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Boston Slammed with 15 Inches of Snow; Blizzard Blasts New York, and Massachusetts and Coast; 100 Million People in Storm Zone; Bitter Cold to Last Several Days; Packers Game May Get Record Cold Temps; Sub-Zero Temperatures; Packers Game; Birth Control Mandate; Interview with Green Bay Mayor

Aired January 03, 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 and Wolf Blitzer is off today. And we're going to start with heavy snow, brutal winds and bone-chilling temperatures. A triple weather threat that's brought much of the northeast to its knees on one of the busiest holiday travel weeks of the year. It has been a monster nor'easter that's buried some towns under two feet of snow. Fierce wind gusts are creating huge snow drifts and threaten to trigger flooding along the coast.

And then, there is dangerously cold temperatures, well below zero with the wind chill in many places. Even without the wind chill, it's really, really cold.

We're covering this major story from all angles today. Our correspondents are in Boston, Cape Cod, New York, also out in New York's Long Island. One of the worst hit areas, of course, is Boston. Hit especially hard by the wind and the snow and the cold. Our Margaret Conley braving those mean streets there. Margaret, how bad is it this afternoon?

MARGARET CONLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John, some areas of Massachusetts saw up to two feet of snow. We talked to the department of transportation this morning. They had 3,394 snow plows out. Their maximum capacity is 4,000 and comparing that to just yesterday when they only had 1,000. So, they've been dealing with a lot of snow come in over the last couple days.

As you can see, the snow has somewhat tapered off this afternoon, and it's expected to taper off later into today as well. But we are going to see winds of up to 35 miles per hour and also chills. There is a winter chill advisory for now until 9:00 a.m. And there could be wind chills as low as below 35 degrees.

Of course, the big concern here is visibility for travelers. Since there is wind and there's light snow that's causing some problems for flights, flights were canceled from Logan last night until this afternoon. We are seeing up in the air there, because Logan's not too far away, planes land. But I do know I was supposed to fly out tonight and my flight, John, has been canceled.

BERMAN: Yes, you're not going anywhere, especially with that wind and that cold. Of course, it's not even as bad in Boston as it is out on Cape Cod southeast of Boston. The conditions there even worse.

Our Laurie Segall is there. And, Laurie, the winds and snowfall really, really tough where you are. But that might not be the biggest concern. It's the coastal flooding that people have been worried about. Have those fears been realized?

LAURIE SEGALL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Listen, I just got off the phone with the Massachusetts emergency office and I said, right now is high tide. This is the time that folks are worried it's going to cause coastal flooding because we have to remember that this town -- we're here in Chatham, Massachusetts. This town is so near the water. And anytime something like this happens, you could have coastal flooding. Well, the good news, John, is right now it's high tide and they say it's moderate right now. They haven't seen too much coastal flooding. They say they've seen a little bit up in Plymouth which is up west in South Shore.

But right now, they're saying it's minimum. I will tell you this because I've been standing here throughout -- from different hours and it's a lot better now than it is this morning. We're standing on Main Street. If you look behind me, all the stores are closed but finally people are beginning to come out. We're seeing more folks driving, walking around, taking some pictures. Earlier today it was 30-mile- per-hour winds. It was snow plows left and right. But now, the streets are beginning to clear up a little bit and they say that the worst is probably over -- John.

BERMAN: Yes, it's good news on the coastal flooding. They do not need that especially with the winds and the cold. And, Laurie, I've been talking to you all morning, your satellite truck pretty much froze this morning, didn't it?

SEGALL: You know, we're breaking up a little bit because of the wind, but I did hear the word satellite truck. So, I have a feeling you're going to talk about -- you're talking about our satellite truck that wasn't quite working this morning. What essentially happened was it was bad weather. It was -- these weather conditions were very bad. And we really weren't able to go live from our satellite truck. I think we probably have some images of that that you can look at. We were actually able to go by using -- our photojournalists came up with the idea to use a MyFi password card and a laptop. So, we were able to actually go live. But you just got the idea that it was really bad and it was very, very chilly. And the wind -- because we're so close to the water, the wind and the snow, it causes a whole new type of effect -- John.

BERMAN: Laurie was just covered in ice and snow this morning. It's been a long, long morning and afternoon out on Cape Cod. Laurie Segall, thank you so much. I really appreciate it.

I want to go now to our Brian Stelter who's out on Long Island here in New York where blizzard warnings were just lifted a few minutes ago. Now, Brian actually has been covering the media for years, but it's secretly been his dream to cover the weather. He's getting a chance to do it today. Brian, how bad was it for you at the peak of the storm? BRIAN STELTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh, you know, it wasn't that bad. We're out here. We're paid to be out here and see what it's like for everybody else. No complaints from me. You know, John, I think you know this, we talked about this. I was the nerdy seven or eight year old who would go out in the backyard with a stick, measure the snow and then call the local weather channel and tell them how much snow was on the ground. You know, so I've always had a thing for weather. I guess it's my other love besides media.

And it's been interesting to come out and see what this is like. The digging out here continues. We're in the heart of Long Island. We've (INAUDIBLE) plows come up and down here piling up snow. Of course, when we came outside here for these first live shots at about 9:30 a.m., the parking lot we were in was pretty much cleared up. But every time the wind gusts up, as it is right now, it creates more work for these plows and these road crews. They're doing their best though. And the Long Island expressway which is right behind us is reopened and traffic's moving pretty steadily here now -- John.

BERMAN: The worse of it does seem to be over at where you are. And they closed the Long Island expressway and a lot of the other major roads in Long Island so those work crews could get the work done that they need to get done. And that does seem to be going well.

Brian Stelter, I'm so happy for you that you did get to experience this and I wish you many more weather events in the near future.

I want to come back here now to New York City. Ashleigh Banfield is in the snow covered streets here. And, Ashleigh, this really is the first major storm that the city has seen under its new mayor, Bill de Blasio, on the job for all of, what, two and a half days now. How does he seem to be handling the response so far?

ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Like the rests of us. First thing he did when he woke up, John, was shovel his walk. And I'm really not kidding. We actually even got pictures of him. He was out before 8:00 this morning, shoveling away, clearing away and then he got right down to business and actually gave a news conference about this city's reaction and response to the storm because do you know something? There are 5,000 plow routes in New York City. Here's how he said it's going so far.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL DE BLASIO, MAYOR, NEW YORK: 100 percent of primary roads have been plowed. 92 percent of secondary roads, 93 percent of tertiary roads. So, this is an extraordinary level of performance under tough conditions.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: Tough conditions to say the least. That sound bite was given a little bit earlier so you can imagine that there's been some progress made since then. If you hear the stats, John, it's really quite amazing. Look, I know New York is big but 1,700 plows? Like I said, there were those 5,000 workers who were out and about on the streets making sure that they were salted, sanded and plowed, 7,000 tons of salt at the ready to spray down on those streets. But none of that could battle the school system. They had to close it down.

So, 1.1 million kids will be out likely having some fun in the snow somewhere in New York City. And I recommend Central Park right behind me because that got six inches of snow overnight. On the upper west side not far away from that, about 7.8 inches of snow. So, for all of those 1,700 public schools, they have the day off. The sun has come out.

And John, I'm looking up at the CNN sign that beams all over the west side. It's 18 degrees Fahrenheit. That doesn't take into account that wind chill. At 2:00 this morning, which I know was when you woke up and came into work, it was zero everywhere in the New York area with wind chill. At least zero. Nobody got above zero with wind chill in the entire New York area. I can tell you, since I've been out here, we've warmed up a balmy eight degrees, I'm quite comfortable out here with my crew now.

BERMAN: I like to see that smile, Ashleigh. For the most part, when you're out there smiling like that, it means it's because it's frozen there in the cold temperatures.

BANFIELD: Yes.

BERMAN: I appreciate you being there. We saw some beautiful pictures behind you of people skating in Central Park. It's a nice day to be out though a little bit cold now, at this point.

Alexandra Steele is tracking the storm's path. It's been everywhere from the Midwest to the northeast. Where is it going next? What's the latest status, Alexandra?

ALEXANDRA STEELE, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Done, how about that? Are you happy to hear that, John? All right, here's the look. The storm is over. Still, though, there's a few residual snow showers right now on the Cape which is coming up with some of the biggest numbers. But the storm itself has moved out. The area of low pressure moving out. Of course, behind it, still the winds. But with each hour, those winds will subside and you'll certainly notice that.

All right, some lucky winners here. Boston in the end picking up 14.6. The models really just nailing this forecast. Seven inches in Albany, 6.2 in Worcester. Philadelphia, Central Park at six 6 as well. A few bigger totals more substantial, two feet in Boxford, Mass; Topsford, north of Boston, at 19. So, you get the picture.

So, that's what it looks like. That's what we saw. But here's the look at what it looks like outside your window. Let's show you some pictures and some are quite scary, of course. We'll take you to Virginia where we had an overpass -- cars in the overpass. Look at this. Now, this is Tyson's Corner, Virginia. They picked up about three inches just outside Washington, D.C. right over the river. All so scary, no question about it.

There was a little playful side and we certainly got pictures of that as well. Lincoln Park Zoo in Illinois, 12 inches. And also, let's take you now to Manalapan, New Jersey. Dogs out there playing. I think dog's name is Batman. Eleven inches of snow. A little deep but trying to make it through.

But, John, I've got other news for you. We've got even colder air, believe it or not, coming in. How about historically cold, Minneapolis, Chicago could see some of the coldest air in a decade. Look at some of these temperatures. Watch what happens. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Tuesday, Monday, a high temperature. Temperatures, these aren't even wind chills. And in Chicago, a similar scenario. And, John, all of that is moving east. And I'll bring you what our temperatures will be in the east coast coming up and it's very cold as well.

BERMAN: Yes, I can't wait for that, Alexandra. If it looks anything like those numbers behind you right now. Oh, that does not look good.

STEELE: Yes.

BERMAN: Thank you very much. Here's the big question for everyone. Could you see yourself standing around for hours in those arctic cold temperatures just to watch a football game, even your favorite football team? In a minute, the mayor of Green Bay will tell us why his city's fans are not afraid of what could be a record cold game day. Really cold, folks.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: And yet another blast of bitter cold weather is taking aim at the Midwest. That's on the heels of this storm already wreaking havoc across one-third of the country. Wind chill temperatures in the windy city could dip well below zero.

That's where we find Ted Rowlands braving the cold in Naperville, Illinois just outside Chicago. Ted, give us an update on what the conditions are like right now and what they look like going ahead because it's not pretty.

TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No, it's not. We're going to get a little reprieve but it is very ugly. Right now, we've gone from negative 10 up into the single digits. It feels great. And it's even going to get better over the next day, Saturday into the mid-20s. And then, the big doozie (ph) hits us. We're going to be down with a high -- a high temperature on Sunday into Monday of negative six in the Chicago area. The lows will be close to negative 20. That's without the windchill.

It's not just Chicago, it's not just Illinois, it's Wisconsin, it's Minnesota. Minnesota has canceled all school on Monday, the entire state, because they're looking at negative 30 degrees Sunday night into Monday. It is going to be very ugly.

BERMAN: You know, Ted, sometimes you hear people say, you know, in Chicago, we're used to the cold. In Minnesota, we're used to the cold. No one's used to six degrees below zero without the windchill. It's dangerous. You mentioned Minnesota's canceling school. ROWLANDS: Yes.

BERMAN: What other precautions are we talking about here that are being taken?

ROWLANDS: And I wouldn't be surprised if some Illinois schools are canceled as well because you're talking about specific threats to kids exposed skin. At those temperatures, you're talking 30 degrees below zero, add some wind to it, only a few minutes out in those temperatures with exposed skin and you're going to see frostbite. It's a huge problem.

The homeless, that's another thing. Organizations will fan out in force Sunday night into Monday, try to get homeless folks that aren't aware of what is coming and get them shelter.

BERMAN: All right, Ted Rowlands for us outside Chicago.

Now, they're not playing football in Chicago this weekend. It's a bit of a sore subject. They are playing football in Green Bay where it's very, very cold. They're used to playing in the cold, but this weekend could really test the mettle of the fans and the players. The Packers host the San Francisco 49ers in a wildcard playoff game. We just learned that the Packers did manage to finally sell out that game. It was slow going because it is expected to be so cold. It will be one of the coldest games the NFL has seen in years.

Joining me on the line is the mayor of Green Bay, Jim Schmitt.

I don't need to tell you, Mr. Mayor, how cold it is going to be out there. I mean we're talking, what, like minus six, minus eight below zero. That's without the windchill there. How do you expect people are going to keep warm for a football game that could last three, four hours?

MAYOR JAMES SCHMITT, GREEN BAY, WISCONSIN (via telephone): Well, they're ready for this. First of all, you got 80,000 people and we're pretty bundled together in that stadium. So we do kind of keep warm with each other.

I think it's going to be a great game. And people in this part of the world, we know how to dress and prepare for that with the appropriate undergarments and hats and cream on your face. So we're going to be in good shape. And I'm not surprised it sold out at all. I think people are excited about this game and we're looking forward to it despite the weather.

BERMAN: You snuggle up to 80,000 of your closest friends there, right?

SCHMITT: Right.

BERMAN: This game is being compared obviously to the famous ice bowl game back in 1967. Do you think it will be that bad?

SCHMITT: You know, the ice bowl, it was 13 degrees below zero. Now this morning, when I got up and took my dog out for a walk, it was 16 below. And, you know, that's cold. And three hours of that, I think, would be a lot to tolerate. But, I mean, it could get that cold towards the evening of that game, the game's 3:25 (ph) kickoff. So, yes, I'd love to break that record and be part of it. I mean I wasn't at the ice bowl but I'd love to be part of this game.

BERMAN: What's your trick? I mean you say you have your own special little methods. You wear long underwear. You snuggle with the 80,000 fans.

SCHMITT: Yes.

BERMAN: What's your special method of keeping warm?

SCHMITT: You know it is to layer up. And people, you know, the weather people here and we actually have (ph) news people and we tell people, look, you know, it's - we have four beautiful seasons here. And winter's one of them. And it -- but it's going to be cold. And make sure your feet and your head, I mean that's the most important.

And there will be some great gear out there that people can buy and the Packers have plenty of things to sell. So I think we're going to be all right. I think the tailgating may not be as long this time, right? Maybe an hour, hour and a half instead of a couple, three hours. But people are excited to go. And you can always go inside a little bit to warm up. But by and large, I think you're going to see, you know, 80,000 people really cheering these people on outside.

BERMAN: Well, Mayor James Schmitt, we trust you're not going to be the guy with your shirt off with the Green Bay logo painted on your chest. I don't think that's a - that's not very mayoral. But we do appreciate you being with us.

SCHMITT: We'll advise against it. We'll advise against it. But I still think you're going to see someone in the crowd.

BERMAN: Very good. Appreciate it. And, again, congratulations on finally selling out the stadium there. I know some corporations probably kicked in, which means that people will be able to watch it at home as well in the Green Bay area, which I think will be welcome news for a lot of people there. Thank you, mayor.

SCHMITT: All right, thank you, John. Nothing like being at the game, though.

BERMAN: No, that's true.

You know, one guy who was at the 1967 ice bowl knows what it's like to play in the cold, Bart Starr, the world famous quarterback who scored the winning touchdown in the famous ice bowl. If you stay with us, in just a few minutes, we're going to speak with Bart Starr. And I have to ask him how on earth you managed to play when it's that cold. Astoundingly cold.

But first, a new round in the legal battle over birth control coverage under Obamacare. Some groups say covering contraceptives is a violation of their religious rights. Today, the Obama administration responded. We'll have the details on this story when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: Welcome back, everyone.

Just a short time ago, the White House announced plans to strengthen background checks for guns. We just got this information. The Justice Department is pushing a plan to make it more clear who is forbidden to own a gun based on their mental health. And the Department of Health and Human Services is proposing a plan that would break down barriers that keep states from submitting information on those people to the federal background check system. This would be done presumably by executive order, not by legislation. Again, we're just getting this information. We'll have more on this as soon as we can.

Other news coming from Washington. The battle over birth control coverage under Obamacare is back in the legal spotlight. The latest lawsuit challenges the requirement to provide contraceptive coverage. And today, the Obama administration filed its response. Our senior White House correspondent, Jim Acosta, joins us now. And, Jim, what is the administration now asking the court to do?

JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's basically asking the court, John, to make a decision here as to whether or not there's going to be this temporary injunctive relief from the contraception mandate in Obamacare. As you know, a couple of days ago, right before the ball dropped in Times Square, Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who was on hand for those festivities in Times Square, she threw a curveball of her own at the White House basically giving some non-profits, religious non-profits, some relief from this contraceptive mandate.

This case has been brought by a group of nuns, the Little Sisters for the Poor in Denver. They run a nursing home out there in Colorado. And they've been saying that this mandate violates their rights. And what the Justice Department did this morning is said, hey, wait a minute -- actually the solicitor general, who fights these cases before the Supreme Court, said, through the Justice Department, hey, wait a minute, these religious non-profits have the ability to opt out of this and have a third party insurer provide this contraception care for the employees of these non-profits and so, therefore, it doesn't violate their rights.

We're now waiting to see what the non-profits have to say in response to that and then all of this will potentially go to the Supreme Court. We may get some kind of guidance from the Supreme Court at some point today as to whether or not this temporary stay is going to last for the next several weeks to months before the Supreme Court issues a final ruling on all of this. They're expected to hear the case on this that is being brought forward by for-profit companies that also have a religious objection to this.

But, John, want to throw up on screen a quote from the attorney for the Little Sisters, who are the nuns. Pretty pointed comments here. "Unfortunately, the federal government has started the new year the same way that it ended the old one," the statement reads, "trying to bully nuns into violating their religious beliefs. The government demands that the Little Sisters of the Poor sign a permission slip for abortion drugs and contraception or play millions of dollars in fines. The Sisters believe that doing that violates their faith and that they shouldn't be forced to divert funds from the elderly poor that they serve to the IRS."

So, a pretty pointed statement there. Of course we're waiting to see what their official response is to the court and then we should get some new developments after that, John.

BERMAN: This has been such a point of contention, one of the many, dealing with Obamacare. And now we expect to hear something, perhaps as soon as today, from the Supreme Court about what happens next. Jim Acosta in Washington, thank you so much. Appreciate it.

Back to our major story, a massive winter storm hammering more than 20 states right when millions of people want to hit the roads and airports after the New Year's holiday, conditions all across the storm zone. We'll give you the forecast as well coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)