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October Snowstorm Cripples Northeast; 2.5 M Without Power
Aired October 30, 2011 - 14:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: You're in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.
Our top story, the Northeast begins to dig out after a rare and deadly October snowstorm cut power to more than 2.5 million people. Four states have declared emergencies, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Massachusetts. The storm is blamed for at least three deaths. A Pennsylvania man was napping in his recliner when a snow-covered tree fell into his house killing him. Two other people died in Connecticut and Massachusetts.
Connecticut residents are bracing for what could be a long haul. More than 700,000 are without electricity there. Utility crews are out right now assessing the damage. Connecticut Light & Power says all of the cities and towns it services were impacted by the storm, and it could be a week before all power is restored.
CNN crews are working every angle of this major storm. Susan Candiotti is in New York, Chad Myers in Pennsylvania, and Jacqui Jeras is in the Severe Weather Center.
Let's go first to New York City, the metro area there. Fun for some, a nightmare for others. That freak winter storm gave one family a jack-o-lantern snowman. This is in New Jersey, a couple of miles from the Hudson River and Downtown Manhattan.
Let's go to Manhattan where we find our Susan Candiotti.
The snowfall has caused a lot of headaches there, although the sun is finally shining behind you?
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's beautiful here. But I think everyone would agree when you're flying during the winter, there can always be problems. There were problems and it isn't even winter yet.
Most of the problems and the nightmares landed on the doorstep of let's see Bradley International Airport in Hartford, Connecticut. We have reports of about two dozen planes that were diverted there from other areas because of the storm. Six of those flights belong to JetBlue.
We heard from passengers on board those planes, including our own CNN Correspondent Richard Roth, where passengers were stuck on the planes, on the tarmac, without being able to go back to the gate for eight and nine hours. They had no food, no water, and even the bathrooms filled up. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They're filled, totally filled. Nobody can go in them anymore. You just have to hold it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He says, power is going in and out, bathrooms locked, people are quite upset.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CANDIOTTI: Now JetBlue says yes, indeed, it did have problems. But said part of the problem was with the airport and that JetBlue itself tried its best. However, they said this in a statement, quote, "Obviously we would have preferred deplaning much sooner than we did."
Well, passengers didn't like that very much but we understand that the airline is promising refunds, Fred.
WHITFIELD: That's promising there. Susan, how about other forms of transportation, disrupted by this storm?
CANDIOTTI: Well, Amtrak had a lot of difficulties as well. Especially on one particular schedule. A train going -- that originated in Chicago, and was heading to Boston. Now we understand there was a rock slide that involved piling rubble on top of the tracks, blocking the tracks, as well as fallen trees, this kind of thing. And that happened in Palmer, Massachusetts.
They had to bring in busses to take people the rest of the way to Boston, but even that took several more hours because of bad weather conditions on the road. All in all, not a good weekend for travel on the rails and in the air.
WHITFIELD: Right. A big headache. Thanks so much, Susan Candiotti.
All across the Northeast, power crews and residents checking out the mess made by that storm. Chad Myers is talking to some of them in York, Pennsylvania.
So, Chad, what are they saying to you?
CHAD MYERS, CNN AMS METEOROLOGIST: They are telling me that this is not as bad as it was during Hurricane Irene, but more trees came down. In Irene it was just a big flood. Take a look at this. This is all the way Downtown. One tree completely destroyed by the light that came down, the snow that came down. It was very heavy with all of this.
The snow had so much moisture in it. Go up to the top of the tree. And you can see there's very little left at all. We'll be helping out cleaning up the rest of this for the rest of the night. This is by one of the Lutheran churches in town.
I'll tell you what, though, power crews were out. We watched them help put some lines back up. But as soon as the lines were up, they said they were getting another call. The lines were coming back down somewhere else.
Another thing that happened here was that when the leaves got heavy with the snow, it came down, the leaves came down, broke the power lines, and then -- if it didn't, if it kind of missed, then snow fell off, the limb came back up and broke the power lines on the way back up. This was a double whammy for some of these trees.
Still, I know at the last number I had, 2 million without power. The households may be down to about a million, but you have to understand more than one person lives in every house. This is going to be a very long night. Some of the crews could not give estimates to the people that had no power. They were saying, maybe Wednesday. That's the best we can do.
You have to understand there's a triage with this. If you have a house, or a bunch of houses, let's say 100, with one power line affecting them, they will try to get that one power line back up because getting that line back up will give you service to a 100 houses.
If that one line is only down to one house, you are way on the bottom of the list because they'd rather get 100 houses fixed rather than one house fixed. That's how they triage this. With these lines you don't get as much mutual aid. That means that the people from New Jersey, the crews from Western New Jersey can't come in to Pennsylvania to help, because they have their own trees to put back up, and lines to put back up. And Pennsylvania can't help New York because they're working busily, too. It's going to be busy, Fred.
WHITFIELD: It sure is. What a mess. Thanks so much.
Meantime, I'm sure people will have to get used to burning candles, and taking whatever other measures they can to make up for no electricity, Chad. Thanks so much.
MYERS: They're camping out.
WHITFIELD: They're camping out.
Let's check in with our Meteorologist Jacqui Jeras in the weather center.
So what will this commute be like for many of these folks tomorrow?
JACQUI JERAS, CNN AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yeah. It's not going to be great. The good news is that the temperatures are warming up already and most of these places are well above the freezing mark.
Our storm system is already up here, pushing into the Canadian Maritimes. Just small part of Maine is still feeling the snow here, but we're still very gusty all across the Northeast. That wind will weaken for tomorrow. We're going to be in between the two storm systems. We have a weak system here into the Great Lakes, so the Northeast kind of gets a nice pause, and break there. One of the things we're worried about are the temperatures. Tonight, the big cities you're going to stay above freezing. I think that's going to help. But keep in mind there are still going to be tree limbs down. And you're going to be dodging the obstacles. The roadways will be wet because things are melting. Keep that in mind. Give yourself a lot of extra time to get where you need to be in the morning.
If you're in the interior, even when we see temperatures like this, 34 degrees, 36 degrees, remember bridges and overpasses, they ice up first. They can be slick even though the rest of the roadways are looking fine.
And we take a look at temperatures for tomorrow, we're going to warm right back up. We're going to be in the 50s. By the middle of the week some of the places you're not going to be able to tell there was any snow out there. For the rest of you, those of you that saw the two plus feet of snow, it's going to take longer than that.
WHITFIELD: Oh, my goodness. Some of it will linger, most will dissipate.
JERAS: Most will dissipate. Should we look at some of those snowfall totals?
WHITFIELD: Yeah. Let's take a look.
JERAS: They're coming. I have so many billboards, I could go through a 100 of them. Who's in the 30 club. We have Jaffrey, New Hampshire, at 31 inches, Plainfield just over 30, Windsor, 26, and 19 inches in West Milford and Millbrook, New York has17.9.
WHITFIELD: Look at that! I don't believe those numbers. My goodness.
JERAS: A foot in Hartford. Newark 5.2 inches, Central Park, remember yesterday, we talked 1.3 was a record, got a little more than that. So, the official total now, 2.9. That's the most snow they've had in the 24-hour period in the month of October. Philly you got off pretty easy, 0.3 of an inch.
The wind, that was another huge part of this storm system, another big contributing factor as to why so many people lost power here, too. Barnstable, Massachusetts, 69 miles per hour; you know, 74 miles per hour, that's a hurricane force wind.
WHITFIELD: Almost hurricane, right.
JERAS: Really close to that. Harwich, 68, and 68 in Nantucket, Barrington, Rhode Island, 51, and 46 in Dewey Beach. We had like 40 miles an hour in quite a few of the big cities like Boston, New York City, Newark all had about 40-mile-per-hour gusts.
WHITFIELD: The warm up to what this winter just might be like.
JERAS: It could be a taste. That's for sure. WHITFIELD: Oh, my goodness. Thanks so much, Jacqui.
In other news, a suicide bomber who blew himself up yesterday in Somalia's capital city of Mogadishu was an American. That is according to the terror-linked group that is active in East Africa. If true, it is the third time someone from Minnesota's Somali-American community has carried out a suicide attack overseas.
The death toll is clearer today after that suicide attack in Kabul. Military officials in Afghanistan say five NATO troops, four Americans, and a Canadian, died when a bomber targeted an armored vehicle yesterday. In all, 13 NATO personnel were killed; the Taliban claiming responsibility.
And Pope Benedict XVI, today, prayed for the suffering people of Thailand. He mentioned the devastating floods there in his Sunday address in St. Peter's Square. Nearly 400 people have died in Thailand's worst flooding in decades. Some parts of Bangkok are waist deep in water.
The world's 7 billionth baby will be born tomorrow. Our population tipped to 6 billion just a decade ago. Here's an interesting website that shows the world's numbers as they change. You can put in your birth date and see what number you were at PopulationAction.org.
Occupy Wall Street protesters in New York have had to deal with historic snow. And in Portland, more arrests, and in Denver, protesters were pepper sprayed, a round up of the Occupy developments.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Persistent Occupy Wall Street protesters have been braving the elements even in wet, cold conditions without their generators or propane tanks. Some protestors aren't letting up. One led a chant yesterday of "In the snow, in the street, Occupy Wall Street."
Susan Candiotti spoke to one woman who said she isn't going anywhere in Lower Manhattan.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CANDIOTTI: You're prepared to stick this out through the winter?
MESIAH HAMEED, PROTESTOR: Yes.
CANDIOTTI: Why?
HAMEED: It's worth it. I'm so passionate. It's worth it. I'm ready to see change.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: At least 10 people have been treated for hypothermia there. In Raleigh, North Carolina, police say eight Occupy Raleigh protesters refused to move off the sidewalk in front of the state capitol, so they were arrested. Then other protesters moved in to protest their arrests. Police say their chairs, signs and debris were blocking the sidewalks. Occupy activists said they had a right to be on public property.
Even more arrests to tell you about, these, at Nashville's Legislative Plaza yesterday. No word if these were some of the 29 people taken into custody on Friday, then released. They had vowed to come back.
And now an Occupy swing through the West Coast.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: People revolution!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Dozens arrested this morning in Portland. The mayor there said they were warned multiple times that a park they gathered at would close at midnight.
And then into Seattle yesterday, a march, as protesters moved in to a new camp site at a community college. Patrick Oppmann is in Seattle following the movement. And he's joining us right now.
Patrick, has it been tense today?
There you are.
A little tense. People we're keeping close -- there we are. Little technical problem. I'm back with you.
PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A little tense. People were keeping a very close-
There we are. A little technical problem, but I'm back with you, Fredricka.
A little tense here. People didn't know if they would be able to camp out last night, here. Basically what happened here in Seattle, very far from Wall Street, of course, is that protesters were told they couldn't stay at the park they had been protesting at nearly a month now. So they wanted to find a new site.
They settled on the Seattle Central Community College. Many students invited them to come and camp out. You can see there, they're doing right now. Only one problem, the administration really wasn't on board with that, Fred. They said they were concerned there would be distractions for students. They might damage the campus. And said initially protesters wouldn't be welcome.
So protestors, when they started marching here, about a mile-long march, through some of downtown Seattle's busy city streets, they really weren't sure of the reception they would be given here. They got here, though, and so far the administration has said as long as they keep the house in order, don't wear out their welcome, they can stay.
They may be here for the long haul, they said so far police, unlike some of the other cities you mentioned, have not come, tried to arrest them, make them move. That of course could change, Fred.
WHITFIELD: So, Patrick, how do those protesters say they're not going to wear out the welcome mat? How are they going to, I guess, respect the limitations of their protests?
OPPMANN: It was pretty amazing. When I followed them up on this march throughout the Seattle city streets, police helped, warden off traffic, and make sure that they were able to go up some of these very busy streets. As soon as they got here they had Port-O-Potties delivered, committees set up to tell people where they could put the tents. As you can see there are several dozen tents here behind me, on this quad.
I was talking to people last night. And there was somebody who was head of sort of a no smoking committee, who was telling people where they could or couldn't smoke. Very sensitive to the idea that if they give the administration an excuse they could be evicted from this place where they've occupied, this college, where they've moved in, Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: Interesting stuff. All right. Patrick Oppmann, thanks so much.
On to the campaign trail, a presidential candidate's daughters make their own campaign ad wearing mustaches, blowing bubbles. So who are they? And what in the world are they doing? We'll tell you.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Herman Cain is in it to win it, or blowing smoke on his own campaign? This campaign ad showing his chief of staff smoking has gone viral, getting tons of attention, but is all press good press? Fellow candidate Jon Huntsman's daughters release this spoof ad in response to that Herman Cain ad.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We need you to get involved to make sure our next president is based on substance, not sound bites.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Check out our dad at Jon2012.com and follow us on Twitter at Jon2012girls.
MUSIC, SINGING: I am America
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Oh, boy. Let's bring in contributor Will Cain. So, Will, two things here. An ad from the Cain camp, how does it hurt or help him? And then, of course, Huntsman's daughters, spoof. Does this impact Huntsman's campaign in any way.
You choose which one you want to tackle first.
(LAUGHTER)
WILL CAIN, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: I would love to start with Huntsman.
WHITFIELD: OK.
CAIN: Love to start with Huntsman because I find his campaign completely frustrating. Here's why. Any kind of support for Jon Huntsman or any positive analysis of Jon Huntsman, immediately gets you labeled as a rhino or Republican In Name Only, wolf in sheep's clothing.
This is absurd. First of all, because substantively, Jon Huntsman is actually one of the most conservative candidates on stage; yes, accepting his support of civil unions, he has a bold tax reform plan that can compete with anyone's up there. He's the only candidate to endorse Paul Ryan's Medicare reform proposal.
WHITFIELD: So, you're saying this is too flippant, now?
CAIN: Then we get to that issue, Fred, because his problem is style. For many Republicans they dismiss him simply for working with Obama, for being an ambassador to China under the Obama administration. That's not a problem for me.
But stylistically he does have some problem. From the beginning, from his "H" logo, to motorcycle ads, to his terrible jokes he tries to tell on stage, and now this ad. He comes across as trying to be cool and comes off as condescending. His style is killing his campaign.
WHITFIELD: OK. Let's talk about the Cain campaign. His chief of staff, Mark Block (ph), performing and being in this ad, where he is kind of upstaging the candidate, Herman Cain?
CAIN: I think it's great, Fred. Look, first of all he's doing what ads should do. And that is getting people's attention. This ad was put out over the Internet. And it has gotten more news cycle coverage and more buzz than many ads put out through traditional television.
Secondly, substantively, all we're talking about is the drag on the cigarette, right? At the end of the ad. I actually like that. And I don't think I'm alone in conservative circles. It is almost a defiance to political correctness.
WHITFIELD: Really?
CAIN: It is almost a defiance to this kind of-yeah, it is the sense that our liberty is being impeded, in the sense-we're being told how to live our own personal lives. And this is just kind of a big blowing smoke in the face of that concept.
WHITFIELD: This was Herman Cain, in how he summarized, and stated his case on smoking as a result of this campaign ad. This is what he had to say on CBS's "Face The Nation" this morning.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HERMAN CAIN, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Young people of America all people, do not smoke. It is hazardous and it is dangerous to your health. Don't smoke. I've never smoked and I have encouraged people not to smoke.
BOB SCHIEFFER, CBS HOST, "FACE THE NATION": It's not a cool thing to do.
HERMAN CAIN: Not a cool thing to do. That's not what it was trying to say.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: You know, is this going to stand in the way for Herman Cain? He's having to explain a lot of his comments, again and again and again. Is this great to impose this clarity or does it seem as though there are just too many loose ends?
CAIN: No, you bring up two separate points, I think, Fred. First of all, on the smoking thing and political correctness of having to tell people not to smoke. There is too much being made of that already.
But, Herman Cain's candidacy does have a habit of running statements out there and having to back track on them. It's a real bad habit. A real, perhaps, deal killer habit in his campaign; from being incoherent and unclear on what his position is on abortion to saying we need an electrified fence along the Mexican border, to backing it off. Saying it was a joke. And then saying it wasn't a joke, I just don't want to offend anybody. To say he would trade prisoners from Guantanamo for captured American troops. He has done this over and over. It's a terrible habit and it leaves many of us wondering what is Herman Cain all about?
WHITFIELD: Even if there is that mystery, he's still doing pretty well in many polls and he is still able to, you know, garner some campaign money and fund-raising money, etc cetera, as a result of his debate performance, etc cetera. But he is also kind of stating the case that he is not everybody's candidate.
He has the most recently in Alabama, he was kind of clarifying who he is and answering to many people who are wondering how is it that he is leading in so many polls. This is what he had to say just on Friday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HERMAN CAIN: I'm not supposed to be running. I'm not supposed to win. I'm not supposed to be standing up here with this hat on, but I'm doing it. (END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: So is he kind of coming across as the renegade?
CAIN: Yeah, of course. I mean that kind of -- that is the charm that everyone likes right there. I'm not supposed to be standing here in this hat, but I'm doing it anyways.
Put strategically, Herman Cain's odds are long historically. Only been seven candidates nominated by their party to have taken the nomination with no prior elected experience; and of those seven, six were military generals, big war heroes. Wendell Willkie, a corporate lawyer, a New Deal critic in 1940, who ran against FDR, the only man not to have held elected political office and get his party's nomination.
Herman Cain is vying to be the second. That is long odds. The other one is the short-term odds, we've seen candidate after candidate boom to be the alternative to Mitt Romney. Herman Cain is that guy right now. He has incredible charm. We'll see if he holds on to it.
WHITFIELD: Thanks so much, will Cain on Herman Cain; both raising Cain.
CAIN: Yeah. Stealing my thunder. That's my name.
WHITFIELD: Yeah, OK, you first, right? Will, thanks so much.
CAIN: Right.
WHITFIELD: Join us every Sunday afternoon at 4:00 Eastern Time when we dedicate an entire hour to the presidential contenders in the 2012 election.
Let's talk Halloween now. We like getting the candy, but dressing up is really the best part of Halloween for many people who celebrate. So, which costumes do we seem to love the most? Here are the top five for adults, according to the National Retail Federation.
No. 5, Batman, No. 4, Zombie, No. 3, Vampire; and No. 2, Pirate, No. 1, Witch. After the break, we'll have the top five children's costumes as well.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: All right. Before the break, we showed you the top five costumes adults like this year for Halloween.
Now, we have the top five costumes for kids according to the National Retail Federation. Take a look, number five, pumpkin, number four, a pirate, number three Spiderman, number two a witch, and, of course number one, a princess.
Look at our top stories right now, snow is still falling and blowing around some parts of the northeast at this hour. The rare autumn snowstorm is blamed for at least five deaths. From Maine to Maryland, more than four million people lost power. Most of the outages were caused by downed power lines hit by snow laden tree limbs.
Utility crews are racing to get them back up, the power that is, but it could be days before electricity is restored.
And more flare ups and more arrests in the occupy movement. Among those arrested 38 people who set up a food table outside city hall. The city issued a rule two days ago saying food tables had to be put away overnight.
The death toll is clear today after that suicide attack in Kabul. Military officials in Afghanistan now say five NATO troops, four Americans, and a Canadian, died when a bomber targeted an armored vehicle yesterday. In all, 13 NATO personnel were killed. The Taliban claims responsibility.
Michael Jackson caused his own death according to defense attorneys for Dr. Conrad Murray. Their theory, Jackson injected himself with the drug Propofol while Dr. Murray wasn't around. On the stand, a key expert for the defense testified about the theory.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. PAUL WHITE, ANESTHESIOLOGIST: I cannot understand how it's possible that he got a three-hour infusion when the evidence didn't show the infusion setup.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So you think it was a self-injection of Propofol near the hour of -- between 11:30 and 12:00 that did it?
WHITE: In my opinion, yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Closing arguments in the Conrad Murray manslaughter trial could come as early as Tuesday.
And it's a ruling some 68,000 African-American farmers had been waiting for, for a very long time. A federal judge ruled the Justice Department can start paying more than a billion dollars to farmers for decades of racial discrimination.
Last year, farmer John Boyd drove his tractor to the White House and the U.S. capitol to help draw attention to the case. Boyd, the founder of the Nashville Black Farmers Association joining us right now from Washington. Good to see you.
JOHN BOYD, FOUNDER, NATIONAL BLACK FARMERS ASSOCIATION: Hello, Fredricka. It's good to be here with you.
WHITFIELD: Well, how significant was this ruling because you and I have spoken so many times over the past year about the on again, off again payment that was to come. Now the judge says, Black Farmers should be receiving payments. BOYD: Yes. This is a very, very important ruling because we had to overcome so many hurdles, Fredricka, and many other farmers didn't understand that after President Obama signed the bill on December 8, 2010, there's still a court hearing that had to be held and a judge had to make the final decision.
I'm very pleased that the judge approved the settlement so that we can begin to process these cases and Black Farmers can begin to receive these long overdue settlements.
WHITFIELD: So, these settlements that will be doled out, some may be seeing $50,000 checks, others might be seeing more. When might those checks start going out? Is it a matter of months or is it still somewhere in a year's time?
BOYD: I would say it's a matter of months because we have to process these cases and it's very important that the Black Farmers reach out to us and make sure that they do not miss the filing deadline because farmers are going to have to file a claim's package to make sure they receive their compensation.
And it's very, very important for the people to understand that this has been going on nearly 30 years, since 1981, and the settlements between 1981 to December 31st, 1996, and we just are looking at tens of thousands of Black Farmers.
And this is a very, very glorious time for us and we want to thank the president of the United States for, one, approving that settlement with the Congressional Black Caucus and so many people that worked on this to make it happen.
WHITFIELD: So it's not over. You're saying a lot of the farmers have to file a claims package. There is a deadline. So the onus is still on them to, you know, put their applications in to make sure they get these checks.
What kind of a difference is it going to make for a number of these farms to receive this check? Is its difference between staying alive or is it a matter of compensation over money that was lost in years' past?
BOYD: Well, for one, the $50,000 will not go out and purchase a farm or anything like that, Fredricka, but these resources will go to the poorest counties in the country.
Many in the Mississippi delta, Louisiana bayou and South Carolina, North Carolina so many Black Farmers are sitting here waiting on these checks and these are very poor people, so this $50,000 can make a huge difference in their lives.
Difference in them being able to pay their light bill and phone bill and car notes and just maintain, so these Black Farmers were discriminated against, many have already lost their farms.
But for those that are able to hold on they can use these resources for farm operating loans. So this is very, very critical that reach out and get these payments out to the farmers as soon as we can.
WHITFIELD: John Boyd, founder of the National Black Farmers Association, congratulations to you because I know you and so many others have been working so hard to get this kind of ruling coming from the federal courts. So hopefully that payment --
BOYD: Thank you for staying on the story.
WHITFIELD: Thanks so much. Hopefully that payment will, indeed, make a difference to many families. Thanks so much, John.
BOYD: Thank you very much for having me.
WHITFIELD: A suicide bomber failed to kill anyone but himself. But officials have reasonable to believe the attacker was an American. Full details, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: All right, turning now to a suicide bombing attempt in Somalia. It's an American who's accused of carrying out that attack. It happened in Mogadishu, the lawless capital of Somalia.
CNN's Chris Welch is in Minneapolis today, which is the largest Somali-American community in this country. So Chris, you've talked to a number of leaders in this community there, at least one saying that he's convinced that he knows the bomber's identity. What more are we hearing about that?
CHRIS WELCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. Well, a couple of community members in particular, couple community spokespeople here in the area truly believe that this man, they've identified this man from Minneapolis.
Now a couple other members of the community I spoke to said we have no way of identifying him until we talk to his parents or grandparents who haven't been able to get a hold of.
But we believe that this is him because over the past several years, Fred, I think we've done a lot of reporting on this. You're well aware that there have been about 20 men who've gone missing from the city of Minneapolis to Somalia.
And they've gone over to fight with this terror group Al Shabaab according to law enforcement officials. So what's been going on here has certainly been -- been a subject of discussion for a long time.
Folks here in the community, though, say this man went with a group of other young men in about 2008, around November of 2008, here's what one of the community spokespeople told one of our affiliates today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OMAR JAMAL, SOMALI COMMUNITY SPOKESMAN: As far as I know, he left here 2008, November the 4th. I think before the election or after the election of Obama and he get married. He was militant on the street fighting.
This is not the first one he engaged in a combat with Somalia. There was sympathizers and support and basically, I think one can classify it as the second hub of the Al Shabaab to Nairobi and Birmingham, England.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: OK. So he's talking about Minneapolis being a primary hub for this terror group?
WELCH: He is. I think, Fred, if you were to ask other folks in the community, they may not use quite as -- quite such strong language to describe Minneapolis as, you know, like a second terror hub for this group.
You know, but on the flip side of that, this is certainly an area of the country with the most Somali population outside of Mogadishu. So they do call it little Mogadishu. But as to whether there's that much of a terror cell here I think, you know, authorities and FBI officials would be the ones to really answer that question.
But folks here certainly scared because, you know, 20 men missing, going over to fight, you know, for a terror group, is certainly not something that anyone wants to have associated with their city. So this is a subject that's been on a lot of people's minds for a long time, Fred.
WHITFIELD: Chris Welch, thanks so much.
A controversial play about the last night of Martin Luther King Jr.'s life is in its third week on Broadway. Stick around to hear what's going on with the star of the mountaintop and what MLK's children have to say about this play.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: A milestone for actor Samuel L. Jackson. The Guinness Book of World Records says Jackson's movies have made more money than any other actor's films. Since 1991, he has made over 100 films, which have earned over $7.5 billion.
So it's no wonder then that Jackson's current Broadway play, "The Mountaintop" where he plays Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. has made more money than almost any other non-musical play this year.
It has made $800,000 just last week, but King family members aren't thrilled about the play focusing on a fictitional story line of Dr. King's last night alive.
Recently, I spoke with Bernice King and Martin Luther King III, King's children.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARTIN LUTHER KING III, MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.'S SON: My point of view is --
WHITFIELD: The movement.
KING III: That we've not seen the play. We certainly have seen the script.
WHITFIELD: What did you think of the script?
KING III: It's a fictitious production, which means that it, you know, the actual writer created a lot of things and nobody actually knows what happened that night. So, I don't know if it's -- I think it's difficult to really create what -- recreate what happens.
WHITFIELD: Is that bothersome?
KING III: There's a body of work of great work, of who dad was and I believe there's another production as well that actually talks about it.
Why would you need to make up something that you think may have happened when there's so much already that exists that did happen and people do not know about? So, you know, I think, you know, I applaud the effort.
WHITFIELD: What happens in a case like that? Can you say, you know what, this really isn't the image that we want anyone to capitalize off?
Do you feel like as the protectors of your dad's image, of his name, that you're able to do that or because he's also, I guess, considered a public image, it's difficult to find that or strike that balance?
KING III: Well, it is. And I think Bernice having a law background, probably has a little bit of a different perspective. I think it's certainly -- number one, we can't nor would we want to control everything.
WHITFIELD: Is that exhausting? Is that a heavy burden?
BERNICE KING, MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.'S DAUGHTER: To protect, preserve.
WHITFIELD: Yes.
KING: And also advance. Certainly, it is because he's touched so many people.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: Soledad O'Brien spoke with "The Mountaintop" playwright. Her full report part of this weekend's "CNN Presents" and you can catch it tonight at 8:00 Eastern right here on CNN.
All right, it's Halloween weekend and we have a treat for you. Richard Herman in the house. A real life Batman ordered to hang up his costume. Plus, we'll wear our own Halloween costumes, next. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: This Halloween we revealed earlier that batman was on the list as one of the most popular costumes that people would be enjoying. Well, not for Mr. Mark Wayne Williams, known as Batman to his fans.
He's been wearing his costume for a long time. But, guess what, recently he got arrested in Michigan because he was not only kind of hanging out, he was dangling from the roof --
RICHARD HERMAN, CRIMINIAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Stuck.
WHITFIELD: Yes, -- of a building. But apparently, he was allegedly carrying weapons, a canister of chemical, irritant pray, all that kind of stuff. So now he is no longer allowed to wear this costume. Richard, that's not the toughest thing, I guess, that's been imposed against him.
HERMAN: Well, they charged him with weapons possession --
WHITFIELD: Maybe it is --
HERMAN: He was hanging from a side of a building, dangling. They had to rescue this guy. They found his baton and chemical sprays and everything on him. So they took him -- by the way, they took his mug shot in his costume, he got to do that in his costume.
WHITFIELD: But that's the last time he's going to get a chance to wear that costume.
HERMAN: Resisting arrest that's the plea bargain, he can't wear the costume and ran around.
AVERY FRIEDMAN, CIVIL RIGHT ATTORNEY: He can't wear the costume, right.
WHITFIELD: My goodness. So, you know, Avery, I guess, worst things could happen, but you know --
FRIEDMAN: He could have gone to jail.
WHITFIELD: Yes -- the slammer.
FRIEDMAN: Let me tell you, I'm from Wallawalla, Washington, as is Adam West. We both wear capes. So I'm glad that the judge in Michigan shut that guy down. He's not really the real Batman. Not the real guy.
HERMAN: Let's see the real batman, Avery. Let's see it now.
FRIEDMAN: Yes, are you ready?
WHITFIELD: Really? Wait a minute. So we've got Batman who is part of a legal case, and now, you know, it is Halloween and we always like to keep a tradition going. So every Halloween, Avery, Richard and I kind of dress up, at least for the weekend of Halloween and you know, we're going to take you back a little bit into time. Maybe remember this.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: My gosh, that's clever.
FRIEDMAN: Jack Cafferty is standing by. I'm Wolf Blitzer, but he's a handsome guy. He's a handsome guy. This is what he looks like on Halloween.
WHITFIELD: I love it.
WHITFIELD: OK, so that was Wolf Blitzer and I was Uncle Sam. I hope you can still hear me. Can you hear me still? Then we decided to have a little fun with it. Richard, you were a Rasta Man, right?
HERMAN: Right.
WHITFIELD: This year, Avery and Richard what are you decided to do? Let's check it out. Avery, do you have your prop?
FRIEDMAN: I have no prop. I don't know what you're talking about.
WHITFIELD: Are you ready?
FRIEDMAN: You're setting me up.
WHITFIELD: All right, I'm feeling good now for Halloween. OK, so that was the previous year as a witch and now Homer's in the house.
FRIEDMAN: Look at that. Look at that.
WHITFIELD: What do you have going on, Richard?
HERMAN: I'm a very British barrister or I'm Nancy Grace from "Dancing with the Stars."
FRIEDMAN: More the second.
WHITFIELD: Avery, what do you have going on?
FRIEDMAN: I'm the scariest man in America. I am the 1 percent. All these "Occupy Wall Street" guys have been talking about me. I am it. I'm the bad guy. I'm the scariest guy in America. What do you think of that?
WHITFIELD: I say doh! That's all I got from Homer here.
HERMAN: Gangs of New York, Avery.
FRIEDMAN: There we go. That's right.
WHITFIELD: Well, happy Halloween. Scary things happening on our set.
FRIEDMAN: That's wonderful.
HERMAN: Happy Halloween.
WHITFIELD: OK, thanks so much, guys.
HERMAN: You did a lot to do this, Fred. You really went out and overboard in year, Fred.
WHITFIELD: I couldn't be a witchy-poo one more time.
FRIEDMAN: That's fabulous. Great balls of fire.
WHITFIELD: I almost lost my season, so I decided this is a year to celebrate "The Simpsons." They're here to stay.
HERMAN: This is really you, right? Let me see something here.
FRIEDMAN: My God. Look at that girl, my goodness.
WHITFIELD: We're going to have much more straight ahead. We're going to try to get a little bit more serious after this.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: All right, if you're watching your 401(k) or your kid's college fund. We have good news for you. Markets are up and the economy is growing. Here's what's happening in this financial week ahead. We begin with Alison Kosik in New York -- Alison.
ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Fredricka. Wall Street rallied this past week, stocks surged on news that Europe reached a deal to contain its debt. The S&P 500 is up about 13 percent in October, the strongest monthly showing in 37 years.
And the Dow is not far behind. It's having its best month in 24 years. Also helping, a government report showing the economy is picking up steam. GDP grew at a 2.5 percent in the third quarter.
It is enough to bring down unemployment, but it is enough to put to rest fears of another recession. Poppy Harlow now has a look at what's coming up in business news -- Poppy.
POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: Thanks so much, Alison. Well, it's going to be a busy week coming up on Wall Street. We'll hear from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on Wednesday afternoon. He'll issue the fed's policy statement and then hold a press conference.
Of course, the Central Bankers assessment of the economy will be especially important now that Europe has reached a debt deal. Meantime, the October jobs report comes out here in the U.S. on Friday morning.
Employment gains over the past few months have been pretty weak and as a result unemployment still remains above 9 percent. The market, of course, will watch it all and we'll track it for you on CNN Money. Fred, back to you.
WHITFIELD: All right. Alison, Poppy, thanks so much.
A look at our top stories now. It could be a week before power is restored to homes across the northeast. The freak autumn snowstorm that hit this weekend has left more than four million people without electricity.
And the storm linked death toll has risen to five. Volunteer workers from other states are helping utility crews from Maine to Maryland clear frozen limbs from power lines.
And violent flare-ups and more arrests in the occupy movement. Twenty protesters were arrested in these clashes in Denver yesterday. Police used pepper spray to control protesters after they ignored orders to remove their camping gear from a park.
And I'll be back one hour from now for our "Political Power Hour." We'll hear from the candidates on the 2012 presidential campaign trail.
I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Stay with CNN. "YOUR MONEY: starts right now.
