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New York Bracing for Nor-Easter; Blizzard Warnings Posted for Long Island; 22 Crew Members Remain on Frozen Ship; "New York Times" Urges Clemency for Snowden; Colorado Pot Sales; Democrats See Liberal Resurgence; Nor'easter to Hit Boston & New York

Aired January 02, 2014 - 13:00   ET

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

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone, I'm John Berman. Wolf Blitzer is off today, hopefully somewhere warm because we begin with the first major snowstorm of the season. It is going to have a huge impact on about 100 million people, including all those holiday travelers. Watches, warnings are posted now in 19 states from Indiana all the way up to Maine.

And when the storm reaches the east coast tonight, it's going slam head-on into another storm system, creating a powerful nor'easter with heavy snow, high winds, subzero wind chills. We are tracking this storm from the CNN Weather Center. We have correspondents in all of the affected regions. I want to start with Ted Rowlands just outside Chicago. This hit the Midwest first, hundreds of flights have been grounded there. Ted, how bad are the travel conditions right now?

TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, they're horrible on the roads, as you can imagine. It's been snowing steadily basically since New Year's Eve day for two and a half days straight, trying to keep roads clear has been near impossible. They're pulling it off. Mother Nature is putting it right back in. And then you mentioned the flight cancellations and delays. O'Hare has been hardest hit but that will change as we move through tonight into tomorrow and the storm moves out, the snow will move towards the east.

And then, the Chicagoans can enjoy subzero temperatures. It is going to go from bad to worse here. Hopefully people have the day off tomorrow and can stay inside because they're expecting horribly cold temperatures here in the Chicago land area.

BERMAN: Thanks so much. And I think from bad to worse is a theme for millions and millions of people. I want to turn to Margaret Connelly in Boston. They're expecting a huge impact there. This storm is going to collide with a second storm, morphing into a major nor'easter. Margaret, how is Boston preparing?

MARGARET CONNELLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John, the worst has yet to come. Boston has declared this a snow emergency. So, snow has started -- it started overnight. It's going to pick up this afternoon. It's going to get worse this evening and then until tomorrow. How bad is it going to be? Well, we've got our measuring stick right here. We've got only about two inches and it's going to go up to a foot. We've got this much more coming. Freezing temperatures are going to be below three degrees. You can see on the streets here, there are not many people around. There was a postman earlier, other people are shoveling snow. But the concern here is the wind. There is a big wind factor and the snow is light so that's creating a blizzard effect which causes low visibility. So, that's an issue for travelers on the road and in the planes. A lot of flights have been delayed or postponed. And also, on the ground, there have been accidents that we've heard reported because of weather so be very careful on roads.

Here is more from Governor Patrick.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. DEVAL PATRICK, MASSACHUSETTS: If you're asked to stay off the road at the height of the storm or to evacuate ahead of flooding conditions, please pay attention and respond quickly. Temperatures are expected to plummet tonight and tomorrow, with wind chills reaching as low as 25 degrees below zero. That is a very, very dangerous set of circumstances.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CONNELLY: And, John, one more thing. Its public schools, they have been shut down, all those kids are going to get a snow day on Friday.

BERMAN: Yes, they got ready early. They called off school yesterday for Boston, hearing 40 mile an hour speed limits on some of the major highways there taking major precautions.

Meanwhile, here, New York, a city of some 8 million people, it's going to get hit by this storm as well and hit hard. Alexandra Field is here on the streets. And, Alexandra, this is the new mayor Bill de Blasio's first big test as mayor. What's he doing to prepare?

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, talk about a test on just his second day in office. All eyes on how the mayor will get the city of 8 million people through the storm. We know, so far, that the commissioner of the Department of Sanitation has agreed to stay on through the storm to help make this transition smooth, or not just for the mayor but for all of the people of this city who are going to be affected by this. The forecast calls for five to 10 inches of snow in New York. Meteorologists are really zeroing in on that six to eight inch number. And that's really lot of snow in New York City, so it's taken a lot of planning that's being done under the mayor's leadership right now.

Here's what we can tell you. The Department of Sanitation says its crews will be working around the clock. They got out there this morning at 7:00 well in advance of the storm that's going to hit later this afternoon and into the evening. And they will be staying on 12- hour shifts of 2,300 employees at a time. Three hundred sixty-five salt trucks have already hit the streets to try and smooth out these roads before any trouble happens. Sixteen hundred plows have also been attached to the city's garbage trucks. So, everyone is in place. They're ready to go. And we are now just waiting for a lot of snow. On top of that, winds are picking up and it's really just these bone- chilling temperatures. So, a test for the mayor. And for the rest of us, just a bitter start to the new year -- John.

BERMAN: You know, big storms can test mayors, can make or break them. Imagine having to deal with it on your third day. Our thanks to Alexandra here.

We are go to meteorologist Alexandra Steele who is tracking the storm's path. Alexandra, just how bad is this going to get and who is going to see the worst of it?

ALEXANDRA STEELE, AMS METEOROLOGIST: All right, let's get to it. All right, here is the end game in terms of the snow accumulation. Boston sees eight to 14, Providence, eight to 12, so it's really southern New England that will see the strongest. Six to eight in Yarmouth on the Cape, Hyannis as well. Springfield, Mass, eight to 12. And New York, you can see six to eight. But this is not just a snowstorm. This is a storm that has incredibly cold temperatures and will have incredibly fierce wind. That's why blizzard warnings are in effect for Long Island and the Cape from tonight until tomorrow at about 1:00.

All right. So, here's the wind speed, this is this afternoon. The bull's-eye time period for the worst of it, about eight tonight to eight tomorrow morning. So, gusts you can see in New York City about 38, gusts 48 in Boston. That's tonight. By tomorrow, you see gusting to 50. That's why, of course, we're going to see such intense problems not only on the roads but was airports as well, 36 gusting. South of Philadelphia, you can see even Washington still gusting into the 40s. So, that's the wind, certainly one aspect of this.

Temperatures, another aspect. Boston dropped Saturday morning to three below. Boston has not dropped below zero for three years, since January of 2011. That's not counting the wins. So, wind chills will be 20 below zero. So, really, bank on an intense 12 to 18 hours.

So, here's where we're going to see it, Thursday night, it's here, of course Pennsylvania, New York, Long Island, New York City, New Jersey. Overnight into tomorrow morning, then the winds start. So, the storm is a fait accompli in terms of snow, moves out by noon. But then the incredibly strong winds come in and that's why we've got these blizzard warnings as well.

So, a bigger picture, you can see where the heaviest snow is, bull's- eye, of course, southeastern New England. And watches and warnings, 22 states, 98 million people. And here, where the blizzard warnings are, and the blizzards are there because not only are we going to see the snow, but the incredibly strong, gusty winds to 45 miles per hour -- John.

BERMAN: Those are some brutal temperatures and ferocious winds. Our thanks to everyone here. Ted Rowlands and Margaret Connelly, Alexandra Field and Alexandra Steele. Of course, CNN will be covering every angle of this storm, some 100 million people will be affected over the next 24 hours so stay with us. Coming up for us next, he's been called a traitor. He's facing criminal charges for leaking government secrets. But now, two newspapers are calling Edward Snowden a whistle-blower. One even says he's done a great service for the U.S. We'll take a closer look at the push for Snowden to get clemency.

Also ahead, Colorado is on a Rocky Mountain high today. Yes, we said it. It is day two of legal pot sales in that state but hundreds of people had to be turned away yesterday. We will have a live report from Denver coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: Welcome back, everyone. You're looking at live pictures from Chicago there on your left, Pittsburgh on your right. You know, cities like this though across the Midwest and the northeast looking just like this right now, a major winter storm system, actually two of them, impacting some 100 million people. Temperatures could dip below zero, not 32, actual zero in some places. Wind gusts in excess of 50 miles an hour. This is a major storm, folks. CNN is covering every angle of it. Stay with us over the next 24 hours. We will be bringing you the latest as it comes in to us.

Meanwhile, on the subject of cold. A 10-day, bone-chilling ordeal that had dozens of people stranded at the bottom of the world is over for the most part. Nearby Chinese ice breaker successfully removed 52 passengers who had been stuck since Christmas Eve there. However, not everyone is off this stranded ship. Twenty-two Russian crew members remain on board and they will stay there until the ice pack breaks and they're able to get this vessel moving again.

Other news, he spilled the beans on top secret surveillance programs by the NSA, so does that make Edward Snowden a whistle-blower? An editorial in today's "New York Times" says, yes. And that newspaper says that Snowden should be allowed to come home. Listen to this. The "New York Times" saying, he may have committed a crime, but he has done his country a great service. It is time for the United States to offer Mr. Snowden a plea bargain or some form of clemency. Our Justice Reporter Evan Perez joins us right now. In addition to the "New York Times," I should say, "The Guardian" is also calling for clemency for Snowden. First of all, Evan, explain to us what criminal charges, remind us the charges he's facing.

EVAN PEREZ, CNN JUSTICE REPORTER: Well, John, the charges that were filed in the eastern district of Virginia and Alexandria include theft of government property, unauthorized communication of national defense information, willful communication of classified communications. Now, these are both under the espionage act and they carry some pretty stiff sentences. We're talking about decades in prison potentially. So, these are some very, very serious charges that he faces if he were to come back from Russia.

And, as you mentioned, these editorials are calling for perhaps some kind of deal to be made. And that is a very difficult thing to be done while he's still sitting in Russia. Obviously, the U.S. government looks at him as someone who's broken the law. And, you know, the impact of the leaks for the last few months since these started coming out has been severe, according to the FBI and people in intelligence agency. They say it's ruined some of their cooperation with other intelligence agencies in other countries and they say that terrorist organizations are using other methods of communication to try to avoid detection -- John.

BERMAN: Of course, Snowden's critics call him a traitor. They do not think he's done a great service to the country. The Obama administration has been pushed on this notion of clemency in the past. They haven't seemed to jump on it at all, to say the least. Is that likely to change and what ramifications are we dealing with if clemency were to be granted?

PEREZ: Well, you know, the -- I think this actually a question that a few people have been thinking about. I think the -- one of the top officials at the NSA said recently in an interview that perhaps this is something to be thought about. I know from having conversations myself, you do -- you get the sense these people -- these folks would love for these leaks to just stop. And one way to do that would be perhaps to bring him back and to offer some kind of -- some kind of deal. But, you know, the idea of doing this is a very complicated one.

First of all, Snowden himself has said that he's working with these journalists in -- who are now located in Brazil and Germany and elsewhere and that they have the documents. So, the question of making any kind of negotiation would probably have to involve journalists who would then have to give up, perhaps, those documents that the U.S. government would want back.

The attorney general, Eric Holder, I asked him this very question a few weeks ago and he told me that this is something that he would oppose. Of course, you know, this is a question that they, themselves, are encouraging by saying that Snowden has done a good thing by starting a conversation about privacy and about surveillance, which we've not had since 9/11, John.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: The discussion is very much on. The implications, huge. There could be serious fallout here. Evan Perez, thank you so much.

We're going to take about - we're going to take a close look at all the issues surrounding both the legal and the political. They are huge. We're also going to discuss the odds of the government actually making this type of a deal. That's coming up later this hour.

So it's safe to say Colorado marijuana stores are on a bit of a high today. Hundreds of people lined up outside pot dispensaries yesterday for the first legal day of marijuana sales. But hundreds more had to be turned away. It seems that demand was just too high. There, we did it again. Our Casey Wian is in Denver today.

Casey, were business owners surprised by this turnout or did they expect this run on pot?

CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John, they were a little bit surprised. They expected big lines, they expected big crowds, but they didn't expect them to be quite so big. At the one retail pot shop we were at all day yesterday, they had more than 800 people show up and take a number to wait in line for their turn to buy marijuana legally for personal use for the first time in Colorado's history. Here's what the owner of that store had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TIM CULLEN, CO-OWNER, EVERGREEN: It has been absolutely amazing. There are more people here than we ever expected. And there are so many - so many excited people taking part in this that, I mean, we knew it was going to be a big deal, but we had no idea that there were going to be so many people out here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WIAN: Now, of those 800 people that took a number, only about 400 of them actually were able to buy marijuana. It's not because they ran out of product, they simply ran out of time. According to the city of Denver's laws, you can open a recreational pot shop from 8:00 in the morning until 7:00 at night. So by 7:00, they had to cut off the sales, which means that all those folks who didn't get their pot yesterday are back in line outside that store today, John.

BERMAN: Pretty eager customers right there. Casey, break it down for me. How much are you allowed to buy? How much are people paying for it right now?

WIAN: Depends on who are you. If you're a Colorado state resident, you can buy up to one ounce. If you're coming in from out of state, you can buy a quarter of an ounce. You can't take it back home with you across state lines. Prices are pretty high. For an eighth of an ounce, it costs you $50, plus tax in the neighborhood of 25 percent, John.

BERMAN: Casey did it, too, saying prices are a bit -- pretty high. A story that has sparked the imagination. Casey Wian in Colorado at a growing center where marijuana's being grown all around him. All right, thanks to you, sir.

Other news.

Liberals seem to be getting their groove back. New York's new mayor outlines a progressive agenda that could influence the 2016 presidential race. I'm going to speak with political analyst Ron Brownstein about what is being called the liberal resurgence. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: All right. And you are looking at live pictures of Central Park bracing for a major snowstorm that is now moving this way. This storm will affect everywhere from the Midwest all the way to Maine, nineteen states, temperatures in some places below zero. Wind gusts upwards of 50 miles per hour, more than a foot of snow. This is a major storm. We're covering every angle over the next day and a half. Stay with CNN for the latest on this storm. Meanwhile, some political analysts are predicting that this will be one of the big stories of 2014. We're talking about the resurgence of liberals within the Democratic Party. New York's new mayor is emerging as a liberal standard bearer. Bill de Blasio was sworn in yesterday by former President Bill Clinton. De Blasio wasting no time outlining a sweeping progressive agenda.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR BILL DE BLASIO (D), NEW YORK: We are called to put an end to economic and social inequalities that threaten to unravel the city we love. And so today we commit to a new, progressive direction in New York. And that same progressive impulse has written our city's history. It's in our DNA.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: You know, de Blasio's words were actually more moderate than a lot of people on that stage yesterday. Our senior political analyst, Ron Brownstein, joins us now from "The National Journal" studios in Washington.

And, Ron, you've been writing about this for some time, the shift left, in some cases, in the Democratic Party. How significant a shift are we talking about here?

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: First of all, happy New Year, John.

I think it is significant, and it's a very real trend that is being driven by a combination of factors. One is the nature of the issues we're debating now. Inequality has moved higher on the agenda, particularly within the Democratic Party after 13 years in which the median income is lower than it was in 2000. Almost unprecedented in American history.

Secondly, the increasing polarization in Washington, and, in fact, in virtually all of the states as well, that kind of environment elevates the warriors who tend to be more ideological over the dealmakers who tend to be more moderate. And then most importantly, the very nature of the Democratic coalition, the kind of people who vote for them, is changing in a way that is undeniably moving the party left.

BERMAN: De Blasio embracing higher taxes, which is not something you hear much more these days. De Blasio embracing higher spending. Again, something that's not being discussed at a federal level that much any more these days. How do these discussions, how do these words, affect the national Democratic Party?

BROWNSTEIN: Well, I think it's - I think that, on the tax side, there has to be more discussion probably nationally. But I think it reflects this shift in the center of gravity in the Democratic Party. I mean essentially what we've seen happen over the last 20 years, and really accelerating under President Obama, is the voters who used to kind of nail down the right flank of the Democratic coalition, which tend to be older and blue collar whites, they've sheared off like an iceberg and they have -- many of them have moved toward the Republican Party, and they've been replaced within that Democratic coalition by minority and millennial generation voters who tend to be more liberal, especially on social issues, and they've created a constituency for the kind of things you were talking about earlier with pot legalization in Colorado, gay marriage, the center of gravity inside the Democratic coalition is moving on these issues as the nature of their coalition evolves.

BERMAN: So these are sort of the new, new Democrats, Ron. What about the old, new Democrats?

BROWNSTEIN: Yes.

BERMAN: People who might have the last name Clinton, for instance? Bill Clinton was given a lot of credit for changing the Democratic Party in the 1990s. Do you think Hillary Clinton wants to inherit that mantel, to a certain extent. How does this discussion affect them going forward?

BROWNSTEIN: It's a really good question. Bill Clinton undeniably made enormous strides at restoring the national competitiveness of the Democratic parties after three wipeouts of the '80s. But this is a very different Democratic Party than he ran in. When Bill Clinton won in 1992, only about a third of the people who voted for him identified as liberals, self-identified as liberals in the exit poll. For President Obama, it was 43 percent. And that number could be even higher in the Democratic primaries, likely will be even higher in the Democratic primary in 2016, and that is going to create a pressure on Hillary Clinton. The party is not necessarily looking as much for the kind of deal-making triangulator that Bill Clinton impart embodied. I think there is a desire for someone who will sound more of the notes of a De Blasio or an Elizabeth Warren and she is going to have to be cognizant of that if she runs for president.

BERMAN: Hillary Clinton will. Elizabeth Warren has said she is not running and that could have a major impact on Hillary Clinton's future going forward.

BROWNSTEIN: Yes. Right.

BERMAN: Ron Brownstein, this is a subject we will be discussing a lot in the next year. Great to have you here today and, as you say, happy New Year.

BROWNSTEIN: Thank you very much. And you too.

BERMAN: All right, I want you to take a look at something. Much of the northeast is about to see a whole lot more of this, snow, ice, wind. This nor'easter is brew. It's going to affect near 100 million people. We will tell you who will be hit the hardest. We'll give you some snow totals, some wind speeds that will blow your mind, coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: Brace yourselves. Two winter storms on course to collide over the East Coast tonight creating a powerful nor'easter. Everyone in the storm's path is going to get blasted with heavy snowfall, strong, strong winds. Blizzard warnings are in effect for some areas of Massachusetts, also in New York. We're covering this story from every angle. Margaret Conley is in Boston, Sunland Sufati (ph) is at Regan National Airport near Washington, and Alexandra Steele is tracking the storm from the CNN Weather Center.

I want to start in Boston. It seems like that might get hit with some of the worst of it. Margaret Conley bracing for a foot of snow there. How is that city preparing?

MARGARET CONLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John, Logan Airport, they've stayed open this whole time. But we're hearing they are now going to close at 8:30 p.m. tonight through till noon Friday. Flights will stop then. That's because of strong winds and that's been the big concern here, especially on the coastal parts and as we're experiencing right now. The coastal parts of Massachusetts could get winds of up to 50 miles per hour. So the emergency crews there preparing for warming centers and shelters in that area.