enjoying it.
WHITFIELD: Very fitting for this Halloween weekend. Thank you, Jacqui.
Alright, there are more multiracial Americans than ever before and that's why we are presenting some real challenges for health care. We will tell you all about next.
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WHITFIELD: Nine million people chose more than one race on the 2010 census, that's up from seven million in 2000. Multiracial children are the fastest-growing youth group in the country, having a diverse background presents unique challenges however when it comes to health care, however.
Here's CNN's Soledad O'Brien.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
IMANI CORNELIUS, MDS PATIENT: One of my birthday's at chuck e cheese.
SOLDEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Your mom was telling me, you love birthdays at chuck e cheese.
IMANI CORNELIUS: Yes.
O'BRIEN: Imani Cornelius just wants a normal childhood. You look like a perfectly healthy 11-year-old girl.
IMANI CORNELIUS: Yes.
O'BRIEN: Do you feel OK?
IMANI CORNELIUS: Yes, OK. Sometimes I get my ups and downs. You have aches and pains everywhere. But it still hearts.
O'BRIEN: She has myelodysplastic syndromes or MDS, which means her bone marrow doesn't produce enough blood cells. It could lead to leukemia if she doesn't get a bone marrow transplant.
How did you feel when they first diagnosed her?
IMANI'S FATHER: As a daddy, it took it all out of me.
O'BRIEN: Finding a donor match is difficult. But it's more difficult for Imani because she's biracial.
LEILA JONES, MANAGER, MMDP REPOSITORY: There are so many possible combinations. So tissue type is very complex. That's one level. And then if you match that with half of one ethnicity versus half of another, it explodes into the millions.
O'BRIEN: Outreach groups like Mixed Marrow are trying to lower those odds.
ATHENS ASKLIPIADIS, FOUNDER, DIRECTOR, MIXED MARROW: Me, being mixer itself I know there wasn't any current organization or outreach specifically targeting the mixed race community. We do community events. We also do college events and then do the donor drives there.
LEILA JONES: If you're of a mixed race background, you know consider joining. It's really a wonderful --
O'BRIEN: Alright, I'm in. You talked me into it. LEILA JONES: Perfect.
O'BRIEN: OK. That wasn't hard?
LEILA JONES: Perfect.
O'BRIEN: The cheek swap is easy. Waiting for a match is the hard part. How does that make you feel?
IMANI CORNELIUS: It feels like you're cut off from the rest of the world and what they get to do and what you get to do.
TAMMY BERNDT, IMANI'S MOTHER: We don't want a pity party. We don't want to have you know I mean sympathy case. We want a cure.
O'BRIEN: And it's a bone marrow transplant.
BERNDT: That's the only cure, a bone marrow transplant.
IMANI'S FATHER: So we need a donor.
O'BRIEN: Reporting for "In America" Soledad O'Brien, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: And look for "the new promised land, Silicon Valley" an essential with Soledad O'Brien Sunday, November 13th, at 8:00 Eastern time, right here on CNN.
Alright, thanks for being with me this afternoon. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Much more of the NEWSROOM straight ahead with Don Lemon.
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