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Whitney Houston Laid to Rest Next to Her Father; Sheriff Paul Babeu Steps Down in Romney's Campaign Team; Pope Benedict Announces 22 Cardinals in Vatican City; ESPN Headline Writer Fired and an Anchor Suspended

Aired February 19, 2012 - 17:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: Now stay tuned for the latest news right here in the NEWSROOM.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: New Jersey lawmakers vote to legalize same-sex marriage but Governor Christie keeps his promise and vetoes it.

GOVERNOR CHRIS CHRISTIE (R), NEW JERSEY: Let's stop treating this like a political football. Let the people of New Jersey decide what's right for the state.

WHITFIELD: But the governor's idea of putting issue on a ballot isn't flying with his critics.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The governor is a thousand percent wrong. It's a copout in trying to do it with the precaution. It's absolutely wrong.

WHITFIELD: Plus, a music legend is laid to rest after an unforgettable send-off that still has everyone talking.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And it wasn't until that last moment when everyone -- it all sunk in and got really, really heavy.

WHITFIELD: And Google's big gaffe, the security slip-up that allowed companies to track your personal information.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Whitney Houston was laid to rest in New Jersey. It was a family-only service today as a cemetery in Westfield. In just a couple of minutes I'll talk live to a CNN producer who attended Whitney Houston's funeral yesterday in Newark and who she saw and what she saw. That's coming up.

Human remains have been found on Long Island in a separate location from where others have been located, and the find is renewing fears that a serial killer is to blame. Ten other sets of remains have been discovered since 2000. The latest remains were found about 40 miles from where other remains were uncovered. So far it's not clear if the cases are connected.

And the co-chair of Mitt Romney's presidential campaign in Arizona is stepping down. Sheriff Paul Babeu is making the move after allegations surfaced that he threatened to deport an ex-boyfriend. These allegations were first published in the "Phoenix New Times." The reporter who broke this story, Monica Alonzo, will be joining us just in about 20 minutes after the hour.

In the Vatican City, Pope Benedict led 22 new cardinals in mass this morning, among the new cardinals, New York's Bishop Timothy Dolan. Cardinals are part of an exclusive group that will one day elect the next Pope.

Iranian Navy ships including a destroyer have passed into the Suez Canal into the Mediterranean Sea headed to Syria. A similar move a year ago seen here in earlier videos stirred fears in Israel and other nations. An Iranian news agency quote an admiral saying the deployment is meant to show friendship and support for countries in the region and to display Iran's military resolve.

We're following developments in Syria today. People fighting against government troops are afraid a major military crackdown is coming soon. At least 23 people were killed in clashes around the country today. CNN's Nick Payton Walsh is keeping an eye on Syria from Beirut.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICK PAYTON WALSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Homs again waiting today to a sound of shelling secure district of Baba Ama (oh) which has borne the brunt of this days long Syrian army offensive. Residents round there deeply concerned that they're seeing Syrian trooper on a movement in the direction of that neighborhood. They concerns building over the past few days. Heightened this morning that this may be preparations for some Syrian army onslaught into that neighborhood that's held out against Syrian authorities for so long now.

Quite separately the different part of the country, I think people in Damascus still trying to digest the consequences, the ramifications of yesterday's protest sort upon by Syrian security forces. Originally a funeral turned into a protest and then scenes around the neighborhood where frankly the presidential palace is nearby. Many are the ministries as well. I think this may have caused some in the capital to feel great to this quiet. The capital, Damascus, normally more loads of wars of regime but the half are through 11 months of economic disruption the country frankly at a standstill as this conflict violently played out in many areas and perhaps these protests may finally have an impact on residents living in that vie tall area for the Syrian regime, Damascus.

Nick Payton Walsh, CNN, Beirut.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Today in New Jersey a large crowd of Whitney Houston fans gathered outside the cemetery where she was laid her to rest. It was a private ceremony. No cameras. No reporters inside.

So this was yesterday's televised invitation-only service in Newark. Family members and friends of Whitney Houston gathered to celebrate her life. CNN's producer, Raelyn Johnson, was among those with an invitation. She is joining us right now from New York. Good to see you.

So, as large as it was, it seemed to be a very personal moving celebration of life, wasn't it?

RAELYN JOHNSON, CNN PRODUCER: It absolutely was. It was three hours of church on a Saturday morning. And to think that Whitney Houston was able to gather a who's who across every gender in this world, in packed into this church on Saturday morning, it was so joyous. We were on our feet clapping and singing most of the time.

And for so long it took me a while to realize we're actually at a funeral. But it was very typical in the way that most Baptist church home going is what we like to say services were. You celebrated this person by connect exactly what people do for Whitney Houston.

WHITFIELD: All the more reason, why it was very fascinating that today's burial could remain so private. Especially when initially this funeral service was expected to be private and so the family acted up and had the cameras there. Today, the burial, very quiet and private, do you know any detail about how they were able to pull that off?

JOHNSON: Well, think the city of Newark has tremendous respect for their star Whitney Houston. You have to remember that this is the biggest person at some point in this world or in the history of music. She is the biggest star, here she is in this church, surrounded by dilapidated buildings and the most important people in music were here for her.

But I think that the way the family was able to keep it private was the respect for Cissy Houston. She is the choir director at this church still. Whitney Houston knows the sound of that organ. She grew up to it. She sang to it. And I think at the end of the day that's where people said, OK, we gave the world Whitney Houston for so long, and Cissy Houston, I think she said I get my daughter back today. I get her back today.

WHITFIELD: The public had a chance to see Cissy Houston kind a really the back of her head through the majority of the service but those who were invited to be there had a chance to really read into her thoughts and that's because she posted a letter in that program and that's program that you had an opportunity to read.

Just a synopsis of some of the words of Cissy Houston, she said I never told you -- this is like a letter to Whitney Houston. "I never told you that when you were born the Holy Spirit told me that you would not be with me long. I thank God for the beautiful flower he allowed me to raise and cherish for 48 years."

That's an emotional, you know, moment that the mother revealed to the audience of people who were there at the funeral. Did people there discuss that or talk about what they didn't know about, I guess what Cissy Houston's premonition, had been all these years? JOHNSON: I don't think people spoke about it a lot. But one thing was very clear throughout this entire ceremony in the narrative that Cissy Houston loved her daughter so much. I know what that feels like. I have that same relationship with my mother. You can see that same relationship, that bond with Cissy and Whitney, and then with Whitney and Bobbi Kristina. There was such a love. They were a team.

And I think that what was so hard for people was to see Cissy Houston break down, completely broken down because this is a woman who has been very public about the fact that she knew what her daughter's struggles were. She asked the world to pay for her many times on public occasions, and what must it feel like for a mother to think you may know what may hurt your child and to be walking down that aisle behind her body and to know that. Maybe you've about had a lot of conversations, tried to steer her in a different direction. People always say mothers, parents are not supposed to bury their children and I under that very clearly yesterday.

WHITFIELD: Well, you know. Another resonating message that came from the funeral services yesterday that has people still thinking today which was Bobby Brown releasing a statement at the tail end of that ceremony saying he left. He elected to leave because of some confusion over the sitting arrangement. He felt he was treated in a disrespectful way. When you were there, what did you see?

JOHNSON: I have to be honest. Being there -- and I was about 20 pews away from Bobbi Kristina and Cissy Houston, there was no chaos inside. You saw Bobby Brown come in, he went by the casket. He walked back up the aisle. And when I looked at him, he was so emotionally distraught that I thought as did many people around me, maybe he's moving to another area where it's a bit more private where he could have --

WHITFIELD: But did you see -- I mean in his statement he talked about being asked to move three times. Is that something that you and others -- other attendees were able to see and thought was awkward?

JOHNSON: I want to be very clear with that. No, I didn't think that was awkward because he wasn't the only VIPs that who were sort of playing this little dance with security who were have people move around. He was not the only celebrity who had to move his seat.

WHITFIELD: All right. CNN producer, Raelyn Johnson, thanks so much for your perspective on that very touching and moving ceremony yesterday, that going home for Whitney Houston.

In the meantime we're going to talk politics straight ahead. The tug- of-war this time over same-sex marriage in New Jersey, one day lawmakers make it legal the next day Governor Christie vetoes it. I talked with lawmakers on both side of the issue.

Also, we're getting in breaking news of an avalanche in Washington state. We'll be right back with details on that.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, this breaking news everyone. We want to tell you about a tragic situation taking place in Washington state at a ski resort. An avalanche reportedly has taken place there. Already officials say three people were killed in that avalanche and they continue to look for eight more at a ski resort somewhere off Steven pass there in Washington state.

On line with this right now, King county sheriff's department, Sergeant Cindi West.

Sergeant, what can you tell us about your ongoing search now for -- is it correct, eight people?

SERGEANT CINDI WEST, KING COUNTY WASHINGTON STATE SHERIFF'S OFFICE (via telephone): Well, what we can tell you is we have reports of three confirmed dead. We believe that the other people unaccounted for, we are hoping. And this was not the ski proper area. It was kind of the out of bounds area. So, we're still investigating hoping we don't find any more victims. That's really all we have right now.

WHITFIELD: So, you said this is taking place in an out of bounds area in the ski resort. So, what kind of elevation are we talking about and what are people doing in that out of bounds area, generally?

WEST: You know, I'm not sure of the elevations, but, you know, there's everything from cross-country skiing, mountaineering. There are a lot of recreational activities we have in the area. So, we don't really know what the victims were doing at the time of the avalanche.

WHITFIELD: Have there been any warnings posted as often occurs at some ski resorts at a, you know, a particular time of day or a day may be avalanche-prone and there may be warnings being posted for those who were skiers or snow-shoers?

WEST: Yes, you know, I don't know that at this point. But failures were pretty good about advising people of those things when have new snow which we had new snow lately. So, I wouldn't doubt it if there were warnings.

WHITFIELD: OK. So, you do believe those people are accounted for or --?

WEST: I'm not up to speed right now. I'm communicating with people that are saying that people are accounted for but I don't want to confirm that for sure.

WHITFIELD: OK. You're table to confirm though, three tragically killed in that avalanche. Thanks so much. King County, Washington, sheriff's office sergeant Cindi West.

All right. Let's talk about New Jersey and Governor Chris Christie, following through on his promise to reject a bill allowing people of the same-sex to marry in his state. Friday, he vetoed a bill that New Jersey lawmakers had passed the day before. Christie says it should be decided by the voters of New Jersey, not the lawmakers.

Earlier I talked with two New Jersey lawmakers about Governor Christie's veto. Steve Sweeney, a democrat who favors the same-sex marriage bill and Jon Bramnick, a Republican, who sides with governor Christie on this issue.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: So Mr. Bramnick, why don't you explain - better explain for people, why is the governor is taking this hard stand against it when the majority of the general assembly voted in favor of it?

JON BRAMNICK, (R), NEW JERSEY MINORITY LEADER: Actually I don't think it's a hard stand. The governor himself is against same-sex marriage but he's willing to allow the people to vote. That is actually compromise position that makes sense. And keep in mind that Democrats voted against the same-sex marriage bill and that was clear that this was not only Republicans and that is was not only Democrats.

So, that's the Democrats have some explaining to do with respect to their members.

WHITFIELD: So if recent polls show that about 54 percent of New Jersey's support same-sex marriage and the general assembly are voting in concert with what new Jersians say, then why have double work? Why not go ahead and pass this legislation that is general assembly gives thumbs up to as opposed to taking it to the general public?

BRAMNICK: Because this is a major social issue change that the governor believes and many members of the legislation believe that the public should vote on. There Republicans who are in favor of this issue. There are Democrats in favor of the issue. But it's the consensus at least with the Republicans that it's up to the public as a whole to vote on this issue.

And I think that the governor's absolutely right. And one thing about Governor Christie, he tells it the way it is. You know when he says he's going to do something, he does it, and think president Sweeney knows that.

WHITFIELD: If the majority of New Jersians would elect to see same- sex marriage, why not allow it to be in the form of a referendum.

STEVE SWEENEY (D), NEW JERSEY SENATE PRESIDENT: This is very simply. You don't put civil rights on the ballot. The majority has always denied the minority the rights when it's been place on a ballot.

Throughout history we don't do this because we know what happens when we do. You know, it's a copout to try to do it the way they that they are talking about, absolutely wrong. I spoke to many Republicans who support this. This does not belong on the ballot. We got elected to make decision decisions. When the government cut funding for sexually abused children, that did not go on the ballot. When they cut funding for visually impaired children, that did not go on the ballot.

We get elected to make decisions and this is the decision that we have to make.

WHITFIELD: Mr. Bramnick, does this not send a mix message if indeed what Mr. Sweeney is saying and people elect you to make these decisions, make some of this choices for them. Why is it that the choice is being made by the general assembly but then it is being now turned to the general public to say it's on you?

BRAMNICK: First let me address what president Sweeney said. He actually indicated the last time he did not vote for this bill. So there is passion on both sides of this issue and it is an issue. It's not a civil rights issue and you can see that by Democrats and Republicans both having the same view, at least some of them on the same side of this issue.

WHITFIELD: All right. Mr. Sweeney, you get the last word, Mr. Bramnick saying this is not an issue of civil rights. If not, then what is it?

SWEENEY: How can it not be? When I have a certain right and I'm allowed to do something and you're not. That's what we've fought over and what this country is founded on is fairness. The governor is 1,000 percent wrong. And if he would allow Republicans on legislation in a very clear conscience, it wouldn't even be a question and it would be an easier over right.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Governor Christie says he wants the issue to go before New Jersey voters in November when large numbers of people will be turning out for the presidential election.

All right. A tough on immigration sheriff and former co-chair of Mitt Romney's Arizona campaign is in the middle of a scandal and he steps down from the Romney campaign. The reporter who broke the story is joining us next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right now, to a scandal involving a rising star in both Arizona and the national Republican party. Paul Babeu is a no- nonsense tough on immigrations sheriff who's facing allegations that he threatened to de port his secret ex-lover, a man from Mexico. Babeu was also the co-chair of Mitt Romney's Arizona campaign before abruptly stepping down and he's running for Congress from Arizona.

Monica Alonzo is the reporter who broke the story far their "Phoenix News Times." She is joining us now on the phone.

So Monica, first off, what's become the real lightning run issue on this, for sheriff's relationship with another man, the alleged threat of deportation or how all this plays into his involvement with the Romney campaign?

MONICA ALONZO, REPORTER, PHOENIX NEWS TIMES: Well, first of all, thanks so much for having me. Really it's all of those things. What this cop is trying to - the way they're trying to phrase this issue is that, you know, he is gay and these allegations are being made in way to oust him. About those was one of the things that were mentioned. But really I think the crux of the story still is these allegations that he used his power to intimidate his former boyfriend into, you know, trying to intimidate him into signing some document where he wanted to disclose details about his relationship and clearly there's been an indication on the campaign trail in terms of him running in the most conservative district and it still remains to be seen how that's going to play out with the news that he is gay which he announced on Saturday. And also this idea, you know, like you mentioned, tough on immigration sheriff being involved with the alleged (inaudible) national who now they sort of out of love and things (inaudible).

WHITFIELD: So, Monica, you broke the story. And when you first learned of this, how concerned were you about the sourcing of this story, whether there were ax to grind, you know, whether this was a personal fight or whether this was a centerpiece of a political fight?

ALONZO: Well, it was very clear early on when I met with Jose that clearly he's been hurt by this. You know, this was a relationship that they've had over a period of several years. But really what stood out the most is his desire to stop the threats and the intimidation that he says in to his attorney claims the sheriff and sheriff's attorney were making. He just wanted to be left alone and he felt ultimately that the best way for him to achieve that is to sort of sign up to the board and, you know, the attorney's down by those fake stories that allegations were made when the relationship soured and Jose refused to signed something to not disclose their relationship that these questions were raised about his visa and the threat that he could be de ported. But they want to focus attention on himself.

WHITFIELD: So, Monica, the sheriff is denying the allegations that there was this threat. He's not stepping down from his position as sheriff. He also maintains that he's going to continue to try and pursue a U.S. congressional seat all the while. However, he has stepped down from the Romney campaign. So, why does he feel he's in a position to continue running for office, yet he's now stepping away from working on someone else's campaign?

ALONZO: I think what he's trying to do is just change the game here, make it about him being gay and it's OK for him to be gay. I think he's hoping he'll get some support just out of his, you know, what he calls his honesty now, disclosing that he is gay. He hasn't refuted any of these photographs. You know, it's going to be challenge for him because his opponents are now raising questions about his judgment just in the photographs that he was holding to somebody, an anonymous individual, some exclusive photos.

But, you know, he is denying the allegations. But what's important is to book his arms in the allegations, what the next chapter of the story has to be, who's going to look into that. Who is going to hold the sheriff accountable or investigate the nature of what happened?

WHITFIELD: OK. Monica Alonzo. Thanks so much with the Phoenix News Times, appreciate that reporting. All right. First celebrity, now controversy has found basketball star, Jeremy Lin. His fans react to a racial slur used by ESPN. All this in-on-day when -- he had to suit up and play.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. Most of us, Google, millions do in fact every day. But apparently, when we do, we may be giving away information that we thought was private. We'll talk about that straight ahead.

But first, football season is finished, baseball is right around the corner. In today's human factor Dr. Sanjay Gupta introduces us to a little boy who wants to play baseball and won't let anything get in his way.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Go, go, go, go, go.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): He can hit. Field the ball. Even slide into home plate.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good job.

GUPTA: This 6-year-old, Reece Holloway, wants to play in the big leagues someday just like his favorite player, Chipper Jones of the Atlanta Braves. When Reece was born, his parents were shocked to discover he didn't have a left hand, and baseball was the furthest thing from their minds.

BRYAN HOLLOWAY, REECE'S FATHER: It was a thousand things in mind. You know, how is he going to tie his shoes, how is he going to do this, how's he going, you know, do anything else?

MALOU HOLLOWAY, REECE'S MOTHER: It was a hard, hard thing.

GUPTA: They weren't sure if he would learn to crawl without a second hand so they got him a prosthesis, but little Reece didn't want it.

MALOU HOLLOWAY: He didn't like it at all. He cried and cried and cried. It was not a good thing.

GUPTA: He did learn to crawl and walk and then something remarkable happened. Reece taught himself how to hit a ball when he was just two years old.

MALOU HOLLOWAY: He got plastic balls and he would hold them under his chin and drop it and swing the bat and he would hit the bat, no problem.

GUPTA: Reece is a fan of all sports but baseball is still his favorite.

BRYAN HOLLOWAY: He loves playing baseball. I mean that's all he does, 24/7. Use your other hand too.

GUPTA: On our off the field, Reece doesn't get any special treatment.

MALOU HOLLOWAY: We make him make his bed or pick this up or hold this. We make it a fun thing.

BRYAN HOLLOWAY: Right. We don't hold nothing back.

GUPTA: And as far as the Holloways are concerned, Reece doesn't have a disability.

REECE HOLLOWAY, 6-YEAR-OLD: I was born like that.

GUPTA: Like other boys his age, he can do lots of things. He does flips on the family trampoline. He can break dance. And even though snaps are a bit of a challenge, he gets dressed by himself.

BRYAN HOLLOWAY: The only thing he can't do is tie a shoe.

GUPTA: Nothing stands in the way of baseball for Reece. He's a natural talent and his parents believe children like their son should never be held back.

MALOU HOLLOWAY: Let them do everything.

BRYAN HOLLOWAY: If they want to try it, let them try it.

GUPTA: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN. Reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. Checking today's top stories, authorities in Washington state say three people have been killed in an avalanche at a ski resort in the cascade mountains northeast of Seattle. There are other people were initially reported missing but the sheriff says moments ago that they may have all those people accounted for. Officials say the deaths occurred in an out of bounds ski area near Stevens pass.

Whitney Houston has been laid to rest in New Jersey. It was a family- only service at a cemetery in Westfield. The singer's grave is right next to her father's.

Fans and friends packed the church in New Jersey yesterday for Whitney Houston's televised funeral service.

New York Knicks star Jeremy Lin is making headlines on the court but off the court ESPN is apologizing for a racial slur used in the context of a story about him. We'll hear what Lin fans have to say about that.

Plus, when bad weather hits, we're not always prepared, but this new book has tips on how to stay safe during an emergency and when disasters strike. I will be talking to the author, a familiar face.

And Google suddenly finds itself in the midst of a flack over Internet privacy. We will tell you what the "Wall Street Journal" story reveals.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. We know weather can be pretty unpredictable, especially if you live in areas where hurricanes or tornados are common. Yes, there are forecasts but still how prepared are you? And that really is the kind of a focus of this segment here.

A very familiar face, our resident meteorologist here, Bonnie Schneider, is out with a book to help you better understand how to respond. When you hear about a hurricane coming to your area or, you know snow showers or flooding, et cetera, what do you do? And I bet you a lot of times people really don't know what to do.

Bonnie Schneider is out with this now with "Extreme Weather." And that really was the impetus of this, right? You discovered that here you are with this incredible responsibility of letting people know what may be approaching, but then instinctively sometimes people don't know what to do.

BONNIE SCHNEIDER, AMS METEOROLOGIST: No. And think that when you're talking extreme weather, there are so many different types from wildfires to snowstorms, hurricanes to tornados. It's hard in a moment to remember of maybe what you heard a year ago on TV or that morning.

This book puts everything together in one place. So, it's a survival guide that's really easy go chapter by chapter and not only get the information that you need for your family but in every chapter, I put information on pets safety and how to prepare for your pets. I also read about how to use social media during a natural disaster as well as an emergency supply check list. So, it's really one book that has always the information you need.

WHITFIELD: And this really was a labor of love. Because you're using your expertise as a meteorologist but at the same time it meant reaching out to real people, survivors of any number of these natural occurrences and kind of comparing a little bit about what they did, what they should have done, et cetera.

SCHNEIDER: Everyone I talked to in this book, Fred, they found themselves in these extraordinary circumstances that they were not prepared for. Some were driving home from the office. One gentleman I spoke to have a normal 50-minute commute from Washington D.C. to Rockville, Maryland. And he got caught last January in a snow storm and he was on the road 11 hours. So, these things can and do happen.

And the people I reach out to, you'll find a survivor story in every chapter of this book. And I really try to make it concise but riveting and dramatic as well in their words because I interviewed all of them to convey to people that these types of emergencies can and do happen to everybody across the country.

I've been traveling across the country on a book tour now and different states have different concerns. I was just in California where they're asking about earthquakes and wildfires and in Boston we focused more on snowstorms. But everybody has something to deal with.

WHITFIELD: And have people been telling you on this book tour that you know, finally, there's this kind of a guidebook on what I should do.

SCHNEIDER: I think there were always a lot of misconceptions and myths of what to do and what you need in terms of supplies. So, a lot of people have read the book and come up to me and said, you know, I thought this but I was wrong. And now, I see it's this.

So, I've been getting lot of great feedback on it. And I'm very excited to share this book with everyone because of the fact that a lot of people will find themselves in these circumstances in the coming year. And this way now, they hopefully can be more prepared even if they take away a few facts from the book.

WHITFIELD: And the timing is extraordinary and great. Because we've seen some - we've all been part of or witness to some extreme weather systems. Yes, you'll have the great technology of forecasting and giving a heads-up and letting people know, but still the key is response and what to do with that information.

SCHNEIDER: It's so important to be proactive and to do things that you can at home like create a family disaster plan so everybody in the family knows what to do and in the event of an emergency and in the worst case scenario where you have to evacuate. But also not only watching the weather on CNN or keeping track of it, but it's important to have a nova weather radio and have it on overnight in an alert mode, especially if you're under a tornado watch because that way, the radio will wake you up and go off if there's an alert for your county. And that's key because sometimes severe weather happens when people are asleep.

WHITFIELD: Bonnie Schneider, thanks so much. It's called "Extreme Weather." I'm so proud of you.

SCHNEIDER: Thanks Fred.

WHITFIELD: Congratulations.

SCHNEIDER: It's wonderful talking about it with you.

WHITFIELD: It's been a lot of fun. Thanks so much, Bonnie.

All right, ESPN apologizes for using offensive language in a report about New York Knicks star, Jeremy Lin, who led his team to another big win today. An ESPN writer and anchor have since been fired but Lin seemed to take it all in stride, scoring 28 points in the Knicks, 104-97, win over the Dallas Mavericks.

Our Susan Candiotti joins us from New York's Chinatown where you spent the afternoon watching the game with a number of his fans. What have they been saying about what ESPN - what it did and how it is responding and apologizing?

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fred, you can imagine that fans are not at all happy. Many of the fans that we spoke with here in Chinatown, fans of that Harvard grad and New York Knicks sensation, Jeremy Lin.

This all happened after the Knicks lost to the New Orleans Hornets on Friday and following that a headline appeared on ESPN mobile Web site as that read "chink in the armor." Well, after that, today, ESPN fired the headline writer and suspended for 30 days the anchor man who read it an issue a statement that read in part, "we again apologize especially to Mr. Lin. His accomplishments are a source of great pride to the Asian-American community including Asian-American employees at ESPN."

So, as you can imagine many people here, especially fans here in Chinatown not happy about this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Playing in ballpark or the play grounds as an Asian person playing, you're always looked down upon. And nowadays you can say, look, there's an Asian-American playing to. Just like to see him dunk, it's just, wow, you know?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CANDIOTTI: Well, there you have a fan who is saying that they're hoping he can help bridge -- that Jeremy Lin can help bridge the stereotypes of all Asian-Americans who play sports. But we also talked with fans directly about the comments made by ESPN in that mobile headline as well, and here's what they said about that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You would say the "n" word or any racist tone or statement to any other race for that matter, so why should, Chinese be excluded?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's inappropriate. It is. And he should be treated like any other player. It shouldn't be -- I don't know. I don't think race should be a factor.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CANDIOTTI: Of course, as you now know, the New York Knicks beat the Dallas Mavericks, and they're, of course, NBA champs. And Jeremy Lin had a great game scoring 28 points and had a whopping 14 assists. So, the question is, could this be the start of another Lin-ing streak? Back to you.

WHITFIELD: All right. Susan Candiotti. Thanks so much there in Chinatown.

All right, it turns that Apple's safari web browser on your iphone or anything else, Apple may have been a -- may not have been, rather, as private as you thought. Some say Google has been caught bypassing its security settings. So what does that mean for you? And we all want our kids to grow up and be ready for the real world, and a big part of that is figuring out how to make smart money decisions, but how will they learn? All of that in this "Perry's principles," CNN's contributor and school principal Steve Perry has some ideas.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SRI KANNAN, ATLANTA RESIDENT: What are we doing today to prepare the children in schools, understanding the markets and economy better to prepare the children of tomorrow?

STEVE PERRY, CNN EDUCATION CONTRIBUTOR: There's a lot that's expected of us as educators. In preparation for me of our state's standardized tests, there is nothing up there that requires us to teach children about the markets and as a result, we don't.

There are some teachers who take it upon themselves in certain schools to do something with it. There are opportunities there, but there's very little that we're doing. So, this is where parents come in. You guys can talk about what you think is important. Not just to your own child, but you can come to the school and offer after-school activities, come volunteer and tell us what you think we need to know about the markets.

At the end of the day, we're educators. We're not professionals in the markets. So we could use your help. Either as a parent or a member of that profession who can come in and help our school out.

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WHITFIELD: The latest internet privacy flack involves Google. "The Wall Street Journal" says Google bypassed privacy settings on Apple's safari's web browser. What they did was that allow Google to tracked users and kind a keep track of information they might be searching for.

So now, three congressmen want the FTC to investigate. We're joined now by the reporter who wrote the story for The Wall Street Journal, Jennifer Valentino-Devries from New York. Good to see you.

So, explain why would Google want do this in the first place?

JENNIFER VALENTINO-DEVRIES, WALL STREET JOURNAL: Well, Google actually says that the placement of these tracking files was inadvertent, that what they wanted to do was place little buttons on advertisements so you could indicate to your social network that you really liked an ad.

WHITFIELD: Stop right there. How -- can I just stop you right there because I'm showing your reporting? How could it be inadvertent when they apparently used some kind of coding technology in which to bypass, you know, that privacy setting? VALENTINO-DEVRIES: Right. So they had to bypass that setting to put these little buttons on and then that also resulted in the placement of all these tracking files that could kind of follow your browsing around the web.

So, what they're saying is, well, we intended to do one thing and we didn't realize that we were also ended up adding all these other tracking files prior to.

WHITFIELD: So, how long was it believed that Google was doing this?

VALENTINO-DEVRIES: You know, I believe, indications are they would have been doing it for several months. They introduced this feature involving the buttons on the ads this past fall. The researcher who first found this, a fellow at Stanford, he actually had seen this over the past, you know, couple of months, and we looked at it just this February. So, it's unclear on exactly how wide spread it was, for how long, but if was for, you know, at least a couple of months.

WHITFIELD: So when it was brought to their attention that others had noticed this, the Stanford, you know, student had uncovered this, did Google change its ways right away?

VALENTINO-DEVRIES: Yes. In fact, we called them this past week, and they stopped the practice, and they also removed some language that was on one of their sites that was telling users of safari, which is a web browser that's on iphones and ipads and Macintosh computers. It was telling them that can just use safari settings to block this tracking when, in fact, it turned out that was not working. So, they removed that language and thy removed these tracking files.

WHITFIELD: So any of these users of anything Apple, should they be concerned that any of their private information has been compromised over the few months that Google admits to using this technology?

VALENTINO-DEVRIES: You know, I mean I think it is important to note that this wasn't taking things like your Social Security number or your private financial information or anything like that. This is just your web browsing.

And, you and, you know, for some people that also are very personal, but it's not the same thing as identity theft or other concerns. I think the bigger concern is just kind of the extent to which, you know, this is news because it's something that Google is doing and Google is a very large company and we kind of trust them. However, this sort of tracking is pretty commonplace, and I think this is really just an issue that people need to know, that on the web this is the sort of thing that happens frequently.

WHITFIELD: Jennifer Valentino-Devries, thank you very much. Appreciate your time.

VALENTINO-DEVRIES: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right. We're going to have much more in the "NEWSROOM" straight ahead. Don Lemon is back from New Jersey after spending a good part of the day yesterday outside the memorial services.

Everyone agrees it was very emotional, powerful. We have heard from so many voices and people who were there.

DON LEMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Everyone says it was a long service, but you know, I grew up -- we were in church for three hours almost every single Sunday and that's really typical for the length of a black Baptist funeral. But it was very moving yesterday, and it was very interesting week to say the least after reporting it starting on Saturday.

WHITFIELD: What do you have going today?

LEMON: Yes. I have a lot going today, but it made me also grateful for the people in my life who I love and care about, you're one of them. I'm so happy you're my friend and co-worker. So, giving a little of a new attitude for awhile. We'll see how long it lasts before I become cranky again.

WHITFIELD: Let's hope we're grateful every day.

LEMON: Everyday. But you know. Sometimes you need a little renewal.

Listen. I have some very interesting stuff coming up. Slavery was supposed to end, Fred, with the 13th amendment when it was ratified in 1865, but did it really stop then?

A book called "slavery by another name." There's also a documentary argues that it didn't actually ended until around the 1950s. So, coming up at 6:00, Fred, I'm going to talk with not just the author of that book, but to two women, one of the descendant of a slave and the other descendant of a slave owner who killed 11 slaves to hide evidence of slavery. It's an interesting discussion that you would want to hear.

And I want you to check this out real quick. Ninjas in training. This is not a tryout for a movie or the latest hot martial arts class. These are Iranian women, Fred, learning to become potential assassins, 3,000 of them in all. Coming up at the top of the hour.

WHITFIELD: All right. Very good. Fascinating. Dynamic video there.

OK. Thanks so much, Don. Glad to have you back.

LEMON: Good to be back.

WHITFIELD: We'll have much more straight ahead, including Jacqui Jeras who is going to bring us another picture of severe weather coming potentially your way.

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WHITFIELD: A pretty wintry mix spells travel troubles in the east and the west. Meteorologist Jacqui Jeras is here with more on that. JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Hey, Fredricka. Yes, a lot of snow across -- hello. You can turn and look at me. It's OK.

WHITFIELD: I don't like having my back to you.

JERAS: I know.

WHITFIELD: Sometimes that's how shots are.

JERAS: And yes, speaking of the travel trouble and the snow, it's actually so beautiful though. Take a look at this pictures we have for you out there at Virginia. This is out of the Roanoke area where the snow has been coming down hard and heavy at times today and we've seen as much as an inch per hour at times. And I guess that video is not going to pop up. If it does just -- there it is. Just roll that beautiful footage right. Look at that. It's just a beautiful thing, but it's been tough for travelers in the central Appalachians.

Places that have been hit hardest, eastern Kentucky into West Virginia, western parts of Virginia state, western North Carolina, and northeastern parts of Tennessee. Now, the good thing is it's primarily been a weekend event for you and we're going see improving conditions as we head into tomorrow.

Washington D.C., for the most part has been spared with this storm, so that's been the good news. It just rain across much of the deep south.

Now, this thing is going to move up to the Carolinas late tonight. By the middle of the night we're still going to be seeing snow, especially the higher elevations. That's where the heaviest accumulations will stay. And really everybody should stay around eight inches or less and most of the big cities are going to be missed by this storm as well. That's the good news.

So, exit one storm, in comes the next. And this is what we're dealing with across parts of the Rockies. By the way, this snowstorm is the one that was responsible for bringing so much heavy snow into parts of the Pacific Northwest as well over the last couple of days.

This is the position of the storm today and this is going to be moving through the Rockies into the plain states and it's going to be warming up a little bit and intensifying as it does so. This is going to be a huge wind maker. Blizzard conditions expected into eastern Colorado tomorrow. We're going to see a couple inches of snow across the upper Midwest but we should be able to count the number of inches, Fredricka, on one hand.

Also, I just want to mention we're going to have an update on the avalanche at Steven's pass coming up at 6:00 eastern.

WHITFIELD: All right. We will look forward to that. Thanks so much, Jacqui. Appreciate it.

OK. That's going to do it for me. Thanks for being with me this afternoon. Much more of the CNN "NEWSROOM" continues at the top of the hour with Don Lemon. Have a great week.

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