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Deadly Weather on Thanksgiving Week; Air Travel Could Be Rough; How Retailers Trick You on "Black Friday"; More Charged in Steubenville Rape Case

Aired November 26, 2013 - 09:00   ET

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

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The roads are really slick and seen a lot of accidents already.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Forty-three million of us all trying to get home. The Macy's parade carefully watching the storm. Will Snoopy, Pokemon, Spongebob be grounded?

RAY KELLY, NEW YORK CITY POLICE COMMISSIONER: We have a sergeant assigned to each of the balloons that can be lowered all the way to the ground or a determination is made not to fly.

COSTELLO: Also another sinkhole threatening to swallow another Florida home.

Plus, Black Friday.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We call it the Super Bowl of retail.

COSTELLO: Black Friday deals and steals. But should you wait?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We bought over 65 percent more TVs this year, five times as many sheet sets. Two times as many tablets.

COSTELLO: There's big demand. Wal-Mart saying its customers bought 5,000 items every second last year.

And bombastic and brash. Toronto Mayor Rob Ford. Is he coming to a theater near you?

You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: And good morning to you. I'm Carol Costello.

With less than 24 hours to go until the busiest travel day of the year, a massive storm system moving east could make getting out of town for Thanksgiving one big headache for more than 40 million of us.

This is what it looks like right now in Columbus, Ohio. You'll see here in a second. Look at that. The snow is already falling and it will keep on falling until tomorrow. And here's what it looks like in Pittsburgh right now. Yes, it looks like soup. Thirty-one degrees. About an inch of snow has fallen and another three to five inches of snow are forecast.

And as you can see, it's cloudy and fogging. So, please, oh, please, be careful.

CNN is covering the storm and how it will affect your holiday travel plans like no one else, with crews spread throughout the country. But first, CNN's Indra Petersons with more on the deadly damaging weather.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

INDRA PETERSONS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: A massive winter storm blamed for at least a dozen death and hundreds of accident will bring heavy rain, snow, sleet and high winds to much of the East Coast on the busiest travel week of the year. Frustrated travelers already beginning to feel the ripple effect of this storm system with delays and cancellations at some of the nation's busiest airports.

And it's not just planes. The larger-than-life balloons flying over the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade could be grounded. If sustained winds surpass 23 miles per hour, the giant inflatable balloons can't take flight because officials fear their handlers won't be able to control them.

KELLY: We have a sergeant at -- assigned to each of the balloons. They can be lowered all the way to the ground or if determination is made not to fly.

PETERSONS: In 1997, ferocious winds blew the six-story tall Cat in the Hat balloon straight into a street lamp. Debris fell down on to the crowd below, critically injuring one spectator.

The colossal storm system had made its way across the country, bringing localized flooding in Arizona, heavy snow in Colorado and in New Mexico. Wind gusts of more than 50 miles per hour produced blinding conditions. Parts of Oklahoma receiving about a foot of snow. And in Arkansas, heavy rain caused this pile-up on a bridge.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The roads are really slick and I've seen a lot of accidents already.

PETERSONS: Freezing rain making driving treacherous as this unrelenting storm complicates the Thanksgiving travel plans for millions.

Indra Petersons, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: OK, thank you, Indra.

So what's in store for us today? Later today and tomorrow? Chad has the answers.

Good morning.

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Carol.

I believe the cancellations will begin to add up, although right now I have one from LaGuardia. The U.S. Airways flight 2170 was canceled there. The rest of them are arriving a little bit late but arriving. That's really about the best news I can tell you.

There is a lot of rainfall here. And I believe a lot of this rain, if it gets up into this colder air up here is going to turn into sleet and freezing rain. That's going to be the issue.

So far Mason-Dixon line, just about, or at least upstate from South Carolina through Atlanta and Tennessee, all wet. The issue is, it's also very cold up there and very close to 32.

Now let me give you an idea. It was supposed to be 39 degrees and raining in Atlanta this morning. Right now, it's 30 -- where is it? Thirty-five and raining. That's not a good sign. That's four degrees colder than the forecast. So if your forecast was, let's say, rain and 34, and all of a sudden you're four degrees colder than that, that's rain and 30. So Winston-Salem, raining 31, Charlotte, 32.

There's a lot of pink in here. These are the upper elevations. This is the upstate. This is Piedmont, North Carolina. Here's the highest -- West Virginia, Virginia, and those areas are seeing the icing right now.

And that's what I'm most concerned with is with this system, when it gets up here, it develops -- still developing. When it gets up here into this colder air that's already in place, that's when our highways go down, our airports go down and things get rapidly slow.

COSTELLO: OK. I got all my digits crossed.

(LAUGHTER)

Thank you, Chad.

MYERS: You're welcome.

COSTELLO: Of course, as Chad said the biggest worry are the wet roads, the black ice. The wind will also be a concern. So get ready for a trying day on the roads unless you're lucky enough to leave today as in right now. AAA says nearly 39 million people will be on the roads this week.

Alina Machado is on Interstate 75 in Atlanta with a story on the roads.

Good morning.

ALINA MACHADO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. Yes, it's been raining here all day, as you can see. It's still raining and it will likely be raining all day here. And the roads are wet, as you would expect. And that also means they're very slick. According to the AAA, more than 43 million people will be traveling more than 50 miles from home this Thanksgiving holiday. Most of them, about 90 percent, will be getting in their cars and driving somewhere.

The AAA is expecting to have at least 320,000 rescues because of car problems. But that number could rise dramatically because of the storm. Now there are several highways along the East Coast that you should be weary of and you should be very careful if you're going to be traveling on those highways. Specifically I-40 from Knoxville into the North Carolina mountains.

Right now they're seeing some rain. But that could turn into a wintery mix in higher elevations later today.

Also, watch out for 95 south of D.C. Right now, again, it's fine, but that could turn problematic when heavy rain moves in later this afternoon.

So the bottom line, Carol, if you're going to be heading out into the roads either today or tomorrow, which, by the way, is the busiest travel day of the year, make sure you pay attention to road conditions and just give yourself extra time and be very careful.

COSTELLO: Yes. Good advice. Alina Machado, thanks so much.

Let's go to the airports now. Martin Savidge is at Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson Airport.

Any delays reported?

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Carol. Let me be your harbinger of good news. Let me be the man who brings that ray of sunshine.

COSTELLO: All right.

SAVIDGE: No, no delays. In fact, yes, it's very busy you could see. There are a lot of people. This is Concourse D at Atlanta Hartsfield- Jackson International Airport but this is the must-see television everybody wants to look at. It is the flight schedule board.

And the good news here, Carol, is how many flights listed as on time or boarding. In fact, you look at the entire schedule board here. Wait, we don't see any indications of delays or even impact of weather. And in fact, talking to the people at the airport operations, and they're meeting right now, by the way, probably be meeting twice a day unless the weather conditions either worsen.

They say there's no impact on flights coming in or on flights going out. And the good news is that impacts system wide, of course. It isn't just if you're flying out of Atlanta. That means in the southeast. This major hub is handling the weather fine. They think it will continue to be that way throughout the day.

I will give you this one caveat. My good news only lasts for probably today. After that, all bets may be off, especially if you're flying up into the northeast, Carol. But good news, good news so far.

COSTELLO: I know tomorrow really concerns me because that's when most people will probably leave for the holiday, including my husband. So let's hope he can get from Baltimore to Atlanta. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Martin Savidge, thanks for the good news today.

SAVIDGE: Fingers crossed, yes.

COSTELLO: Yes. Exactly.

This Sunday marks the busiest travel day of the year for flyers, as I've told you. Some 2.5 million people are expected to pass through airports in those 24 hours alone. Ahead of the chaos, CNN spent the day at the world's busiest airport, right where Martin Savidge was, Hartsfield-Jackson.

From special blast suits and bomb squads from inside the control tower, we're giving you a rare glimpse into a world where everyone is going somewhere.

Check it out on CNN.com/atl247 for more on the city hiding in plain sight.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, a heckler stops President Obama's speech on immigration reform.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: OBAMA: Most importantly we will live up --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The families are separated for Thanksgiving. I need your help. There are thousands of --

(CROSSTALK)

OBAMA: That's -- that's exactly what we're talking about here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Torn apart every single day.

OBAMA: That's why we're here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: That undocumented student now speaking out about why he interrupted the president.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Checking our top stories at 13 minutes past the hour.

Just in to us moments ago, in a new trial, Italian prosecutors are demanding a guilty verdict and a 30-year sentence for Amanda Knox. She's accused in the murder of her former roommate, Meredith Kercher. Knox stayed in the United States for this trial and says she is afraid to return to Italy.

The man who loudly interrupted President Obama's speech on immigration reform is now explaining why he did it. The president was speaking at a recreation center, serving mainly Chinese-Americans in San Francisco, when one of the invited guests spoke out.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. President, please use your executive order to halt deportations for all. You have a power to stop deportations on all undocumented --

OBAMA: Actually I don't.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) in this country.

OBAMA: And that's why we're here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I need your help.

OBAMA: OK.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, we can.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stop deportation.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stop deportation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: The student name is Ju Hong. He's 24 years old. He later spoke to CNN affiliate KRON.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JU HONG, INTERRUPTED OBAMA'S SPEECH: While he was giving a speech, he didn't give any concrete example of how he's going to solve our broken immigration system. Instead he just blamed it on Congress and saying that they're not doing their jobs. The fact of the matter is, he's not doing his job.

I really wanted to give him a suggestion about how to solve our broken immigration system. And I told him that while you continue to pressure Congress to pass comprehensive immigration reform, you can use your executive authority to halt deportations for all undocumented immigrant community members and that's what I did.

And his response was not very impressive at all. In fact, it was -- he treated me like a kid. And he did not directly answer my question.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Ju says he's afraid that if he visits his family in South Korea he will not be let back into the United States.

A huge storm system moving east is making a mess for holiday travelers. The storm is bringing snow or ice from Charlotte, North Carolina into northern Pennsylvania. In the meantime, the southeast is getting very heavy rain. Strong storms are stretching from Louisiana into northern Virginia. We're covering the storm like no other. Another detailed forecast coming your way in 15 minutes.

To Tampa now, where the fire department plans to inspect the damage inside a home today after a possible sinkhole opened up. The family of seven evacuated the house last night after the floor started buckling. Here is what neighbors are saying about it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I got tripped out like I said, first. But I feel calmer now. We have a prayer chain going on at church and a lot of prayers are going up.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: The Red Cross is arranging for food vouchers and clothing for the family whose house is over that sinkhole.

Black Friday just around the corner and a number of you are already lining up. You're crazy!

In Akron, Ohio, people started lining up over a week ago. They set up tents. They had generators inside the tent to power portable heaters so they can stay warm.

Same story here in Georgia, in Acworth, outside Atlanta, the tents are up and people are counting down the days until the local best buy opens its doors for Black Friday deals.

But buyer beware, retailers are pulling out all the stops to trick you into spending even more money this year. Christine Romans is live in New York to tell us what to watch out for.

Good morning.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.

Carol, do you think they do it out of the goodness of their heart, to cut all those prices?

COSTELLO: No.

ROMANS: No, they do it because they're doing it to make money. And guess what? The money is in your pocket, America. It's in your pocket, and you happily reach in every year, pull it out and pay, pay, pay for things sometimes you don't need.

OK. What are some of the tricks that retailers do? There's an awful lot of hype. You're seeing it over there. There's a whole kind of campaign to get you to go out, even on Thanksgiving, to spend your money.

This is things that retailers sometimes do. Sometimes they raise the price in the weeks ahead of Thanksgiving, the holiday, and then they cut them. Sometimes, Carol, those people who are in those tents, they're in those tents because there are not that many door busters at some of these stores. You have to be there first.

All the other people who are following the crowd mentally go rushing in, they won't get the door buster but will get in and spend their money on other things.

And sometimes the sale price isn't really a sale price. You know, the day after Black Friday is when retailers begin planning for the next Black Friday. They work backwards and figure out what they want to sell something for and how many they want to sell so they still have a profit.

Let me give you an example from today's "Wall Street Journal." Imagine a sweater that costs $14.50 from the supplier. The retailer puts on the shelf for 50 bucks. They only sell a few of those at 50 bucks.

Right away, they start marking it down. First to 44, all the way down to 21.99. The average sale price, 28 bucks.

Americans feel like they got a deal, they got a $50 sweater but they only paid something less than that. In the end, after all those cuts, the retailer still gets a $13.50 profit. You see?

It wasn't really a sale. It was a strategy from the very beginning to get American whose want to feel like they got a deal. You feel like you got a deal. But really, retailer got a profit and you got a sweater.

COSTELLO: So, what is a consumer to do?

ROMANS: So, here is the thing. There are going to be some deals out there. But there are going to be some deals after the holiday, too, right?

I mean, you buy what you need. You buy what will make you happy. You buy what you can pay for by January.

Here is another dirty, dark secret about Black Friday sales, Carol. If you go out there and buy something and can't pay it off by February, you didn't get a deal. Instead, now you've got interest payments, late fees and you've hurt your credit score.

So, it actually cost you more. So it's one of those unpopular stories about restraint this time of year. Restraint is what the deal is, right?

But mostly, we are very easy prey. Americans like to feel like they got something for 40 percent off, whether they needed it or not. There's a whole retail structure built around making us feel like we got something while padding the profits of the retailers.

COSTELLO: I'm going to start knitting my own sweaters. Not. Christine Romans, thank you so much. ROMANS: Can you make an HD TV, though? I can't make a TV. That's the problem.

COSTELLO: That's true. Very true.

I think my husband might be able to, though.

Thanks, Christine.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM: it was a case that ripped apart the town of Steubenville, Ohio. Now, the school superintendent has been indicted, among others.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: A grand jury investigating the rape of a 16-year-old girl in Steubenville, Ohio, has indicted four school employees. Six people have now been indicted after two high school football players were convicted of that rape in March.

CNN's Jean Casarez has more on these latest charges.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The superintendent of Steubenville City's schools Michael McVey is charged with three felonies, including tampering with evidence and obstructing justice. Three others connected to the school district face misdemeanor charges, one of them for providing alcohol to minors.

This is a case that shocked the nation, disturbing videos, tweets and photographs brought to light in August 2012 night of drinking and rape in this football-loving town.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm sorry to put you guys through this.

CASAREZ: Two star players were convicted and are incarcerated.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Welcome to Steubenville.

CASAREZ: But questions remain for some in this town. Chief among them, were there any adults involved?

MIKE DEWINE, OHIO ATTORNEY GENERAL: How do you hold kids accountable f you don't hold the adults accountable?

CASAREZ: On Monday, some answers. But details are few. The district's director of technology was already indicted last month on perjury and obstruction.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you God?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I do.

CASAREZ: Most of the attorneys for the accused either declined comment or could not be reached, except for the attorney representing one of the accused, an elementary school principal. He says his client, a 30-year educator, is charged with failure to report a completely different alleged rape with a different alleged victim.

The case was never prosecuted and the principal's attorney says his client is not guilty.

Some in Steubenville hoped more people would be charged, but Attorney General Mike DeWine says unless there is new information, the grand jury is done.

DEWINE: It's time to let Steubenville move on.

CASAREZ: Something that could be hard to do, with court dates coming up next month and more details yet to emerge.

Jean Casarez, CNN, Steubenville, Ohio.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: Still to come in the NEWSROOM: a big storm that's left a mess out West, now soaking up the eastern portion of our country. What it means for you this Thanksgiving.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Happening now in THE NEWSROOM: travel crunch.

A massive storm stretching from Maine to Alabama, moving up the East Coast right now, 43 million of us trying to get home under the gun.

Plus, Black Friday steals. But are they really? We've got a list of stuff you should buy and a list of stuff you should stay away from.

Plus, this --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHARACTER: That kid was a complete thug. I'm telling you, I couldn't get out of there fast enough.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: "Family Guy" minus the family dog. New efforts this morning to resurrect Brian Griffin.

NEWSROOM continues now.

(MUSIC)

Good morning. I'm Carol Costello. Thank you so much for joining me.

Opening bell on Wall Street just about to ring -- I'm listening. I think it just rang.

Trading -- oh, there it goes. Trading is expected to be light this morning. Actually, all day, Thanksgiving holiday.

Stocks initially pushed higher yesterday after a landmark deal with Iran over the weekend but buying slow throughout the day and markets closed overall with very little change. That's because a lot of people on Wall Street are getting out of dodge because millions of us are going to hit the road and fly for Thanksgiving.

But a nasty and deadly storm system could, you know, muck things up. That storm system dumping snow and ice could make traveling a great big challenge.

This morning, snow is falling in parts of Ohio and Pennsylvania. Those driving along major interstates in the East Coast are urged to take caution.