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Dangerous Cold, Heavy Snow Hit East Coast; Flights Cancel Due to Weather; Interview with Packers Quarterback Bart Starr; Female Marines Unable to Meet Minimum Fitness Requirements

Aired January 03, 2014 - 13:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: The first week of 2014 is a brutally cold one for more than 100 million people after this monster snowstorm ripped through 22 states from the Midwest to the East Coast. Major cities, including some of the busiest travel hubs, are buried under heavy snowfall and getting blasted by these fierce wind gusts. And then there are the dangerously cold temperatures, well below zero with the wind-chill in many places. Even without the wind-chill, it's pretty darn cold.

We're covering the story from all angles today. Our correspondents are in Boston and the streets of New York, as well as at LaGuardia Airport and at airports in Washington, as well.

Let's first go to Boston. This is the city that's probably been hit the hardest in the country.

Our Margaret Conley is there.

Margaret, give us a sense of how bad it is there.

MARGARET CONLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John, it has been very bad with a lot of snow. We're still expecting a lot of wind and the wind-chill factor is very strong.

I wanted to take this time to share a little bit of the behind the scenes and the community here. We had a very nice neighbor, Carly, a teenager, bring over some chocolate chip cookies and hot chocolate made by her Aunt Helen.

Thank you very much.

Half is gone because the crew devoured them because we've been standing out here in the cold.

I also want to share some of the people working behind the scenes. Daniel has been shoveling snow since 6:00 this morning.

Isn't that right?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's right.

BERMAN: How many hours have you been out there? UNIDENTIFIED MALE: About three or four now. You've got to the go inside every now and then to warm your fingertips and your toe. You come back out and give it another go.

CONLEY: You're just doing this with a shovel. How is your body feeling right now?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It aches, no doubt. Your back and always lift with your knees. Your back starts to give out a little after awhile.

CONLEY: You guys are pretty strong being from Boston. Are you award about the situation for the next couple days?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not really. I mean, it's cold so it's not going to metal as fast. But you've got to keep going. You build camaraderie shoveling next to your neighbor and giving it all you got.

CONLEY: All right.

John, the good news here is that the airports do seem to be back up and running. The flights up at Logan Airport. We've seen them ahead landing and taking off -- John?

BERMAN: And the good news is, is that they're out there shoveling today. It's not going to get easier as it gets colder in Boston.

Margaret, I should also say, there's a special place in heaven for people who bring chocolate chip cookies to reporters. So thank you for that.

Appreciate it, Margaret.

Let's come back to New York, where Jean Casarez is covering the storm's impact here in the Big Apple.

How do New Yorkers seem to be dealing with it so far, Jean?

JEAN CASAREZ, HLN LEGAL CORRESPONDENT: John, we are in the heart of New York City in Columbus Circle. For the most part, all the roads are plowed. The streets in New York City. I want to show you what a plowed street is. Come with me. This is a plowed street in New York City. In the same breath, this is a dangerous street in New York City. I was in a taxi this morning and the taxi driver was driving so slowly and was veering to the right and to the left because, beneath this snow, there is ice.

Now, traffic is moving in New York City. But Columbus Circle last night when the snowfall was going, it was barren. We're going to show everybody a time-lapse photography of what actually a very bustling circle in New York City was like when that snow came down. It was just barren. That is what happens to New York City in a time like this when the snow keeps going. People are told to stay home and that's exactly what they do.

But you know, there's another issue that I want to show everybody. When you think of New York City, you think of taxis, especially on a day like this. Look at this hill right here, because if I want to get a taxi, I've got to climb up this hill and I've got to try to hail one. And you know what? I'm trying. But it's tough. And if I get one, I've got to go back over this little mountain here to get in the cab. So I'll keep trying to hail.

And, John Berman, back to you.

BERMAN: That is commitment. Jean Casarez climbing a snow bank to hail a cab. I hope one stops for you soon.

Jean, I really appreciate it.

Let's get a look at how things will shape up for the rest of the day and in the coming days because the cold is a serious problem.

Alexandra Steele, from the CNN Weather Center, give us a sense of just how cold we're talking about here.

ALEXANDRA STEELE, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Would you believe it if I told you it's going to be colder? We've been talking so much about the cold. The difference is the straight-air temperature will be colder than it's been. The winds won't be as strong. In Minnesota, no school for any kids. Local public schools, Monday, they're closed. Too cold for school. True. Minus 14 is the high temperature. Look at this. Minus 2 on Tuesday. Sunday through Wednesday, historic cold. Chicago, as well. High temperature, again, air temperature we're talking about, that's the low minus 19. Ted Rowlands would probably still be out there. Boston, that arctic air that's about to come in, moves east Tuesday. 30 degree temperature drop. 15 on Monday in Boston, 16 in Tuesday. New York similar drop, from 44 on Monday to 10 on Tuesday.

So a different type of cold. Air will be a lot colder. Historic, really, in decades.

BERMAN: This weather whiplash from 44 to 10 in one day in New York City.

(LAUGHTER)

Alexandra Steele --

STEELE: That will be a good story. We'll have to have you out there and see the dichotomy of taking off your layers.

BERMAN: I think I'm off Tuesday when it's 10.

STEELE: Me, too. Me, too.

BERMAN: Got to plan for that.

Alexandra, thanks so much.

STEELE: Yes.

BERMAN: As you would expect, the weather has made a mess of air travel for so many people. Over the last two days, more than 4,000 flights have been canceled because of the storm, 2,000 today alone.

Poppy Harlow, at New York's LaGuardia Airport.

We're hearing, at JFK, there have been limited flights taking off again. How are things looking where you are right now?

POPPY HARLOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Limited. Limited is how they're looking. I want to show you, John, how we track these flights. We go to flightaware.com. Constantly updating it every few minutes on my iPhone because it's more than 2,000 cancellations. It's 2,243 today alone. It is not even 2:00 p.m. Yesterday, we had 2300 flights canceled. We have zero visibility at JFK earlier today. Much better now. Two runways are open. Ground stop at Newark. You've got limited flights going in and out of Newark. Hundreds of cancellations at LaGuardia, JFK, Newark, Boston, Rhode Island, Connecticut, you name it. A big problem, the bulk of this with the visibility, because the snow was so light and fluffy, the winds were whipping it in people's faces.

I have to tell you, A, I feel a little bit get about having this assignment being inside when all my colleagues are outside. And walking in here and seeing the line was unbelievable. I want to show it to you now. The line of people with canceled flights just at American alone waiting to get rebooked on another flight. They don't even know when. Then I ran into a girl from Minnesota, my home town. Her name is Jennifer. And she put this all in perspective for us. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: You're from Minnesota.

JENNIFER SCHWARTZ, PASSENGER: Yes.

HARLOW: So you've got a little bit of perspective on snow, right, Jennifer.

SCHWARTZ: Yes, I do.

HARLOW: How bad is this?

SCHWARTZ: This is like a Thursday for us, I think. It's not that bad. It's melting really fast.

HARLOW: You were connecting to go to Cleveland but a number of your flights canceled, not just because of weather.

SCHWARTZ: Mechanical issues, too. They said de-icing on the plane was broken. We sat there for six hours till they told to us go to the hotel.

HARLOW: This would be your third attempt to get to Cleveland?

SCHWARTZ: Yes.

BERMAN: You going to make it today? SCHWARTZ: I hope so.

(LAUGHTER)

They wanted to put me on a flight to Detroit and go back to Cleveland. I told them I'll wait for this one, a one-one-stop. Hopefully, I'll be in Cleveland by 10:00 p.m.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: We hope she will be in Cleveland sooner than 10:00 p.m.

John, a lot of folks I talked to here, looking at international flights, they can't get out, trying to get to Mexico and elsewhere. They think they won't get out until at least Monday. Let's leave you with this picture. Cots in LaGuardia. The lucky folks overnight got these cots to sleep on. The rest of them have been sleeping on the ground here just waiting and waiting and waiting.

BERMAN: Yikes. I guess it looks comfortable enough. If you have to spend a night at an airport, not a bad way to do it.

HARLOW: Right.

BERMAN: Poppy Harlow, thank you so much. Really appreciate it.

HARLOW: Sure.

BERMAN: As Poppy has been telling you, getting out of New York still a messy proposition. The question is, how is the rest of the country doing, especially with the domino effect of canceled flights.

Rene Marsh is in Washington.

Rene, give us a sense of which airports have been hit the worst?

RENE MARSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You just heard Poppy say it, waiting and waiting. Big picture, the numbers are looking like this. Total delays nearly 3500. Total cancellations, more than 2,000. So it's quite a headache if you are trying to fly somewhere today.

So this is the misery map. This is by Flightaware. This just tells you, within a block of four hours, how bad things are and which airports are seeing the most delays. You can see lots of red in New York City where Poppy is. We have red right here in D.C. But at this hour, as far as the number of cancellations and delays, the most we're seeing right here in Chicago. This is again, just a four hour block, about 102 delays and 27 cancellations. You see these orange lines here? Those are the problem areas. So we have delays and cancellations going to Atlanta. We have the same situation going to Phoenix as well as San Francisco.

As far as airports go, we can tell you that we did have a situation this morning where airports suspended their operations. Here's an update. We know that Logan International have resumed. JFK did. So did Rhode Island's airport as well as Connecticut's Bradley International.

So we want to tell you, even though they've resumed operations, it doesn't mean things are back to full speed. We can tell you Logan right now arrivals and departures only have about 70 planes in the air right now. As far as LaGuardia, they have 44 as well as 24 departures. You can see there only six planes in the air right now. Compare that to in Atlanta, which has more than 300 planes in the air -- John?

BERMAN: Rene Marsh in Washington for us.

Getting around by air, not at all that easy. Not yet, at least.

I appreciate it, Rene.

Still dealing with this weather. It's affecting sports, too. Football legends don't come much bigger than Bart Starr. He's going to talk to us about the famous Ice Bowl game and what the Packers need to do to get ready for this weekend's game, which will be in the deep freeze.

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BERMAN: They are expecting near-record cold temperatures for this weekend's NFL game in Green Bay. The Packers host the San Francisco 49ers in a wildcard playoff game. The forecast says it will be minus 6 degrees, minus 8 degrees without the wind-chill, folks.

Even before the game begins, people are comparing this to the famous Ice Bowl game in '67, maybe the most-famous game ever played.

The Packers quarterback for that game was none other than NFL legend, Bart Starr. He joins me now on the line from Birmingham, Alabama.

Thank you so much for being with us, Mr. Starr.

BART STARR, GREEN BAY PACKERS QUARTERBACK (voice-over): Please call me, Bart. Thank you. I'm honored to be on with you.

BERMAN: All right, Bart, I know that football players are tough but I know that the Green Bay Packers football players are a special kind of tough. But still, minus 13 degrees is really, really cold. What's it feel like to play in that kind of weather? Can you even hold onto the ball?

STARR: You have to really concentrate on everything that you're doing when it's that kind of weather. But yes you can. I've said this many times to people. I don't want to make this trivial but I think it's an attitudal thing. Attitude in my opinion next to god is the strongest word in our vocabulary. I really believe in situations like that your attitude is what makes a difference.

BERMAN: It makes a difference to you on the field. What about for the 0,000 people in the stands? Can they think themselves warm? Does attitude count there too? STARR: I would think it could because that's a personal feeling thing. I think you have to work at it but, yes, it can be very, very difficult.

BERMAN: Did you guys talk about the cold during that game? Was it something that weighed on you as you were calling your plays?

STARR: You knew it was cold because it was. It was getting colder as the game wore on. But the thing that comes back to is that attitude word. I used it earlier. I really believe that you have to focus on what you're doing and how you're handling things and let the other just take care of itself. If you do it that way, put it in that priority system, I think then you can make it much easier.

BERMAN: You know, you read the history of the Ice Bowl game back in '6737 a lot of people thought that game would be postponed. Do you think it's something the NFL ought to consider when things get this cold?

STARR: Well, that's hard for me to say because I'm not sure what's in their considerations, for things like that. But I'm certain that they take a good hard look at those types of things. They don't want to be just ridiculously cold or not have look road at an alternative of something. So I'm very impresses with what the league's stances have been over the years.

BERMAN: Now, you played in a game this cold obviously. You're in Alabama right now. Would you ever sit in the stands for a game like this?

(LAUGHTER)

Be honest.

STARR: I don't think I've ever sat in one that was quite that cold, no.

BERMAN: Would you?

STARR: Would I? Certainly, if I'm in Green Bay and it's that cold and I've been asked to be in the stadium for some reason and we're not playing and it has that Green Bay connection and association, you're darn right. I'll just go do it. We'll bundle up and make it working

BERMAN: Spoken like a true Packer. One of the things you always hear when you watch these games, and you hear from players, they say the ball was like a rock. The ball gets really hard. Can you hold on to it when it's this cold? Do you remember hands work like they're supposed to when it's this cold?

STARR: Not really. That's why I said it's an attitudal thing. You have to concentrate on handling the ball and doing certain things and so forth and put the other out of your mind. And you have the capacity to do that. It's amazing what we can do mentally when we're forced to do it. BERMAN: Of course, you have to be able to call the right play at the right time. The last play of the Ice Bowl game, a very, very famous one, Bart. Who called it?

(LAUGHTER)

STARR: Well, yes, it was.

BERMAN: Well, we're glad that you're here with us right now. We're glad that you won that game. It was your play, wasn't it? You crossed the goal line there.

STARR: Oh, yes. Yeah, we easily crossed it because we -- that's why we called it. We knew the play would work. We had run that type of play a couple of times in the game and gained a minimum of a yard and a half or two yards. So we knew it would work. The problem was down there, the ground had become so hard and frozen like that it was slippery and so you had to make sure you had your footing and so forth that it could take you to get started into the end zone.

BERMAN: Just one of the things you have to worry about when it's minus 13.

Bart Starr, thanks so much for joining us to talk about the famous Ice Bowl game. I should say you have a big birthday coming up. Happy birthday. Really appreciate you being with us.

STARR: Thank you very much. Thank you. Birthdays are special and it's nice to be having another one.

(LAUGHTER)

BERMAN: Thank you so much. Take care.

STARR: Thank you.

(CROSSTALK)

BERMAN: We're going to talk about the Marines, forced to delay new fitness requirements. More than half of female recruits cannot meet the minimum. Will this be a setback for women moving into combat roles? We'll talk about this. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: The Marine Corps is delaying a fitness requirement for women that measured upper-body strength. The reason? More than half of the Marines can't do three pull-ups. That revelation has renewed the debate over whether women should serve in combat roles.

Pentagon correspondent, Chris Lawrence, joins us with this.

Chris, first of all, how did the proposed requirements for female Marines compare to tests for males?

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: At the low end, no real difference at all. That's the problem, because about 55 percent of the women they were testing this on, in recruiting, in sort of the boot camp atmosphere over the last year, they couldn't meet the minimum.

Take a closer look at some of the statistics. We'll run you through what it means for the women. If you look at the Marines upper-body fitness test for women, they have to do a minimum of three pull-ups. If they do eight, they get a perfect score. But because not enough passed, they'll have the option of the flexed arm hang. They have to do that for a minimum of 15 seconds, but can get a perfect rating with 70 seconds. Compare that with male Marines. They also have a minimum of three pull-ups, but they need 20 for a perfect rating. And there is no flex-arm hang test for males. They have to do the pull-ups.

Even the Marines admit that flexed-arm hang, it doesn't build the kind of strength you need to haul heavy equipment, to climb a wall or rope. Pull-ups do. So that's the worry. It's not the same thing -- John?

BERMAN: How are they handling this now? They're changing the time table for when the pull-up requirement will kick in. What's the plan?

LAWRENCE: That's right. It was supposed to kick in now, but the worry was that if basically you set this new requirement and so few female Marines could meet it, well, if you fail a fitness rep, you get a black mark on your fitness evaluation. Then you've got to go for remedial training. The Marines were very worried this was something that could push a lot of female Marines out of the service. They don't want that. They say there has been no decision on whether they'll implement the changes in 2015, but they're against a timeline in which 2016 is a year in which a lot of these combat roles are supposed to be open to women. They're fighting the time frame.

The strongest man will always be stronger than the strongest woman. But it's really a myth that women cannot do pull-ups. It's just that they don't. From the time they're girls, it's not something that's incorporated in the physical fitness, so the Marines are saying what they maybe need to do is look at better ways to train women to do pull-ups -- John?

BERMAN: That's what I was going to ask. Are they hoping the extra time gives them a chance to train up, to do more pull-ups, or are they perhaps thinking of changing the nature of the test?

LAWRENCE: I don't think they want to change the nature of the test. They're looking at, how can they train more women to do pull-ups. It's not an exercise that even a lot of physically fit women, it's just an exercise that many of them incorporate into daily training. But there are, of course, female Marines who have completed this. I think just a few weeks ago, about 10 more women graduated the Marines' enlisted infantry training. That includes pull-ups, hauling ability, an 80, 90-pound sack, rack over a 12-mile hike. It's a grueling two- month-long course, so there clearly are some women who are able to meet these. But if you're going to institute this standard across the entire Marine Corps, you've got to have more than just 45 percent of women being able to complete it.

BERMAN: All right, Chris Lawrence for us in Washington. Thank you for being with us, Chris. I appreciate it.

The markets had a great year in 2013. And apparently, so did car sales. We'll tell you who the big winner was, coming up next.

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BERMAN: The number of states reporting widespread flu activity has more than doubled from last week, from 10 to 25 states. Health officials consider an outbreak widespread if it's seen in more than half the states' geographic regions. Right night, the most severe activity is in the southeast.

So while the markets didn't exactly ring in the New Year in a nice way after a pretty impressive 2013.

Zain Asher joins me from the New York Stock Exchange.

And, Zain, yesterday was ugly. Are things better today?

ZAIN ASHER, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Hey, John. I have to tell you, the first two trading days of 2014 have been a surprise, even for traders themselves. The Dow, as you see, is basically flat right now. We had been as high as 72 points earlier in the session, but yesterday, triple-digit losses, as you mentioned. The Dow fell 135 points. It actually created a buying opportunity for investors. That's why you see the markets slightly higher today. The swings we have seen in the first two days of 2014, certainly symbolic of what to expect this year. Traders are saying we do expect some volatility -- John?

BERMAN: All right, Zain Asher for us at the New York Stock Exchange.

Thank you for being with us. Really appreciate it.

That's it for me this afternoon. NEWSROOM continues right now with Brooke Baldwin.