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Holiday Travel; Hi Winds Could Ground Balloons; Lara Logan on Leave; Airport Delays Ahead; Kobe Responds to Contract Critics
Aired November 27, 2013 - 09:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. I'm Carol Costello. Thank you so much for joining me.
Brace yourself. More than 40 million people traveling for thanksgiving could be bombarded with heavy rain, strong wind, snow and possibly flooding. You're looking live at Buffalo. It looks mighty cold there, doesn't it? This powerful storm is slamming the East Coast right now causing a ripple effect of travel problems. It's already delayed more than 6,000 flights and canceled hundreds more.
And for millions of people driving home, the roads are slick and dangerous. This is what Pittsburgh looks like right now. By tomorrow, every state in the United States except Hawaii will reach below freezing temperatures, and up to a foot of snow could fall in some areas, like Buffalo, Syracuse, and Pittsburgh.
CNN's team of correspondents and meteorologists are all over the place this morning. We're in cities up and down the East Coast to get you up on the latest potential travel nightmare. But let's start in Buffalo. That's where George Howell is. And I bet that's where it's the coldest, too.
Good morning, George.
GEORGE HOWELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Carol, good morning.
You mentioned Hawaii. It sounds kind of good than where we are now because here in Buffalo so we are flirting with the freezing mark right now and you see the snow here behind me, plenty of it on the ground. No big deal for Buffalo residents. But again, for people who are traveling, you know, it could be treacherous because, again, on the roads you can find black ice. Also it's a wet, slushy snow. It's hard to shovel and move out of the way. And we do know of some power outages. People that are being restored after this storm came through.
Now I want to go to my colleague Alexandra Field live in New York at Penn Station to talk about, you know, what she's seeing with the travel situation there.
ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And, George, holiday travelers are usually prepared for the worst, but if they're arriving at Penn Station right now, they will be pleasantly surprised. There are no major delays to report. Just one train delayed here in the northeast Amtrak says system wide. Also, no major delays there. But, if you are taking a train, be prepared for a big crowd. About 140,000 people are expected to ride the train today. That's double the volume of a normal Wednesday. Every available train in the system will be in service. Extra seats have been added along some routes to accommodate all of those holiday travelers. Still, if you're looking for a way to make it to your holiday feast, Amtrak says it has a few seats available.
We'll send it out now to Chicago to Ted Rowlands.
Ted.
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And we are in the United Command Center. What an awesome operation here. If you're traveling by air, you're not alone. This is all of the United flights up in the air right now. Talk a look at this. This is a taxi monitor. These are people that are trapped on the tarmac. You think, oh my gosh, they've forgotten about us. They haven't. People in Atlanta have been there 95 minutes trying to get to Houston. There's some deicing problems. They're figuring it out. Alex Marin (ph) is the senior vice president.
Bottom line it. Will people get home for Thanksgiving?
ALEX MARIN, SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT: You bet, Ted. We're in really great shape despite a little bit of weather from mother nature. We are looking good to get our 400,000 travelers home for Thanksgiving.
ROWLANDS: Big problems, obviously, Carol, on the East Coast, but you heard it from Alex, they're getting home for Thanksgiving.
COSTELLO: She has a lot of hope. I like that, glass half full. Let's hope she's right. Ted, thanks so much.
Even if you plan on just staying at home and kicking back on the couch, this nasty weather system could muck things up. Strong winds across the northeast could mean grounded balloons for tomorrow's Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City, which is bound to disappoint the millions of fans who will be watching it on television and, of course, all of those hundreds of thousands of people lining the streets of New York freezing waiting to see those balloons.
Jason Carroll is in New York standing along the parade route and I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, a lot of fingers are crossed. You know, it -- basically what it comes down to is this, Carol, it's going to be a close call. If the weather forecasts turn out to be true, it could be very close to some of these balloons being grounded. But for now, everything is a go.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CARROLL (voice-over): Up, up and away. Maybe.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Along the I-95 corridor.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Very powerful winds.
CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: And this is the wind that could affect those balloons.
CARROLL: Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade's giant balloons, will they fly or won't they? Jose Ramirez (ph) and his family are hoping to see them soar.
JOSE RAMIREZ: We came all the way from Puerto Rico to see the parade. So it will be a disappointment if, you know, if we can't see the balloons.
CARROLL: Same sentiments from the Mastandona (ph) family.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They have to fly. Somebody's got to make them fly.
CARROLL: Parade organizers aren't concerned about rain or snow, it's wind. Giant balloons like the all new Toothless from "How to Train Your Dragon" measuring 72 feet long and 36 feet wide, could be grounded. That is if some forecasts are true and sustained winds reach at least 23 miles per hour Thursday, or wind gusts top 34 miles per hour.
Macy's saying, "regarding the giant balloons, a determination is made on their inclusion based on real time weather data parade morning and not forecasts, so it's not helpful to discuss it now." It was a topic of discussion and concern for New York City Police.
RAY KELLY, NEW YORK POLICE COMMISSIONER: So we've had several meetings. I have a meeting today on it. We have instruments that give us the cross-wind measurements. We've done a lot of training on this.
CARROLL: Both city and parade officials have learned from past wind related balloon accidents. In 1997, a woman spent more than three weeks in a coma after the Cat in the Hat balloon struck a light pole which hit her. In 2005, two more were hurt in a similar accident involving the M&M's balloon.
Now improved weather monitoring devices are along the parade route, and a police sergeant assigned to each balloon. Protocols are in place and balloons like Snoopy and Woodstock and an updated SpongeBob are ready to fly. But even if they don't, the Finley (ph) family will not be disappointed.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The balloons aren't about Thanksgiving. It's about fellowship and family and just being thankful.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CARROLL: And, Carol, we're told that some of those smaller balloons still might make it into the parade, even if some of the larger balloons end up becoming grounded. A final decision will not be made by parade organizers until tomorrow morning. Until then, as you say, fingers are crossed.
Carol.
COSTELLO: Oh, toes, too. Jason Carroll, thanks so much.
I love those little elves at the end of your story. They made me smile.
Whether you're watching the Thanksgiving Day Parade on television, or maybe after a drive to grandma's house, you can get your local weather and airport conditions on the low part of your screen all day long. I'm back after a break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: CBS' "60 Minutes" correspondent Lara Logan and her producer have now been placed on a leave of absence. The action follows the report of the deadly attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi in which the story's source was found to be lying. Logan did offer an apology after news broke about the error, but now she's, well, she's on a paid leave of absence. Nischelle Turner is live in New York to tell us more about this story.
Good morning.
NISCHELLE TURNER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning, Carol.
You know, it's a little tough for us in the media to do this story because they are our contemporaries and people do make mistakes. But when it's one of this magnitude, then there are going to be ramifications. Lara Logan was the face of the piece. She was the reporter doing the story. So she is at the center of this discredited "60 Minutes" report.
Now, it was the chairman of CBS News, Jeff Fager, who suggested that the correspondent and her long-time producer Max McClellan take leaves as punitive measures. And they agreed to this.
Now, CBS made the staff announcement on Tuesday. This was 30 days, a full month after the report aired on the network. Now, this decision came after an internal standard review determined that she, Lara Logan's Benghazi report never should have ended up on television in the first place. The review found that although parts of the story were true, the fact that the main source was discredited should have been caught in the editorial vetting process. And this piece really relied on the word of that security guard who said he fought off a militant inside the compound.
Now, this is the kind of thing that you see in any major news organization when someone makes a big mistake and a report is found to be inaccurate, but it's big news here because it's "60 Minutes" and it's such a high profile show.
Now, Logan, like you mentioned, has not talked publicly about this report since she apologized for it on November 10th. CBS also declined to comment when she and her producer might return to work.
Carol.
COSTELLO: And she's a terrific correspondent and she's done amazing work in the field. She's risked her life many times.
TURNER: Exactly.
COSTELLO: But when you make a mistake of that magnitude, there have to be repercussions because you want people to trust what they see, especially on "60 Minutes."
TURNER: Yes.
COSTELLO: It has such a stellar reputation.
TURNER: Yes.
COSTELLO: So in this case, you know, "60 Minutes" probably did the right thing. Well, they did do the right thing. All right, Nischelle Turner, thanks so much.
TURNER: Sure.
COSTELLO: Here's what's all new in the next hour of NEWSROOM.
It's the fight before the feast.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We got a sweet turkey waiting for us.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Millions now heading out for the Thanksgiving rush. From the airports to the highways, we've got the tips to get you home without ruffling your feathers.
Also, it's make or break time for retailers across the country.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think we're back. I think people are buying gifts again.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Shoppers may be heading out with money to spend, but it might not be enough. Why some are expecting coal this Christmas.
And -
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TAYLOR SWIFT, JON BON JOVI, PRINCE WILLIAM (singing): Living on a prayer.
(END VIDEO CLIP) COSTELLO: Prince William's rockin' it as he belts out a tune with Jon Bon Jovi and Taylor Swift.
That's all new in the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Checking our "Top Stories" at 47 minutes past the hour.
Recent search of George Zimmerman's home turned up three handguns, a 12-gauge shotgun, a rifle and 106 rounds of ammunition. Zimmerman was arrested last week at the home he shares with his girlfriend. He's accused of pointing a shotgun at her. He's now out on bail. Four months ago as you know Zimmerman was acquitted of second degree murder in Trayvon Martin's death.
A Nevada judge has denied O.J. Simpson's request for a new trial on the kidnapping and robbery charges that put him in prison five years ago. Simpson argued that his previous legal team did not represent him well. But the judge disagreed saying O.J. Simpson failed to prove his claim. Simpson was initially sentenced to up to 33 years in prison.
Sirracha hot sauce is proving to be a little too spicy for one California city who's residents said smell from the local plant led to heartburn, asthma and even nose bleeds. Now a judge has ordered the plant to partially shut down and figure out a way to reduce the odors. His ruling could go into effect as early as today.
A new conspiracy theory may be brewing in Dallas. Who put the "X" back on the street where President Kennedy was shot 50 years ago? Earlier this month the "X" disappeared during a re-paving project. The city said the work was done to level the street before last week's observance of the assassination.
Well the great race is on to get home in time for the holidays in one piece so what's the best way to get there? Courtney Scott, senior editor for Travelocity joins me now. She's at LaGuardia airport. Christine Romans is in New York at our travel desk.
But Courtney, I want to start with you. Because I just got an e-mail from a viewer who is stuck in Philadelphia. She left yesterday from Puerto Rico, she was trying to get into New York's LaGuardia Airport, where you are, but the plane was delayed in Charlotte. She spent three hours in the plane on the runway, pilot tried again today to get to LaGuardia, but then they got stuck in Philly, where she has remained. She doesn't know what to do. She's flying U.S. Airways, they gave her a $5 voucher. What's your advice?
COURTNEY SCOTT, SENIOR EDITOR, TRAVELOCITY: That seems like a pretty extreme case. Here at LaGuardia we are not seeing anything to that extreme. Inbound flights are a little bit delayed. Outbound, we're looking good. But my advice for people who are dealing with these delays is to really look for the voucher code online and that will allow you to rebook your flight without paying a cancelation fee. Now in the case of this poor woman she's really kind of stuck so rely on maybe mass transit. Philly to New York it's a quick flight, it's a quick train trip. So maybe she should just abort her whole mission to get here by plane and go by -- go by train.
COSTELLO: Oh I totally agree just catch an Amtrak in New York City. It might be more expensive but at least you'll get there. I don't know.
Christine Romans you're at the travel desk. We just got an update about LaGuardia anything else you can tell us?
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes. You know I can show you just exactly how many people are in the air Carol and take a look at this. This is live map from Planefinder.net. The skies are full.
You've got now more than 5,900 flights in the air. The orange here, these are commercial flights, red are cargo and everything else. This has been getting thicker and denser all day long. And it's going to get worse.
Let me show you this, too. This is Carol the misery map. It's from FlightAware.com and it shows you just how miserable people are. So here in New York City, I'm glad you used that particular example because in New York City I've been watching the red take over all day. About a quarter of the flights here coming in to New York City are either delayed or canceled, the flights in and out.
You can see green means on time, red means canceled or delayed and the red has been getting bigger and bigger across the country from Atlanta to -- to Chicago. In a couple of big airports in Texas, too and that's where this all started of course with the ice a couple of days ago. So there you go.
One quick thing I'll add to my own advice here, you know call -- call the airline, check online on the flight status before you even leave the house. So you're not stuck somewhere and things are changing pretty frequently. Leave plenty -- plenty of time for the travel to the airport. There will be lines at the airport.
You don't want to miss your flight if it is on time, you don't want to miss your flight if it's delayed and then ends up going out on time. And I've got to say, it's pretty frustrating when you're trying to call some of the airlines. I know it is. Wait in line and call them at the same time. That's pretty much your best bet Carol.
COSTELLO: Ok Courtney, I'm sure you would say ditto to that and it's only going to get worst later this afternoon because the winds will probably pick up even more, so thanks to both of you for your advice. Courtney Scott with Travelocity and Christine Romans thanks so much.
Still to come in the NEWSROOM, Kobe Bryant takes some heat for his $48 million deal. Now the Lakers' star is firing back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) COSTELLO: Kobe Bryant received plenty of criticism for his big, fat new contract and now he's firing back. Andy Scholes is here with "Bleacher Report."
ANDY SCHOLES, BLEACHER REPORT: Yes Carol you know Kobe was surprised to hear that everyone is bashing that new deal. Saying he should have taken less money so that the Lakers could find more players but he says you shouldn't be mad at him.
COSTELLO: I'm worth it.
SCHOLES: He says "I'm worth it". You shouldn't be mad at him, you should be mad at the system.
All right so Kobe, here's the deal. The NBA is the only league where the superstars have a limit on what they can make right.
COSTELLO: Really? Yes.
SCHOLES: Ok it's the only league where it's like that. Whereas the superstars in the NBA they're the most important out of the any league. Now Kobe says the system is the problem, of course not. And he told Yahoo's sports quote, "You can't sit up there and say, hey, I'm going to take less money because all of a sudden if you take less, they say you don't give a rip about winning and says that's total bull -- bleep".
And now the Lakers -- the Lakers believe Kobe is worth $60 million, to $70 million a year from a business standpoint. So keeping him the highest paid player in the league is a no-brainer.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KOBE BRYANT, LOS ANGELES LAKERS GUARD: Sure the Lakers have always been an organization as always seem to make the right decisions. And lucky for me and the Lakers organization, this smart decision that they've made businesswise can't be revoked by the NBA. So --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHOLES: That was a crisp paltry joke if you didn't catch that right there.
All right. Here's another deal receiving plenty of criticism. The St. Louis Cardinals signed shortstop Jhonny Peralta to a four-year $52 million contract fresh off a season where Peralta was suspended 50 games for using performance enhancing drugs. Some of Peralta's peers not happy about this.
Brad Ziegler who's the Diamondbacks' player rep tweeted "We thought 50 games would be a deterrent. Obviously it's not. So we are working on it again." Pitcher David (inaudible) tweeted apparently getting suspended for PEDs means you get a raise. What's stopping anyone from doing it?"
COSTELLO: He's got a point, right? SCHOLES: He does have a point -- right Carol. Now the Cardinals GM says Peralta admitted wrongdoing and served his penalty. And that the Cardinals weren't about to appoint themselves the morality police.
COSTELLO: Because they want to win games. And they need Peralta to do it.
SCHOLES: Right.
COSTELLO: Like let's not be hypocritical.
SCHOLES: Hey, you can hit a baseball right.
COSTELLO: That's right.
SCHOLES: All right. It's officials the braves are moving from downtown Atlanta to the suburbs. The plans for the new $672 million stadium have been approved. Taxpayers in the Cobb County are going to pay $300 million for the team's new digs. The new stadium and entertainment complex is going to be up and run by the 2017 season. Are you going to go to the games there -- Carol?
COSTELLO: No.
SCHOLES: No, all right.
COSTELLO: I think it should be in the city of Atlanta, sorry. What is it, the Cobb County Braves? Come on.
SCHOLES: Closer to my house.
All right. So you might recognize this guy. His name's Alex (inaudible). He was a quarterback for the Division Three Monmouth College. And he made this amazing trick shot video a few years ago. Guess what? He's been signed to play quarterback for your hometown Cleveland Browns.
Now, I'm sure you know about the Browns trouble with. Quarterbacks. They're well documented. They've had a league high 20 different starting quarterbacks since 1999. (inaudible) expected the to black up Brandon Whedon (ph) this weekend.
COSTELLO: You know, I just like to go home and watch my parents watch a Browns game because they both sit in their big recliners and they say things like, "Stupid Browns. Can't find --
SCHOLES: It's depressing right.
COSTELLO: It really is.
SCHOLES: All right. In the line up section of BleacherReport.com today you'll see one of the biggest fish ever. Check it out -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Wow.
SCHOLES: That's an 800 pound fish known as a hook skate. Fisherman Mark Fortiano (ph) caught it off the board of Miami Beach. He says, Carol, it took him four hours to reel that bad boy in.
COSTELLO: I can't even believe he was able to reel that bad boy in.
SCHOLES: Can you imagine swimming out there in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.
COSTELLO: What are they going to do with it?
SCHOLES: Probably preserve and put in a museum right. That thing is gigantic.
COSTELLO: They're going to put it on the living room on the wall.
SCHOLES: It could take the whole living room.
COSTELLO: Exactly. Andy thanks so much. It was a lot of fun.
The next hour of CNN NEWSROOM starts now.
Happening now in the NEWSROOM, nor'easter nightmare.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I mean at the end of the day, no one can control Mother Nature.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Welcome to the busiest travel day of the year.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was on the highway, the next thing I know I'm spinning.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's a point where there's just nothing you can do it. It just glare ice and you're just a passenger in your own car.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: The huge storm slowing millions on their way home.
Also, breaking this morning. A new CNN poll saying the majority of Americans still have an open mind about Obamacare. But the big question though, will the government make its November deadline?
Plus, shopping, screaming, and sales. Yes. The Black Friday bargain battle blast has begun. Online or in the store, where is the better deal?
You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.
And good morning to you. I'm Carol Costello.
Brace yourself.
