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Blizzard Warnings In Parts Of New York; One in Three Americans Hit By Nor'Easter; 100 Million Feel Wrath Of Winter Storm; Report: 1,752 U.S. Flights Canceled Today; Man Rescued From Icy Lake; Ex- Vikings Punter Slams Coaches, GM

Aired January 03, 2014 - 10:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN GUEST ANCHOR: All right, as you can see right there at the bottom of the screen, we're using every square inch of your television screen to bring you all the latest information from current conditions to forecast closings you name it. It will stay up throughout the show.

So as we check in with our army of correspondents, they're fanning out from the Midwest to the northeast to bring you the very latest on the storm and it's far reaching impact so let's begin our coverage in New York where as much as a foot of snow is burying parts of the city. CNN's Ashleigh Banfield is outside the Time Warner Center in the heart of Manhattan where they've kind of cleared the area. So the depths of the snow are way behind you.

ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. But look, I'm at Defcon hat. It was so cold, so I put a hat on. I found the CNN winter tuk as they call it in Canada. It is only looking at the CNN sign 11 Fahrenheit. The wind chill takes it to minus 3 Fahrenheit. You mentioned the school closures. There's a new mayor in town, it's only day three on the job, and he's had to shut down 1.1 million kids from going to school today.

I have a feeling they're going to be behind me in central park in the six inches that fell overnight or in the 7.8 inches of snow that fell just to the left of it, on the upper west side. Isn't that odd that you'd have an inch and a half more just a few blocks to the left? Well, there's a lot of blowing snow and a lot of drifting that's going on and gusting is probably one of the biggest problems for our three huge airports here in the New York area.

That's really one of the biggest stories. When these three airports start having problems, so does the rest of the nation, you showed the passengers in L.A. that are stranded. How about the flight operations at JFK? Still shut down at this time. LaGuardia's flight operations are going, but there are a lot of cancellations and the flight operations are also going in Newark.

So let me just tell you how many have been cancelled right now. Newark has 285 flights canceled at last report. LaGuardia, 271 flights canceled at last report and JFK, 121 canceled at last report, but like I said, JFK has got flight operations suspended, a lot of it because of gusting winds. One of the planes had to do a second attempt at a landing because of the gusts. Visibility is also part of problem.

Now, New York City, this isn't like any other city. They've had to actually dispatch 1,700 plows and 5,000 sanitation workers to get out there and salt, sand and plow the roads. If you're wondering how much salt it takes to get this city drivable. It's about 7,000 tons. That's how much salt they have available to use today and there are 3,000 snow plow routes. I know all of you all around the nation have seen your plows out when it gets snowy.

But imagine that many machines and people being dispatched to try to stop this city from being crippled. In any way, we won't be having the kids in school buses because none of them are going to school in the New York area today. That's just New York. This is an eastern seaboard, 10 million people effect, this whole storm system.

Boston has been getting walloped. I'll tell you what. Our Indra Petersonss has been working probably the hardest among many of us. She didn't get the Chatham on Cape Cod assignment, which really stinks, but Boston is cold and snowy and you're pretty. And you're doing an awesome job. So Indra, give me the lowdown on everything Boston related because you're not far from me.

INDRA PETERSONS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, it is very cold out here. This morning wind chills were negative 20. So think about that 10 minutes outside, and you had the threat of frostbite. I'm holding this camera because I want to show you it's not just me and all of us out here standing in the snow. It's everyone on our team. Our photographer, notice his outfit. We've got Russ, no gloves. Talk about a trooper. Frostbite, 10 minutes is not too far away.

You might want to take care of that and then the envy of all things. This to my left, this is CNN news sources. They have a propane heater. What do I need to do to get one of these? And all the way to the right, this is our satellite truck. And we this the walk of envy, or the new walk of shame for anyone who has to go outside and stand out here for the few minutes we are with you. We've got about a foot of snow here. We're still expecting up to 24 inches just north of here. Essex County continues to see the heavy snow because of the ocean-effect snow.

It is so cold out here that the ocean is actually warmer than this air. When you think of lake effect snow, same idea, you're going to see it in the Cape Cod area as the system tapers on to the east. It's negative 15 wind chill right now, but without the strong winds in this region, it feels a lot better. The big story is really going to be what happens after this.

We're going to be talking about temperatures diving down as a second system, I know you want to talk about, knocking on wood, but a second cold blast of arctic air is going to be coming to this region by the beginning of next week. This snow, so dry, the visibility concerns as the system makes its way offshore, still a lot to think about even though it feels like it's getting better out there.

BANFIELD: How did you get a camera? All I got was the CNN hat.

PETERSONS: Let me show you. Ross is the man, pretty much. That's how it's done. I don't know if you can see Jamie. He's full-faced.

BANFIELD: I can see Ross not wearing gloves.

PETERSONS: He can't wave, no gloves.

BANFIELD: I'm going to get our Rod-cam who is working our camera to show my messy move over to my producer. This is Steven who dresses very well every time we go outside. This is the behind the scenes look at the man that makes it all happen.

PETERSONS: He's putting us to shame.

BANFIELD: He's ready for Everest. I think this morning that the office of Emergency Management has been working throughout the night. Do you have a quick button up on what they're doing and facing out there today?

PETERSONS: We definitely continue to see these roads being plowed. They're proud of the fact that they continue to plow these roads and they don't have to salt them after a certain period of time because it doesn't do any ground. Once you get the ground below 15 degrees Fahrenheit, that salt doesn't help. But this is so airy that it blows away. As far as all the cars here, I'm noticing a lot of people -- here is someone shoving their car out of the driveway. It's not taking too much effort because it's not hard-packed.

BANFIELD: I love that you have a wireless camera. I want a wireless Ashleigh-cam. Can you make that happen?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can't afford it.

BANFIELD: He said we can't afford it.

PETERSONS: I set trends.

BANFIELD: You do. And I like the scarf too.

We have a lot of reporters out braving the elements all night and morning. One of my newer colleagues at CNN got the coldest and windiest. This is what we call hazing, Brian. It's Long Island. It's one of the hardest hits, gusting winds. I didn't know that you got stuck in a snowdrift. This is the ultimate in hazing. Brian, tell me what it's like out there.

BRIAN STELTER, CNN SENIOR MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: You know, this is when the plows come out and make a gigantic pile of snow. And we're in the heart of Long Island. We've had anywhere from 9 to 13 inches of snow in various locations in Suffolk County. We're their Marriott right along the Long Island Expressway. And we're seeing the same thing as up in botch. They just tweeted out showing the snow right now is sound-effect snow, same thing from the ocean in Boston that's creating more snow here.

The tweets that it's an efficient snow producer, that's one optimistic way of looking at it. Although it's still snowy, we're seeing the sun trying to come out. It's almost bright enough for sunglasses. This is kind of the fun part of the storm.

BANFIELD: And the shot looks really pretty behind you, all those lovely big snow drift. Really quick question about the Long Island Express Way, millions of people travel that expressway every day into Manhattan into work. The commuters rely on the Long Island Expressway and that thing was shut down. And yet, Brian Stelter, I still saw sneaky people early this morning going back and forth. What's the story on the LIE now?

STELTER: It was eerie. When I looked out my window at about 1:00 in the morning here and I could see a couple of miles and saw no headlights. You're right. There were a number of people that would come out because it was essentially a soft closure. There weren't barricades at every entrance and exit. But there were warnings from police that they could pull you over and they could fine you if they caught you out on the roads.

Most of the trucks that I saw were actually plows and tow trucks going to help stranded drivers. The highway is re-opened. Traffic is very light. The biggest problem now for the counties, the snow is still blowing around. It's very light and it blows around even more. That means it's going to take a long time to treat the roads.

BANFIELD: And of course, some of the people who break the ban are us, the media. Often times when there's terrible weather we're out there so that we can bring the story to those wanting to need to know what's happening, which is the case for you. And since you are the media reporter I was hoping that you might do some behind the scenes shots for me today and show me about what it takes, especially for a lot of these ex-extraordinarily hearty CNN crew members. I'm looking at three right now because they're out for sometimes six to eight hours in these elements. Give me a behind the scenes look at what you've been up to.

STELTER: That's one thing I hadn't thought of. These crews aren't just out for this one live shot. There are dozens of them on a given day. We're outside more than inside, even though we can come in for hot chocolate sometimes. There's not many times I can get up to the hotel because of the frequency of the live shots. We have photos we're posting on twit digging out the satellite truck and clearing a path. You're right.

Some of the hardest workers are the folks keeping us on the air all day and night. And that way, people can see what's it like without going outside. I'm one of the guys that likes to laugh at the reporters standing in the elements. I saw a person reporting and she was in a canoe and people walked right by her, but then I realized she wasn't in a canoe at all.

BANFIELD: Brian, great work. Thanks for joining the team and getting out there and getting your hands cold and dirty. Brian, thanks, from Long Island.

Because this is New York City, this gets cleared very, very quickly. These sidewalks are cleared almost every 2 minutes to 3 minutes by the people who work at Time Warner Center. But you can see the drifting behind me as it goes into Central Park and throughout the city, a lot of drifting as well, but 1,700 snow plows makes very short work of the snow in this city.

But while it looks like we can manage this and all the rest, I've got two behind the cameras who are dressed like Kenny from "South Park." Working very hard in these elements and we've warmed up to 13. This is awesome. I do want to add, though, that the wind chill takes us down to minus 3. There's no spot in New York City at 2:00 this morning that wasn't at least zero with the wind chill. If you are watching inside your homes, folks, please be careful of your children and pets.

WHITFIELD: That's right. Great advice. It is cold. I'm glad for a little bit of warm up. But as we heard from Indra and others, there is a second punch on the way. So the cold stuff is not over, not by a long shot. Thanks so much, Ashleigh.

BANFIELD: See you.

WHITFIELD: All right, so maybe you're on the ground or maybe you think you were going to fly today, well, think again. As of minutes ago 1,752 flights have been canceled into and out of the U.S., a number that has been climbing all morning. CNN's Rene Marsh is live for us now from Washington with the very latest on this. We've got nasty conditions in a good portion of the country. That means a lot of flights are not going anywhere.

RENE MARSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. You said it off the top. Nearly 2,000 cancellations so far and we have more than 1,000 delays. It is miserable if you are trying to fly and you're in a problem area. This is our misery map here and this is looking at a four-hour span. You can see that New York City, it's in the thick of things. D.C. is not looking too good. Chicago is also seeing some problems. Those are top airports we're talking about where we are seeing the most cancellations and delays within a four-hour period.

Now let's talk about specific airports because we saw some problems at some specific airports, JFK, we do know that operations suspended. LaGuardia Airport, we know that they continue with their operations. However, if you're flying in there, don't be surprised if your flight is diverted because they're having some visibility issues.

At Newark, where they are seeing some weather -- we're also seeing hundreds of cancellations, however, operations still going there. Good news for people in Boston. We know that some flights have resumed. Same deal in Rhode Island as well as Connecticut. We just found that out. They're starting to resume some flights.

So now let's take a closer look at the airlines, Fred. We just got word that Southwest. They have cancelled flights into Chicago's midway airport simply because of weather there and they're planning to keep that in place until the noon hour. But we take a close look at what the specific airlines are looking out, Southwest so far, the latest numbers, 234 cancellations, Delta, 91, U.S. Airways, we have 85. So you could see that these numbers started off a little lower this morning. But as we go through the morning, we are seeing some increases -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: How about on the roads and rails?

MARSH: Right. We just out there at Long Island, they were in the thick of things. LIE as well as I-87 was shut down, however those roads, those major highways, they have re-opened. As far as the rails go, we do know that Amtrak, for example, they say they are seeing some delays. However, nothing major. But you should know that they have reduced the frequency of some of the trains, but not by much. So the good news is, if you're on a train, you're in better shape than if you are at the airports in these problem areas.

WHITFIELD: Very good, all right, thanks so much for all those warnings. Appreciate that, Rene Marsh in Washington.

All right, still to come, the Midwest, already got hit with the snow, but they have a new, may be even bigger problem now. Ted Rowlands is live for us outside of Chicago.

TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Fred. It is -- in Naperville, Illinois, and it's freezing, very, very cold. We have our t-shirt and banana hammer. We'll show you that after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, check this out, in the heart of the nor'easter, the Coast Guard and Chicago Fire Department teamed up to save a man stuck in the icy waters of Lake Michigan. It's still not clear why he was on the freezing lake or how he ended up chest-deep in the water. But within 35 minutes of the 911 call, first responders pulled the unresponsive man to safety and had him in the hands of Emergency Medical Services. He's been taken to the University of Chicago hospital and listed in critical condition.

Dangerous cold temperatures and subzero wind chills are threatening millions of people across the Midwest this morning. CNN's Ted Rowlands has been braving the cold for us all morning outside of Chicago to the point where just about everything, except you, frozen.

ROWLANDS: Yes. Actually I'm frozen too, Fred. No doubt about that. We're in Naperville, Illinois. All morning long we've been seeing people drive up to the Starbucks. They literally leave their car running and get their latte and come back out with the car running. It is now hovering around zero now. It was 10 below when we first started this morning. Now it's getting a little warmer. It doesn't feel it.

When it does get this cold, we do get to pull out our weather props, which is always fun, our shirt, which is solid as a rock and my favorite, the banana hammer, the frozen banana hammering nails. You can't do that in the studio.

WHITFIELD: My gosh, that's cold. ROWLANDS: Yes. And our last prop is our producer who did not wear enough clothing today. When we're not doing hits, we're hunkering down out here and exposure could get you into trouble. It's fun to joke around, but the bottom line it's very cold today and it's going to get worse on Sunday into Monday throughout the Midwest and specifically here in Chicago. The highs in Naperville are going to be around negative 6 and it's going to go from bad to worse.

WHITFIELD: And I know folks are die-hards there. They're used to the cold temperatures, but on a serious note, is the city or that area particularly worried about people who may not have proper heat, who may not, you know, be able to stay warm in temperatures like this and to what extent would the city try to help out or do something?

ROWLANDS: Yes, every city in the Midwest has a contingency plan working with organizations that deal specifically with the homeless to round people up. People that sometimes don't want to go into shelters and maybe aren't aware of what's coming in the day or night ahead. They get people to safety as best they can.

It's potentially life threatening and very, very dangerous, frostbite, the least of your concerns if you're out all night with the frigid temperatures coming up next week, a huge concern not only in the Chicago area but across the Midwest.

WHITFIELD: Yes, all right, Ted Rowlands, thanks so much. Keep us posted there.

Still to come, an ex-Viking's punter lowers the boom on two former coaches and a gm. No holding back -- Andy Scholes.

ANDY SCHOLES, "BLEACHER REPORT": Yes, that's right, Fredricka. Chris Kluwe says he was cut by the Vikings because he advocated for gay rights in Minnesota. We'll have the details coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: And this just in, the Obama administration is asking the U.S. Supreme Court not to extend an exemption for non-profit groups for the contraception coverage. U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor is to rule as early as today on an appeal by a group of nuns and another religious non-profit. We'll keep you posted.

All right on the sports now, former NFL punter, Chris Kluwe is speaking out about his release from the Minnesota Vikings saying, "It was motivated by his same-sex marriage activism. Kluwe also uses some choice words to describe two of his former coaches and his ex-gm. Andy Scholes here with more on this.

SCHOLES: Yes. Kluwe wrote a letter to deadspin.com. It was a very strong worded letter that basically documents what happened in the 2012 season and 2013 offseason. The letter was titled, "I was an NFL player until I was fired by two cowards and a bigot." In the letter, Kluwe describes he became an advocate for same sex marriage in the state of Minnesota in the team or of two people specifically didn't really like this. His special team's coordinator, Mike Priefer, Kluwe claims that he used anti-gay comments towards him during team meetings. He said, Priefer would always bring it up in a negative light. He says that he was asked to tone down his advocacy for gay rights. He also says he thinks he was cut from the team not because of his performance because he says performance never tailed off. He says he is cut from the team because of this because they were uncomfortable about the way he always spoke out about it.

WHITFIELD: So is this letter kind of last resort or is there potentially something next, a final chapter, another chapter?

SCHOLES: We haven't heard about any lawsuit per se coming out of this just yet. He didn't want to release this during the season. He wasn't on the Vikings this year, but he still had friends on the team. He didn't want them to answer questions about this. He did it now because he wanted to prove he could still play. He had some try outs with some teams earlier this year.

He didn't get picked up, but he got positive remarks about his performance in the try outs even though he didn't end up making the team and he also said he did it now because he doesn't want, Mike Priefer, to be a coach in the league anymore. He said after what he did to him and the comments he made towards him during these team meetings and throughout the year. He doesn't think Priefer should be a coach in the league anymore.

WHITFIELD: All right, fiery situation, thanks so much. Andy Scholes, appreciate that.